Bonneville America Forums Forums Rider Safety Forums Riding Technique Wet Pavement

I have a 2008 America, stock tires in excellent condition. I read the forums and agree with the apprehension in negotiating curves and turns on wet pavement, it's kind of scary. Especially in the dark!

How far have some of you leaned around turns, and how fast in leaning over on wet pavement without incident? I'm told by some Harley riders that one can lean surprisingly far on wet pavement, but they don't have my bike
Thanks

What are stock tires on a 2008?.. anyways, The Metzlers and Avons do well when wet and others too I'm sure but it just really depends on the road. The bike handles well so you've got that going for you so just be easy in and out of turns and try to keep motions smooth and deliberate.
Remember that the center is usually a bit slicker than the rest of the lane but the painted lines and tar snakes can ruin your day... then proceed with caution.

I

+ 1 on what Chy said.
A couple of things I would mention, tire pressure. Make sure they are properly inflated. A lot depends on preference, riders weight and the tire itself. I would suggest in the range of 33-38 front, 35-40 rear.Play with the pressure till you find what works for you.
Additionally proper gear selection is essential. for instance you would not want to come into a tight 20mph curve in 5th gear.
The America is a truly amazing bike and in due time you will be able to drag all the bits off her in the twisties.
Oh yeah, welcome to the forum

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Oh yeah, welcome to the forum

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Yeah... and what he said too.

The stock tyres on my 08 were Metz, to answer someones question

They were OK, could probably handle to wet better than I was willing to try. I run Avons now, they're OK, can probably handle the wet better than I'm willing to try.

As for lean angle, I've never scraped in the wet. Scared I might scrape too much

Chy,
They're Metzler M880s with 8,000 miles and in excellent condition. If you're in Dahlonega, you're used to winding roads and probably are less afraid of leaning in wet conditions than I. I've ridden up there, and onward to Suches, as well as to Cp Merrill, great riding!

The unexpected wet patches still scare the bejeezus out of me, something I have to overcome. Just wondering how fast to negotiate curves, and not find out the hard way

mikemm03,
On the surface streets, I tend to tach high for better torque and control, i.e., cruise 40-45 mph in 3d gear. Since I have no tach, I assume it's around 3800-4200 rpm. Then, I just throttle down around sharp bends, and brake as a last resort. Of course, when I run through a wet patch, I tend to ride more upright, which isn't always good practice while negotiating a sharp curve.

On the contrary... I don't like wet highways and especially wet twisties, I'm a slow -go guy on the wet stuff.

Found this a couple of pages over.. looked interesting.

Wet roads = wet pants.

Be careful.

Be especially careful of manhole covers, open grate bridges, leaves, any painted road markings ,and the tar sealing strips in wet weather. All of those are extremely slippery.

yup i don't do much liening in the wet, i take my time and get to where i want to go man side up :-)

I went down on wet pavement one time, but I was 14 and the bike was a yamaha 50cc with rotten tires smaller than your average mountian bike, and I took 90 degree lefty at 35mph(WFO)...asking for it

Al, I agree with all the comments here re: riding in the wet. But mind you it doesn't have to be raining for wet conditions to exist, nor do you have to be going into/out of a turn. I laid Black Beauty down traveling a straight section of road on decel from about 40 mph & braking to stop @ a light this last Spring...hit a dew damped tar snake and down we went!

BTW welcome to the forum.....you'll find all kinds of info here & the community mostly helpful...if not humorous.

I came close to dropping mine bring it home, I braked for a stop light and hit a slick spot, the front tire locked up and started to go out from under me. Only experience saved me.

Darksiding has proven to be superior on wet pavement. To me at least.

"Play with the pressure till you find what works for you."

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahah!