BV - Front brakes a no, no?

Re: Riding in Rains

Rainy season in Mumbai makes it really horrible where you merely get a chance to judge the pot holes and the morons driving the four wheeler or three wheelers. So even if you are driving slowly it always doesn't help. Another thing I have learned this monsoon. The very first day of this monsoon I was in a little hurry and was traveling at around 60kmph , I was about to take a right turn. There was a car in front of me at around a distance of 60meter he was also suppose to take that same turn. I gradually came down to 40kmph , but that car instead of turning made a dead stop on the turn. I was eventually ready to take a turn but suddenly I had to brake at a distance of 20meter from the car resulting a nice slide. Didn't hurt me much, but what I have learned from that is if possible try to keep any eye on front tyre of the car in front of you and never follow a car blindly instead try to be in line with its rear tyre.

Experts correct me if I have nay wrong observation.

Re: Riding in Rains

great tips from CEAT & fellow Riders... very useful

Scared for rain touring

Hi everybody,

last time i posted my query about jharkhan tour from pune. Uptill now, i didnt get enough time for tour as i m busy. But now mya be within a week, i have to go. But weather changes suddenly and here comes the rainy season. i m going to cover 1800 kms in 2 days, from pune to jharkhand covering three or four states.
What are the precautions i have to take during rainy season?
i have CBR 150r,as there are no ABS....what u suggest?
also help me regarding riding gear( i have riding jacket with rain liner). Also i have cramster saddlebag,so do i need to cover it?

any thing if i m missing,please inform me about that.

rgds,
kundan ghanekar

Re: Scared for rain touring


Hi Kundan,

For riding in rains, this thread almost covers everything there is to be! But always stay aware of your surroundings, and be on the lookout for anything that might become an obstacle. The CBR 150 will do good in the rains, and you dont have to be worried about no ABS, just go gentle with the brakes. I recently bought a Cramster Breezer 4S jacket, it's got a rain liner and a thermal liner, does the job pretty well, and i dont have any complaints as of yet. I'm not sure about the cramster saddle bag, maybe other riders can comment on this? I use a Viaterra Claw, and it's not waterproof, but has a waterproof cover given along with it.

If you're riding in cold climate with rain, make sure that you dont get affected by the wind chill factor, and keep yourself properly warm. You could use thermal underwear if needed. As a precaution, you can also wear surgical gloves inside your riding gloves incase they're not waterproof. I've also had to wear plastic covers over my socks during heavy rains, to keep my feet dry, but dont know if many would approve of this.

Re: Scared for rain touring

Thanks jon. That surgical gloves option is very helpful. I must say that i always go gentle with breaks but my last trip,the truck is suddenly took turn and i m at 80 kmph,i just applied both breaks and bike slides. Although still in control but that much effect is decrease in rain as there are oils and petrol of trucks on road.

Re: Scared for rain touring

the surgical glove will do more bad than good. you will sweat like anything and will prefer getting wet by rain rather than stinky sweat inside.
i have used them extensively...

Re: Riding in Rains

Any tips on how to avoid fogging of the visor? I read some articles online, and found two practically doable solutions :

1) Buff the inner side of the visor with dishwasher soap. But be warned, this might remove the fancy anti-glare , anti-scratch coating if any. Also people claim that this technique will make the visor brittle and it'd shattered on impact, something you don't want to happen.
2) wear a breathing mask that will direct the air one exhales downward, away from the visor.

Is there a spray/solution available in our market to stop fogging (something that'll actually work)?
Has anyone tried the dishwasher method? Please advice..

Re: Riding in Rains

I follow a rather simple approach. Keep the visor open by a few millimeters. Visor doesn't fog up. And as speeds reduce, say slowing down to 1st gear traffic or standing still for a traffic signal. Open the visor some more to half.

Never had a problem with fogging visors with any amount of rain.

Re: Riding in Rains

Absolutely! You're not a "Monk" for no reason.

Re: Riding in Rains

The problem with that is rain drops enter and settle on the inside of the visor (even if I'm careful and close the visor before spending up, this eventually happens).

Re: Riding in Rains

Been riding to office daily in the rains.... Raincoat, gloves, covered crocs on the feet (I store my formal shoes in the office locker😁, open face helmet with the visor forming a canopy just above eye level, 100% clear goggles for unhindered vision... The goggles work perfect during the day as any water droplets accumulating on it simply stay 'invisible' due to being outside the minimum focusing distance of the eyes.... Although night driving is a pain as the droplets magnify the glare from headlights of oncoming traffic. And I have a mesh honeycomb seat on my FZ which somehow never gets wets or accumulates water. I make it a point to not exceed 45-50kmph even on empty stretches and keep the bike upright at all times. Not had any heart stopping moments yet and hopefully that continues!

Thanks for bringing that up! I forgot to mention, i also use some talcum powder applied on both hands to atleast make it a bit better. It does help with the sweating.

And the surgical glove in question, is not the tight fitting one that the doctors use, it's kind of like a loose fitting one, that doesnt cut off all air supply. It's called latex gloves if i'm not mistaken. Anyways, i get it in a medical store next to my place, so sourcing them is'nt a problem.

When traveling at 80kmph, and to avoid any collision with a vehicle in front of you, always make sure you maintain a safe distance. For example, in dry weather, an ideal distance of 50-70 meters distance with the truck would do. In rains, try maintaining a bit more, so that you do not become unsettled or panic even if the truck does a stupid maneuver, and also that you have enough space to bring your vehicle gradually to a stop rather than punching the brakes which will definitely make the bike to skid.

Re: Riding in Rains

Here are some photos of riding in rains


That is Ninja H2 during #powerTrip360




xBhp's Benelli 899 during xBhp's 12th anniversary ride


Aprilia RSV4 in pune, shot during #100Motorcycles


BMW S1000RR and the Mini Cooper Countryman, riding towards Nainital during xBhp's #DriverVsRider Episode 3 : Pocket Rockets




Indian Motorcycles during our ride to Chittorgarh last year with IMRG