Caught in the rain on a trip, what do you do?

[bimmerguy]

I've been riding for years and the rain used to scare the s%#+^ out of me, not now, it's fun.
On trips, I always have GOOD rain gear packed.
For on and off rain, I just ride and blow dry.
For serious downpours, consider : how long has it been raining, is the dirt and oil washed off the road, are the tires up to temp?
I NEVER follow semi's in the rain or dry after getting hit in the chest with retread.
I can't avoid what I can't see coming.
All lights to to hi beam. Pull radar det and stash, Ziplock GPS.
Ride VERY smooth and try not to tense up upper torso, feel what the bike is doing and go with it. Use rr brake, VERY slightly if needed.
Big puddles? Since I don't ride a gs I try to avoid them, but 6" of water no problem at speed on my RTP1100.
I never take trips with tires less than 50% tread. When I am stuck in moving traffic, I try to stay in cars tracks in front of me, then get out in front asap.
In the winter I use fog city visor insert.
On a trip from Houston to DFW, cold rain, 35 degree temps and sleet, I got so much rain, the ign switch froze when I stopped.
Heated gear would have been nice. I had never ridden in rain till then.
Chime in: do you like to ride in rain and how do you handle it?

[Shakey]

If I'm riding in the season jokingly called Summer in Europe and the UK then I tend to wear either leathers or an airflow jacket with leather jeans if in more southerly climes. In these cases I always take a one peice waterproof and then try to judge when to put it on.

Once, my wife and I misjudged this badly travelling back to Northern Holland from the Hartz mountains in Eastern Germany. It wasn't so much the wet as the combination of wet and cold that made things unsafe and miserable.

On the other hand, another year I rode from Lake Maggiore in Nothern Italy all the way to and through the Mont Blanc tunnel in persistent rain because I judged it right. It still wasn't pleasant and I chose to pay to use the tunnel rather than head over the pass because it doesn't rain inside tunnels (we hope).

With the R I think I'm going to be wearing Rukka pants and a waterproof textile jacket as I'm much more exposed than I was on the FJR.

I have a memory of my first ever ride on a proper bike (Yamaha Fazer 600) downhill and around bends in the rain. I must have hit 5 mph on some of some bends . Luckily that is now just an amusing memory since my buddies at the local Institute of Advanced Motorists taught me how to ride in the wet.

Like you, I ain't 'fraid 'o no rain.

[2wheels]

Biggest problem for me is keeping visor clear, especially now I am a spectacle wearer. Sometimes get caught in a situation where I need to go faster to keep rain off. Turning head from side to side sometimes helps. How about the various coatings? Rain X etc? Anyone tried these with success? I believe some cause visor degradation in time.

Must say grip from modern tyres is surprising and smooth power delivery of the R a great asset.

Brian

[The Meromorph]

Biggest problem for me is keeping visor clear, especially now I am a spectacle wearer. Sometimes get caught in a situation where I need to go faster to keep rain off. Turning head from side to side sometimes helps. How about the various coatings? Rain X etc? Anyone tried these with success? I believe some cause visor degradation in time.

RainCoat you can buy it at Cycle Gear. Lasts a week or two...

[Witch Doctor]

I use Plexus, got caught is some serious and lengthy rain storms and it beaded up and rolled off quite well. Regarding rain gear, FIDO.

[omg1010]

I am wearing that Rukka textile stuff which is waterproof. Also got waterproof daytona boots and gore gloves. We got caught in hours of torrential rain in the French jura area last year and did continue til our final destination. It meant approx 3 hrs surfin in the rain. My gear was dry inside and soaked from the outside.

Brgds
Oliver

[Oaktree]

...an older thread, but I'll chime in. I always wear full textile gear: pants and jacket (water resistant, but not water proof), water proof leather boots and gloves. Light rains don't get through. I love riding in the rain.

For heavy rains, I slip on a rain suit over my road suit. It's a lot of hassle, but worth it to stay dry. Bridgestone BT-021's work very well on the wet. Tar snakes are still slick. Pucker factor 7.9.

For snow and ice in the winter, I swap tires. Shinko 700 front, Conti TKC-80 rear. I drill 'em and stud 'em - makes a huge difference in traction. I like the snow better than the rain. When it's cold enough, it's no longer wet...

2000 BMW R1100R

[CRazyCam]

The way I figure it is that if you get soaking wet riding a motorcycle, and that is the worst that happens to you.....
you have no complaints.

BTW, if you happen to get caught and soaked before you could put on the wet weather outer stuff, it is still worth stopping and putting the outer gear on.

You'll still be wet, but you won't get cold.


regards,CrazyCam

[Ton1959]

Getting wet is not too bad. My longest trip in the rain lasted for 1400 miles. It was four days travelling in the rain. And when I finally went into a long tunnel in Austria which felt warm in the beginning because of the car fumes is my guess it got worse on the other side. I ended up with 4 inches of snow at the other end.
I still remember the special area which was reserved for bikers. Special as that no peg would go into the ground as it was rockhard. In the morning my helmet was floating inside the tent. And the nice thing is that you have something to talk about even after all these years.
When you have some good tyres it is not too bad ( well the rain isn't). Unfortunately The Grimsl pass was blocked too with a layer of snow like the size of a house. That did put a stop to the trip as we had to stay overnight in the hotel on the top of the mountain. Luckily the snow was cleared the next day and we had lovely weather afterwards. The gloves my younger brother had been wearing had been so wet that his hands had all the colours from the rainbow which shocked the owner from the hotel as it looked like he had a weird disease.
the rain as mentioned before is not the worst but wet hands and feet make your body feel really cold and even when it gets dry they take ages before they feel warm again. So make sure that your hands and feet stay dry.

[Railbender]

It is also an excellent way of checking the condition of your HES wiring.

[SDMAX]

Just did 800 miles in Alaska; half of it in the rain; Frog Togs; pulled on top and bottom in the morning; galosh like things that pulled over my leather boots from Cycle Store, and Waterproof gloves; about less than 60 bucks for all that Frog Togs from internet. No problems. FIDO....had to look that up, but yeah, FIDO.

[Ric]

I try never to get in a hurry so, if it's going to be a 30 minute to an hour rain I'm prone to finding shelter and waiting it out.

[gregor]

I carry ex army Goretex waterproofs. Rather bulky but kept me dry several times on 7 hour runs back from Scotland.
Rain does not tend to last for 1/2 hour in the UK.