wet v dry?!

[gesch78]

Hi all,

I have read that because of the quality of tires these days it shouldn't be too different when cornering in the wet or dry. I am a little bit dubious of this as a new rider.

Any thoughts............

[lewisdale]

i wouldnt like to try it

[hciR]

I would say on an ideal piece of tarmac maybe not. but the roads are full of crap that make it a lot worse.

[Gemini]

i suppose in controlled conditions, like a track that may be true...

supposedly, silverstone is as grippy in the wet as it is in the dry,

but the road is a different kettle of fish all together, hit diesel and your on your butt, dont matter what sort of fancy tyres you have on

gem

[rene]

if you can get the temp into the tyres then they should grip well yes, not as good as in the dry because thats not possible but they will still do a good job.

Problem is you cant general get or keep the temp in the tyres on english roads in winter, there just to cold. Not to mention all the other crap on the surface.

[RedexRobB]

Go n try it mate, best way to learn

[Jamz]

I think top tyre manufacturers claim to have around 80% grip in the wet of what they have in the dry.

Thinking about it, they probably mean on full wets - not intermediates which is what road tyres are.

I'd say 70% and no chance of a knee-down in more than a light shower... unless it's followed by the rest of you...

[Brett]

I ride like a pussy in the wet, just to be on the safe side. I have no intention of finding out how good my tyres are in it. I'll stick to the dry.

[Caz]

I had a set of Avon Pro Extreme wets on my ZXR for a while - went out to test them when there was a considerable amount of standing water on the roads. Stuck like glue - did the same stretch of road several times and kept upping the speed - only problems I had were psychological (and white lines!!)

A road tyre does not have enough tread to clear standing water

[Jeppo]

Go n try it mate, best way to learn

lol yea be the zxr owners club guinea pig

You just have to look at lap times of any track wet v dry to see that dry tracks give better times. On the road i ride slower in the wet due to a couple of near misses with diesel and other toad that seems to fall out of the sky with the rain!!
Not to mention manhole covers and white lines!!!

Just take it easy as you are a new rider and get the feeling of dry and wet roads. In the wet personally I just take it a bit steadier, lean it in smoothly rather than throw it in as I love doing on my lil 400 and brake earlier.
You can lean over more than you'd expect but it just doesnt feel as planted. Same with the brakes, they still stop you sharpish, but the tyres let go more suddenly too!

[gesch78]

I am gonna go with not trying it for now if you don't mind!!

I'm getting more comfortable everyday I'm riding, but whenever it rains the doubt is still there about grip............not a bad thing I guess!

[Scott221]

Riding in the wet is all about being smooth and judging you're braking distances. I love it, adds some more adrenaline into the pot.

[tk400]

It is dangerous to assume any particular level of grip, you must develop your feel/feedback and use that as a guide. I am amazed at the amount of people on the road that appear to have no actual idea where the limit is. traction is a moving target and highly dependent on many variables, you must know what the tyres are doing. If you just keep riding until something happens...eventually it will happen and you will be on your butt/head/scrotum.........never assume just because you have been through a particular corner at a particular speed that it is a repeatable expeirience. Trackdays are great for developing feel. just dont use slicks as they give you too much confidence in comparison to road tyres. a tyre that likes sliding is the best to use when developing feel like a batleaxe or something.....cheers

[wonderpupp]

Pireli diablos were the very best in wet and dry I found same grip for both. As for white lines, you kind of get to know the back will be sliding a little to the side if you go over it. As long as your nose is pointing the right way, the rest should follow.

I also want to put in that on the 400 it's so much easier to go as fast in the wet too as it doesn't spin up like bigger bikes under the power. Not that bigger bikes need to se the power though...

[rene]

got to say the only bike i've been able to ride truely fast in the wet is the 400, forgiving handeling and the fact that you have to be doing somthing very dumb to get it spinning. The TL will spin up in 4th on soggy roads!