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The riding in rain thread


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  • 1 month later...
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The PR4s are indeed excellent in the wet. S'what I used on my Dalton run on the FJR and the other versions weren't shabby either so if I see them at a significant discount I'll readily use them. The stock tires on my FJ are just ok in the wet. I strongly suspect that the oem version is spec'd harder than the exact same tire purchased aftermarket as it's a common practice at least on US bikes. Before long they'll get swapped out for a plain old Power front and whatever series Road rear is least expensive.
Did you make it all the way to Deadhorse? Any rain or AK hiway crews watering down the road? 
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Besides the tires I prefer for rainy riding I also highly recommend a Pinlock anti fog visor.
Absolutely, I agree.
2015 Stealth Grey FJ-09 Pilot
Base of Operations: Chesterfield, VA
Farkels? Lots, nothing flashy, but all functional...
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My plan today was to get up early, watch the recording of the MotoGP on my Humax then go for a ride. Sadly, my lazy bones stayed in bed until 11am and it was lunchtime by the time I had eaten brunch and watched the MotoGP. By which time it had started raining so I wimped out and did some long needed hoovering and spider eviction. #livingthedream
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Did you make it all the way to Deadhorse? Any rain or AK hiway crews watering down the road?
Yes and yes Aug '14. And a couple of hairy construction zones. There were some interesting moments on plain old street tires :) 
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Know what you mean. I rode up to the Arctic Circle marker for my adventure poser picture and on up to Coldfoot July, 2012 for some sleep. Did it on a 2005 DL1000 V Strom fitted with Mitchlen Anakee 2s' that were put on in Oregon. I appreciated them going across the bridge at Teslin, but not the dirt sections. They were close to hopeless coping with the watered down portions of the Dirtway, and the rained on bits. Would have been much more tolerable on TKC80s' or Heidenaus. If I ever do it again(and I loved the ride to get there) from Fairbanks on it will be on either of the aforementioned tires. Got pics over at  www.philsplace.smugmug.com  Hats off to you on an epic journey! 
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Yes and yes Aug '14. And a couple of hairy construction zones. There were some interesting moments on plain old street tires :) 
26.jpg

Know what you mean. I rode up to the Arctic Circle marker for my adventure poser picture and on up to Coldfoot July, 2012 for some sleep. Did it on a 2005 DL1000 V Strom fitted with Mitchlen Anakee 2s' that were put on in Oregon. I appreciated them going across the bridge at Teslin, but not the dirt sections. They were close to hopeless coping with the watered down portions of the Dirtway, and the rained on bits. Would have been much more tolerable on TKC80s' or Heidenaus. If I ever do it again(and I loved the ride to get there) from Fairbanks on it will be on either of the aforementioned tires. Got pics over at  www.philsplace.smugmug.com  Hats off to you on an epic journey!
Looks like my webpage got ....censored.... try philsplace(dot)smugmug(dot)com  
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With the exception of when it first starts to rain, it's not so different riding in the rain vs riding in any other condition. The loss of traction is negligible given the level of tech on the bike. Between ABS and traction control, there's not a lot to be concerned about.
 
I've owned my bike since March and I've ridden in the rain more times than I can count (including a couple typhoons, and a 10 hour bath on the expressway). At first I changed the ride mode to "B" mode, but it's not necessary. Standard mode does just fine. I've even ridden in "A" mode with no difficulty or increased perception of traction loss. To be sure, I still ride more cautiously, but not much.
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I switched to a Bridgestone T30 in the rear, going to do the same for the front soon. Couple of local guys I talked to run them on their bikes and are seeing plenty of mileage out of them ontop of solid wet traction. We will see come the first downpour of the year. Riding on the slick, but not drenched roads the past couple of days felt fine, no feeling of instability...
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With the exception of when it first starts to rain, it's not so different riding in the rain vs riding in any other condition. The loss of traction is negligible given the level of tech on the bike. Between ABS and traction control, there's not a lot to be concerned about. 
I've owned my bike since March and I've ridden in the rain more times than I can count (including a couple typhoons, and a 10 hour bath on the expressway). At first I changed the ride mode to "B" mode, but it's not necessary. Standard mode does just fine. I've even ridden in "A" mode with no difficulty or increased perception of traction loss. To be sure, I still ride more cautiously, but not much.
Much the same as my experience - we had some biblical rain in France, when knocking off some km on the Autoroute. On well drained roads with a decent surface all modern tyres tend to perform well.  
Around here, in the Cotswolds where the leaves are now falling and the underlying rock is soft sandstone we get a lot of debris on the roads in wet weather. The uncertainty of what debris is in the road is what affects confidence more than the rainwater. 
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Michelin pilot road 4's are fantastic on my FJR in the rain.
The PR3s (haven't tried the PR4 yet) were also fantastic in the rain.  As good as or better than anything else I've ever used.  And good in the dry, too, I wasn't missing edge grip relative to Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa Pros (at street speeds, never tracked 'em).  I am a big fan. 
As far as I'm concerned their only problem was a tendency to cup on the front, but it was less bad than the BT0xx series I used to run so I didn't consider it a problem.  Some of the reviewers complained about the leading edge of the horizontal rain slots tearing and reducing stopping grip, but I can't say I noticed any problem with that -- but again, no track days, although I do have a habit of fast starts and fast stops on the street.  (What good is a machine if you don't take advantage of its special powers? :-) )
 
 
2015 FJ-09 (Mary Kate)
2007 Daytona 675 (Tabitha, ret.)
1998 Vulcan 800 (Ret.)
2001 SV650S (Veronica, Ret.)
2000 Intruder 800 (Ret.)
 
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