how to valkyries do in the rain?

[shadowmagic]

So i remember doing quite a bit of riding in the rain on my harley, how do valkyries do in the rain? Do i need to worry about getting water anywhere?

[Willow]

So i remember doing quite a bit of riding in the rain on my harley, how do valkyries do in the rain? Do i need to worry about getting water anywhere?

Better than your Harley.

In your face.  Try to keep your visibility acceptable.

[sandy]

I’ve ridden my former valk cross country 5 times in all kinds of weather. One trip had me following a storm for 6 days. The bike never skipped a beat.

[Jersey]

Went to Inzane Taos via Tennessee in the pouring down rain avg'g about 75-80mph... Darkside with an Envigor.

[old2soon]

          Personally I believe it depends a Lot on tire choice and tire condition. I've been riding M/Cs awhile now and the ONLY tire I've encountered and I received them when I bought my Valkyrie. They were fairly new and I got caught in a rain storm here in Southern Missouri-a real frog strangler. It had been raining for awhile got out on the 4 lane and I figured out real quick those cursed sorry azzed excuses for tires were scarin the snot outa me. What tires you ask? dunlop e 3s. Or as I call them-dunflops. Been in other Wet conditions-I've been D/S rear now for a number of Years-and even with different make fronts and rears none of them have come No Where NEAR scarin me. BUT All the above is My personal take on My Experiences. Yours may/will most likely differ from mine. Carl/Willow touched on an Important aspect-good vision in the rain. Course good vision imprtant Any time you ride. RIDE SAFE.

[Earl43P]

Drive shaft oil seal can be a weak spot overlooked - when it fails, your pinion cup rusts red and leaves you stranded (right Paul - Britman?) http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,112397.0.html   and mine    http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,89686.msg884036.html#msg884036 .That's a long term failure mode.

Other than that, I usually remove my glasses and go with slightly cracked open faceshield.

Rain and COLD are the bane of my riding existance.
I've been known to duct tape my sleeves/gloves and then have to re-do it hours of rain later, with dry gloves and oven cleaning yellow dealios taped sealed over those. Not a stranger to grocery stores,  Northern Tools or Harbor Freight for cheap new and DRY gloves to put under the oven cleaning gloves.

I've also gotten high speed surprised with a rear hydroplane. Sashays side to side with an eerie feeling of doom until traction returns. Decelerating with the clutch pulled in and no brakes seems to be the safest recovery as long as you don't need to slow down in a hurry. I tap the brake pedal to flash my brake light if there's anyone behind me.

I'll still follow a big rig's left tire tracks, but I've backed way back from my wild, younger tail-gating days using their tail lights as my visual reference. It only takes one real hard braking to teach you that lesson (semi trucks can slow down in a hurry, rain or shine).
 

[Chrisj CMA]

So i remember doing quite a bit of riding in the rain on my harley, how do valkyries do in the rain? Do i need to worry about getting water anywhere?

Better than your Harley.

In your face.  Try to keep your visibility acceptable.

Carl you took the words right off my keyboard. I ride in a gully washer with 
a Harley in our group. He did not fare well.   

Valkyrie’s do well and protect their riders well in heavy rain.

[yrunvs]

I just got back from a trip to the Michigan Upper Penisula and was caught in a driving down pour and my Valk never missed a beat, it ran and started and all electronics worked like the driving ran never happened and still does. I usually sprits all electric thingies with WD 40 or equivalent from time to time.

[Valkorado]

Double check your swingarm boot to make sure it is on good and (water) tight.  Put on a good car tire!    

Remember your Frog Toggs!

[shadowmagic]

Thanks for sharing your experiences and advice with me. I have confidence now to ride anywhere in the rain.

[hubcapsc]

On this day my GPS went into dark mode because it was raining so hard it
thought it was night...



This is on I-81 on the way to Gettysburg...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRnLKqCkTCI

-Mike

[Jess from VA]

Always drain the drool tube after any long rain ride.

Always carry a small half cover on trips, so your bike does not have to sit out in the rain all day or night in parking lots.  Mine rolls up to softball size (unlike a full cover), dries quickly, and keeps the electricals and seat from hours' long soakings.  Keeps the tourists from putting their kids on your bike for photo ops too. https://dowcopowersports.com/guardian-traveler-motorcycle-half-cover/

I also carry a little fold up umbrella, so next time I have to sit out on I-81 for 4+ hours in a solid downpour with traffic full stopped for a big accident (19 miles from the next exit), I can get out of the weather a little bit.  Ain't no one ever going to invite you to sit in their car.   

[Savage]

Have ridden in the heaviest rain a person would dare to brave.
Then again, it’s well known that I am crazy.
I did have one very bad experience with heavy rain water but didn’t discover it for about two weeks on a cross country trip. My U-joint boot had dislodged while riding through some deep standing water, filled the driveline, washed out all the grease and destroyed the bearings.
Very expensive lesson.

But as far as riding in the rain... the Valk kills it.
Especially with a quality darkside tire!!

[gordonv]

I'm still looking for the Goldilock tires for the rain, fair weather, a lot easier.

Just be carefull of the ruts with water in them, and tar snakes. They get very slippery in the rain.

E3 is the only tires I road with that had scarred my wife in the rain. But there was ruts riding in the right lane (moved to the left) and tar snakes, and the E3 slipped on every single one of them.

[CoreyP]

Valkyrie better then a Harley in the rain.

But.......as with any older bike, seals are what starts to make problems if they have never been replaced. I'm not new to buying older bikes and when I do anything to the bike I always change any seals, gaskets whatever that I can easy do. Those parts don't cost much.

I was in a down pour a couple of weeks ago and blew the headlight fuse and the blinker light fuse.  Still haven't figured out where water got into what but that would be my bet on what happened. It's been 95 degrees and humid so I just haven't tracked down what the problem is yet. Ironically I'm waiting for a rainy day when it's cooler to look over the wiring. 

Another thing. I bought my bike with 10 year old tires on it and I managed to fishtail a couple of time before I bought new tires. That happened going into second gear BTW.  If you have old tires and rain, I would be careful being too heavy on the throttle.

[F6Dave]

In general, wider tires have to displace more water and have a greater tendency to hydroplane.  Effective tread patterns can mitigate the problem.  Still, motorcycles with skinny tires do quite well on wet roads, while race cars with ultra wide slicks become undriveable with just a trace of rain.  Front tires usually hydroplane first because they have more water to displace, and they clear some of the water for the rear tires.

[shadowmagic]

Very interesting points i've never considered, thank you very much. I will definately evaluate my tires and seals.

[Big Rig]

Umm...they get wet???

[da prez]

  On the way back from the Yooper I had a bike wash and shower at 70 MPH.  I am darkside and Metzler on the front.  Tires are a big thing. 

                                                   da prez

[rug_burn]

Just be careful when driving over paint lines at intersections- that's the only place I've had a scare.

[old2soon]

  On the way back from the Yooper I had a bike wash and shower at 70 MPH.  I am darkside and Metzler on the front.  Tires are a big thing. 

                                                   da prez

             Ross-da prez-and I were on our way back from I-15 and had stopped in Des Moines Ia. to visit R J. We left after our visit got on US 30 East to head back to Illinois. As we crossed the river into Il. we both saw this rolling black cloud that had some rain in it-a LOT of rain. When it hit us we were cursed near under water. I was down to walking speed with the 4-ways on and PRAYING no one would run me over. We turned around and found a motel and after a hitch in The Navy and many years on the road in a big truck I Finally figured out what-any port in a storm means. Lets just say had it been dry and in need of a motel IT WOULD NOT Have Been THIS ONE.  RIDE SAFE.

[..]

Just be careful when driving over paint lines at intersections- that's the only place I've had a scare.

Yep. Any paint on the road. Manhole covers. The center of a lane at a stop light.

[txtriathlete]

If it goes down, and you are able to make an effort at lifting it back up, don't try to stand over the seat and hoist it up. It's bigger than you think. Stand beside the bike on the down side with your back against the bike and lift with your legs - one hand on the bar and one on the rear seat lip, fender or whatever you can grab on the back. Lift slowly and wait for it to get mostly upright before you try and turn around. It will rest on your hip while you shuffle your hands (if you brace your legs), even though you may not think so.

[cookiedough]

rear car tire slips less than cycle tire and be careful starting off in 1st gear at a stop light be gently on the throttle.  My cycle tire got caught once in a downpour and every single stop light my rear cycle tire slipped and spun sideways a few inches until I wised up and went very slowly off the line from a stop.

good waterproof shoes/boots helps as well since my tennis shoes were soaked after 10 miles in the heavy rain.