near miss, another "first"

[flyin64]

Well, I have successfully made it through a rain storm that came up suddenly, thanks to a cool head and a straight road.

I found out how un-ceremonious my baby shuts down when you run her dry at 60mph - again - a cooler head and a friendly driver behind me running a block or two to get onto the shoulder - yeah ! reserve.

But most importantly I found out last night that turns with a front tire going flat fast is not easy. Brand new tires - the shop will make good on them but I think the bead/tube or valve let go 100%, the road conditions were great.

Thanks to my instructors in CT Ride4Ever (Paul and Floyd) for making us lock up the front brakes so we could feel it once. It still shocked me silly.

New yes but getting my street time in - slow and steady all - stay safe

Mark

 

[00BUCKSHOT]

running outa gas:re-sett your trip meter everytime you put gas in
rain storm no fun all wett with road grim allover you i allways reduce my speed to atleast 5mph under speed limit in the rain
its your call, but if it starts rain so hard i can't see i just pull over just not worth it

 

[easyglider]

Mine usually starts coughing a little before I need reserve but I reset the trip odometer when I get gas so I know when it's close anyway.Glad you survived the tire ok and I don't like the rain as dirty road spray makes hot chrome nasty to look at.

 

[Stormrider51]

Sounds like you are stacking up a lot of bad things in a hurry. I've never had a tire go flat on a bike while riding it in 40+ years of riding!

Riding in the rain? I've never had a problem doing that unless it gets so heavy I can't see. Then it's time to find an overpass or other place (restaurant?) to hang out for a little while. Otherwise just slow down but keep going. I remember a trip my wife and I took in late March a couple of years ago. We were headed out for a second honeymoon and we both wanted to go on the Harley. About 10 miles from home it started a slow steady rain. We put on rainsuits and kept going for the remaining 70 miles. The windshield kept most of the water off and the suits/helmets kept off most of the rest. About the only things that got wet were our feet. It was actually one of the more beautiful rides I've ever made with the mist and rain hanging in the valleys of the Texas Hill Country. If the tread on your tires is good the bike isn't going to go slipping out from under you.

I did run out of gas on a Royal Enfield Bullet. That thing got 70 mpg and one time I didn't write down the mileage on the odo when refueling. The reserve got me to a station. Some of my friends call me "old school" when it comes to my taste in bikes (okay, they really don't use the word "school") but I have to admit that I love the "R" feature on the odo of my '09 RK. It tells me about how many miles there are remaining in the current tank of gas. Between that and the gauge on the fake left gas cap I don't have to remember to reset the trip meter or write down the odo reading. Sometimes things really do get improved.

Take care and ride safe,
John