Riding Motorbikes in Heavy Rain – The Thai Raining Season is Coming
The raining season is coming and we should practice for bad conditions. Riding in the wet is inevitable in the Thai raining season, but crashing isn’t. Give yourself the best chance possible to not only stay upright, but to enjoy riding in the wet as well.
Knowing the road is an important part of wet weather riding because you’ll know where puddles form, mud gathers or corners are slippery. If you know the corner ahead has a manhole in the middle, or the road under the flyover gathers water in heavy rain you can be prepared.
Having said that, a road surface can and will change on different days so reading the ever-changing surface is extremely important. You’ll need to be more observant at this time of year, constantly scanning the surface, watching other traffic, adjusting lines and adjusting speed. Don’t forget that many a car driver will hit the brakes when more than 7 rain drops land on his front window.
Don’t tense up when you see something you don’t like the looks shiny, hard braking is a sure-fire way of fetching you off. Learn to ride around problems smoothly and use more rear brake at this time of year to gently scrub off speed without testing the front tires as much.
Look after your visor. Clean your visor before every trip, inside and out. Then apply water repellent coating to the outside and de-mister to the inside.
Heavy rain wet roads take longer to dry, but rush hour traffic has a habit of drying where tires and engines have driven over it. So pick your route.
It’s not being cocky looking at weather forecasts, it’s being sensible. Choose yourself a reputable forecasting website and make it you homepage, that way you’ll always know what to expect.
When it comes to the physical aspects of wet weather road riding, think about being relaxed, you know you shouldn’t fight what the motorcycle is telling you and you’re constantly looking at your lines and how to make the most of the available space.
Swap speed for smoothness, planning and keep an eye out for oil rather than knee down opportunities and you might find you end up enjoying yourself. Getting to your destination in one piece should be your primary goal.
A final word…..Songkram is the most dangerous time of the year to ride a motorbike………..DON’T!
