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Making Friends with the Rain and the Cold
 By Dave Preston
Ever noticed that motorcycle riding literature is notably short
on wet weather riding? There are shelves of books on how to go fast
and how to race. There are warehouses full of tomes on bikes -
sorted by brand, branch of the sport and style. There are
encyclopedias of designs of the past century and coffee-table size
compendiums of customs. Information on safe riding techniques is
available in pamphlet, book and video formats - and many of them.
Other floors of our fictional library contain works dealing with
safe riding gear and techniques, as well as with the results of not
applying safe riding techniques and gear (the Hurt Report - surely
the most appropriately and eponymously named scientific paper ever
created), but.. precious little on how to enjoy riding in conditions
of rain and cold.
The primary reason may be that most motorcyclists, once the weather
turns chill and damp, simply park the bike and wait for better
times. In fact, I would wager there are more printed pages devoted
to long-term motorcycle storage than to riding in "bad" weather.
This has always struck me as odd for a couple of reasons. I moved
here the day after college graduation so that I could ride all year.
True, I graduated from the University of Minnesota, so moving to an
area better suited to riding all year was almost inevitable. Over
the years, I have found riding in the rain and cold, as long as I do
not have to do so, to be a source of fun and adventure; an aspect of
the sport I would miss were I to move to a more consistently clement
clime.
As an aside, thanks to the reader who sent me an excellent response
to last month's article, asking what I meant by "heads up display."
I should have explained that better, and when I did, thanks to the
wonders of digital publishing, Publisher Mehren inserted the
explanation into the article, which is the better for it. So, if you
have something to add to what follows, fire away. It may appear in a
revised column, later in the month, as if by magic!
So whats involved in wet weather riding, and how and why is it
enjoyable? What follows is not the last word on the topic (it may, in
fact, be the first words on the topic), but it might be a start.
YOU MUST BE WARM AND DRY
Now that seems obvious, but I am not the only person who rode in the
wet and cold for years without adequate protection from the
elements, either because such gear did not exist (beginning years),
because I could not afford it (later years), or because I was too
cheap to purchase it (until recently). And yet, once you are clad in
the right clothes and are both warm and dry, 85% of the problems
associated with riding in the cold and wet melt away, allowing you
to focus on fun.
Gear manufacturers have come such a long way in recent years. There
are many brands now that feature excellent designs at reasonable
cost. Last winter I purchased a textile jacket and pants made by
Fieldsheer and immediately began commuting to work more often than
at any time since the years when I had a motorcycle and no car! The
pants have full length zips so they are easy to put on, a zip-out
liner I do not even bother to use unless it is REALLY cold, and they
are totally and completely waterproof. The jacket I actually look
forward to putting on in the same way you enjoy a brand new heavy
sweatshirt - so snuggy and warm it feels like a blanket fresh out of
the dryer. It has multiple features that took me weeks to learn and
is also completely waterproof. I have both Sidi and Alpinestar boots
(and there are other brands as well) that are completely waterproof
in an all-day downpour, and waterproof gloves are now available that
are not all that bulky. If you combine these with heated grips on
your bike, either as a factory option or aftermarket accessory, a
full face helmet, and a throat warmer tube of some sort - you are
set! You're warm and dry, and will be for hours. What's next?
YOU MUST BE ABLE TO SEE
Cold and wet weather combine with fewer hours of daylight and less
usable daylight. We can attack that on two fronts. Make sure the
headlight(s) on your motorcycle are in great shape and consider
upgrading the bulbs and/or adding additional fog or driving lights.
Even then, the most serious problem with vision will probably be
fogging of the face shield of your full face helmet. Available
solutions are many and all seem to work. There are anti-fog inserts
available for most helmets and also various products used on the
inner side of a visor. I prefer the most impecunious method, one I
learned long ago. Simple dishwashing liquid on a paper towel
massaged into the shield works a treat for a couple of months. In 42
years I have probably used at least three quarters of one bottle of
liquid dish soap in this manner.
YOU MUST BE SMOOTH
When you were taught to ride, either by an MSF or equivalent
instructor (best), a kindly relative (could be OK), or by reading
every magazine you could get your hands on for five years (what I
did, but it was all that existed then - and no, the dinosaurs were
not yet extinct) you probably were encouraged to be smooth with all
of the controls, all of the time. When I first began to study road
racers I noticed that the fastest rarely looked like it. Their lap
times were two or three seconds better every lap (an eternity in
racing) and yet they appeared to be out for a Sunday ride - relaxed
riding position, smooth transitions on and off the throttle and onto
the brakes, swift and agile lean into corners... now is your chance
to be that racer! Not in speed, but in smoothness. Practice until
shifts are butter smooth, focus on squeezing on the brakes rather
than the clenched fist of testerone-fueled terror. You still have
time before the serious wet gets here to improve in this area. Many
sport bike riders have been spoiled by a hot and dry summer into
clutchless upshifts and brutal applications of brakes - now is an
excellent time to shelve those "techniques"! (Old fogy confession -
I often do clutchless upshifts on my Triumph Speed Triple - but not
in the cold and wet).
YOU MUST BE AWARE OF THE ROAD
OK, we're suited up. We're warm and dry and will stay that way for
hours. With your shield fog-free, you're ready to get out and ride
on...wet and slippery roads. Here we find good news and bad news.
Let's deal with the bad news first.
As you have probably heard, and may have experienced, ANY painted
surface is slipperier than (insert your favorite gross slippery
substance metaphor). There is a paint available for crosswalks and
the like that is non-slip and evidently effective. It is widely used
in Europe, but not here, where the needs of motorcyclists are not
that high on the budgeting priorities of local and state street
departments - and shame on them for that.
But there is some good news! As long as you are on pavement that is
not freezing and does not have paint on it, your tires have much
more grip than most riders think they do. Almost every motorcyclist
I have ever ridden with under-uses their brakes in the rain,
positive that either the front or rear of the motorcycle is about to
slide them to oblivion. True, you cannot get away with full throttle
upshifts and stoppies in the wet (actually, with some combinations
of bike and tire you can) but ridden in a "normal" fashion you will
not have a problem. Put it this way, if you ride in the wet and cold
and do not exceed the speed limit by more than 10% and do not try to
see how far you can lean over in a corner, you will not have a
problem.
What you will have is a totally new and oddly enjoyable riding
experience that will probably surprise you. There is a serene
peacefulness to riding in the rain, as the noise of the falling
water tends to drown out a lot of the usual ambient noise, leaving
just you and the bike in your little cocoon of gear. You will feel a
sense of well-being, coupled with the added excitement of riding
your motorcycle on a day when most others will not. Or maybe it is
just me...
YOU MUST BE AWARE OF TIME and TEMPERATURE
In winter, keeping track of time of day and temperature becomes more
important. If it is truly cold - let's say below 40 degrees, you
will probably be losing the battle to stay warm, albeit slowly, even
in your good gear. You need to be aware of the shorter daylight
hours, the need for pauses to warm up more often and the very real
dangers that riding after dark can bring. Random deer at dusk is bad
enough - random black ice is a peril to be avoided. I have never
heard of ANY technique that will work with black ice, other than to
avoid riding on it.
YOU MUST BE ABLE TO ACCEPT COMPROMISE
Last year I commuted to work on my motorcycle more than in any other
year, simply because I (finally) had gear that kept me warm and dry.
Commuting to work by motorcycle saves you money over the car, mental
serenity over using public transportation and allows you to arrive
at work REALLY wide awake! But
you have to either have the right
job or discover someone who can compromise. For example, I work at a
motorcycle dealership, where "business casual" would mean we would
all have to dress up - by a lot. I don't think I would want to
commute by bike in the rain and cold if I were expected to wear a
three piece suit each day. Or if I were a woman, the equivalent...
Or maybe? Is there a place at work where you could stash a wardrobe
of outfits to change into? You will have the time for sure -
commuting by bike will save you so much time coming and going over
either a car or public transportation that you should be able to
change outfits twice and still have time for an extra latte! You
might end up adjusting your work schedule to arrive earlier or leave
later in order to maximize your riding experience - 15 minutes
either way can make a huge difference and also make your commute
more safe.
Here's a handy commuting tip. If you ride every day in the rain, have
two pairs of gloves - one at home getting dry while the other is out
braving the elements. Even the most waterproof of gloves deserve a
break!
BEST OF ALL
Almost all motorcyclists talk about wanting to ride more. Some make
New Year's Resolutions to that effect. Most of them melt away
because the real problem is not opportunity, but the rider's too-narrow definition of an acceptable weather window for riding. If
you demand dry weather and temperatures above 65 degrees and below
85 - you will miss out on a lot of good riding!
Once you equip yourself with the gear to ride in the rain and chill
and rack up some seat time, you may find you enjoy it. Then you will
be able to ride almost every day.
LOVE THAT CAR...
And yet - once you are riding virtually constantly, you'll gain an
ironic new appreciation that may surprise you. There will be days
where the weather has been foul for a week, the bike is dirty and
you are tired... and by golly, you never realized what a nice car
you own!
Ride safe, ride well, and ride often
Dave Preston is the author of Motorcycle 101, a sensible book
for the new and returning rider. |
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