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I a newb to the forum and new to motorcycling. I tried to avoid asking this question to no avail. What is the general story with the bike and rain/water? OK to ride in the rain? Dry the bike off after? The whole thing? Certain parts?

The instruction manual talks about plastic bags, rubber bands, rust, corrosion and all manner of heinous things. So as I came in from my ride in the mist this eve, I shut the garage door so passers-by would not see me meticulously wiping the condensation off of my America.

There you have it and since I have thrust my ignorance upon you all in such shocking fashion, what is a "cager?"

Welcome to the forums Riv.

A cager is a auto/car/truck. Never read the instruction manual but the bike runs fine in the rain. If you have any mechanical savy, take the time to disconnect all the electrical connections and pack them with dielectric grease to prevent water ingestion. Just good preventative medicine.

I always try to dry my bike off when it gets wet also. The neighbours in my neighbourhood must think I'm nuts. My wife actually made the statement that I caress the bike more than her (that's because the bike never has a headache).

Where in Texas?

Welcome to the forum

Thanks Gregger. Obviously, I see plenty of bikes in the rain, but I don't know what happens after. About 20 miles west of FW satxron.

The rain doesn't hurt these bikes. It's the crud from the road that splashes onto everything that makes the bike age. After riding in the rain I always hose the bike off with a wide spray setting. Avoid spraying directly up under the tank because of the wires. They can take a bit of water but why push it? I also wipe the bike down just to avoid water spots. Keep it clean, waxed, and polished and it will laugh at the rain.

Huge fan, Iron. LOTR, Elric, Dragonlance, etc... Thanks Tom, sage advice I will take to heart. I imagine that for the time being my only rain riding will be by accident though. My bike may laugh at it, I'll be b-lining homeward.

Sucks bein' a noob.

Hey Riv... welcome to a bunch of fun, expertise and pretty much silliness. Yuz gonna have a blast.

Now about rubbing down your bike... closing that door is a good idea, especially when you drop down to kiss 'er goodnight. But ya know taking off the days grime is not a bad idea. All that road grime will taint the paint and dull the chrome over time so why not baby her complexion as much as you can. On the other hand a guy could do a cross country tour and not clean the bike for a couple of weeks with no real adverse effects. Just be good to her and she will be good to you.

And just remember... what you do behind closed doors is your own business, so keep it to yourself next time, okay?

You know, I've been caught many a time in my travels being pelted with the wet stuff and have found that if you spend some money on good warm and waterproof gear, the experience is something I consider fun.

Yeah, many may be thinking this staffo's a bit of a fruit but that's my experience.

I don't deliberately go out and ride in the rain though. If it's not raining before I go to work I'll generally ride and leave the home trip to whatever happens.

No kissin'n'tellin', I'm with ya, rookie mistake. Staffo, there are a couple at the office that ride to work rain or shine period. I actually see quite a few bikes in the rain out here and many of them with riders all garbed up to the point that I would imagine it was no surprise.

It's settled, then. We'd rather ride our bides in the rain than not ride at all. I'm with ya.

Water on the road will accumulate in your fuel tank vent hose, that protrudes just forward of the rear wheel, starving the carbs on the '05's....not sure about the new ones...

I have ridden in some very hard rain storms then meticulously park the bike and relaxed.

Welcome to the forum. It's probably more important to ride vewy, vewy carefully in the rain -- especially if you are new to riding -- because getting the tarmac on the bike is a lot worse for her complexion than getting some water and grit on it.

Not trying to scare you off riding in the wet - but it can jump up and bite.

Welcome Revndll. I read somewhere it's a good idea to get any excess pooled water out of the spark plug wells before starting or running the engine. I would suppose the thought there is if the boot is in contact with the water, the little gremlins that live in the electrical system get mighty pi--ed.

On the left side of the frame under the gas tank is a gee gaw with a large wire harness on it called the igniter. It's a good idea to keep water under pressure away from it in case it may have any cracks that allow water to get in.

Probably want to go through all the electrical connections every other year and check them for corrosion and redo the dialectic grease. Beyond that, go play U-boat commander and do some puddle jumping...

This video shows my first real "riding in the rain" experience and call me mad but I loved it.

Fyi, those not familiar with the Newcastle Floods that occured in 07 (I think), there was even a large Ship that got stranded on Nobbys Beach due to the weather.

It was quite an event and I would (like those in Newcastle) have liked to have gone and had a look at it but couldn't cos the town was flooded.

Argghhh, the joys of riding.

btw, my bike didn't miss a beat and this trip was the one that convinced me how much I loved my screen cos when we stopped 3 hours later with it raining the whole time, my mate was soaked and I was mostly dry.

That's another reason I've just ordered the Memphis Shades Big Shot

Hey Riv, and welcome. I live in Florida, where it's either rainin'
or gonna rain. The last time I washed the bike was Thanksgiving. Don't worry about it. These bikes are tough.
They keep on running through everything.

What happens in the garage stays in the garage.

Park it wipe it off and drink a beer. Start it next day ride it then start all over again. Leaving your ride overnight without a wipe down after riding in the rain won't hurt it. Just don't make a habit of it and if you are not going to ride it the next day, get your rearend back out to the garage and wipe it down. worry bout slippery road things not your lectrics. Do use dielectric grease whenever you are round lectric connections. and go over at least once right now all the lectric connections with your tube of grease.