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Posted by David Steuber on December 28, 2007, 11:20 pm
>>
>> > Yeah, hard to tell how fast you were going but it was probably too
>> > fast, for sure in a few places. When the roads are wet, your traction
>> > isn't as good and it takes more time to stop so you want to go a
>> > little slower to compensate. Also, you don't want to corner as hard
>> > in wet weather because the tires don't grip as well when the road is
>> > wet and you can lose traction and crash. Finally, you need to get in
>> > the habit of stopping at stop signs, even if you're fairly sure that
>> > there's no need to do that due to the lack of cross traffic. When
>> > you're riding on less-familiar roads, that will be a habit that will
>> > increase your chances of surviving to ride another day.
>>
>> OK. California stops are getting the most mentions. That's easy
>> enough to fix. I'll just make sure I actually put my foot down.
>>
>> As far as the speed goes, the video was speed up a little over twice
>> realtime. I also like the low mount for the camera because it makes
>> things look like they are going by faster. Most of the time I was
>> pretty close to the speed limits. Still I did have a few places where
>> the bike got squiggly, probably due to invisible slick spots. So I'll
>> be compensating for the existence of those.
>>
>> It was an educational ride. I did reach the edge of my capabilities a
>> few times. Obviously that's dangerous territory. I'll be keeping
>> that in mind the next time I hit rain. Just don't expect me to tackle
>> ice. I most definitely draw the line there!
>>
>> To everyone, thanks for the responses so far.
>
> A couple of things besides the stops. It is best to avoid riding in
> the middle of the lane. That's where you will find the most oil
> drippings left by cars. It's not unusual to see water actually bead
> up there. Even when it's not raining you can get an unpleasent
> surprise when the car you are following straddles something in the
> road. Watch out for paint. It can be as slippery as ice when wet.
> Those wide stop lines at traffic lights and stop signs can be
> trecherous, particularly if you are still on the brakes doing a
> rolling stop on them. Try to avoid crossing the center line. When
> you do your tire spends more time on it than when you cross a stripe
> across the road. If you are leaned over in a curve it can get nasty.
Yeah, I learned about paint and tar snakes a long time ago. Slippery
as ice is a bit of an understatent! Even the double yellow get quite
slick. That's a shame because at night it is safe to use more road
because you can see on coming headlights of other vehicles. The
middle of the road has never been a problem in the dry (I don't follow
too closely when I can't see over or around a vehicle). Although once
in a car I nearly did get burned when a truck straddled a pallet in
the road.
I think I was actually in the middle of the lane in the portion of the
video I slowed down to show my front wheel losing traction. I'll
watch out for that in the future and stick to either the left or right
third. I guess that's something the MSF taught me that I didn't catch
onto without actually experiencing it for myself.
> How were your brakes? If they get really wet they can stop working
> till the wheel goes around a few times to clean them off. Then with
> you squeezing hard trying to get them to work, they will dry off and
> grab more than you expect. Doesn't hurt to give them a light touch
> every now and then to be sure they are working ok.
The brakes were great! I didn't notice any degradation in braking at
all. In fact, this ride was the first time I took my front wheel to
impending lockup (even though the video stopped before then). It sent
a vibration up through the forks to the bar that I can only describe
as a chatter. I hope that the warning is similar on dry roads because
I apply progressive pressure like I learned to in pre-ABS cars and
then let off when I feel the lock starting. And then I start applying
pressure again. IOW, a pumping action or brake modulation.
I kinda wish my bike had ABS available because I would have taken it
even though Honda includes the linked brake system with it. In spite
of lots of practice, I am still inclined to lock the rear wheel in a
panic type stop. I do give the rear brake a light touch. But I'm
certain that I am not obtaining minimum braking distance on my bike.
The VFR800A was available when I bought my CB600F. Considering how
things transpired (pretty much as many in this group predicted), I
would have probably been out of a lot more money.
Thanks for the additional input. It is appreciated.
--
Ethics are so annoying
I avoid them on principle
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