Simple tips to riding in the wet......

rain predicted for tomorrow, truck is broke so...get ready with the rain gear. Sucks, anybody got a 9.25 front diff for a 2k-2006 chevy laying around?

As far as riding in the rain, hard part is staying dry-ish, otherwise drive with some since, corners slow the rest speed limit should keep you gold.

 

I don't think it's been mentioned yet, but tires are a big deal for wet riding. I spent my first 5 years as an on-road motorcyclist in Seattle where I rode year round. Now, contrary to popular myth Seattle does not get that much rain (San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans, D.C, etc etc etc all get more annually). It is, however, fairly warm in the rather wet winter months, so I've ridden in the wet a lot. The best thing I ever did for this was put Dunlop Roadsmart's on my bike, which have exceptional wet weather performance. There might be another tire now that is better, I'm not sure.

I also had a weird braking problem once, worth sharing. I'm sure really knowledgable riders will know what happened. Anyhow, I was braking at very low speeds (15-20 mph) while going UPHILL and my rear wheel locked. I then started sliding uphill and had to veer left to avoid hitting a car. Because I had no traction, this meant I had to lay the bike down (albeit pretty gently). Since then I've been very, very cautious with my braking on incline/declines on wet pavement.

 

in-laws neighbor almost was as well. Struck the pavement right in front of him. Made a 3 - 4 foot deep crater. No chance there. Spent several weeks in the hospital in Peoria, IL (was on his way home from TN, I think) on a cruiser. Saw the bike aftermath, it was pretty messed up.