Announcement

**Sunny** · 05-25-2009, 12:25 PM

Query Approved

**almondnine** · 05-25-2009, 03:42 PM

thanks for approving the topic.

Is there anybody who cares to answer my query ?

**pranay** · 05-25-2009, 03:51 PM

Originally posted by almondnine View Post

Is riding in the rains safe for the bike ? Or is it to be avoided as far as possible ?

Also are scooters like LML a better option for rains since it avoids chains and has completely covered engines and stuff ?

It depends.
Compared to what?
Compared to riding in a completely dry day, it is not safe.
If there is a thunderstorm with trees falling around you ( I live in Bangalore, and that happens here), its not safe.

It is safer than riding in a light drizzle, where tires don't get enough traction in the half wet - half dry surface, and skids around like crazy.

But I don't think it is unsafe to a point where it should be avoided as far as possible.

If you are talking about mechanical aspects, then your bike should not be damaged if you ride in rain once in a while. I have no idea how much is it better on scooters.

**shabbarak** · 05-25-2009, 03:51 PM

Originally posted by almondnine View Post

Is riding in the rains safe for the bike ? Or is it to be avoided as far as possible ?

Also are scooters like LML a better option for rains since it avoids chains and has completely covered engines and stuff ?

i dont think rain water would do any harm to a bikes engine , yah but our bike manual does say to clean the filter after driving in rain .

My worry is not the engine part but the skidding part , i have had 3 decent accidents in my life , out of these 2 were during rains , so i am very easy on my right wrist during monsoons.

**pads** · 05-25-2009, 04:08 PM

It does not matter whether its a bike or a scooter........ but I think scooters is little dangerous in rains....... its due to braking....... but if you ride safe in little rain it doesn't matter whether its a bike or a scooter....... n technically little rain has no effect in bikes....... but never ride when its raining heavily........ even 3-4m ahead is not visible(its not due to fog)........ thats what happens in Siliguri(very near Darjeeling).......

**prashanth lobo** · 05-25-2009, 04:15 PM

Originally posted by almondnine View Post

Is riding in the rains safe for the bike ? Or is it to be avoided as far as possible ?

Also are scooters like LML a better option for rains since it avoids chains and has completely covered engines and stuff ?

Riding is safe in rain as long as the rider respects the conditions he/she is riding in... There is every possibility that the bike might skid( more so in small drizzles that in heavy rain) Small things like breaking progressively, using the engine break will help during these times.... Riding slower than usual, keepin a low beam on so that you are visible, avoiding potholes where the bottom can not be seen... All these little things should be kept in mind... Should it be avoided as far as possible depends on the rider... If caught in rain one doesn't feel confident riding the bike then they should definitely stop... The safety aspect in my opinion largely depends on the confidence, skill and the presence of mind of the rider...

And about scooters i am not really sure...

**SKSy_Biker** · 05-25-2009, 04:22 PM

In terms of bike mechanicals being exposed to rain, there is absolutely nothing to be worried about. I'd actually prefer bike to scooters in rains.

1. Better brakes and handling.
2. Higher silencer placement (in case the road is water logged)
3. Better tyres available for bikes.

Just keep in mind that there is a loss of braking and quick manouvering is not that easy. Rest is all ok. Ride with lights and indicators when necessary in the rains so that others on the road also spot you easily. Respect the power of nature, be careful and rains will be more enjoyable.

Me and a few others wait for monsoons like rain starved frogs :P its a different experience riding in rains. aah the joys

**kamal0582** · 05-26-2009, 11:07 AM

i would prefer bike to a scooter in rainy conditions. reason as stated by skys biker. however do keep in mind that there should b enough thread left on the tyres. ride at a pace that u and ur bike can handle. avoid heavy braking or lock ups. make ur presence felt on the road. and i m sure u will enjoy riding in rains as i do.

**animeher** · 05-26-2009, 01:16 PM

In rains, rely on engine braking than on usual brakes.

Also, if it is raining heavily, ride with headlights on.

Keep the helmet visor down, because we feel we have to keep the visor up as it gets wet by the raindrops. But lifting the visor up makes your face vulnerable to hard hitting raindrops. With visors closed, you can always wipe off the drops, which are anyways getting wiped of on their own due to curvy shape of the visor.

NEVER take your bike off the road. Red mitti in Konkan seems very dry to the eye in rains, but in fact it is very slippery. If you have to stop, park your bike on the side of the normal road.

For using raincheeters, make sure you pull you pants wayyyy up before sitting on the bike, because otherwise water enters from there and wets your belly and precious parts too!

Rethink about using gloves in rains. If the glove sheds color, then your hands will be all black.

That's it! Don't forget to stop in a while and take in the natural beauty. It's the ride that counts!

**almondnine** · 05-26-2009, 02:21 PM

Safety and other aspects remaining what it is, and bikes being generally unsafe at high speeds on wet roads.

I was actually concerned more with the mechanical aspects of the bike travelling through heavy or light rain for around 50 kms. For instance if one way to the office, the bike would just be parked without washing away the dirt sticking to it or cleaning air filter or anything else. Wouldn't the chain, chain drive etc be compromised by exposure to high humidity ? Since cleaning away the wet dirt etc would be possible only after returning to base.

Also scooters having engine protection covers and direct drive on rear wheel avoids the chain altogether, wouldn't they be much more better fit for rainy climates. I have ridden LML T5 extensively in heavy monsoons with zero maintenance except for the odd monthly wash. Yet they performed remarkably well year-after-year.

Can I expect the same zero maintenance performance from my bike in monsoons ?

**arvindraju** · 05-26-2009, 02:36 PM

can we build a good checklist of things to be done to maintain a bike in moosoon ?

wat to do & wat not to do this will really help all of us

**almondnine** · 05-26-2009, 04:16 PM

my main question is whether or not the direct drive on scooters better than the chain drive on bikes esp in Monsoons in terms of maintainability ?

Don't chains etc have to be cleaned after riding in rains ?

**black17BHP** · 05-26-2009, 06:35 PM

Riding scooters in Rain is simply a pain, I had a scooter for 3 years 2000-2003, had covered a lot of distance, it skids like hell

.
Talking about techs, u r supposed to clean ur chain in every 4000 kms (bajaj mech told me) and even more frequently if ur bike is exposed to rain regularly during monsoons ( u dont have a shade in ur parking area or u ride

)

Also driving in mild drizzle is more unsafe than riding in a standard drizzle(my personal opinion), but its highly unsafe to ride in heavy drizzle as u dont have proper visibility and ur brakes wont work that well, also regarding brakes, use engine braking more than ur brakes it helps during rain

**almondnine** · 05-28-2009, 02:35 PM

>> Riding scooters in Rain is simply a pain, I had a scooter for 3 years 2000-2003, had covered a lot of distance, it skids like hell

that's actually incorrect. All two-wheelers have a safe-limit on wet surfaces depending upon the wheel radius, tread patterns etc.

My LML had never skid on wet surfaces except in cases of hard-braking. In my case I rarely used front brakes on my scooter in the rains, always rear brakes.

It would have been great if Kinetic had launched one of their Italjet 250cc models. It would have been great value esp during rains.

Announcement

Biking in Rains

Biking in Rains

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment