There she blows. Our own Traction Man Steve Brouggy steers us through the perfect storm...
It was one of those rainy, blustery days that you always dread having to deal with. Rain and hailstones flew horizontally across my view of a rapidly approaching Turn One at Phillip Island as I felt the water finally penetrating the crotch region of my leathers. Great. Speed, somewhere in the low to mid 200's. Commitment level, much higher than I'd really like. Memories of ambulance officers standing over me asking my name and what day of the week it was came flooding back along with the unmistakable smell of a freshly cleaned hospital room. It's incredible what the mind does to you when it no longer enjoys the level of potential danger you are placing it in...
With the barrage of wind and the water it was more like piloting a Jet Ski fitted with a sail than riding a motorcycle. Attempting to pitch the bike
into Turn One, the force of the side-wind pushed the bike out wide, making it
somewhat harder to turn in. Then as soon as the bike was turned in, the headwind almost stopped me dead, making the bike feel like it's down 20 horse. The threat of having the tyres wash out from under me once and for all is the single thought racing through my mind. In fact I can see the headlines now "Head of Superbike School unable to cope with
conditions and crashes." What a nightmare. With all this going on, with all this potential danger, I still manage to spare some attention to make a mental note... must write something about this one day...
Dealing with rain is one thing, and dealing with wind is completely another, so how do you deal with both at the same time? Have you noticed that they quite often go together? Funny about that...
What's the big problem when it's raining? Simple. You have less traction. What's the big problem with the wind? Simple. You have to make adjustments to the controls to deal with the bike wanting to move without you having asked it to. In these conditons a bike wants to move around more, meaning you have to make corrections to it (which may include having to 'lean' the bike over just to keep going straight!). Each of these corrections places some force on the patch where to tyre contacts the road. What this means is that you have to make more corrections to deal with the wind, placing more force on the tyre, and the tyre has less traction with the road surface because of the rain. "Sure sounds uncomfortable don't it?!..." (Note: To be read in a 'deep south' American accent...)
If it's raining, you have to slow down. No ifs, not buts, no maybes. Your speed determines everything else ie. How much you have to steer, how much you have to slow down for the corner, how much lean angle you carry, how much you need to accelerate etc. So if you slow down, then everything else diminishes with the speed. If it's windy, it's the same deal. If the wind is going to require more force put on the tyre, then chances are, you're going to have to slow down so there is enough traction available to keep you stuck to the planet. So if you have both wind and rain...guess what you have to do? That's right... you have to slow down! Can you see the pattern..?
How much you slow down is up to you of course and that will depend on whether you're out there on a racetrack trying to be world champion or whether you're just trying to get to your destination on the road with maximum safety. The fact remains however in both situations that you have less traction and a greater demand for traction. The only thing that is going to help in this is to slow down. But if you slow down, it is no benefit unless you also change the other actions listed above (steering etc) to a force that is relative to the speed you are travelling at the amount of traction available. Make sense?
Developing a 'feel' for traction is a great tool. One problem that we all face as riders is a changing environment. Each corner has it's own challenges
and each corner has a certain amount of traction available. No more, no less. Our job is to 'read' what's available and to use it.
Good luck with your riding.