Riding in wet

While you're moving water on the visor is not really an issue.

fogging is another matter entirely, esp with full face helmets, its not so bad with DS/enduro helmets.

Keep you visor open a crack while stopped to prevent fogging.

Hi Gabriel

I use 2 methods ....1st is a Spray for the fog from TRACMAC....works v well. I also use it to debug the visor after a long ride on a sunny day.

 2nd the BMW gloves have an amazing windscreen wiper on the finger, I find this works very well 2

Kind Regards

Wayne

It is a lot more tricky to commute in the wet:

1. Cars see you less because their mirrors and side-windows are wet and fogged up,
2. There are more cars on the road and they are more impatient,
3. The road markings and manhole covers are slippery, and
4. Any diesel or oil spills become ice-rinks.

However, with skill and experience you can still be relatively safe.  More than once I have thanked my off-road training when doing a turn and hitting diesel - having the back slide out becomes an excuse for whooping and doing a power slide.

Expensive helmets have special coatings and double-layers to prevent misting.  You can also buy an insert that sticks to the inside of the visor to give you an anti-mist second layer (some of our members do this for winter).  I know my new UVEX visor has special coatings that need special care.

However, if your helmet is not in that range, or your visor is past its warranty period, try the anti-fog from Tracmac, or even just use Mr.Min.  The waxy finish from Mr.Min causes drops to slip off the front, and reduces misting up.  And when you are stopped or riding slowly and the visor starts misting, just crack it open a bit (or stop breathing - but I have found cracking it open works better :) ).

Very long post! Avoid if busy. I feel quite strongly that bikers need to be alert in the rain, aware of what might happen and of other bikers on the road.

[ 1 ] Wear a seriously bright rain suit (yellow works best) - those fron TracMac are bright but don't hold out south-easter style wind blown rain (the stuff that goes up as well as down and swirls around. Nothing worse than water in odd places while trying to concentrate.). Wear a bright reflective vest. Carry elastic garters to put over rainsuit bottoms to prevent rain going up where it shouldn't.

[ 2 ] Some helmets don't allow you to open it just a crack - my Shark did, my current Lazer doesn't. It's smallest is around 2cm. It certainly is refreshing getting water sprayed onto your face, but doesn't help visibility much, especially with glasses. In one circumstance I found it easier to ride without my glasses! I find controlled breathing in / out slowly helps. I haven't found an alternative though.

The following unrelated to fogging, but when added to fogging, the alternative can make for an adrenalin induced nausea after the ride..

[ A ] ride with your hazards on (big bikes) or just one indicator on - vary it occasionally to be seen. I know it really confuses the cars -- somehow the blinking orange helps.. Being seen is a great advantage.

[ B ] Stay away from behind the wheels - rather ride behind the center of the car. Put your brights one once then switch them off -- (1) you can't see from the reflection off the rain (2) the driver gets annoyed and brakes repeatedly to get you to go away

[ C ] Avoid big trucks and taxis - it's so wet/misty etc around them that you and they cannot see. Taxis stop, and big trucks change lanes.In really heavy rain you don't notice this until they're quite close to your side (the sky goes darker and the swirling gets worse).

[ D ] Make any passing quick. Better still avoid it. It may take longer, but at least you get to the braai on Sunday.

[ E ] Lane splitting is not too good an idea - not so much for the rain, but for the fact that you're riding a lot of the time on the white lines, and if you don't already know, it makes for zero stopping ( the braking is perfect, the stopping non-existent) in the rain.Anticipate traffic lights, brake earlier.

Also the cat's eyes are disconcerting to bump on when you're straining to just see.

[ F ] take corners slowly - remember the car next to / in front is probably also experiencing slide out (over and above fogging and changing the CD), especially if an inexperienced driver. One good thing I've discovered is that my tyres really do hold better than I expect [except on paint].

[ G ] The BMW leather gloves are brilliant - the "windscreen wiper" (altho only good for the outside) is a marvel plus the chill factor is almost zero. Cold hands make for bad reflexes. Queenstown / Molteno semi-frozen ice sticks to your visor (they call it slush puppie) - the BMW gloves just wipe it off, anything else smears it around.

[ H ] Be really careful on one lane country roads - it is easy to just ride off the edge of the road. Rather ride in the middle or toward the center line. I haven't yet found a consistency in where potholes develop, but I'm convinced its more next to the edge of the road. [I lived in Wellington a while and worked in Mowbray - it was a daily commute of 87km one way]

[ I ] Assume drivers have no idea what they are doing and what they are going to do. Most drive too close to the car in front, and somehow believe it is ok to suddenly veer out when they get a fright. This more often happens into the yellow line, so at all costs avoid riding in the yellow line. It makes for a safer ride.

[ J ] Remember that your boots may not hold as well as when they are dry. Many's the time I've put out a steadying boot only to discover it adds another dimension when it too slides out. Boots do not like paint (while or yellow) - avoid stopping on arrows and on the white lines at traffic lights.

[ K ] I swear by Mr Min. Both inside and out. Smells nice too.

[ L ] Check your mirrors and move over if another bike on your tail. Let him face the consequences rather than you getting unsettled.

1. Do offroad training and riding - it makes riding on white lines quite alright in the wet
2. Avoid being near trucks and taxis even in broad daylight in good weather - they hide you from other vehicles and limit your ability to see far enough ahead.
3. Ride close to the centerline of the road - that way you have more space and time to evade hazards entering the road from the left, and drivers in both directions can see you better, and you can see further ahead.

There are anti- fog inserts....pinlock is the Shoei's one, and stick on for other makes, a type of double glazing....VERY effective! Usually available in clear, smoke,  photo-chromic etc.

Some as in the Uvex and BMW and a few others have a coating on the inside....very effective but can become 'saturated' after a long day, and 'dies' after a while. I also heard a lot of good about the Tracmac anti-fog but were out of stock the winter I needed....was arriving for summer!

As to riding with hazards going....a No- No, not legal, and the traffic police WILL pull you over !!!

Give youself sufficient stopping distance, and ride more in the centre of the road as water fills the road from the gutter in to the centre when the drains are blocked.

It always takes longer to fix the bike than to ride slowly and carefully to one's destination.

I think everyone has said it all already, especially Dogbox's post.

You must anticipate, and not only in the rain. If you go out there with the mindset that all cage drivers are idiots and are going to slam on the brakes at the last second, change lanes willy nilly wirhout indicating etc, you'll be ok. YOu've got to think for person in front of you, anticipate what he/she/it is going to do. 

Double up in the wet... Double your following distance, your braking distance, your visibility to others. Orange headlight covers and a dayglow vest work for me in the wet. Folks have commented to me that could see me miles away, even in the wet.

oh.. and for goodness sake...SLOW down! (unless you're a granny like me and ride slowly anyway)

There is a fantastic product called Fog City - I got mine at Craig's but I am sure other dealers will have them. It is a thin flexible perspex that fits [sticks] on the inside of your visor creating a double glazed effect, I have used them for years and swear by the product. My latest helmet [a Nolan] has its own version  of this in the form of a piece of perspex that clips in. Both systems work. I have ridden in horrendous conditions for 100's of kms without a problem. I  rode from PE to Cape Town after the last Buff there, it bucketed down ALL the way. Also a couple of trips from the Ulysses Nat Rally in Colesberg were ridden in heavy rain from Colesberg to Laingsburg.

Thanks to all for the input. I seem to remember that my Shoei came with an insert, but the salesman told me it's only needed in countries where it snows. Might be from the same stable as the  guy that told me it's ok to buy a KTM when I remarked that their bikes don't have heated grips: " You don't need it in South Africa. It doesn't get that cold here". (crucify me but I think it's a great bike-I just like heated grips.Moving on -different topic). Anyway, I'll certainly go and have a look at the BM gloves. Coming down Gannaga pass in the horizontal rain did not allow much for opening the visor but after wiping the visor once or twice with my gloves, I had to. Almost drowned. Bought green day-glow rainsuit from Tracmac in the mean time.