I was in a Harley shop recently (the one in Walnut Creek), looking for
rain gear. I'd been looking at many different shops, and thought I'd
try looking there since their bikes are made in Milwaukee where the
weather isn't great all year round.

Inside the shop I asked the clerk if they had any Gore Tex boots. The
guy next to me (customer) asked why do you need Gore Tex? I replied by
asking, What do you use when it rains?

His reply: the car!

I think that defines one main difference between Harley riders and BMW
riders.

Do people really avoid riding in the rain? I'm back on a bike after
about 6 years off, and I remember that if you had the right gear,
riding in bad weather could be fun. Sure, you have to give an extra
cushion between you and other traffic, but especially when it's POURING
DAMN HARD it can be fun watching the people in their cars looking in
awe at the (idiot?) gung-ho biker riding in THAT weather!

On 8 Jul 2005 23:28:40 -0700, "echo7tango1" <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>I was in a Harley shop recently (the one in Walnut Creek), looking for
>rain gear. I'd been looking at many different shops, and thought I'd
>try looking there since their bikes are made in Milwaukee where the
>weather isn't great all year round.
>
>Inside the shop I asked the clerk if they had any Gore Tex boots. The
>guy next to me (customer) asked why do you need Gore Tex? I replied by
>asking, What do you use when it rains?
>
>His reply: the car!

Years ago the annual motorcycle show used to be at the Cow Palace, in
January. I'd go up there on my Beemer because you could park for free
on a bike, and parking a car was like $7. It was usually raining.

I always noticed that the bikes in the parking lot were BMWs and
Harleys. I always figured it was because BMW riders were the
hard-core riders who rode in all conditions. And Harley riders didn't
know enough to come in out of the rain. 8^)

BTW these days when I see a biker in a heavy rain, he always looks to
me like he wasn't expecting it to rain. I usually feel sorry for him.

echo7tango1 handed down these > lines in ba.motorcycles:

> I was in a Harley shop recently (the one in Walnut Creek), looking for
> rain gear. I'd been looking at many different shops, and thought I'd
> try looking there since their bikes are made in Milwaukee where the
> weather isn't great all year round.
>
> Inside the shop I asked the clerk if they had any Gore Tex boots. The
> guy next to me (customer) asked why do you need Gore Tex? I replied by
> asking, What do you use when it rains?
>
> His reply: the car!
>
> I think that defines one main difference between Harley riders and BMW
> riders.
>
> Do people really avoid riding in the rain? I'm back on a bike after
> about 6 years off, and I remember that if you had the right gear,
> riding in bad weather could be fun. Sure, you have to give an extra
> cushion between you and other traffic, but especially when it's POURING
> DAMN HARD it can be fun watching the people in their cars looking in
> awe at the (idiot?) gung-ho biker riding in THAT weather!
>

Just 2¢ more on riding in the rain .. being both a Harley and BMW rider I
ride the BMW in the rain, but not the Harley if I can avoid it .. on the
BMW with the proper gear it's not too bad, but not something I would do for
pleasure, commuting yes. On the Harley it's just plain miserable even with
gear .. as all here know or guess Harleys don't handle well in dry .. no
worse in wet, but no feeling of comfort/security in the event a quick
manuver is needed. The BMW with ABS give a pretty secure feeling .. my
previous BMW without ABS was not nearly so secure, being a tall bike with
relatively high profile tires it was suceptible to gusts (weaving) and
puddles (potential hydroplaning) .. but personally I would put rain riding
in the category of 'well I gotta get there and traffic is awful' rather
than 'Oh, lets go play in the rain' .. in the 'play' scene I can just put
on the gear, get in a cold shower and avoid the potential of some dumb
cager knocking me down.

--
Tim ...
Evo FLSTF
BMW K1200RS
(remove what you dont know to mail)

echo7tango1 wrote:

>
> Do people really avoid riding in the rain? I'm back on a bike after
> about 6 years off, and I remember that if you had the right gear,
> riding in bad weather could be fun. Sure, you have to give an extra
> cushion between you and other traffic, but especially when it's POURING
> DAMN HARD it can be fun watching the people in their cars looking in
> awe at the (idiot?) gung-ho biker riding in THAT weather!
>

I avoid it. Other than perhaps a tropical shower, I don't much care for
*walking* in the rain. I like having a closeable roof, windshield
wipers and a defogger/defroster when it's wet out.

Over the years, I've been caught in the rain, but the last time I set
out to ride in it was in the mid 1970s, when I bought a Kawasaki rain
suit expecting it to keep my business clothes dry and presentable on the
commute from Pacifica to downtown. I imagine that raingear has improved
considerably since then, but haven't seen any need to test that hypothesis.

Rich, Urban Biker

echo7tango1 wrote:
> Do people really avoid riding in the rain? I'm back on a bike after
> about 6 years off, and I remember that if you had the right gear,
> riding in bad weather could be fun. Sure, you have to give an extra
> cushion between you and other traffic, but especially when it's POURING
> DAMN HARD it can be fun watching the people in their cars looking in
> awe at the (idiot?) gung-ho biker riding in THAT weather!

I agree that it can be fun, especially on lightly traveled
roads where there is good drainage and very little debris.

After riding my BMW K75C and R100G/S for years in the rain
with the all the right gear, including a face shield with
electric defogger, I decided that the spray kicked up by
traffic made it to hard to see and be seen. Worse, in the
rain I lost most of the safety advantages of being on a
motorcycle: better acceleration, maneuverability, and
stopping distance.

Also, motorcyclists are a lot more vulnerable than cagers
to debris, hydroplaning, and potholes hidden by puddles on
our badly maintained roads in California.

So, on the 30 rainy days a year here in the San Francisco
Bay Area, I use my "steel riding suit."

Regards:

Mike Nelson

I very seldom commute on the bike when it rains. Done it before, it becomes
stressful. If there's a real necessity (my car or my SO's is in the shop
etc) I'll do it without thinking twice, and then I'll try to avoid peak
hours. Planning in advance is a key safety strategy, we've learned, so I
will not volunteer for bumper to bumper traffic in the wet with bad
visibility unless I must.

That said, on weekends, when it rains, most people stay home, and a ride on
roads with very moderate traffic is great, and to me something all of us
should do. You never knwo when the rain will surprise you, so you might as
well stay sharp for it!

....pablo

On 2005-07-09, Mike Nelson <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> So, on the 30 rainy days a year here in the San Francisco
> Bay Area, I use my "steel riding suit."

Same here. After spending 2 Winters on a ten-speed and 3 on a
motorcycle, I absolutely revel in driving my car in the rain. In
fact, if it's a good hard rain, I'll go for a drive just to experience
it. I just love kicking back, all warm and dry, with a nice hot cup
of coffee, good tunes on the box, defrosters tweaked just so, wipers
wagging a steady beat ....and all those big ol' soggy drops of H20
coming to a splattering halt just inches from my face. Hah!! Take
that Mother Nature!

(I'm easily entertained

nb

Rich, Urban Biker wrote:
> echo7tango1 wrote:
>
>>
>> Do people really avoid riding in the rain? I'm back on a bike after
>> about 6 years off, and I remember that if you had the right gear,
>> riding in bad weather could be fun. Sure, you have to give an extra
>> cushion between you and other traffic, but especially when it's POURING
>> DAMN HARD it can be fun watching the people in their cars looking in
>> awe at the (idiot?) gung-ho biker riding in THAT weather!
>>
>
> I avoid it. Other than perhaps a tropical shower, I don't much care for
> *walking* in the rain. I like having a closeable roof, windshield
> wipers and a defogger/defroster when it's wet out.
>
> Over the years, I've been caught in the rain, but the last time I set
> out to ride in it was in the mid 1970s, when I bought a Kawasaki rain
> suit expecting it to keep my business clothes dry and presentable on the
> commute from Pacifica to downtown. I imagine that raingear has improved
> considerably since then, but haven't seen any need to test that hypothesis.
>
> Rich, Urban Biker

I'm with you Rich. Used to ride in the rain when younger but the last
time I hit one of those metal construction covers, unmarked, still early
in the morning and dark and it was on a corner. Slid across bayshore
blvd underneath the bike, crashguard kept me from being hurt. Pulled
myself from underneath the bike, picked 'er up, got back on and went to
work. But now adays its just too scary for me.

pablo wrote:

>I very seldom commute on the bike when it rains. Done it before, it becomes
>stressful. If there's a real necessity (my car or my SO's is in the shop
>etc) I'll do it without thinking twice, and then I'll try to avoid peak
>hours. Planning in advance is a key safety strategy, we've learned, so I
>will not volunteer for bumper to bumper traffic in the wet with bad
>visibility unless I must.
>
>That said, on weekends, when it rains, most people stay home, and a ride on
>roads with very moderate traffic is great, and to me something all of us
>should do. You never knwo when the rain will surprise you, so you might as
>well stay sharp for it!
>
>
That is a good point. Recreational riding in wet conditions gives us
practice for when we get caught in
the rain (or we're riding down the road in perfectly sunny weather and
encounter a stretch where the
sprinklers have made the road wet around a turn or ...)

I am unneved driving my car in the rain and traffic because of the
crazies out there. It seems that people
react in two ways: slow waaaaay down, as if the coeficient of friction
has gone to zero - or speed up, as
if the water makes things run smoother (OK, maybe people don't speed up
but driving above the speed
limit in the rain is asking for trouble .. especially when so many
Californians forget how to drive in the
rain and snow. Unless it is a torrential rain, going the speed limit
shoudl be cautious enough.

Timberwoof wrote:

>In article <daq1lg$59s$(E-Mail Removed)>, JB <(E-Mail Removed)>
>wrote:
>
>
>
>>pablo wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>I very seldom commute on the bike when it rains. Done it before, it becomes
>>>stressful. If there's a real necessity (my car or my SO's is in the shop
>>>etc) I'll do it without thinking twice, and then I'll try to avoid peak
>>>hours. Planning in advance is a key safety strategy, we've learned, so I
>>>will not volunteer for bumper to bumper traffic in the wet with bad
>>>visibility unless I must.
>>>
>>>That said, on weekends, when it rains, most people stay home, and a ride on
>>>roads with very moderate traffic is great, and to me something all of us
>>>should do. You never knwo when the rain will surprise you, so you might as
>>>well stay sharp for it!
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>That is a good point. Recreational riding in wet conditions gives us
>>practice for when we get caught in
>>the rain (or we're riding down the road in perfectly sunny weather and
>>encounter a stretch where the
>>sprinklers have made the road wet around a turn or ...)
>>
>>I am unneved driving my car in the rain and traffic because of the
>>crazies out there. It seems that people
>>react in two ways: slow waaaaay down, as if the coeficient of friction
>>has gone to zero - or speed up, as
>>if the water makes things run smoother (OK, maybe people don't speed up
>>but driving above the speed
>>limit in the rain is asking for trouble .. especially when so many
>>Californians forget how to drive in the
>>rain and snow. Unless it is a torrential rain, going the speed limit
>>shoudl be cautious enough.
>>
>>
>
>Except for the first few hours of the first rain in the season.
>
>
You got me there, T-woof. The first rain is bad news for two wheels.

Plus, if the first rain is drizzily, the roads can still be slick for
the second rain-
a good heavy rain is needed to wash the crud away. In fact, sometimes after
a drizzily first rain the roads are a bit 'funny' after it dries up
(anyone else
notice that, too?)