I can't believe it. I have always favoured fair weather biking, but having acquired a second bike as a 'winter hack' I went out on Saturday for a little jaunt.

I managed................2 miles before I came home shaking like a leaf. I was petrified of the camber, bitumen sealing joints, corners, roundabouts, manhole covers etc.

I ended up just sitting bolt upright on the bike and just could not relax. I just kept drifting over towards the kerb and dare not put any lean on the bike for sheer fear of losing grip and getting low-sided.

Pathetic I know, but a true and frank admission never the less. I am supposed to be riding to Le Mans in May to watch the Moto GP so decided I needed to brush up on my bad weather skills in case I encounter any bad weather on the Le Mans trip.

Right now I don't know what to do - All I do know is that I need help to overcome this.

TONY

I know exactly how you feel. I have the same fear in wet weather, I turn into a complete nervous wreck and tense up far too much.

Not sure what advise to give really apart from keep getting out there until you build the confidence. You obviously don't want to test the limits but I should imagine over a period of time the fear that is in your head will subside and the tension (which is the biggest obstacle in my eyes) will fade away, allowing you to ride more fluidly.

Not sure that's of any help, just my thoughts on it.

Cheers
Daz

are your tyre's worn, if they are treat your bike to a new set of rubber, this can build your confidence up, and make a difference in the bad wheather,

I had a bandit 600 once and the standard tyres on that were just scary, it felt very uncertain in the wet and slid over everything, lines in the road etc
I changed them to a better tyre and it made a big difference to the bike and my confidence ;)
Taffy

If you can go for a ride out with some one with more experience to "lead" for a few miles.
You have stay away from manhole covers whitelines and overbanding but once you have heat in the tyres you'll be supprised how much you can get it over.
Get out there in the wet and get some miles under your belt.
Me and a few lads are going to Poland in the summer, realyl looking foeward to it, Le Mans sounds good.
Hope this helps
Martin

Wet weather's not such a problem really. I used to ride the same speed in the wet, as i did in the dry, except on the bends, but even then, you can get the bike over a surprising amount. The key is to be smooth, smooth acceleration, smooth braking. Use the road, don't stick to one line. Get out there, and after a few trips you'll wonder what you were worried about.
Icy, salty roads are another story.......

Wet weather's not such a problem really. I used to ride the same speed in the wet, as i did in the dry, except on the bends, but even then, you can get the bike over a surprising amount. The key is to be smooth, smooth acceleration, smooth braking. Use the road, don't stick to one line. Get out there, and after a few trips you'll wonder what you were worried about.
Icy, salty roads are another story.......
Spot on - I don't think the wet is the problem - more likely the "grease paste" made by crushed salt etc. on cold and damp roads. Still, good practise for being ultra smooth if you don't mind the palpitations :eek2:

Tony,

I agree with the Greenmachine & SBKRider, the wet isn't too bad, just be smooth on the thtrottle and on the brakes, you will be surprised at how much grip there is available. The roads at the moment are horrible, we need a bloody good down pour to get rid of the salt and greasy film that's on the roads.

My daily commute in and out of Lonodn is 70 mile return which I do everyday on a CBR1000RR regardless of weather.

Also, with respect, your winter hack may not have the best of tyres on it. You will be surprised with the difference a new set of tyres can make.

If any of your mates are confident wet riders get out them and follow them, you will be surprised at what you can learn.

Be safe and get yourself out inthe wet ;)

Andy

Cheers lads :D

I know its mind over matter which does not apply when young and foolish, but when you are mid-thirties with a wife and family you seem to be over cautious which doesn't help.

Tyres on bike have plenty of tread I am just going to check what type of Pirelli's they actually are.

TONY

Front is a Pirelli RM-69e

Rear is a Pirelli RM-68e

Any ideas / comments?

Hi Tony,

It's a vicious circle. You're uncomfortable so you tense up so you aren't riding smoothly. Your clenched muscles mean you tire really fast and just for good measure every slight movement is amplified by your tension and then amplified again by your imagination. So you tense up more and...

That's the theory and you already know that it's what's happening.

So you need to relax and be smooth. Not leaning over very much? that's OK - take your time and ease back into it. Once you've ridden for a few miles and everything has been alright you'll start to relax a bit. Perhaps. Then it will become self sustaining the other way - relaxed, smooth riding means that the wet feels OK so you relax more and get even smoother so it feels better still...

The key is to take your own time. I'd advise against going out with mates because peer pressure, whether intentional or not, is one thing you don't need. You know how to ride and wet or dry the principle remains the same.

SB

Thanks Mr Bradley ;)

I never did peer pressure as a kid and have certainly never done it on the bike. On our last lads ride out my coffee was cold by the time I caught up with them at the cafe LOL :D

I will wait for the roads to become less greasy and for the air temp. to increase then I suppose its a case of practice makes a more enjoyable ride.

TONY

Just take your time !

In a straight line use this to relax, running over overbanding/drains etc shouldn't make any difference in a straight line - always remember the bike wants to stay upright and will only fall over if you do something to it.
The great thing about most motorcycling is that you can practice and practice and you will get better - the others are right, when you are confident there can be so much grip in the wet (not necessarily damp roads - I find really wet stuff easier than damp patches) and you will be amazed at how fast you can still travel. Don't be too afraid, you can still turn the bike hard, accelerate hard, if you are too gentle you will drift around and let cambers pull you all over the place.
I used to only ride in the dry and hated the wet but now doing 25k miles/year on a bike and the wet doesn't make a lot of difference.

Better to arrive late than dead. The only person on the planet who can't find anybody quicker than himself is Rossi.

Just what everyone else has said, take it easy, be smooth and try not to tense up, I was the same after i had a bloody sore high side in the damp and it took a while to recover confidenece but get out there and practice on your own and it will come back.
happy scratchin

Front is a Pirelli RM-69e

Rear is a Pirelli RM-68e

Any ideas / comments?get a set of bridgestone 010 I lost it with a set of pirrelli dragons, they take forever to warm up and i never felt as if i was getting any feed back from them, put the bridgestones on and it was like a different bike, but its a personal preference with tyres

Tony - I have exactly the same concerns - mid thirties, family etc - makes you more cautious and you cannot consider the worst case of actually falling off. Mr Bradley is spot on as usual I reckon. I try and relax and forget I'm not leaning the bike over, but I really really want to be better !!

I will be trying to ride more smoothly and improve, but to be honest I doubt I will be riding the bike an awful lot until it's warmer !

Have a couple of drinks before hand to relax you.. joking!!

check the tyre pressures, and try going out on the odd dry day to get your confidence increased..

I also recommend the Bridgestone BT010's (not that I would change perfectly good tyres) which is what I run on my Blade that I do 60miles a day on B road on.. it is currently friggin' cold :) :D

I know exactly how you feel, luckily for me when I did my DAS training 14 months ago the weather was complete crap and the instructor insisted 'I got up to speed' on all roads including 70mph on a by-pass with some sweeping bends.

Occasionally running on the overbanding that run for the lenghth of the by-pass it felt as if the back end was sliding all over the place, however the bike was happy, it was easily maintaining the line etc. After a while I started to relax and and just got on with it.

In reality the back end was hardly losing grip, it just felt 100 times worse in the seat. Just keep smooth inputs and smooth lines and I'm sure you'll be fine. Don't fixate on drains and other slippery obstacles, just look in the direction you want to go and the bike will follow.

Richard makes a good point about looking where you want to go.. you will naturally go towards something if you look at it.. this also applies if someone pulls out in front of you etc.. look at the gap not the obsticle.

Other alternative I just thought of is find your local IAM group and go along for a chat when they next have a meet, they will often so an observed ride for free and follow you and give help and assistance.. plus the chat with them will help with useful pointers.. your road position helps a lot, when going left movbe to the middle of the road (not too far over) and when going right move to the lefthand side of the road (not close enought in to get in the crap) the racing line is not the ideal route through a bend on the road in the wet.. try and run to the same distance from the edge of the road through the bend.

oh and sit in the middle of your side of the road when on straights to aid visibility, both of you and of your approaching road etc..

I Think Mr Bradley ought to run a general riding 'clinic' to get everyones cobwebs blown away.

I took my GSXR out recently, it WAS NOT fun I'll tell you, not 'wet' as such, but greasy and damp.... very slippy with 150+bhp at the wheel. :o

Tony, if you expect to have it bucking around under you, you may find it easier to get your head around? Wet riding is a "state of mind" thing as much as anything else, if you can convince yourself that these things are likely to have you twitching, you'll accept them more readily and then you're half way there. (IYSWIM)?


Mike.