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Calling "All Weather" RT tourers about Aquaplaning

askitee

Member
I do and always have ridden in any weather (except hail and snow).

Has anyone found any methods to reduce the RT's tendency to aquaplane?

The weather was rainy so I took the day off and spent it on a 700km ride to do a little testing with settings to reduce aquaplaning. These seemed to help
  1. Putting the suspension firmness up.
  2. Which in turn put more weight on the front wheels.
  3. Later I added 1 PSI to the front tyres and this too "seemed" reduce the tendency to aquaplane.
When I rode two wheel tourers, if it was light rain we'd keep suspension soft so that the tyre didn't get too pushed around, allowing it to just softly follow deformations in the road surface. If the rain increased to the point of pooling on the road we'd increase suspension pressures to help apply more force to the tyre when it met pooled water by the suspension wanting to push the wheel downwards more readily.

Have you found any aftermarket tyres that have provided a noticeable reduction in this behavior?
Have you found any aftermarket suspension that have provided a noticeable reduction in this behavior?
 
Riding in more than an inch of water at more than 55 will set it off most every time. I came from AK where there are grooves in the highway from each car tire. They allow studded tires in winter, and they eat up the road. When it rains, the groves fill up quickly. In my early years, I took two hydroplaning rides. Both ended up okay for me....but I got the message quickly.

Don't drive through standing water at speed and you will be all right. If you have to...then just slow down below 50 (if possible).

There is a section on hydroplaning in the manual. I think it was near or on the last page.
 
Riding in more than an inch of water at more than 55 will set it off most every time. I came from AK where there are grooves in the highway from each car tire. They allow studded tires in winter, and they eat up the road. When it rains, the groves fill up quickly. In my early years, I took two hydroplaning rides. Both ended up okay for me....but I got the message quickly.

Don't drive through standing water at speed and you will be all right. If you have to...then just slow down below 50 (if possible).

There is a section on hydroplaning in the manual. I think it was near or on the last page.

Actually 3/16ths inch will be more than enough ….. another major cause is - immediately after it starts to rain, all the crap on the road " floats from the road surface " and causes the surface to be even more " traction challenged " …… not kidding …. Mike :ohyea:
 
I ride in the rain a lot and have found the General Altimax RT43 in 215/60R15 inflated at 25 psi handles water just great. On the front I run Federal Formoza AZ01 in the stock size
 
Thanks for the info on the Tyre choices, that's very handy to know and gives me hope. It's coming close to the point where I can enjoy seeing the Kenda's tossed to the rubbish heap where best they lie.

I agree it doesn't take much, but also that doesn't mean we have to accept that the way it is is the way it has to be. The RT seemed less nervous when it encountered water on the road after the adjustments mentioned, and like some described, it can be from small wheel tracks and imperfections in the road containing very little water.

Thanks to those who suggest slowing down - I'll either ride at 15km/hr everywhere I go just in case I encounter it or I'll take someone with me to walk in front and flag the excess water laying on the road ;).

Again it comes down to having margins for when you encounter these situations. Example: You are on you GL/FJ/Fireblade on a sunny day enjoying a ride on a country road. You round a corner and spot water/dirt/gravel across the road. You can:
- ride all day at 30km/hr just in case you encounter it.
- plow into it and hope for the best,
- or you can slide off the side of the bike getting it more vertical giving a better chance to cope with the hazard.
 
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