Motorcycle people, do you ride in the rain?

[jagec]

Originally posted by: DVad3r

Originally posted by: Pariah
A former co-worker of mine was riding his bike home on the highway in a heavy rain when he hit some standing water he didn't see and lost control of the bike. He fell off the bike and skidded down the highway a bit, and would have been fine except that he slid into a support pole for one of those overhead highway signs. He crushed his hip, broke numerous bones including a few ribs which collapsed one of his lungs and had him on life support. Over a year after the accident, and he still requires crutches just to stand up.

It's probably not a bid deal to ride a bike in the rain at slow speeds on local roads. If you're taking a long trip at highway speeds, for your own safety, you should avoid the bike.

Wow that really sucks, pockets of water like that are bad enough for cars, could only imagine a bike.

This is probably a long shot but has anyone riddin over mini mount everast with their bikes on the QEW in Toronto near park lawn? For those that aren't native, it's basically a crazy bump on the highway which is famous to all, where everyone does 100 + going over. In a car it's bad, you get tossed. I've ridden over it in an 18 wheeler truck and I almost hit the ceiling. I have a feeling going over it with a bike almost means certain doom.

While hydroplaning is certainly much worse on a bike, due to the tire shape they are less likely to hydroplane in the first place. Still not something you want to play around with, but it's nice to have the safety margin.

As for bumps, bikes are actually better at soaking up bumps than cars (think "motocross"...there is no comparable event with cars as even rally cars can't jump that well). At speed the gyroscopic effect will make it pretty easy to stay upright even if you weren't expecting it. But you'd probably have to change your pants.

 

[DivideBYZero]

...and then you'll be killed.