rain!!rain!!rain!!!!!!!

[JBREWER]

i rode my bike into work to day it's about a 30 minute drive and on the way back home i got stuck in the rain on the highway it wasn't raining too hard but i did not feel safe at all truthfully that shit was a little scary i thought i was goin to freakin die! i've never drove in the rain before today.i got nice new z6 metzers also but it seemed like it did'nt help boost my confidence at all.might i add i live in indianapolis and it was during rush hour so basically it was hell.i got a trip here in two weeks too drive all the way down to florida on the kat but now the rain situation has got me leary.anyone with good advice or tips it would be greatly appreciated.

[Skeezix]

Just relax.
I've ridden many, many, many miles in the rain.
Unless you have a set of Cheng Shin tires on your
bike, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.
Unless you are one of those folks who pull in to the
right lane and put on your flashers every time it rains.
If that is the case, then there is no hope.

[katman05]

Just be smooth, no jerky sudden moves. Watch out for sewer covers, also painted lines are slippery in the rain, especially newly painted ones. Remember it may take you longer to stop so adjust your driving accordingly and look even farther ahead than you would usually do. I got stuck in a real downpour on the skyway at the rally, I also have new Z6's and they stuck like glue even going around the curves so put a little trust in your tires and just ride smoothly and you'll be fine.

[katman05]

Here's a few articles on riding in the rain

http://www.soundrider.com/archive/safety-skills/rain_riding.htm

http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/streetsurvival/wet_riding_conditions/

http://www.motorcyclegiftshop.com/rain_riding.html

http://www.sportrider.com/ride/146_9906_motorcycle_riding_rain/

[JBREWER]

thanks alot that was just the advice i needed i think it will help me a ton.

[thetable]

Really the only way to learn to do something better is to spend more time doing it. Those articles should help give you some pointers, then practice. It really sucks to get stuck out there in the rain when you aren't expecting it and you aren't prepared for it, so next time you are at home not doing anything and it is raining, take a couple laps around the neighborhood so you can get a feel for what the bike is like in the rain in a somewhat controlled environment.

[Nero]

Put your bike in the shower and practice, practice, practice!

[The CyberPoet]

Living in Monsoon Central (Florida in the summer), I have to say that the Kat in general is extremely adept at wet-weather riding, esp. with great tires (the Z6's IMHO, having tried many tires new-vs-new on the Kats).

The heavy total weight, combined with the stock tire sizes, cuts through standing water without hydroplaning better than any supersport bike I've ever been on, and the lower torque-output values tends to keep the rear tire from spinning up (losing traction due to throttle input) as long as you keep it off the lines painted/applied to the road surface. In that sense, it's a very forgiving ride in the wet.

If you do ride in the rain regularly, try to keep these other tips in mind:
1. Don't upsize your rear tire on the Kat to a 160/60; a 150/70 cuts standing water better and exerts more lbs-per-inch of pressure at the traction contact patch for more sure-footedness in the wet.
2. Tire pressures are critical -- low tire pressures make a much larger contact patch, which increases the odds of hydroplaning (because there are fewer pounds of pressure per square inch in the contact patch). Doesn't matter that it's raining - check/top-off your tire pressures regularly before you ride off for the first ride of the day!

Everything else was probably covered in those links posted above by KatMan05, such as avoiding painted lines, riding a different gear than usual, etc.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Nero]

The heavy total weight, combined with the stock tire sizes, cuts through standing water without hydroplaning better than any supersport bike I've ever been on, and the lower torque-output values tends to keep the rear tire from spinning up (losing traction due to throttle input) as long as you keep it off the lines painted/applied to the road surface. In that sense, it's a very forgiving ride in the wet.

If you do ride in the rain regularly, try to keep these other tips in mind:
1. Don't upsize your rear tire on the Kat to a 160/60; a 150/70 cuts standing water better and exerts more lbs-per-inch of pressure at the traction contact patch for more sure-footedness in the wet.

So you're saying that a 190 is too big? Hmmm...

[The CyberPoet]

So you're saying that a 190 is too big? Hmmm...

On the ZX, the stock size is a 190/50ZR17 on the rear. I wouldn't recommend going to a 200 tire on it in Florida's wet season, no matter what anyone tells you
As for throttle control in the rain on a bike with that kind of output -- well, I figure you've either already mastered that, or you're in for a rude awakening one of these days

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[GenericEric]

I looked at it this way.. The MotoGP & AMA Guys ride in the rain at insane speeds. I should be able to ride home at the speed limit with no problems. To my own surprise, the Kat ran like a charm. My buddy has a R1 and his kept stalling out and having funky electrical issues on the way home.. Can't quite figure that out. Do some bikes handle rain better than others?

[Skeezix]

Do some bikes handle rain better than others?

Absolutely.
The Katana is better than many other "Sport" type bikes because (in my opinion) it has a more manageable throttle response. "Standard" type bikes are even better (IMO) because of the more neutral riding position.

[The CyberPoet]

R1... kept stalling out and having funky electrical issues on the way home..

He needs to buy a can of spray electrical contact cleaner and a tube of dielectric grease. In a dry place, strip down the bike (all fairings off), then open each pigtail connector, clean it out with the spray electrical cleaner, and then pack it chock-full off dielectric grease and reassemble the plug. Start in one spot and move around the bike clockwise; when he's done, go around again and see if he can spot any connectors he missed (such as bulb connectors or connectors to the CDi, the switches on the control pods such as the blinker switch, etc.) -- repeat the same actions. After that, his bike should be far more reliable in the rain.

As for the Kat, the large fairings make for far better protection from water than most bikes, but the same technique as listed above should be used when you first acquire any bike (new or used); it will save you countless headaches in the future (and subsequent owners as well).

Do some bikes handle rain better than others?

Electrically speaking, the worst bikes in the rain are pre-2000 Ducati's and anything built before about 1985 in England -- both are known to be absolutely horrible in terms of electrics and water.
In terms of riding in the rain, bikes with less fairing/windshield protection for the rider suck worse, while bikes with very high torque output (esp. with low-weights) and/or crappy tires are very hard to control. A heavy, relatively low-torque bike on fairly narrow tires is probably the best combination you can ask for if you insist on riding through the rain (because the weight and narrow tires will push the tire tread through standing water better, while the lower-output will help keep you from accidentally spinning the rear wheel out of control on throttle reactions).

KNOW THIS:
Dielectric grease works effectively mostly by displacing the air space in connectors, so no water can penetrate to start rust or short circuits. It also prevents electron-exchange rust between dissimilar metals by being the di-electric bridge between dis-similar metals.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Mark3748]

Electrically speaking, the worst bikes in the rain are pre-2000 Ducati's and anything built before about 1985 in England

Same with pretty much all cars built in the UK, and any from Italy with Lucas electrics

[thetable]

Why do the English drink warm beer?

Because Lucas makes refrigerators too.