I have not had much experience riding my Ninja 250 in the rain or wet pavement. When I took MSF we rode Honda Nighthawks in the rain and I had no problems. Just wondered what to expect with the bike being so light. Any advice or comments.

 

I am not an expert, but when the front pushes, I try to bring the back end around to compensate while pulling the bars back at the same time. On a full knee drag, you can bring the front end back and play with the throttle on an exit idea.

 

just don't ride aggressively...your tires will stick once they have warmed up...give yourself more braking distance...

 

Thanks for the replies and Im not sure I will be doing any knee dragging anytime soon. LOL!!!

 

i just completed the MSF course and we learned about riding in the rain..
When it begins to rain, the oils that are on the ground (like the center of the lane) mix with water and thus makes the road slick... i rode a Kawasaki Eliminator and it rained this morning on the range, the bike did good, but the tires are easy to lock up if you have to suddenly stop.

 

Thanks, I was aware of all that, I was just curious how the 250 handles in the rain. Some say because it's so light it has problems.

 

i rode an 04 250 in the rain before and it was no problem...

 

Yeah it's something I have been putting off, but I need to get out and ride in it sometime to get the feel.

 

it's actually fun when you get use to it...

 

Sounds like a good way of riding to fall off on wet asphalt.

Just ride normally, but a bit less agressively. Use a 50/50 balance on front and rear brakes and be aware that you'll take a lot longer to stop. In the wet it's particularly important to ease the front brake as you slow and to stop on the rear brake alone below walking speed. YOu should do that anyway, but in the wet it's even easier to lock the front wheel as you stop. Then you fall off.


Soft tyres let the tread close up so that water builds under the tyre robbing it of grip, so keep pressures up. Avoid puddles - you don't know what's under the water.

Take extra care anywhere that cars stop - intersections and lights, for example. All the crud, rubber and spilled oil floats up at thes places. It's worse at the beginning of rain, especially after a dry period. After a while the crud gets washed away, but how long depends on how much crud and how heavy the rain.

Main thing is to be well protected against the rain. When you're cold and wet you make mistakes, so get decent Gortex textile riding gear and boots.

Avoid freeways if possible, and avoid riding next to heavy vehicles. The fine spray that they throw up can play havoc with bike electrics and can even bring you to an unscheduled stop. Soaking all the electrics with WD-40 is a good idea for prolonged wet weather riding.

Enjoy.

Rob