When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
If I listened to the weather reports all the time I would have miss alot of good rides. I check the radar and make my own forecast, usually can alter my route to avoid a storm or at least just hit the edge of it. Gotta love smartphones!! Getting wet burns the memory in your brain and all were not miserable rides either. My idea is "a wet ride is better than no ride".
The 1st 100 miles of last weekends trip was in the rain. Day 2 I got caught in a microburst for 10-15 miles. The scariest riding of my life, but I was in the middle of nowhere, so I had to press on. My biggest fear was getting rear ended because visibility was so bad. Got into town (there were 6 of us), found shelter and sure enough, the sun comes out. We all looked at eat other like WTF was THAT!? The ride home, the 1st 10 miles in rain. Riding in the rain is no fun, but sometimes you just gotta do it to get to the fun.
So. FL in the summer, you expect rain daily. Keep raingear at my desk and on the bike. Pulled over many a time to suit before I got into the heavy soup. Most the time it feels good. just gotta slow down and keep lots of distance from cagers.
I mostly ride in the Western US. I have rode in all areas of the US over the years. Not a lot of rain in the West but the mountains can give you every kind of weather from sunshine to freezing rain, hail, and snow on any day. I never go anywhere without a leather jacket for warmth and protection. I used to carry a rain suit and they do work but they are hot and bulky and now I go without. I don't consider myself to be hardcore but I don't care if I get wet. Like others have said you also dry off in a few miles. My lady is also a trooper. Sometimes when its coming down in buckets and the water is choking the engine people will give you the WTF look. I don't really care. Bottom line is I'm alive, I got my face in the wind, and I am tooling down the road on my bike. Nothing beats it rain or shine, bring it on.
in 2000 the old lady and i went to the daytona 500 and rented a heritage for the day. weather was coming so we went from orlando to sarasota. had to get back to the hotel that night so we left sarasota in the middle of the worst rain and thunderstorm that they get there. no let up. my wife said if she didnt have confidence in me before she does now. just put on the gear and stayed in the right lane and slowed it down. bye the way,the next 7 days we were there it was mid 70's to mid 80's and sunny.figures.i had to rent it ahead of time so i couldnt change it. those are the ones you remember for a lifetime.
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.