Honda CX500 & GL500 Forum

Search Sort Posts:  Oldest to newest Newest to oldest

06-21-2010, 10:19 PM Chi-town GL Joined on 06-09-2010 Chicago IL Posts 62 Super fun in the rain.... Just got stuck in a sideways downpour for the last 2 miles home.  Luckily I had the skull bucket with so I could still see just fine.  What does everyone think, ride through the rain or wait it out under a bridge? 82 GL500I Silverwing 79 Yamaha XS400 Special "Everything worth knowing leaves bruises"    Report

06-21-2010, 10:23 PM jayhanig Joined on 08-23-2008 Topsail Beach, NC USA Posts 927 Re: Super fun in the rain.... I don't enjoy riding in the rain because of the effect it has on handling... but I don't stop.  I won't intentionally start a ride in the rain but I've finished several with it raining.  If the wind became especially gusty I might pull over until it calmed down but otherwise I just barrel on through.  Like my father used to say, I don't have to like it; I just have to do it. Jay 82 GL500 Silverwing (naked) Age 55 Dress for the slide.... not for the ride.    Report

06-22-2010, 12:30 AM Spring Brook Rider Joined on 03-21-2010 Northfield Mn. U.S.A. Posts 78 Re: Super fun in the rain.... One nice early afternoon was at a family picnic about 50 miles from the farm and noticed that a bunch of black clouds were starting to roll over. Decided it was time to try to beat the storm so skidaddled out pronto. When joinning the freeway it started to pour but had to maintain speed due to all the heavy traffic around me. Stayed in my lane maintaining my speed and simply crossed over to the left side. When crossing the oil strip in the middle without any increased throttle my back tire broke loose as if on ice. The rear end waggled wildly two or three times before reaching the other side of the lane and it straightened up. The rest of the trip home tense but safe. An important lesson was learned that I hope everyone else can benefit from. I still ride in the rain but with great now. 79 CX500D. 83 GL650I. 83 CX650C and a basket case untitled 80 CX500D. AH DU LUV DEEZ DAM TINGS YA NOE.    Report

06-22-2010, 12:32 AM Spring Brook Rider Joined on 03-21-2010 Northfield Mn. U.S.A. Posts 78 Re: Super fun in the rain.... caution. [forgot to use that word.] 79 CX500D. 83 GL650I. 83 CX650C and a basket case untitled 80 CX500D. AH DU LUV DEEZ DAM TINGS YA NOE.    Report

06-22-2010, 4:13 AM Northland Joined on 03-26-2010 N.W WISCONSIN USA Posts 237 Re: Super fun in the rain.... I used to ride in all weather decades ago. Now I avoid bad weather any time I can. I dont start a ride in rain, and only ride the dualsport bike with hybrid tires if it looks like rain is a good chance. Haveing been a former roadracer, I can tell you this.......everything you do in the rain on a roadbike should be done relatively gently and smoothly. Any abrupt transition is what typically breaks traction. The rain specialists in road raceing are the guys with ultra smooth moves and fine control adjustments. The jerk and shove method will put you in the grass in a nanosecond. At least pavement is "Lubed" for the slide for life when wet !! When the first hybrid textile suits came out, my buddy was sponsored by one of them. When Gary crashed his TZ 250 at about 80 coming out of the sweeper during a rain race......he slid like a mile on his nylon suit till he came to a stop . Not hurt at all, but took him like 20 seconds to run BACK to where the bike came to a stop !!! He lost about a dozen places due to the slippy suit !! 82 SILVERWING INTERSTATE 98 Honda F3 87 Yamaha TZR250 85 Yamaha XT350 Down the long and winding road.........on a route less traveled.......ridden by only a few.    Report

06-22-2010, 6:53 AM Ookie Wonderslug Joined on 05-04-2008 Unionville, NC Posts 233 Re: Super fun in the rain.... I avoid the rain and won't go near it if I can tell it's coming.  Coming back from the NC mountains one time it rained hard for 200 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  No rainsuit either.  That was awful.  Won't do it again if I can get around it.  1982 CX500C "Twisted" 1981 GL500 in pieces    Report

06-22-2010, 9:33 AM Cobram Joined on 06-23-2007 Boston, MA Posts 1,547 Re: Super fun in the rain....  Ookie Wonderslug wrote: I avoid the rain and won't go near it if I can tell it's coming.  Coming back from the NC mountains one time it rained hard for 200 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  No rainsuit either.  That was awful.  Won't do it again if I can get around it.  If you can forsee the future enough to avoid rain on a bike, you should be playing the lottery instead!  Of the last 4 rides I've gone on, I've been drenched in 3.  Mostly city, so you can't hide, the worse is cold rain, which pools a bit on the b seat, and when you hit the brakes it flow into you your...you get the picture, brrrr.  The showers around here have been of the tropical variety lately, come out of nowhere like a bat out of hell, drench everything to the point where you have a 6 inch wake on each side of your tire, and disappear just as quickly.  I have to remember to carry a big ole garbage bag like the good ole days, you can slip that piece of improvised rain gear on in less than 10 seconds at a light, and it works just as well as the $300 riding slickers.  Not recommended for the fashion conscious though. 1978 CX500 - I live on a one-way street that's also a dead end. I'm not sure how I got here, or how I'm going to get out. Four wheels move the body; Two wheels move the Soul.    Report

06-22-2010, 9:53 AM mnd Joined on 05-24-2009 Manassas Park, VA Posts 92 Re: Super fun in the rain.... Stop to throw on the Frog Toggs and the rain covers for the tank bag and keep on trucking. A windscreen really helps in the rain. '78 CX500    Report

06-22-2010, 2:34 PM ramprat06 Joined on 03-22-2006 Vancouver WA USA Posts 361 Re: Super fun in the rain.... I live in the great Northwest, you know.....that places that rains all the time.  Aside from the fact we get our fair share, we really do have some great weather now and then. I am like most others, I don't LOOK for riding in the rain.  I usually am prepared for it, however.  I wouldn't really consider stopping unless there was serious thunder/lightning/hail.  Even then, those types of storms here tend to blow by fairly quick, and I recently got nailed in my first ever hail downpour.  My legs were bruised for days. One time at work, it was a gorgeous week, and I had left my suit at home.  Sure enough we got a sneaker that rolled in just as I was getting ready to get off work and go home.  It came down so hard the parking lot was invisible from ten feet, and it kept coming...no wind.  I wondered what to do, then thought.....hey!, we have Tyvek suits the painters use for our aircraft.  Surely that would be better than nothing.  So I shagged one, decided to cut the feetsies out so not to burn the stuff onto my exhaust, and off I went.  It actually worked fairly well, save for the soaking my shoes got.  I am quite sure I must have been a sight......Think Sta-Puff marshmallow man on the freeway.  The suit puffed up just like that as I rode. Joel in the Couve May the multitude of wheels in your head always control the two wheels between your legs. 1982 CX500 custom. 99% stock. 3rd owner New to me, Spring '03 ~7k miles Now, ~23k miles Age 55    Report

06-22-2010, 10:47 PM Chi-town GL Joined on 06-09-2010 Chicago IL Posts 62 Re: Super fun in the rain.... Yet another prop for CX/GL; after getting thoroughly soaked last night and sitting in the garage all day she fired right up tonight <3.  82 GL500I Silverwing 79 Yamaha XS400 Special "Everything worth knowing leaves bruises"    Report

06-23-2010, 7:41 AM kingston73 Joined on 04-19-2008 Bellingham, MA Posts 1,722 Re: Super fun in the rain.... I won't start a ride in the rain, but if I get caught I'll keep going. If it's pouring hard enough visibility sucks, that's getting a little dangerous. I was in exactly 1 extreme downpour, the sky was literally pouring buckets of water down and I could barely see through my visor. Tried riding with it up but the rain hurt like hell. That's the closest I've come to crashing also, my back tire hit a sewer cover in a slight corner and shot out to the side. Lucky for me I wasn't leaned over much and was able to recover, but wet metal is as slick as snow, scary stuff. Glad to hear the wet didn't hurt your bike! 1979 cx500D - mostly stock    Report

06-23-2010, 9:37 AM rickbert Joined on 01-05-2009 Missouri....60 mis East of KC Posts 1,384 Re: Super fun in the rain.... If I see rain coming I don't ride !! Don't wanna mess with it intentionally. 1982 CX500C...22K miles...owned since 10/08 My age: 45 Bike's name: "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" If you need to contact me personally send an email, I never get my pm's for some reason.    Report

06-23-2010, 9:09 PM mcreviver Joined on 05-06-2007 Williamsport, PA Posts 888 Re: Super fun in the rain.... Remember you are a lightning rod out there in the open. Ron in PA    Report

06-23-2010, 10:24 PM Spring Brook Rider Joined on 03-21-2010 Northfield Mn. U.S.A. Posts 78 Re: Super fun in the rain.... Do bikers actually get hit by lightning? Only a couple of times have had to ride in that stuff with little or no place to hide from it. Pretty scarry! 79 CX500D. 83 GL650I. 83 CX650C and a basket case untitled 80 CX500D. AH DU LUV DEEZ DAM TINGS YA NOE.    Report

06-24-2010, 1:11 PM jayhanig Joined on 08-23-2008 Topsail Beach, NC USA Posts 927 Re: Super fun in the rain.... I've never heard of one, though it probably has happened somewhere.  Frankly, I'm much more concerned with losing traction than I am getting zapped. Jay 82 GL500 Silverwing (naked) Age 55 Dress for the slide.... not for the ride.    Report

06-24-2010, 3:35 PM jasonh Joined on 06-14-2010 Longmont, CO Posts 78 Re: Super fun in the rain.... Well, my first ride on my first bike was 45mi home, and it started to lightly rain towards the end.  I had to stop at work to print out some insurance cards, luckily I did because as soon as I stopped it started pouring.  By the time I finished, the rain had stopped.  The ride home wasn't bad.  Roads were a little wet but nothing terrible - mind you, this was my first day on a "real" bike in "real" conditions.  A month earlier I took the MSF course, and so was on a Nighthawk 250 in a parking lot...a little different. Then the next day I rode to work.  Was a nice day.  Pretty much as soon as I hopped on my bike after work, it started pouring.  Took it nice and slow, only went like 45 in a 55, letting cars pass. Talk about a nervous couple of first days on a bike :) 81 GL500    Report

06-25-2010, 10:30 PM karmapolice Joined on 09-02-2008 Davenport, IA Posts 19 Re: Super fun in the rain.... I haaaate riding in the rain. I just got back from a tour around lakes Superior and Huron, and it rained about 70% of the time. Besides the obvious safety hazards that come along with rain...riding is remotely enjoyable in it, with or without rain gear. I like to avoid it when I can, but sometimes you just have to ride through it. Plus on that trip in heavy rain in busy Chicago traffic, I discovered the wonderful experience of water getting to the coils. Funnn timessss 1980 Honda CX500 Custom 1973 Suzuki T500 Titan    Report

06-26-2010, 12:27 PM Blindstitch Joined on 03-14-2009 Greenfield Wisconsin Posts 9,863 Re: Super fun in the rain.... If it doesn't look like much rain I just keep going. Or if I have a short distance to go and rain gear would be a waste. But if it looks like it's going to go nuts I pull over and put on the rain gear. A good but cheap suit can cost $15. I got caught in the rain wednesday night and it looked like it might pass and did for about 10 minutes. Then it went nuts so I pulled into an abandoned hotel. As I was weighing my options the rain stopped. 10 miles more to go. It ended up turning into a light rain and I powered through it with wet pants up to my knees. Any stronger or farther and the rain gear would have been on. 1979 CX500 Supertanker ATGATT makes riding a bike like a sled easier. Quick Reference    Report

06-26-2010, 8:39 PM jwnovaman Joined on 07-27-2009 Portland Oregon Posts 104 Re: Super fun in the rain.... Another one in the north west here and I always have my rain gear with me. I don't shy away from bad weather but prefer the sun. I have been stuck in the nasty down poors here and a full fairing and a full face helmet makes seeing a bit of a challenge but I run a safe line (I think) I kept an eye out for all the other nuts out there. Hell I have been here so long I don't tan I RUST In my driveway a 1981 Gl500I, 1978 Nova    Report

06-26-2010, 10:38 PM achille Joined on 05-18-2009 Northwest coast,USA Posts 271 Re: Super fun in the rain....  Rain?     ....WHAT rain?                         Now if ya wanna talk about WIND....            < TN 1980 CX500 D - resurrected 1978 CX500 #200752* - parts    Report

06-28-2010, 2:02 PM jasonh Joined on 06-14-2010 Longmont, CO Posts 78 Re: Super fun in the rain.... Anybody notice how all the water tends to get funneled straight to your crotch?  Was kind of amusing when I realized that... 81 GL500    Report

06-29-2010, 7:19 PM jayhanig Joined on 08-23-2008 Topsail Beach, NC USA Posts 927 Re: Super fun in the rain.... Are you sure that was rain? Jay 82 GL500 Silverwing (naked) Age 55 Dress for the slide.... not for the ride.    Report

06-29-2010, 11:46 PM Cobram Joined on 06-23-2007 Boston, MA Posts 1,547 Re: Super fun in the rain....  jayhanig wrote: Are you sure that was rain? That's EXACTLY what my wife said when I stripped down to my skivvies the last time I got home after being caught in a torrential downpour.  At least we don't ride bicycles without fenders through through the muddy waters, you know what THAT looks like, a lot worse than anything you can stain yourself with on a motorcycle in the rain.  It's comforting in a small way to know the CX provides all it's riders with equal exposure to the elements through design.  The wife ironed the water out with no problems: 1978 CX500 - I live on a one-way street that's also a dead end. I'm not sure how I got here, or how I'm going to get out. Four wheels move the body; Two wheels move the Soul.    Report

Honda CX500 & G... » Other Forums » Off-Topic Posts » Re: Super fun in the rain....

(please select) Forums Home |- Search Forums |- Active Topics |- Unanswered Posts User Options |- Sign In |- Join this community |- Forgot Password CX500 GL500 Transverse Twins Discussion Forum |- General Discussion |- CX Customization and Modifications |- CX500 & CX650 Turbo Forum |- Travelling, Friends, and Trips |- Selling and Buying Forum |- Technical Help Forum Other Forums |- Off-Topic Posts |- Test Forum