Riding in the Rain / Winter Riding

Hey everyone!

I live south of Seattle, WA and it's getting to be that time of year where it rains...a lot...and it gets cold.

I have been riding to work with my rain gear and I usually throw a small dry towel in my backpack to quickly dry off some parts of the bike when I get to work. I don't sit there for an hour cleaning it, but dry off the forks briefly, swingarm sides, seat, rims, etc.

(The commute is approx 20-30 minutes and I usually end up at work by 5:30AM)

My coworkers who "know everything" insist I am ruining my bike by riding it in the rain. None of them even know how to ride.

If I'm not mistaken this is a dual sport....I can't imagine that the bike will have it's life cut short over commuting year round as long as I keep up on maintenance on a regular basis. (Lubing the chain, changing the oil + filter on a regular basis, etc) Especially with some of the people on here hitting very high mileage.


Just wondering if anyone else has any input?

This bike is my main means of transportation and if there is something I don't know about I'm always open to learn new things. (Currently at 5500 Miles and running strong as an ox. )

Any input before the 36 Degree ride to work in the rain tomorrow would be great

Riding a motorcycle in the rain is fine.

Not sure why you'd feel the need to dry off the bike when you get to work though?
Swing arm sides and rims????

Is the bike sitting inside a parking garage?

Mine has sat outside in torrential downpours a few times.
People at work LOVE to tell me when it's raining outside on days that I ride in. Like they're doing me a favor or something.


You're fine. A little kookie....but fine.

I was told by a buddy who's been riding a long time that its never a bad idea to do a quick dry off after riding in the rain . Kookie? Yes. Haha

If nothing else it makes me feel better to give it a quick wipe down before throwing the tarp over it

My last bike was a 2002 SV650S that I rode in all weather conditions. I just sold it two months ago with 40k miles on it, and it still looked almost new. I rarely washed it, and never dried it off after riding in the rain. I wiped it down occasionally with Honda Polish.

The real killer is the road salt in the winter time. It is a good idea to wash that off periodically or it will start to pit the aluminum.

For really cold weather, wear layers and try to keep the wind out. I wear snowboard mittens, as my hands are the first thing to get cold. Also a balaclava or some sort of scarf to keep your neck warm.

Good to know! Really appreciate the responses. Ride wasn't too bad today + I skipped the towel

My record is 10 deg F. My commute is about 45 minutes, mixed highway and back roads. On my SV I had heated grips and I have a heated vest. My visor kept frosting over when it was that cold, and the ride was not fun. I don't think I will be riding the WRx below 35 deg unless I add some hand guards and hand warmers. But I'm getting old and more likely to jump in the car and turn on the heat...

Rain isn't a problem, I don't mind being wet. But cold rain is not much fun, because once you are wet you get colder faster. A cheap rain suit would probably be a good investment if you are planning on riding in cold rain...

Riding in the rain won't hurt the bike. That's about the closest my bike get's to a wash.

Last year I bought a one piece water proof suit with a cold weather liner. It's good without the liner from 40 degrees-70 degrees with the liner it was comfortable from 25 degrees - 50 degrees.

http://www.revzilla.com/product/tourmaster-centurion-1-piece-suit?utm_source=product&kwd=&adtype=pla&kw={keyword}&gclid=COmzyeell7MCFQHonAodTg0AkQ

It kept the water out, the heat in, and didn't break my budget. Might be something to consider.

if it's cold (not wet) just make sure you give your tires a bit to warm up before you start goosin' 'er.. learned this the other week the hard way coming out of a hardware store now my muffler looks like ass..

I wear my rain gear on the outside of something comfy and insulating. Rain gear keeps the wind out even when its not raining. Make sure to cover the bottom of your chin. Thats always the part I forget and it gets soooo cold there with the wind buffeting off my chest lol.

riding in the rain won't bother the bike at all. however road salt will.

I also commute with my bike, so it sits outside day after day in sun and rain. however in the 4 winter months I don't ride because I love her too much

now I don't know how it is there, but here they throw tons and tons of salt on the road. any bike (no matter how good its quality is) will start rusting in these conditions if you ride it daily through mush and salt. Since I want my bike to last me many years, I park it away in the garage for the winter.

Wait...did you ride that today? I was asked that least time i showed up to work on my bike. I wanted to say no... I commute on my wr too. We should do an early morning ride one of these mornings and hit some trails...
I leave Tacoma and head north around 5.

Yup! Road today. Commute from Puyallup to Fife/Downtown Tacoma.

Definitely have to ride one of these days FireJosh!

I plan to keep riding unless there is salt on the road.

Might even spring for some heated gloves/heated gear hook up this weekend.

My cold weather/ rain riding set up.





Buying heated gloves this weekend

And thanks for everyone's advice. I checked that suit out Arkmage, looks awesome! Might be next on the list after heated gear. My current set up is keeping me fairly warm but after layering in the early morning I feel like Ralph's brother in a A Christmas Story . Therefore heated gear is next!

Just rode around the city with a temp of 42 Degrees without any heated gear for about an hour.

Tried some non-heated glove liners I bought from cycle gear and a pair of snow gloves. Hands stayed VERY warm, and the snow gloves are waterproof. (And I have Cycra pro-bend hand guards)

Going to try the new combination on the ride to work tomorrow morning to see if it holds up. Might have to wait on buying the heated gear.

My kids saw that pic and asked, "is that you daddy?"

Wait you went riding by yourself...2 wr's is always better then one.

That's too funny! haha

But Yep! Would've shot you a message but originally it was supposed to be a quick ride to the gas station to fill up so I wouldn't have to tomorrow morning. Then before I knew it I lost track of time!

Not sure what area of Tacoma you live in, but watch out for deer on your commute either way. I almost had a collision yesterday in the early morning. The thing hopped out last second and after I successfully (and luckily) made a quick stop, the dumb thing continued prancing away in my lane for a quarter mile. (it was on a backroad, and the horn/revving the engine didn't even get it to move in another direction!)

We should definitely go riding sometime soon though! Two WRR's =

I love riding in the rain and mud. I also love my waterproof jacket and pants from REI, my waterproof gloves, and especially my heated electric vest...

Another option is heated hand grips for $30. I have them on all of my bikes and it's nice to turn them on in the morning or when the temp drops during a ride. I wish they would make heavy gloves with no insulation on the palms. I always have problems holding on to the bars for long periods of time. Your hand is usually wraped around the bars, so why do you need all that insulation? Handguards help to deflect the wind, so thin gloves aren't much of a problem. I also have, rain mitten covers, the work with the heated grips when it gets colder.

I have waterproof snowboarding gloves that seem to work really well.

IMHO ...

Rust is a good abrasive.

The clutch cable/housing is vulnerable to staying wet, rusting, and subsequently weakening. It becomes impossible to totally dry out the cable so try to saturate it with a moisture displacing lubricant such as WD40. I mean just flood that sucker so you are blowing out last summers dirt n dust too. Use a clamp on cable lubing tool so you know it is going where needed. Smile when you see it streaming out the bottom of the housing.

As far as on road commuting goes: contrary to some folks opinion, using WD40 on the chain will not hurt O-ring seals. Just don't use it as your lubricant. Geeze, the Yammy shop manual says to scrub and soak that same chain up to ten minutes in kerosene!

In winter, when the next day might be a dry one I clean the chain and towel dry it, then use WD40 to drive off any remaining water. Next day when the chain is dry (except for a light coat of WD), I'll go around the block a few times to warm the chain and immediately apply a nice tacky/waxy chain lube that is highly water repellant.

IMHO is the waxy chain stuff though good in rain hangs onto trail dust so well it isn't worth it in summer. I drop back to lighter less tacky lube in the summer and make sure I use it generously (ie flush away dirt) and frequently. You can buy a lot of lube for the price of a decent chain.

LOVE is a verb and your bike needs your lovin' if you want it in return.

Using Lysol on the parts that get algae or moldy (under rubber boots etc) is a bit excessive. Keep that for Valentines day.

A couple quick ones.

Cheap heated grip inserts work well.

Hand guards

A simple bandana, tied up like you're gonna rob a bank. keeps some of the chill off and stops the sting of the rain.

Tape up some or all the helmet vents.

These, http://www.farmandfleet.com/products/715029-wells-lamont-mens-gray-waterproof-breathable-work-gloves.html?utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase&gclid=CO6C1cr2sbMCFcxcMgodSAYABQ don't offer protection, but are cheap, transfer heat from the grip heaters great, and keep you dry

I'm kookie like you... ...or partially kookie anyways.

All my bikes (street and dirt) get periodic coats of a spray wax and after washing the entire bike gets the WD-40 spray-down and wipe off.

I oil the chain with real oil before prolonged exposures (W/E trips off-roading). Chain wax sucks.

As for te clutch cable... I feed the ends of the cable into a small funnel, tape the end off, bungy the top up and pour light weight oil into the funnel and let it sit until it comes out the other end. The throttle side is more protected so it's usually WD on/in, around it. If I have to clean it all out due to a spill/duct/sand, etc, it' gets the funnel treatment too.

I wouldn't worry about wiping the bike down though UNLESS there is salt on the road and then I'd rinse it off and THEN WD it all. ...within reason if being used on a daily basis.

LOVE is a four letter word. ...and I LOVE each one of mine ALOT !