Riding in Rain

[bagelboy]

Ok, I know everyone has opinions on tires.  I've read alot on them. Have always had the Dunlop E3's, but they seem a little slick in the rain around turns. I keep the front around 40psi, and the rear around 44psi. I'm looking for a tire that might give me a little better traction in rain.  Any ideas?

[Oss]

I am not a fan of Dunlops in the rain (I still have them in front and back as they just havent worn out yet but they were not my 1st choice just what was available when needed)
When I ran the Bridgestone Battleaxe in 200 rear and also the Bridgestone Exedra in 200 rear I had outstanding traction in rain

Coming back from GOTF in Mississipi in pouring rain riding steady 80 + with Tbird,Bigal and popcorn I felt it was as firm as a car tire and had the bonus of not following ruts  Wild 6 and I ended up riding when the others kept stopping to get out of the rain as we had a thousand miles plus still to go

That Exedra was a great tire   I had 12000 on the Battleaxe when I had BigBF change it out for the Exedra in phoenix but that was planned months ahead.

Eventually the Exedra got a hole that was plugged at the end of the Asheville Inzane and got another huge hole in DesMoines on the way to Spearfish,  It did not survive the 2nd repair but it held together to get me safely stopped on the side of the road as well as when that 2nd plug blew out later that day



Not even Ride-on can fill a hole that enormous

[da prez]

  General car on the rear and a Metzler 880 on the front. I have been in some hellacious storms and some snow.
  I would not put dunflops on a bike even if I was selling it.

                            da prez

[Gryphon Rider]

My experience with an E3 on the front (CT on rear) has had me on Avon front tires ever since.  Cold temperatures and light rain on a twisty mountain road, I felt it slip a couple of times one morning; that was enough.  I've never experienced that on an Avon Venom or Cobra.

[old2soon]

 General car on the rear and a Metzler 880 on the front. I have been in some hellacious storms and some snow.
 I would not put dunflops on a bike even if I was selling it.

                           da prez

Ross and I have been in a few storms together. Coming home from I-15 we hit a cow floatin toad drowner in Illinois. I was on an A T T on the rear and a Shinko SR777 in 140-80-17 u[ front and that combination Never slipped once in those conditions. Those e-3 dunflops are about the only M/C tires that have scared the kaka outa me in the rain. NEVEREVER again will a dunflop be on Any M/C I own. RIDE SAFE.

[Big Rig]

ME880 with 14k on it and an ATT steady as a rock on the way home from the Dragons Yesterday...

Gonna order a new ME880 front this week.

[bagelboy]

A TT?

[old2soon]

A TT?

And sad to report NO longer available!  Austone Taxi tire. Folks that had/have them either loved them or hated them. More loved than hated overall. I enjoyed mine immensely.  RIDE SAFE.

[Wizzard]

Been running Elite dunlop for the last 10 years. Never had a problem in the rain and been in some real downpours. But I run 35 psi rear and 30 front. I suspect your higher air pressure is making your tire "harder" in the rain and not grip as well. IMHO

[hubcapsc]

Ok, I know everyone has opinions on tires.  I've read alot on them. Have always had the Dunlop E3's, but they seem a little slick in the rain around turns. I keep the front around 40psi, and the rear around 44psi. I'm looking for a tire that might give me a little better traction in rain.  Any ideas?

I've been running them hard-as-a-rock like that too, I think many of us do, they
probably last a little longer that way.

I'm going to try 35/front 40/rear, they should stick better in wet or dry. I
don't run Dunlops, mostly Avons.

-Mike

[fudgie]

Ive always ran Metz M880's. Loved them. Excellent wet weather traction. Had a Bridgestone and hated it. Took it off after 500 miles. Currently have a Metz 888 and its so much better then the 880. Huge difference.

[msb]

Avon Cobras front and back have always been excellent for me in wet weather riding...never been afraid of getting a little wet now and then, so I've had plenty of experience in this regard. 43-44 in the rear and 40 in the front.
With the Cobras no longer available, I just recently had the new Dunlop E4 installed on the rear to try it out..great feel and smoothness, great cornering and traction, and it looks like it will wear very well too...BUT...I did have a couple of brief but still uncomfortable instances where I felt a little slip on corners on some very wet roads  during my recent ride down to central OR. Not sure if it was just the wet pavement or if there were tar snakes or something else involved in those particular instances, or if the rubber compound/tread of that tire contributed to these instances. They did cause me to slow down a bit in hard corners the rest of that particular day, but on my 11 hour return ride home a couple days later (about 5 hours in the rain), I didn't seem to have any further issues in this regard. I guess the jury's still out..I'm sure I'll get wet a few more times here on local rides, so will be paying attention.

[bagelboy]

Very interesting Wizard.  Can anyone comment on lower PSI s and handling in the rain

[bagelboy]

I've always had the Elite 3 s on my goldwing and Valkyrie. Have put a couple of 100,000 miles between both bikes. I recently came back to New York from a trip down to Maryland to visit my sick mother. 350 miles in the rain, got back to gas up, and wound up sliding into the entrance of the gas station. 1st time I've been down in probably over 20 years. But those elite threes have always been slicke in rain. I don't know if it was the road conditions, human error on my part, or just the tires. The front probably is near replacing. Just trying to figure out if lowering the PSI s would keep them more firm in wet conditions, or I just need to check out a different brand of tire

[Big Rig]

No more ATT's??? Say it aint soo....

I fall on the love it side...Fudgie, I will try the 888's...thanks for sharing

[cookiedough]

my shinko SE890 Journey rear tire slides on the few times been caught in a downpour, but then again it was mostly my fault pulling away too quickly from stop signs.  front shinko 230 tourmaster was fine though.

am sure lower psi will help in rain, only makes sense as such. 

[Pappy!]

Avon in front and a car tire with lots of siping on the rear.
No issues with normal driving in some of Florida's torrential downpours. The car tire will stop you better in the rain as well.

[bagelboy]

Decided to go with the Metzeler 880's front and rear. Hope it works out. I'm just done with Dunlop Elite 3's. Had them along time, and they slide in wet conditions around turns sometimes. Any recommendations on PSI's for the 880's? Remember, I ride in a lot of Rainey conditions. Thanks!

[3fan4life]

I'm running a Shinko 230 Tourmaster on the front of my Valks and have been for awhile.



It's an excellent rain tire!

I'm currently running a Metzler Cruisetec on the rear of my 01 Interstate.



It has 7k mi on it and is showing very little wear and has felt solid in the rain.