Never been rained on

[dubsider]

I crack up when I read in the classifieds motorcycles for sale that the motorcycle "has never has been rained on". Invariably these bikes are a few years old and have very low mileage. Laughable. What does "never been rained on" mean? and what real value does this add to the bike? These bikes are trophies. Fashion Accessories. Dude probably took the MSF class on the putt putts and went out and purchased a bigass cruiser and never really developed real skills... and it was never been rained on... More like "crap, damn -- I was scared shitless to take it out of the carpeted garage"

I would much more interested in a bike that was driven regularly; 500 per month would be the absolute minimum to exercise the old girl... maybe even been through a couple of oil changes.

In the last week the fog has been so thick -- It was as wet as rain.. I think it is invigorating to ride in not so pristine conditions.. It keeps you alert... especially as I leave work in the evening, in the dark (gotta watch for those deer too), my radar is full on.

I like Dan-ie-yel's wet pavement rule.. I don't go looking for bad weather so if the pavement is wet as I get ready to leave in the morning, I might take the cage...maybe not.  Once I am at work, whatever happens, happens. Let me tell you - when you ride through a Doppler Red Dot - you know you are alive. And isn't that what motorcycling is about? a sense of freedom and of exhilaration.

[Willow]

I'm thankful those guys exist.  They preserve brand new bikes for the rest of us to buy at used prices.    

My bikes have all been rained on more than once.  Most more than I would have preferred.    

[Bobbo]

That was one of my "Jeff Foxworthy" style of posts years ago.  It was so long ago, It doesn't show up in a search.  I had a lot more "You may not be a real biker if...", including "You spend more money on chrome polish and wax than gasoline", Your onboard GPS is programmed with the location of every Dairy Queen within 100 miles", and "your beers per mile is greater than your miles per gallon"!   

[hubcapsc]

I reckon mine and Paul's bikes have been rendered unsaleable at this point 



-Mike

[Walküre]

Not a bashing, but most of the HD riders I know, fall into the category of "never seen rain". We have a GW rider, a VFR rider, my Valk, and probably 9 or 10 HD riders. On any given "bad weather" day, the GW and I (and often the VFR rider) are the only bikes, although we do have ONE HD rider that will ride, rain or shine, and a couple more that ride fairly often. And you can tell by their bikes - they look, well, RIDDEN! If the weather is PERFECT, and THE forecast IS PERFECT for the next 24 hours, we might see 3 or 4 of the other HD's in the work lot. Several we see once or twice a year. Some, we just hear rumors, or see pictures. Most of them DO ride, on a perfect weekend ride, with a bunch of other HD's, but they just don't seem to ride, just to ride. They ride to "be seen". And to wave at OTHER HD riders.

I guess how else can you see an ad "2006 Harley, 3500 miles, never seen rain, $10K in chrome add ons, $45,000"... I agree, that's an exaggeration, but not by much!

Personally, if it's not raining the moment I am leaving, I'll ride. I have a COMPLETE change of clothes, in my locker, skivvies, socks, shoes, you name it, in case I get caught in a squall. If it's a-sprinkling, but looks "not bad", I'm on two wheels. I don't mind getting home, soaked. I guess if I did, I'd buy a $45,000 Harley. It's called "living for the moment" - I'll deal with the ride home, on the ride home, not on the way TO work.

Again, I have NOthing against Harley motorcycles. I DO have problems with certain riders and owner, and I find most of those, seem to gravitate towards one kind of motorcycle. Again, MOST...not all.

R

[Oss]

I am now convinced that it is impossible to experience Americade without getting caught in gully washers.

If you dont like the weather in the Adirondack mountains of New York just wait a few hours and it will do something else.

If I had one of those smart phones that showed the weather channel I would not ride in red or orange but the green, normal rain without lightning is just fine with me,

Hit some thick fog on the way to the powwow friday but it was as you said just something else to let you know you are alive

I have some harley friends who can ride the heck out of their bikes, but they dont like rain

interesting observation walkure

[Varmintmist]

Not so much where I work. There was a newbie HD rider who I guilted into riding. I kept seeing a pic of his bike on the cube and asking, "Who's is that?"  and acting suprized when he told me it was his, every time. There is another HD rider that rides to work almost every day on one of his 2 bikes, and puts miles on that are substantial while not at work.
Then there is another that has a Suzuki? Never seen it in the parking lot.

Problem is I have to put mine back together now because I have been a smart azz. Not going to get away with anything.

[Ice]

I equate riding to the Indian Weather Rock phylosophy, if your wet its raining, if your warm and dry casting shadows, its sunny, if your bobbeling back and forth its windy, if you cant see your shadow, its dark or foggy, oh well, ride on. The only time I do not like to ride is in the hail, I broke my nose and two knuckles when we got caught in the hail storm from hell with no place to hide several years back.

[T-Bird]

I know what you mean. I've had a couple of people call me on bikes I have listed for sale and will ask: Has it ever been in the rain? I will always tell them: Yes it has and it was fine!
 When I buy a bike I ask has it been laid down & wheres the service records.

[hubcapsc]

When I buy a bike I ask has it been laid down & wheres the service records.

1st and 2nd stud bay in the shed... 



-Mike

[Daniel Meyer]

If it never gets rained on how does it get washed? 

[Hoghead]

When I bought my Valk after I paid for it he then told me that it had never been in the rain. Now he tells me He was probably telling the truth. It only had 6300 miles on it. 2 hrs. later I was in the rain and the next day in a downpour most of the day. I don't even check the weather when leaving the house and maybe sometimes I should. 2 weeks ago i got caught in the storms that blew through E TX and it was the worst and most exhilirating I've ever rode in. It was one of those things that 2 or 3 days later you ask yourself, why the hell did I do that? Like Daniel said, It's part of why we ride.  

[tank_post142]

i don't even own a car !! 

[Walküre]

i don't even own a car !! 

What do you do in the sno...uh.....FLORIDA! Never mind! Why bother with a car? You probably get there faster, walking, than most of the granny drivers!!



That aside, I know a Wing Trike rider, in New York, that hadn't owned a car in 15 years! Rides a LOT in the snow, if he can't get through, figures he doesn't NEED to go...

R

[fiddle mike]

If it never gets rained on how does it get washed? 

Shftr said he took his out in the highways and 'blow cleaned' it.

[fiddle mike]

...I guess how else can you see an ad "2006 Harley, 3500 miles, never seen rain, $10K in chrome add ons, $45,000"... I

You forgot " One owner". 

[Jabba]

I have ridden in some of the nastiest stuff Indiana has to offer.  I don't mind the rain too much.  I don't like rain and COLD.  and I don't like rain and DARK.  But rain and 70 in the daylight is ok.

I have ridden in the dark, and the rain at the same time.  My vision gets dangerously limited.  I don't like that.  I have done my share of stupid, and I try to avoid it now.  I still find it sometimes... but it's usually just that.  Stupid.

Jabba

[Daniel Meyer]

If it never gets rained on how does it get washed? 

Shftr said he took his out in the highways and 'blow cleaned' it.

That only works when it's built up enough to be "chunky"...and then hitting bumps also helps!

[Jess Tolbirt]

You want rain? Invite Bev and me down for a ride,, you will get all the rain you want,,,,
i can count on one hand probably the times we have been out and not got rain,,,
we do at least 500 miles every weekend,,,

[PhredValk]

I got caught in the rain 2 weekends ago coming home from the lake. at 6ºc (around 40ºf) it was cold, and I had to stop for coffee a couple of times. Heavy rain I pull off the hi way cause I can't see, but steady rain and drizzle I endure because I'm on the road and why not? Gotta get there, and I leave the car at home for a reason...
Fred.

[RTaz]

 

We in Michigan like to refer to it as "a little mist off the Lakes"

Notice on the grating on the Mackinaw bridge in the rain...do it all the time...just don't touch the brakes and your fine.

[Momz]

I fall into the opposite catagory when I'm ridining my Rat Rod Valk. The only time it gets cleaned is when it rainsw. (in competitition with a "D.Meyer")

[Spirited-6]

 I broke my nose and two knuckles when we got caught in the hail storm from hell with no place to hide several years back

DAMN, that had to hurt !!!!

[tank_post142]

just went down in the rain 10-15 mins ago! im in the rt lane someone tried an illegal left turn, the car behind them swept into my lane. braked hard but hit the wide painted stripe. off the bike fast, landed on my wallet so my butt hurts a little minor scrapes on rt elbow. i love the valks engine guards!! will need to replace the rt one but no other damage!! car that blocked me stopped and cop was right there. i was ok so i went on my way. nice of he to stop. 

[dubsider]

just went down in the rain 10-15 mins ago! im in the rt lane someone tried an illegal left turn, the car behind them swept into my lane. braked hard but hit the wide painted stripe. off the bike fast, landed on my wallet so my butt hurts a little minor scrapes on rt elbow. i love the valks engine guards!! will need to replace the rt one but no other damage!! car that blocked me stopped and cop was right there. i was ok so i went on my way. nice of he to stop. 

.. good you are ok ..

[tank_post142]

cleaned up, ordered a rt engine guard, getting ready to hit the road again

[musclehead]

I rode home from work years ago in the snow once, that was fun. that was also pre-valk. 

[Stanley Steamer]

You mean it's not normal to ride 160 miles round trip for a chili burger while it's sleeting??....but not sticking(pre-Gerbing days)......

and there was that time when I rode to Hattiesburg, MS with the Wild Bunch in around 400 miles of pouring rain and tornado warnings(Hey, there was some taco soup and Roma's dry rub ribs waiting on us).....had the electronics go out on the dash in that frog strangler, but found out just how valuable the Frogg Toggs were!!......

[Titan]

just went down in the rain 10-15 mins ago! im in the rt lane someone tried an illegal left turn, the car behind them swept into my lane. braked hard but hit the wide painted stripe. off the bike fast, landed on my wallet so my butt hurts a little minor scrapes on rt elbow. i love the valks engine guards!! will need to replace the rt one but no other damage!! car that blocked me stopped and cop was right there. i was ok so i went on my way. nice of he to stop. 

WTH? You posted a message on here at 2:07 PM today and had a wreck less than 2 1/2 hours later? Wow! And then have the time to get online and write about it?

Glad you got through that and out of it alive and well!

[Hoser]

MP and myself, 34 degrees, rain and sleet all the way from Toepicker to near Tulsa, on the way to GOTF, never even considered not going,  I imagine Willow was in the same $hit.  He was there when we got there.  Had some more of the KS  bunch too.  MP drug a trailer with a 4x4 in a blizzard to get to Kansas from North Dakota.  I think we are all nutz.  Hoser  

[Willow]

MP and myself, 34 degrees, rain and sleet all the way from Toepicker to near Tulsa, on the way to GOTF, never even considered not going,  I imagine Willow was in the same $hit.  He was there when we got there.  Had some more of the KS  bunch too.  MP drug a trailer with a 4x4 in a blizzard to get here.  I think we are all nutz.  Hoser 

Probably only a hundred miles and some for me.  We were out of it down I-35 by the Oklahoma line.

Nutz.  There's a fine line between possession and identity.    

[John Schmidt]

The day I bought the Valk I got soaked on the way home....at night no less.  Bike had less than 8k on it at the time so it got broke in right away.

A number of years ago, our second car which I used for the job broke down and I didn't have a replacement. But, I did have an old '75 Honda 550 with about 8k on the clock. Not sure of the year, just the model. I added a luggage rack in back to carry my briefcase and strapped my calculator and other stuff on the seat, got a plastic bag and a rain suit and away I went. I went all over Florida for the following year on that bike because I didn't have the money to replace or fix the car, and the wife needed the good one. I put about 20k on it in all kinds of weather over the next 14 months, doing audits for the State. In my yellow rainsuit, I looked like Big Bird rolling down the highway, only time in my career I actually made money on the mileage they paid. Nothing like being 150 miles from home on Friday night.....raining, 45 deg., and hungry. All you want to do is get dry, get warm, get fed. These days, I don't need to ride in the rain so pick and choose the weather. But if I'm traveling, different story. If I get caught in the rain I may not even stop to put on the rainsuit....especially if it's warm weather. I have too many thousands of miles behind me to let it be a deciding factor.

[Michvalk]

I've ridden in snow sleet rain thunderstorms sun hail hot cold and all. Sometimes even when it's nice out. If I'm riding the bike, whatever happens, happens. 

[dubsider]

I ride year round.. down in the 20s to the hunderts.. like now.. swimming in my own juices.  Not enough long trips though.  This is primarily the reason I got the bigger, faster, meaner....  I wanna do some touring, get lost, and ride 500 miles for some BBQ

[old2soon]

Only decideing factor of weather is when i leave. Won't leave in hard rain-hail-or a blizzard. Iffin i get caught in any of that stuff. W T H ride on. Mine valk was rained on like a week after i bought it. Me or it did NOT melt. Handles purty dang good in the less than ideal weather. When i lived up north of chicago almost to wisconsin i never put the bike up for winter. It was ready to go at a moments notice. I still DO NOT put my bike up for winter. I have managed to ride EVERY month since i bought her. No brag-just fact. RIDE SAFE.

[Lyn-Del]

You want rain? Invite Bev and me down for a ride,, you will get all the rain you want,,,,
i can count on one hand probably the times we have been out and not got rain,,,
we do at least 500 miles every weekend,,,

Surely you must feel a need to visit Galveston, TX?  We haven' been rained on to speak of since 1/31/11.

A quick visit would be welcomed if you'd bring some nice soaking rain with you.  The ground is so hard a hard rain will run off (into the cracks in the ground) and then flash flood.

we can deal with flash floods, so that's ok too

[Alzacs]

I was riding home from NJ up to NH through MA on Wednesday 1 june.  I learned that it is never a good time to take a motorcycle to a tornado.  I got 'caught' in the downpour but go off the road.  The rain was so hard it had cleaned off the fresh bird-poop from a few miles back.

I didn't set out to ride in the rain, but my bikes have seen their share. 

[tank_post142]

ok i'm a little sorer than i thought i would be. landed directly on my wallet. (it had a big stack of due bills in it) so i have a purple welt that looks like i got hit by a baseball. 

[f6rider]

What Willow said>>lol

When I first started riding again I was terrified to ride in the rain. So I made my self go for rides in the rain.
I love being on a bike and don't pay attention to the forecast..
Going to the Rune rally 08 I went 500 miles outta my way to ride thru the mountains with 10 others.
It rained for over 10 hours..
One of the most memorable rides of my life.

[Valkahuna]

In 2009 my riding buddy and I took off from CT for a planned 2,400 mile 5 day trip south. When we left it was 31 degrees, but since we were going south, it did not worry us. 

120 miles later it was raining and 34 degrees. We cut our ride short to only 1,900 miles and 4 days. Never stopped raining for all 4 days and the warmest we saw was about 43 degrees. Looking back at it now, it was one of the best trips we ever took!

Oh yea, and imagine that, we were both on Harleys. Actually, I know a bunch of guys on Harleys that will ride in anything but snow, and even that by accident when you get caught out.

Geez, maybe that's why I bought a Valk, because I am such a rugged individualist? ???

I find what you ride has nothing to do with the attitude towards riding that is shown by the guy on the bike. There are posers on any every type of bike there is. I find the guys that stay out of bad weather are the ones that ride cruisers without bags, windshields, etc. , no matter what the make. Show me a guy with a bagger, and usually he will be a guy that rides for the sheer pleasure, and for many miles.