What is it with rain?

[dusty_nz]

When people sell there bikes they comment on never "ridden in the rain".

Whats water going to do apart create more reason to clean?

[chew]

The rider is a bit soft?

[cammo85]

It indicates the paint on the tank is in good condition because it hasn't had balls rubbing against it under braking.

[dusty_nz]

but my balls are covered it fur! Shouldn't that stop scratching??

[Mr John]

rider is a pussy

[perdition]

it gets under your tyres and makes the bike fall over .....

[Machast]

means about the same as 'never dropped' or 'lady owner'. SFA.

to be fair tho, if I had a bike with a lot of chrome I'd avoid taking it out in the rain just for the hell of it. 2 minutes getting wet ==> 2 hours polishing to get it schmick again.

[polonyman]

firstly note that rusting only occurs in pure iron, in every other metal it is known as oxidation as it happens very differently. for rust to occur to any reasonable extend there needs to be an exposure to both lots of oxygen and moisture, which means rain accelerates the rusting process. but they are thinking about rusting in iron, in which microscopic pits form in the metal which begin the oxidation of the iron and aren't visible.

once these pits form to a reasonable degree, your bike is slowly fucked and will rust inside out, and these pits are usually invisible from the outside to begin with. these pits will usually form where there is a scratch in the paint or where the iron isn't coated with anything. when you have chrome bits, the chrome is more reactive than the iron, so it acts as the anode and rusts(excuse my chemistry terms), leaving the iron(or other metal) protected from rust, even if there is a shitload of scratches.

but who the fuck has a bike made from pure iron, we use alloys in everything, and these metals oxidise differently to iron(generally coating the surface of the metal with rust to prevent further corrosion) so riding in the rain isn't an issue like it was in the ice age. provided the parts in the bike are kept clean, coated and scratch free, you wont have a problem.

so in laymans terms, never ridden in the wet means FA.

[Maxo]

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. About 1.460 petatonnes (Pt) (1021kilograms) of water covers 71% of the Earth's surface, mostly in oceans and other large water bodies, with 1.6% of water below ground in aquifers and 0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds (formed of solid and liquid water particles suspended in air), and precipitation.[1] Saltwater oceans hold 97% of surface water, glaciers and polar ice caps 2.4%, and other land surface water such as rivers, lakes and ponds 0.6%. Some of the Earth's water is contained within water towers, biological bodies, manufactured products, and food stores. Other water is trapped in ice caps, glaciers, aquifers, or in lakes, sometimes providing fresh water for life on land.

Water moves continually through a cycle of evaporation or transpiration (evapotranspiration), precipitation, and runoff, usually reaching the sea. Winds carry water vapor over land at the same rate as runoff into the sea, about 36 Tt per year. Over land, evaporation and transpiration contribute another 71 Tt per year to the precipitation of 107 Tt per year over land. Clean, fresh drinking water is essential to human and other life. However, in many parts of the world—especially developing countries—there is a water crisis, and it is estimated that by 2025 more than half of the world population will be facing water-based vulnerability.[2] Water plays an important role in the world economy, as it functions as a solvent for a wide variety of chemical substances and facilitates industrial cooling and transportation. Approximately 70% of freshwater is consumed by agriculture.

Water can appear in three states. Water takes many different forms on Earth: water vapor and clouds in the sky; seawater and rarely icebergs in the ocean; glaciers and rivers in the mountains; and aquifers in the ground.

Water can dissolve many different substances, giving it different tastes and odors. In fact, humans and other animals have developed senses to be able to evaluate the potability of water, avoiding water that is too salty or putrid. Humans also tend to prefer cold water rather than lukewarm, as cold water is likely to contain fewer microbes. The taste advertised in spring water or mineral water derives from the minerals dissolved in it, as pure H2O is tasteless. As such, purity in spring and mineral water refers to purity from toxins, pollutants, and microbes.

Different names are given to water's various forms:

* according to state
o solid - ice
o liquid - water
o gaseous - water vapor

* according to meteorology:
o hydrometeor
+ precipitation

precipitation according to moves precipitation according to state


* vertical (falling) precipitation
o rain
o freezing rain
o drizzle
o freezing drizzle
o snow
o snow pellets
o snow grains
o ice pellets
o frozen rain
o hail
o ice crystals
* horizontal (seated) precipitation
o dew
o hoarfrost
o atmospheric icing
o glaze ice



* liquid precipitation
o rain
o freezing rain
o drizzle
o freezing drizzle
o dew
* solid precipitation
o snow
o snow pellets
o snow grains
o ice pellets
o frozen rain
o hail
o ice crystals
o hoarfrost
o atmospheric icing
o glaze ice
* mixed precipitation
o in temperatures around 0 °C

Water is the chemical substance with chemical formula H2O: one molecule of water has two hydrogen atoms covalently bonded to a single oxygen atom.

The major chemical and physical properties of water are:

* Water is a tasteless, odorless liquid at ambient temperature and pressure. The color of water and ice are, intrinsically, a very light blue hue, although water appears colorless in small quantities. Ice also appears colorless, and water vapor is essentially invisible as a gas.[4]

* Water is transparent, and thus aquatic plants can live within the water because sunlight can reach them. Only strong UV light is slightly absorbed.

* Since oxygen has a higher electronegativity than hydrogen, water is a polar molecule. The oxygen has a slight negative charge while the hydrogens have a slight positive charge giving the article a strong effective dipole moment. The interactions between the different dipoles of each molecule cause a net attraction force associated with water's high amount of surface tension.

* Another very important force that causes the water molecules to stick to one another is the hydrogen bond.

* The boiling point of water (and all other liquids) is directly related to the barometric pressure. For example, on the top of Mt. Everest water boils at about 68 °C (154 °F), compared to 100 °C (212 °F) at sea level. Conversely, water deep in the ocean near geothermal vents can reach temperatures of hundreds of degrees and remain liquid.

* Water sticks to itself. Water has a high surface tension caused by the strong cohesion between water molecules because it is polar. The apparent elasticity caused by surface tension drives the capillary waves.

* Water also has high adhesion properties because of its polar nature.

* Capillary action refers to the tendency of water to move up a narrow tube against the force of gravity. This property is relied upon by all vascular plants, such as trees.

* Water is a very strong solvent, referred to as the universal solvent, dissolving many types of substances. Substances that will mix well and dissolve in water, e.g. salts, sugars, acids, alkalis, and some gases: especially oxygen, carbon dioxide (carbonation), are known as "hydrophilic" (water-loving) substances, while those that do not mix well with water (e.g. fats and oils), are known as "hydrophobic" (water-fearing) substances.

* All the major components in cells (proteins, DNA and polysaccharides) are also dissolved in water.

* Pure water has a low electrical conductivity, but this increases significantly upon solvation of a small amount of ionic material such as sodium chloride.

* Water has the second highest specific heat capacity of any known chemical compound, after ammonia, as well as a high heat of vaporization (40.65 kJ mol−1), both of which are a result of the extensive hydrogen bonding between its molecules. These two unusual properties allow water to moderate Earth's climate by buffering large fluctuations in temperature.

* The maximum density of water is at 3.98 °C (39.16 °F).[5] Water becomes even less dense upon freezing, expanding 9%. This causes an unusual phenomenon: ice floats upon water, and so water organisms can live inside a partly frozen pond because the water on the bottom has a temperature of around 4 °C (39 °F).

* Water is miscible with many liquids, for example ethanol, in all proportions, forming a single homogeneous liquid. On the other hand, water and most oils are immiscible usually forming layers according to increasing density from the top. As a gas, water vapor is completely miscible with air.

* Water forms an azeotrope with many other solvents.

* Water can be split by electrolysis into hydrogen and oxygen.

* As an oxide of hydrogen, water is formed when hydrogen or hydrogen-containing compounds burn or react with oxygen or oxygen-containing compounds. Water is not a fuel, it is an end-product of the combustion of hydrogen. The energy required to split water into hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis or any other means is greater than the energy released when the hydrogen and oxygen recombine.[6]

ADR label for transporting goods dangerously reactive with water
ADR label for transporting goods dangerously reactive with water

* Elements which are more electropositive than hydrogen such as lithium, sodium, calcium, potassium and caesium displace hydrogen from water, forming hydroxides. Being a flammable gas, the hydrogen given off is dangerous and the reaction of water with the more electropositive of these elements is violently explosive.

[Hewie]

I never ride the Ducati in the rain.

Why ..... dont need to worry about bolts rusting, water in the electrics, having wet road crap stuck to it etc etc.

And as Perdition said .... it gets under your tyres .. its not an additional risk Im willing to take on that bike.

[Spock]

A bike that has been ridden regularly in the rain, gets rust and rot in all the nooks and crannies and is difficult to ever get back into 'showroom' condition.

I always prefer to buy a bike that has never (or rarely) been ridden in the rain.

[polonyman]

lol maxo is that from wiki?

[El Skitzo]

I never ride the Ducati in the rain.

Why ..... dont need to worry about bolts rusting, water in the electrics, having wet road crap stuck to it etc etc.

and

A bike that has been ridden regularly in the rain, gets rust and rot in all the nooks and crannies and is difficult to ever get back into 'showroom' condition.

+1^^

My bike had only ever been wet once, and that was the day I picked it up and touch wood it won't happen again while I have it.

The bikes that you occasionally see that are quite old but still look like they're brand new off the showroom floor, well that how it's done, by looking after it. The cheap second hand bikes you see that look like they have done 10 times the mileage shown on the odometer, that's how it's done, leave your bike out in the elements to help deteriorate it faster.

[reddog]

What a load of shit. Bikes are made to be ridden rain hail or shine. Some people are afraid of rain that's all

[Hewie]

Originally Posted by reddog

What a load of shit. Bikes are made to be ridden rain hail or shine. Some people are afraid of rain that's all

Yeah ya got me .... Im scared of riding in the rain.

[slabbie]

I put a cover on my nike daily and overnight, but ride it to and from the shitpit 25km each way every day. Biggest problem I can see is the fools in the cages. Rust, well, don't plan on keeping my bike forever. Motor/everything else will wear out before rust becomes a big problem. I enjoy riding, and if it's wet, dress for it.

[Pkunk]

I am coming around to this "never ride in the rain" concept.

Previously I was a Uni student with heaps of time on my hands = ride all the time

Then I owned a gas guzzler car = save fuel so ride in the rain

Then I was working full time, economical car, busy life etc = Would typically go riding only "nice" days because I'd rather be doing something else if it is pouring down. Combine that with commuting in the car/public transport and that's how I've avoided riding in the rain pretty much this whole winter

[polonyman]

if i owned a fireblade or an r1 or some crazy expensive bike i wouldnt be riding it in the rain, as it is not really a commuter bike anyways. but i plan on buying a cbr125 to get me around, i dont give a fuck if it gets wet, ill put a cover on it and keep it sheltered but its a cheap shit commuter and will get rained on as such

[Hewie]

The other thing to keep in mind is that with many bikes that dont ever get ridden in the wet they are a second or third bike and are in many cases special or limited edition bikes they are not used as commuters.

I enjoy riding .... I ride rain hail or shine .. I cant drive a car (I dont own a car), but I only ride the R1s in the rain.

Bit like having a custom built hot rod. You dont see many of them being driven in the middle of a thunderstorm in winter ... but on a sunny Sunday in Freo they are all out.

[rgvlee]

bikes are easier to keep clean and maintain when not ridden in the rain. stuff corrodes, collects more dirt and requires more regular maintenance (i.e., chain) when exposed to the elements. don't get me started on polished frames/swing arms and water.