sliding in the rain?

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youngrider

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Got caught in the rain today and had to stop for a red, the brakes locked up and I started sliding, I let off the brakes and they unlocked and i came to a full stop.

Anyone have any tips to prevent this from happening?
 
redridernl said:
Be smooth with all inputs in wet conditions.
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Pretty much this, anticipate your stops earlier etc etc and you should be fine. I instinctively use a little bit of rear brake while stopping so I end up using it in the rain but with a gradual slow amount its definitely controllable without major slippage.
 
Wait till you lock the front up :lmao:

Locking up the rear isn't the end of the world, instead of trying to prevent it learn how to control it.

Find a friend with a dirt bike and see what its all about ;)
 
lol you said slippage . . . ;)

Torcida said:
Pretty much this, anticipate your stops earlier etc etc and you should be fine. I instinctively use a little bit of rear brake while stopping so I end up using it in the rain but with a gradual slow amount its definitely controllable without major slippage.
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Torcida said:
Pretty much this, anticipate your stops earlier etc etc and you should be fine. I instinctively use a little bit of rear brake while stopping so I end up using it in the rain but with a gradual slow amount its definitely controllable without major slippage.
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It was raining hard, floor was a couple cm filled with water, how would changing gears go in that situation? Downshifting would lead to locking too right? (without rev matching)


Paul1000RR said:
Wait till you lock the front up :lmao:

Locking up the rear isn't the end of the world, instead of trying to prevent it learn how to control it.

Find a friend with a dirt bike and see what its all about ;)
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My front and rear breaks locked I started sliding forwards! Scariest 4 seconds of my life....

daisoman said:
Get abs. Try not to use rear brakes on slippery surfaces
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Don't know if you can get abs mods :O
 
youngrider said:
It was raining hard, floor was a couple cm filled with water, how would changing gears go in that situation? Downshifting would lead to locking too right? (without rev matching)
My front and rear breaks locked I started sliding forwards! Scariest 4 seconds of my life....
Don't know if you can get abs mods :O
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If you had locked the front you would have gone down very quickly. 4 seconds means you just locked the rear.

Regarding shifting, If you can't rev match on downshifts then use the clutch to ease it out so you don't upset the rear wheel.
 
youngrider said:
My front and rear breaks locked I started sliding forwards! Scariest 4 seconds of my life....
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Highly doubt you locked up the front and rear, if so, I doubt it was for 4 seconds. Things that make you **** yourself tend to feel longer than it actually was. Rear probably locked. Just be smooth and slow down early.

Oh. And avoid the middle tire track and painted lines.
 
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Without abs you need to plan your braking. Stay away from tar snakes. Those lines are indented into the road and hold water. Plus they have no traction.
Stay away or avoid braking/turning in metal surfaces (manhole covers, train tracks).
When I was on my old bike (no abs) I would test the braking in the rain on a straight line to check its threshold. If I go beyond that I know it will lock up.

Most importantly take your time.


Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2
 
RednBlax said:
Without abs you need to plan your braking. Stay away from tar snakes. Those lines are indented into the road and hold water. Plus they have no traction.
Stay away or avoid braking/turning in metal surfaces (manhole covers, train tracks).
When I was on my old bike (no abs) I would test the braking in the rain on a straight line to check its threshold. If I go beyond that I know it will lock up.

Most importantly take your time.


Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2
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What bike do you have now?

koma said:
If you had locked the front you would have gone down very quickly. 4 seconds means you just locked the rear.

Regarding shifting, If you can't rev match on downshifts then use the clutch to ease it out so you don't upset the rear wheel.
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it was 4 seconds in total (until i came to a full stop) but it only locked for 1, i felt the whole bike slide but maybe the rear ones only locked, the tail was sliding out aswell.

I'm still getting used to rev matching, any tips there?

Pompey said:
Get off and walk the bike if your that useless at riding in the wet.
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was sunny, then all of a sudden it poured, new rider no need to be a dick
 
+1 to pretty much all the tips above (Easy inputs, avoid painted sections/metal/anything where water is beading off) Basically ride your bike as if it had 1/3 of the traction it normally does... Because that's not too far from true.

If wet handling is still bugging you and depending on the type of riding you do, you may want to try a tire that's more designed to handle these kinds of conditions like the Michelin PR3 (i wrote a review about it in that section). Michelin officially removed the pics for liability reasons, but it's been proven to allow knee dragging in exactly the kind of water depth you described. http://s154.photobucket.com/user/Johnistephen/media/PR3sinthewet.jpg.html
 
Paul1000RR said:
Wait till you lock the front up :lmao:

Locking up the rear isn't the end of the world, instead of trying to prevent it learn how to control it.

Find a friend with a dirt bike and see what its all about ;)
Click to expand...


Is it wrong I thought the same thing immediately? Wait until that front stops and you don't. When in rain be relaxed, easy on the throttle and easy on the brakes or else you could be in for a wild ride. Stay the hell out of the middle of the lane too fyi.
 
Wet surfaces are more slippery than dry surfaces. That's why lubrication has everybodys' undivided attention. Ride accordingly.
 
It's all experience. You made a small mistake and recovered without incident. Well done. Learn from it and progress. Don't listen to the a holes that run you down. I've been riding for close to 50 years and once in a while during an emergency situation in the wet you grab the brakes and the front locks but you learn to ease off and recover and squeeze the brakes gently but firmly and complete the stop. Be cautious until you have more experience and keep learning. There is plenty of good advice above too about being gentle and squeezing not grabbing the brakes. This is the key.
 
:p alright thanks, sounds like the only thing I can do about it is go easier on the controls, hopefully that doesn't happen again as it was really scary
 
youngrider said:
:p alright thanks, sounds like the only thing I can do about it is go easier on the controls, hopefully that doesn't happen again as it was really scary
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Look further ahead. I just starting riding in april but been through many hrs riding in the rain. Looking ahead I have yet to have to brake hard once.

May consider going to an empty lot at night when its wet to practice what its like to lockup the rear though . I know it wont throw me off the bike and good to know how the bike will react. Better that than on the streets.
 
Ymax said:
Look further ahead. I just starting riding in april but been through many hrs riding in the rain. Looking ahead I have yet to have to brake hard once.

May consider going to an empty lot at night when its wet to practice what its like to lockup the rear though . I know it wont throw me off the bike and good to know how the bike will react. Better that than on the streets.
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True but don't forget that not all pavement is created equal.
Big difference between new black pavement, older pavement and that god damn polished pavement they have in some places <---- this **** is worse than ice.

Saying this cause you might go into a parking lot and practice on pavement thats brand new and the bike will handle completely different than on other surfaces...
 
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