Hydroplaning!

Jan 11, 2018
1,232
505
Upper Hudson Valley, NY
Name
Dan
Got caught in a wicked bad rain storm in southern Dutchess County yesterday and with no place to hide I had to ride it out. The combination of running too fast (trying to get back to the stable) and the road becoming a river caused the bike to get up on top of the water a couple times....very unsettling feeling and slammed home the fact that I'd better slow down or I may not get back to the stable at all!

Just somethin' to keep in mind.
 
Got caught in a wicked bad rain storm in southern Dutchess County yesterday and with no place to hide I had to ride it out. The combination of running too fast (trying to get back to the stable) and the road becoming a river caused the bike to get up on top of the water a couple times....very unsettling feeling and slammed home the fact that I'd better slow down or I may not get back to the stable at all!

Just somethin' to keep in mind.

I got caught sunday in heavy rain same deal scare the crap out of you .
 
Got caught in a wicked bad rain storm in southern Dutchess County yesterday and with no place to hide I had to ride it out. The combination of running too fast (trying to get back to the stable) and the road becoming a river caused the bike to get up on top of the water a couple times....very unsettling feeling and slammed home the fact that I'd better slow down or I may not get back to the stable at all!

Just somethin' to keep in mind.

What town of Dutchess are ya at Dan ?
 
I had a similar experience riding thru Georgia 2 years ago on the tail end of a tropical storm

Too much standing water on the road, when I felt the rear end wanting to come round, I slowed down, no braking just backing off throttle in small increments
 
I had a similar experience riding thru Georgia 2 years ago on the tail end of a tropical storm

Too much standing water on the road, when I felt the rear end wanting to come round, I slowed down, no braking just backing off throttle in small increments

Same exact situation Jack....front & rear fixing to change places! I just eased the steering to point the wheel straight ahead (like a rudder) and slowly reduced throttle....any sudden moves under those circumstances, good chance yer gonna broadside into oncoming traffic....of which there was plenty!
 
Same exact situation Jack....front & rear fixing to change places! I just eased the steering to point the wheel straight ahead (like a rudder) and slowly reduced throttle....any sudden moves under those circumstances, good chance yer gonna broadside into oncoming traffic....of which there was plenty!

After I re gained control, I followed a semi for a hundred or so miles

He pushed a lot of the water off the road so I tucked in behind him, giving my self plenty of braking room;)
 
I'm on the NY/Mass border just south of I-90

I just bought a 2016 freewheeler , did u do a lift on the rear of yours ? what brand fairing u have? May be we can meet 4 ride one day, we go to Lebanon valley dirt track every Saturday night . THanks Dan
 
I just bought a 2016 freewheeler , did u do a lift on the rear of yours ? what brand fairing u have? May be we can meet 4 ride one day, we go to Lebanon valley dirt track every Saturday night . THanks Dan

Hey Dan, No lift, just replaced the stock shocks with Bitubos, same length....the ride is much, much improved.

Fairing is a Memphis Shades with spoiler windshield.

A ride sounds great, I'm retired and ride nearly every day, just let me know.
 
Got caught in a wicked bad rain storm in southern Dutchess County yesterday and with no place to hide I had to ride it out. The combination of running too fast (trying to get back to the stable) and the road becoming a river caused the bike to get up on top of the water a couple times....very unsettling feeling and slammed home the fact that I'd better slow down or I may not get back to the stable at all!

Just somethin' to keep in mind.

Thanks, glad you made it to a dry bed of hay! It reminds us all not to over ride our abilities or the weather!:clapping:
 
You nailed it Robert....I was going about 20 mph faster than I should have been trying to get the misery over quicker....exactly how tragedy happens!

I did the same thing on two wheels and paid dearly for it. I kept saying I was going too fast for conditions but just wanted to get home. I didn't make it. I have a brand new artificial ankle as my reward for being stupid. Continuing to do 70mph in a absolute downpour is not advisable. Even on a trike. I have no memory of what happened but I don't think I hydroplaned but do think I probably chopped the throttle which kicked the rear end around, then the tumbling started. I do remember starting to back off because I thought I saw a yellow sign. I've looked at the area closely and that's the best explanation I have. It just happened to be a nasty S-turn to boot instead of the nice sweeping turns I had been riding. I do really wish I knew exactly what happened but many say, no you don't. I still do because you can learn from mistakes. But the big mistake here is going too fast for conditions. Listen to that little thing saying to slow down. It might save your hide. Literally.
 
I did the same thing on two wheels and paid dearly for it. I kept saying I was going too fast for conditions but just wanted to get home. I didn't make it. I have a brand new artificial ankle as my reward for being stupid. Continuing to do 70mph in a absolute downpour is not advisable. Even on a trike. I have no memory of what happened but I don't think I hydroplaned but do think I probably chopped the throttle which kicked the rear end around, then the tumbling started. I do remember starting to back off because I thought I saw a yellow sign. I've looked at the area closely and that's the best explanation I have. It just happened to be a nasty S-turn to boot instead of the nice sweeping turns I had been riding. I do really wish I knew exactly what happened but many say, no you don't. I still do because you can learn from mistakes. But the big mistake here is going too fast for conditions. Listen to that little thing saying to slow down. It might save your hide. Literally.

Jeez, sorry you had to go thru this!
 
Thinking back, I also had a hydroplaning experience on a 2-wheeler....but on a cow manure/mud/water combination! We had a 2 week stretch of hard rain and one of the farmers along my route to work couldn't haul the manure down his field access road due to the mud, so he had to go on the main road for 100 yds or so. I'm on my way home one afternoon, it's pouring rain as usual and all of a sudden I'm in this 100 yd stretch of the greasy-est, nasty-est glop I ever saw....there was almost no traction the bike pretty much did what it wanted but somehow stayed upright thru the whole mess....I was extremely lucky!

I was sure I was going down and remembered thinking "the guys on the rescue truck are gonna hose me down before putting me on the stretcher." :cool:
 
Thanks, glad you made it to a dry bed of hay! It reminds us all not to over ride our abilities or the weather!:clapping:

And that reminds me. Was at a rally campground at Johnson City TX with my 1982 Silver Wing GL500 Interstate. It rained overnight and “they” decided to put HAY over a squishy spot. I started to gingerly cross that mess and WHOA!, you talk about side-to-side fish-tailing! Sure thought I was going down. Held it and got across - but as they say the pucker factor was off the scale. A lady behind me on her Silver Wing didn’t make it - went down, busted off a mirror, cracked some plastic.... absolutely killed her pride. In fact, she got out of motorcycling after that.
 
Reminds me of hitting black ice on the way to work in Mn in early March

I was on a new 92 FLHS and entering an on ramp. I hit the black ice, it slid me round, I came out of the spin in the right direction. Good thing I had a clean uniform waiting for me at the shop I needed it:p
 
A few short years ago, "Wife Unit" and I were at a buddy's visiting when a big and very dark rain cloud was spotted way off aways. We decided to head for home, and within a few miles we had put rain gear on. Came into Staunton on 250 from the west side, rode through town to avoid higher speeds on bypass and to be nearer cover if needed. We got some hot chocolate and afterwards, rain cloudburst had all bu ended, so we started south on Greenville Ave. running maybe 35. little dip under bypass overhead, water running across road, I gently applied throttle as we started out of dip.

Suddenly, revs climbed and rear of trike on near new tires, slipped to the right … "Wife Unit" tensed up, I let off and soon trike was straight again, and we pulled over a half mile later at Co-op and gassed up and killed another 15 minutes. No more insidences.

Trikes have a very low weight per square inch pressure on rear "wider car tires" patch.
 
A few short years ago, "Wife Unit" and I were at a buddy's visiting when a big and very dark rain cloud was spotted way off aways. We decided to head for home, and within a few miles we had put rain gear on. Came into Staunton on 250 from the west side, rode through town to avoid higher speeds on bypass and to be nearer cover if needed. We got some hot chocolate and afterwards, rain cloudburst had all bu ended, so we started south on Greenville Ave. running maybe 35. little dip under bypass overhead, water running across road, I gently applied throttle as we started out of dip.

Suddenly, revs climbed and rear of trike on near new tires, slipped to the right … "Wife Unit" tensed up, I let off and soon trike was straight again, and we pulled over a half mile later at Co-op and gassed up and killed another 15 minutes. No more insidences.

Trikes have a very low weight per square inch pressure on rear "wider car tires" patch.

Oiy! Only 35mph......man I was going nearly twice that! Really lucky to get it straightened out! Not even going to chance it the next time, if I can't find a hiding place I'll just stand there in the rain! :xzqxz:

"Wife Unit" that's funny! :laugh:
 
Reminds me of hitting black ice on the way to work in Mn in early March

I was on a new 92 FLHS and entering an on ramp. I hit the black ice, it slid me round, I came out of the spin in the right direction. Good thing I had a clean uniform waiting for me at the shop I needed it:p

Just like black ice Jack with one exception....the tire hissing stops when you hit black ice telling you the road moisture is now solid!! You know what's about to happen and all you can do is wait for it
 
I laugh at black ice... HA

Hahaha.Black ice on a trike?Piece o cake.REMOVE power to drive wheels.On/off ramps,elevated grades,bridges all ice over first.Rain,snow,drizzle,freezing fog.Black ice forms at 37 degrees-get off the road.Tie a shoelace to your mirror. If it starts to ice up find a safe haven.You don't know what fun is till your trailer starts to pass you-the only way to get out of a jackknife is to speed up- get your tractor ahead of your trailer.Road conditions may not allow you that luxury."Sin Loi".
 
Hydroplaning Fix!

Hi guys, I know this is an old thread, but what I have to say is timeless on this matter. You see, I put up with serious hydroplaning for years on my trikes and had tried so many different brands of tires with no improvement that I had simply resigned myself to the notion that hydroplaning was simply an anomaly one had to deal with in using tires made for a car on such lightweight vehicle.

Long story short, a friend insisted on purchasing a set of tires for me as I was doing some work for him. He wouldn't take no for an answer. He purchased Goodyear Eagle RS all weather radials. These tires cost more than twice what I usually paid for a set.

Let me tell you they were worth twice that in comparison! I could not get those things to slip! Ever!

I will add that I ride like very aggressive. Granted it has been many years since then, I had near 15 years of trike riding as my sole transportation. This tip is one that comes from experience. I will use nothing but Goodyear all weather radials on the rear of any trike from here out. This I can not emphasize enough. Goof luck to you all and keep the rubber side down!
 

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