Had my first highway ride in heavy rain tonight.

[hymnz]

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I went out for some bowling in Yorkdale and got caught in the downpour right after Dixon exit on way back to Mississauga. Only thing that got wet were my forearms. (One of the reasons why I ride a maxi-scooter- protection from rain.)

Interesting observation: cars slowed down; trucks didn't.

Also, the lane markings became hard to notice. I turned to looking at the tail lights and the road in the front to keep myself inside the lane.

to the three cars that slowed down around me from Hurontario to Erin Mills Parkway and gave a kind of guard. It made riding that stretch easier and to the Mercedes fella who drove like a POS after that.

Experienced people of the forum: hit me with tips on riding on highways in the unavoidable rains.

 

[Lightcycle]

Slow all your inputs, no sudden acceleration, braking or turning. Give yourself plenty of distance and time ahead of you to brake.

IMO, the most dangerous thing about high speed wet weather riding is aquaplaning. There are stretches on the 400-series highways that are uneven and pool a chit-ton of water in a downpour. If you see a lake in front of you, keep an even throttle or accelerate slightly to keep the front wheel light. Don't roll off when your front tire hits the water, and definitely do not brake.

 

[matthew]

Rain gear with bright reflective patches are a big help to be more visible

 

[POWERMAN]

Avoid painted surfaces/signs on the road...slippery as hell

 

[hymnz]

Slow all your inputs, no sudden acceleration, braking or turning. Give yourself plenty of distance and time ahead of you to brake.

IMO, the most dangerous thing about high speed wet weather riding is aquaplaning. There are stretches on the 400-series highways that are uneven and pool a chit-ton of water in a downpour. If you see a lake in front of you, keep an even throttle or accelerate slightly to keep the front wheel light. Don't roll off when your front tire hits the water, and definitely do not brake.

Absolutely.

Question though: is it safer to go through a deeper patch or a shallow one?

My grandad warned me when I used to go on trips with him as a kid that when riding on highways and when it rains there's a thin layer of water that form between the road and tires which drastically reduces friction. Whenever I see any patch I basically roll off before it if it's a small patch and drop and lock the speed when it's a bigger one avoiding no sudden movements.

 

[hymnz]

Avoid painted surfaces/signs on the road...slippery as hell

Oh yea, there's one bicycle path painted right at the entrance of my home area. Really bugs me out. I try to be as upright as possible over it when it is wet.

 

[TwistedKestrel]

Tips? OK!

-Recognize that there is a point that it can be raining so hard that you either need to slow down to a crawl or get off the road entirely (mostly to avoid getting rear-ended). It's rare, but it can happen. Also when it's raining this hard not only are aquaplaning and visibility serious problems, but you can have deep water pooling on the road

-Be aware of what wet brakes feel like

-Increase following distance, and don't let people tailgate you. Switch lanes or pull over if they're being obnoxious... do not trust their ability to stop if you have to

-On a motorcycle, you can accidentally create zero visibility situations that you wouldn't run into on a car (fogged visor, water inside visor, water on glasses, etc). Do not panic, but if you've removed your ability to see, you need to pull over!

-Don't modify your motorcycle in a way that makes it harder to see in the rain (e.g. low visibility tail light, turn signals). If you removed the rear fender on your bike, take a moment to marvel at the purpose it was supposed to be serving

-I used to keep a ziploc bag handy somewhere that I could stuff my wallet, phone & whatever into to keep them dry if I did not have somewhere else appropriate to put them

-If you are wearing waterproof boots but not waterproof pants, then you are wearing two buckets on your feet that will fill up with water and will require manual draining at some point

-Be aware of how some establishments may react to having a wet motorcyclist inside them

 

[Lightcycle]

Question though: is it safer to go through a deeper patch or a shallow one?

Shallow, for sure. With deep water, you never know *how* deep it is. But if it comes up on you fast and it means having to swerve violently to get around it, just pick the lesser of two evils and take the deep water instead.

My grandad warned me when I used to go on trips with him as a kid that when riding on highways and when it rains there's a thin layer of water that form between the road and tires which drastically reduces friction. Whenever I see any patch I basically roll off before it if it's a small patch and drop and lock the speed when it's a bigger one avoiding no sudden movements.

Yep, there's also the grease strip of engine oil left behind by leaking cars over time. It tends to build up in the centre of lanes and the first few minutes of rainfall, all the oil rises to the surface and it becomes super slippery.

Just remember your M1X training: ride in the tire tracks, not in the middle of the lane.

 

[bigpoppa]

Smoother inputs(brake, throttle, turning), less speed, greater braking distance...

 

[hymnz]

On a motorcycle, you can accidentally create zero visibility situations that you wouldn't run into on a car (fogged visor, water inside visor, water on glasses, etc). Do not panic, but if you've removed your ability to see, you need to pull over!

Yep. I got a windshield extender exactly for this purpose. It covers till above my eye line. I also tend to open up the visor and put it up at an angle that doesn't obstruct my vision and also deflects the rain from the top to an extent. 100% agree on other things. Thank you.

Just remember your M1X training: ride in the tire tracks

Follow-up question: tonight it wasn't just the rain. There was crosswind too. I was watching MotoJitsu on YouTube and he says to stay in the center to counter the wind pushing you across. I try to balance being in center and in tiretracks when there's a gush of wind (of course, dropping the speed and all). Is there any better way to tackle this?

 

[hymnz]

Rain gear with bright reflective patches are a big help to be more visible

I have to get some more flashy elements on my body. Black helmet might not cut it.

 

[Lightcycle]

Follow-up question: tonight it wasn't just the rain. There was crosswind too. I was watching MotoJitsu on YouTube and he says to stay in the center to counter the wind pushing you across. I try to balance being in center and in tiretracks when there's a gush of wind (of course, dropping the speed and all). Is there any better way to tackle this?

Gusty winds are tricky. It's good advice to stay in the centre if you don't know when or where the next gust is coming.

I picked up a neat trick in Cape Town (one the most windiest cities I've ever lived in): if it's a constant cross-wind wind coming from one side, stick your knee towards the wind 90 degrees to the bike and use it like a sail. It'll catch the wind and you won't have to lean the bike into the wind as much.

Doesn't help for gusty conditions though.

 

[hymnz]

Gusty winds are tricky. It's good advice to stay in the centre if you don't know when or where the next gust is coming.

I picked up a neat trick in Cape Town (one the most windiest cities I've ever lived in): if it's a constant wind coming from one side, stick your knee out on that side 90 degrees to the bike and use it like a sail. It'll catch the wind and you won't have to lean into the wind as much.

Doesn't help for gusty conditions though.

Haha.. sticking out the knee somehow came naturally to me. People back home thought I was weird doing it when it was windy. Wasn't expecting to hear it here again.

This is excellent. Thank you.

 

[matthew]

I have to get some more flashy elements on my body. Black helmet might not cut it.

Buy 3M reflective tape and put it on your helmet and on a few places on you bike. Don't settle for no name Amazon junk; Buy 3M

 

[kurtrules]

In addition to what others have mentioned:

1. I use the rear brake more than the front in slippery conditions. This is the inverse of what I do, in dry conditions.
2. And of course, it goes without saying - progressive braking, more delicately in wet conditions.
3. Another thing to watch out for is water spray if you are behind a semi-truck. That is dangerous. So if you are on a multi-lane highway, switch lanes. If you are on a single-lane highway (like Highway 69 on many stretches) increase the gap between you and the trailer. Or just wait for it to disappear ahead of you.
4. Keep the bike as vertical as possible, even on the corners. In low adherence conditions, you will need the largest contact surface to the wet tarmac. Hence it is safe if the road is wet and the bike is straight.

 

[mimico_polak]

One thing to note is try to stay off the road for the first 10-15min of the rain. This is when it's slickest, and when all the oil / grease / garbage on the road starts to move from it's place.

Once that's done and over with, easy on the inputs and any directional changes because you lose a lot of grip with rain.

Last time I got caught in a smaller rainfall is I just pulled over under a bridge to get the water off my visor / glasses as I couldn't see a thing.

 

[crankcall]

There is also the pull off and wait for a while option . When it rains super hard it doesn’t last all that long , and there is no shame in grabbing a coffee and waiting for better conditions if time allows .


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[nobbie48]

Nothing IMO is more slippery than diesel fuel on wet asphalt. Learn the smell.

At some point your crotch will let you know the low point of the seat is full of water.

Pack your rain gear on the top of your luggage, not on the bottom like me.

Anything near a construction site, slippery muck, steel plates, hidden rocks, spongey ground.

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