Adding to paint being slippery (yellow lines/stop lines/crosswalks), don't forget the spots where the road will have a heavier coating of oil from car drips....and that is "intersections". Wherever there is a section of road that has much higher amounts of traffic going over it...you'll have a slicker surface. Usually that's at intersections, but can also be a part of the road where a parking lot or something joins...like from a mall, or large business. Also on-ramps and off-ramps. Just think of sections of road that are extra heavy in traffic.

If you don't wear a FF helmet...you'll experience something not unlike having a shotgun BB gun doing rapid fire on your face at higher speeds...so you gotta slow down for that til you're at your comfort level.

Remaining warm enough...some of us..(myself included) don't have raingear, and usually don't worry about getting caught in the rain. But sometimes it happens. Depending on the time of year..and your region...it may be cool/cold out..and if you start getting soaked through..you may start shivering. And your arms start getting stiff as heck from being cold/wet/shivering. Not safe...not safe at all...to get...what I'll call "lock-arm". You need your arms to be able to react to ride safely. Find some shelter and pull over.

Another thing I do....same as with a car, is follow in someone elses tire tracks....the car in front of you just had their tires clear a path of water from the road surface...so if you follow their tracks...your tires are dealing with a little less water. With a note...don't follow too close...increase your distance father than usual.

 

All good advice. To sum up:
1. Slow Down
2. Easy on the braking
3. Leave a lot of distance from vehicles in front of you
4. Gentle up and down shift
5. Wear a helmet with a visor (full face helmets can fog up instantly without warning, and you have ZERO visibility
6. Be ready for semis to leave you blinded and soaked when they pass
7. Thank God when you make it home safely!

 

Agree with everyone else. Only thing I can add is to stay out of the centre of the lane. Keep to the tire tracks of the cars. The centre is were most of the oil lands when it drips off vehicles going down the rode.

 

I couldn't agree more w/this statement!

 

Learn from my accident.

I went down in the rain last summer. it was raining very slightly for hours. The road was coated in what felt like a wet slime.
I have played it over and over in my mind and finally figured out what I did wrong, and it's something nobody mentioned yet....

DOWNSHIFTING

I was VERY light and careful on the brakes, but I made a downshift a bit too soon, thinking it would help me slow down and maintain control... but as soon as I let off the clutch, my back tire locked up. That's all it took. I was on the pavement in probably less than two seconds.


anyway, nobody mentioned to ease up on the engine braking too, so I figured I would toss that in, as that's what I did wrong.

 

Besides what's listed. I find being comfortable very important, you can do everything listed here but if you're face feels like its going to fall off or you're spitting water out of your mouth you're not focusing as much as you should.

Being comfortable for a dry ride is not the same for a wet one. Some rain pants or cheap chaps will keep your legs dry and I'm assuming you're already wearing a jacket of some sort. Having a bandana on you to keep the majority of your face "protected" has saved me on multiple occassions (wet and cold).

If I know it's going to rain I'll slap on my windshield, even with a 3/4 helmet the HD QD blocks the majority of the rain from my face/chest so I can focus on my riding, distances, and where the worst part of the road is etc.

I don't ride two up often, but I'd stress to the passenger to stay still. A nervous/wiggly passenger can be interesting at speed in the dry let alone in the wet twisties.

 

i purposely ride in the rain just so i don't get "that feeling" in my head when I do get caught in the rain...just bring something with me at all times to cover my face because i've found the rain hitting my face causes my eyes to squint do to it hurting like hell...lol

 

1 full face helmet
2 rain suit/waterproof gloves and boots
with above equipment I can ride for days in any weather and often do.

I ride WITH traffic, so I'm not in anyone's way or faster so I can get out of packs of bad drivers who tend to "pack up"

Short shift up or down to make smoother shifts
Get all your braking done in a straight line before a curve or a turn, then POSITIVE or at least NEUTERAL throttle thru.
When its really cold I drop tire presure down to high 20s. Low pressure heats up rubber and you get marginally better traction.
Plan your stops and if needed drag your brakes to disapate water

the more you do it the easier it gets. after thousands of miles touring in the rain and racing in it, I actually enjoy it.
Best thing about riding in the rain is passing dozens of "bikers" under bridges or sitting down in a restaurant perfectly warm and dry next to someone looking like drowned rat his shiny new h-d chaps and boots.

 

i've riiden thousands of miles in the rain, all i can say is get the right clothing so your comfortable, good rain gear, right glasses or helmet, a good comfortable under layer and i found that farm store rubbers over my boots keep my feet dry. drive were your comfortable and like always believe that everybody else on the road is an idiot. these are the things that work for me.

 

If you want practice come over to New Jersey. I don't know when it will stop raining. On a positive note all that road salt should be washed away soon.