Trying to not use my car that gets only 18 mpg and i have a 50 mile commute and wanna use my bike but its suppose to be raining for a few days. How difficult is it to ride a bike in the rain doing about 55mph?

 

not hard at all...if I didn't ride in the rain I would have never ridden while I was in Germany!!! I was riding at 150 in the rain in sweepers...the thing to remember is no jerky movements and throttle control...once your tires are warmed up they will stick to the ground...when slowing down avoid the painted areas of the road...the roads will be the slickest when it first starts to rain...all the oils are rising up and rinsing away...and remeber to give yourself more room to operate around the cagers - they forget how to drive once it rains!!!

 

Frankly, I disagree. It's a major pain riding in the rain. Sure one can do it, and I've ridden in heavy rain on several occasions, but you get soaked unless you've anticipated and have onproper rain gear(that's o.k. in the summer but I wouldn't want to get drenched on a long ride home when its cold out), your vision is impaired if you have a visor on and have to keep wiping it off,or if you lift the visor up that rain hits you like tattoo needles to the face, which actually is a rather unpleasant feeling) which obviously in turn increases the risk of dropping the bike or not seeing someone, especially at night, though I do agree I didn't feel a great loss of traction or control over the bike. And he's right too, the most dangerous time is when its just started raining and is spreading oil over theroad. Otherwise you're just trying to avoid flooded areas, puddles and slick areas. It's mostly the vision impairment that occurs that's a problem as far as I'm concerned, though you naturally drive a little more cautiously if its raining hard.

Riding at night in the rain is a pain -- I'd avoid it if you can.

Most likely you'll ride in the rain at some point, whetheryou intend to or not. I did get struck by lightning once and I'm glad I was in a car and not on a bike at the time!!! Not a pleasant experience!!!! Istill feelpain(at this very moment in fact) inthe spot in one ofmy elbows that for some reason got a ton of the jolt -- a nice white band of light parallel across both ofmy eyes -- very unpleasant electricjolt through my entire body-- and major pain in a spot ina bone in my left elbow where for some reason it hit harder which lasted for a long long time after(months and months and months, now its just a little sore spot a couple years later). Windows were closed, driving normal highwayspeed, etc. Wouldn't have wanted that to have happened to me on a bike. Odds are that won't happen to you though.

And you have to remember that getting out of bed is a hazard to your health too, much like pointing at someone is(my mother told me thatwas rude when I was young so someone might try to beatyou upif you do that to them). Sorry, getting silly here. I won't go on any longer...

 

get rain gear and give it a try.. I for one would rather cage it as it is more comfortable.

Last rain experience: the sun is out so I decide to use the bike.
Five miles on the freeway when starts to sprinkle and I'm thinking "That's fine I got my leather jacket on."
Two miles later, sprinkle becomes rain. "Thats ok, might get a little bit wet but I've done this before".
Another five miles, "Crap, everyone is slowing down, it's raining like cats and dogs, my helmet is fogging up but It's only 15 more miles till my destination.. I can do this!"
One mile later; "Fudge, I'm soaking wet from the waist-- down to my feet, I cant see sh*t.. Man I'm so cold. I lift my lid up but my sunglasses are also fogged and the rain is now hitting my face. Feels like my tires are hitting puddles of water.. but I'm trailing this car's tracks, how can this be?"
I limp onto an exit and I have to raise my head because the only part that I can see thru are the bottom of my sunglasses (can't lose the sunglasses unless I want needles of rain hit my eyeballs). I rest under an overpass.. I get stares as the cars pass me by. I decide to head back home and brave the worst riding condition I've ever encountered. Soaked, frozen, and no visibility.. for another 10 miles.. the longest 10 miles.

 

i ride pretty much every day. rain or shine.i have a waterproof teknic jacket, and rain pants so im good to go.

as for the visor, i do 2 things.

1. just turn your head sideways and the wind will clear it off

2. i have one of those finger squeegee things that i put on over my glove. it was like a dollar at the local cycle shop

 

Riding in the rain isn't bad. I always have a rain suit with me. Living in South Florida, it's pretty much mandantory
because to rains everyday in the summer.

Good tires are a must. Most modern day tires have excellent wet capabilities.

The biggest concern is when is first starts to rain. Oils and dirt on the road come up to the surface and make it very slick. After it has rained for about 10 minutes, all that gets washed off.

The biggest bitch about riding in the rain is washing your bike later. What PITA.

 

The only thing I hate about riding in the rain is detailing your bike afterwards.
Just make all your throttle, brake and handlebar inputs smoothly and gently and you'll be fine.
Good luck!
Peace!
-CCinC

 

raingear makes riding in the rain no big deal. just have to be a casual rider when riding in the rain. no agressive manuevers.

 

detailing is for harleys. guess you still got some of that sportster in you

 

The only thing I hate about riding around on a freshly-detailed bike (with 50,000 miles on it) is being treated like a n00b by the posing stuntaz who let their junk get gunky, rusty and crusty. It may look new, but I've probably ridden more in the last 2 months than most guys ride in a year.

A clean bike goes faster, lasts longer and looks nicer, no?
Peace!
-CCinC