I noticed the date on your post. I too was out that day near Longview Washington.
That wasn't just rain...it was Rain, Wind and a 20 degree temp drop in 15 minutes. It was 62 and cloudy when we left the driveway and 40 with wind and rain when we arrived in the little town of Cathlamet.
I have never been so cold in my life. We had to ride in crap all the way home. I went (mostly) waterproof but I was totally unprepared for the COLD that we encountered.
So much for 50% chance of rain.
# 490
04 Black R1150 R...
06 Black F650 GS
72 Honda CT 90
Life It just gets better and better!
The day I bought my new Metzler Z6s and had them installed I had to ride home in the rain. I dressed for it, and watched the horizion constantly as I did the 200+ mile ride home on Hwy. 299. Rain turned to mist, to drizzle, to fog, to rain, to no rain, to rain with slush in it, to hail, to rain mixed with snow. It was cold, but the electric vest did it's job well, along with the E grips, the heavy gloves, etc. Night came on and the slush started sticking to the road. I was riding uphill on a hard grade. What did a real man do??? I turned around and made my way meekly back to Willow Creek and checked into a hotel. A couple of days later a friend that was driving his minivan home (opposite way from me) that night called to tell me about the loon he saw out that night riding in the snow.
I have a can of furniture polish and kitchen paper in my desk drawer for the "bad" days where it's raining. A nicely-waxed visor means good visibility, usually....
Living in the UK you either ride in the rain or spend a lot of time looking out of the window. Okay it's not that bad but you have to except that any ride could turn wet no matter how good it is when you set out. So I have gortex everything and I get to work dryer than the people who get the bus and trains. As a minimum in the summer I have a pack a mac type of overall which is horid to wear but it's good insurance strapped to the rack. As for riding in the wet I find the bike is good. It certainly lets me ride with more confedence than some of the sports bikes I meet on the way to work. Theres nothing like a wet greasy cold bumpy road to make a R1 ride think twice about the bike they use for comutting. The key for me is to relax and accept there will be twichy moments but it's your reaction that will cause the problems. I used to ride over the corners of manhole covers just to get used to the feel of the movement. If you just nick the edge the bike will silde a couple of inches but will stop when it finds tarmac again. It removed the fear I had that any twich was going to end on the ground.
