I ryde in the rain... often!! I don't specifically go out
seeking it, but I certainly don't avoid it or
not ryde cos it's wet. There may even be the odd occasion when I
DO ryde just cos it's wet!! :clap: And here in Aust, the country widely described as '
a land of droughts & flooding rain', just ryding in the rain to the next big city or into the next State means it's often gonna be a loooong
WET ryde! As a result, ryding 18 hours or so in the rain or doing a thousand kms or more in a day of solid rain (ie, down-pour type frog drowning duck swamping
RAIN!) is probably something that I do
at least a few times a year; with numerous shorter, less soaking stints thrown in for good measure!! So all that said, I hafta agree with the first couple of replies as well as those that recommend slowing down a tad, putting the rain hood on under your helmet, & leaving yourself more space ahead - saaay twice the normal space between you & the vehicle in front (& behind if you can too!) :thumbup:
But I'd also add a pair of rain booties to keep your boots dry (tuck their tops under the rain trouser legs so rain doesn't run down the trousers & into your booties) and
strongly recommend that you drop 1 or 2psi off your normal tire pressures, which will
markedly reduce the likelihood of hydroplaning & increase your traction & braking ability significantly in the wet too; generally without any impact on anything else; after all, you
are going a little slower due to the rain anyway, aren't you?! :lecturef_smilie:
On top of that, if you've got an RT, then fitting one of the Rivco trunk mounted extendable racks will work
WONDERS at keeping the rain off your back &/or not down your pillion passengers' neck!! The horizontal deck on top of the trunk acts as a 'whale tail spoiler' & keeps the tubulence behind the Spyder
DOWN & below the back of the Spyder. Even if you aren't carrying anything on it, the effect is still there & protects you well, but it can be improved a bit more by carrying something or even just putting a flat 'anything' on the rack deck - I use a piece of 1/8th marine ply cut to size if I don't have anything else (like the BRP half cover - btw, open the 2 back/side seams fm the lid opening to the antenna holes, re-hem, & add a strip of elastic to the tail & it still fits & works well!) strapped onto it. My regular pillion passenger loves the improvement it's made to keeping her back dry, & I gotta say I appreciate it too! :thumbup:
That's all for now, I'm going ryding - it's Sunday here & I'm meeting some others a couple of hours away for lunch & an afternoon ryde... oh yeah, it
is raining too, but the 'high wind' & 'flooding in low-lying area' warnings from BoM are for late evening, so we're good!
hyea: :2thumbs:
.......you have to pay for the best:thumbup:
