Riding Your Motorcycle In The Rain? It's not as bad as you might think.

Ride in the rain ? Are you crazy ? Well maybe a little.

All kidding aside riding in the rain and in wet weather is not as bad as it looks. I thought that I might fall over the first time a turned a corner. But that was not the case, thankfully. It turned out to be a lesson in being smooth with the throttle ( gas ) and handlebar inputs.

I actually had a "hands on" learning experience in that regard. Let me explain.

I went out riding and out of nowhere came this monsoon type of down pour, ( I never trusted the weather report after that! ). So after an hour I thought; " OK, this rain is not going to stop anytime soon".

So I decided to "try" and ride back home. I was about 30 minutes away from there, with rivers flowing across the roads ( OK it wasn't that bad ). I just tried to be calm and remember what I was taught in the MSF basic riders course about being smooth with my throttle,brakes & shifts.

Well needless to say, nothing could have prepared me for that first rain ride. They, of course, do not offer a "rain riding" course with the MSF ( motorcycle safety foundation) . If they did I would have taken that right away!

I know the thought of riding in the rain can be a terrifying idea to a new rider, you must be calm and use your head. Try starting out from a stop in 2nd gear. " Why would I do that? ", you might be thinking to yourself. The torque is less in 2nd gear, when starting from a dead stop, than the torque in 1st gear. Just concentrate on being smooth with the clutch and throttle.

As you pick up speed try to shift smoothly, do not lock your arms in a "death lock". Just be loose and calm. If you are too stiff, you will make jerky inputs on the bars and upset the bike. Make sure to give cars a bigger gap when you follow them , because its wet you need to take a longer distance to stop. DO NOT grab the brake lever like you are King Kong! You must be smooth when you apply the brakes, just like with the throttle and the handlebars you must be smooth.

After you look back at your 1st rain ride, you will think; "That was easy! There is nothing to it!"

Just remember these simple rules.

• Be smooth with you throttle
• Be smooth with your handlebar inputs
• Be smooth with your shifts
• Be smooth very smooth with your brakes ( front and rear) both can get you into big trouble!

Do not panic, be cool, use your head, and enjoy the ride. It doesn't rain everyday.

Of course it wont be nothing at all like this poor guy in this picture below.

Aloha