Not that I wish this on anyone, but some day I'm going to be in the situation. What are some of the things to watch out for (e.g. lean angle, entry speed, throttle control). I understand seat time is the key, just looking for pointers. -bmb
It's a personal decision. I've never bought rain tires. I've started races on wet/damp tracks knowing there would be a dry line before the end, but I've never raced in the rain. I just park it. Too much to lose.
I hear you. I was thinking the same thing, however, if everyone else does the same thing, the track is wide open, and valuable experience and points might be gained. Hey, are you going down to VIR this coming weekend? First time down there for myself looking to learn the track on Friday's trackday.
Yeah, I'll be there this weekend. There are points opportunities with wet/dry races too, as riders have to make a gamble. The first time I tried that at Loudon, I was last (20-something) at the end of the first lap of a GTO race (30 minutes) crawling around on dry tires. 5 minutes from the end, I was in second place after early leaders had burned their rain tires. The idea was that if it appeared not to get any better, I'd park it. If the rain is still falling when the green flag drops, I know if won't get better and I don't start.
insurance policy check list includes RAIN TIRES i've done it on DOT's (tip toe) but dudes racing on rains is like the car hitting that puddle and splashing the pedestrian standing on the corner with an umbrella....
... on a TZ250 Buy rains. Race DOTs no longer come with tread on the sides, which makes them the same as slicks if you're leaned over. - Roach
Very little trail breaking, you can break alomst as hard in a straight line as you do in the dry with rains on. Again in a straight line. Do alot of short shifting. Oh yeah and watch hitting the paint stripes at Daytona on the banking when its wet, its a pretty cool/funny feeling! Take care, Nate #60
I usually hang off more and stand the bike up in the turns. Everything should be really smooth. I don't use the clutch to upshift in the dry but I do use it when in the rain. I also slip the clutch a little when up shifting under heavy throttle. Also, look for puddles on the straits to cool off your tires if the rain stops during the race. Otherwise, you can burn up a set of rains in no time. At Roebling, the race line is only about 2 feet wide in the rain as you should avoid pavement sealer at all costs. It's might as well be ice, kinda like the paint stripes at Daytona.
Would the lesser dots be more suited to the rain (BT010's) because they have channels to the edge or would they be too hard of a compound? I wouldn't think the compound mattered as much if you had the choice between sticky tire against H2O and non-sticky tire against asphault.
extra underwear and pepto-bismol! I used DOTS at Summit before the repave, I survived but I have rain slick for my 125, no fears!
Racing in the rain can be a lot of fun, but for that you should really get rain tires. I think of rain racing as racing in slow motion -- you have to be smooth and deliberate, and plan your moves well in advance so that you don't have any surprises. Move your brake markers back so that you can take more time applying the brakes slowly. Throttle roll-on is the same way. Less lean angle and short-shifting help, along with giving your tires time to warm up properly. And don't forgot a cheapo rain jacket to help keep some of the wind and moisture out (especially this time of year). There are 3 schools of thought on rain racing: don't race, race slow, and the most risky, go balls out becuase everyone else will be slow. The last one can have a great pay-off, and I've seen it work, especially on the first lap. But I've also seen a lot of bikes in the mud because someone pushed too hard. If you've never raced in the wet, try it at least once for the experience. I enjoyed myself, but then maybe that was because I didn't end up in the mud.
