Help! Should I avoid rain?

[argonsagas]

OK, you are not personally afraid to ride in the rain, but you think the old GS may be. Sorry for my misunderstanding. I would not worry overly much about the bike. I do not worry about it all, with my own.

On one ride my GK rolled through more than 200 consecutive miles of non-stop rain, including about 50 miles of heavy downpour and strong winds.

That was 100 in each direction, as I was going home on the first leg and HAD to drive back!

No electrical problems or concerns at all. Started, drove, stopped for gas, started again and continued. The whole trip that day was over 500 miles.

I would recommend new plug wires and boots.

Afte that, do your usual maintenance, including lubricating the points mentioned in other posts, and ride it.

[rustybronco]

My main question in this thread, which has been repeated a few times, is the mechanical effect rain will have on a 26 year old m/c. (If I was riding a more contemporary model, with modern electrics, I wouln't even be asking.) My concern is the very old, and apparently poor, GS electrical system. And you all have helped a ton, teaching me about where the items are... and how I should protect them.

I've gotten caught in the rain many times before, the only things you need to worry about are having good TIRES and good spark plug wires just dry it out when done, take and clean the connections, coat the connections with dielectrical grease and ride it, even a contempory model could get corrosion of the electricial connections, as an example it is 35 miles home from work for me and about a week ago it POURED all the way home i was soaked (no rain gear) and the the bike never missed a beat, maybe it's because mine is only 24 years old! yah that could be it... i fixed the charging system on mine wouldn't hesitate going anywhere rain or shine.

[knotzilla]

Ride it in the rain. Have the fun of riding a bike is cleaning it. Ted

[GS550joe]

keep a can of WD-40 with you

WD40 was invented to disperse water... use it on my cager all the time.. esp.. in the distributer and spark wires area.. I know what it is like to ride in a down pour.. spent 48 miles travelling with the storm to get home... I try not to ride in the rain but..... it has already been said.... I ride knowing I will be .hot/wet/cold/etc. get good traction tires... there have been writeups on tires in the pass and search for those articles to give yourself a good background on wet traction... I know when Mt Rainier gets a shroud it will rain for about 10 days.. wish you the best there mate.. btw love those hov lanes..


JP

[GregM.]

Yes, thanks again for the tips and suggestions.

I'll be adding plug wires and boots to the other advice mentioned earlier.

I appreciate it. Greg

[Kcwiro]

Seattle traffic is the worst in the contry... mainly I blame those people who do not for the life of them comprehend 2 in front two in back while merging... I mean I'm sure most people living aroudn here can count to two.

And you rright about the carpool lanes I love them too, like throwing awave to other riders but sometimes I dont' feel like pulling my hand up to wave, but I still nodd .... I when I first got my bike the freeway first few times in the dark *yikes* but I kept my cool and gutted it out with some personal motivation. It being near empty cept for those people turning to look at my bike wasn't so bad after I got comfotable with the wind.... after riding this entire week I'm getting a windshield after my overhaul this winter for sure.

Perhaps I'll see you out there today.. I'm leaving work soon =) heading south on I5 to renton8)

[Jethro]

I have ridden the GS in downpours that lasted entire weekends with no ill effects. I rode 1400 miles on the 2nd Annual Mooshead ride in constant rain with pod filters and all.

The biggest thing to remember is your stopping distance. You can always take it easy on the turns and keep the lean angles lower, but when it's raining, your ability to panic brake is greatly reduced. There is no denying the fact that breaking power is reduced on wet roads, and sometimes you don't have a choice, so keep the speed down and the distance high.

[bradleymaynar]

I just recently (about a month ago) rode my 1100 through a driving downpour (including pea size hail) and had no problems. I would agree with the other sentiments about making sure all your electrical connections are protected, greased (di-electric). That way you have no reasons for concern.

Brad tt

[Boondocks]

I don't mind riding in the rain if properly dressed, and do it if I have to go somewhere. It does make a mess of keeping things clean, and this is my greatest objection.

Obviously, riding in the rain requires extra caution regardless of the type of vehicle. If you don't feel confident, don't do it. If you know what you are doing, meeting the challenge and riding in stormy conditions can be fun (mostly in retrospect) . One of my greatest concerns was the loss of braking when standard pads are wet from rain. Brake pads on cars are protected from rain because they are not as exposed as motorcycles. Brake pads on motorcycles are unprotected, and when wet ordinary motorcycle pads can behave like car pads after being driven through a flooded area. In other words, they barely work until the water is dispersed.

I switched from EBC organic pads to Vesrah sintered pads to solve this problem. The sintered pads are designed to work in the wet, and heat up and disperse water quickly allowing safe braking under all conditions. I think that this is a significant safety issue for anyone that rides in the rain, and I would recommend that sintered pads be used by them to improve stopping distances and control.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

A wet climate will cause corrosion in the entire electrical system, obviously.
Best you can do is schedule your maintenance to fit your conditions. Checking/cleaning your connections and using a corrosion protectant will work. Rain gets into the bar mounted switches too. I hate that thought. I suppose a quick shot of electrical lube might help in those places as long as it doesn't build up and actually cause poor electrical contact.
Bleed/change the brake fluid often.
I prefer chain wax instead of chain lube to keep rust off the chain.
Slotted rotors dry off much quicker than solid rotors. If yours are solid, consider drilled/slotted rotors or have yours drilled (expensive).
I don't ride in the rain. Only time I do is if I got tricked by the weather, which is rare. I suppose I'm lucky to live in So. Cal.
Seems like the "R-word" brings out a lot of different opinions and divides people. I don't consider myself a sissy but I think riding in the rain, even if you remove the danger factor, is just plain miserable. It's also hard on the bike. The very few times I got caught, I found it way too easy to break the rear tire loose, etc. Just not safe.
I suppose we're all different when it comes to rain. No need to insult or imply something because someone chooses not to ride in the rain. We all have good reasons for and against it.
I'd suggest using the car when it rains but I know in Seattle, that means you wouldn't be riding much.

[cberkeley]

My GS650GL would complain strongly in a heavy downpour. Turned out to be the spark plug boots were old and electrically leaky and when wet, would pass a lot more of the sparking current to ground killing some cylinders in an erratic fashion. Replacing the old boots with some new NGK ones solved the problem.

[Pharkmeh]

My GS650GL would complain strongly in a heavy downpour. Turned out to be the spark plug boots were old and electrically leaky and when wet, would pass a lot more of the sparking current to ground killing some cylinders in an erratic fashion. Replacing the old boots with some new NGK ones solved the problem.

I need to do zactly that... split leads wrapped in electrical tape dont like the wet much...

but I thort id share this lil number






stats here

I started using this stuff for my fishing reels since I use eggbeaters susceptible to seawater and its been a wonder

the stuff leaves a synthetic coating of sorts that helps protect from water and condensation even after wiping the excess off...

Yeah - its a lubricant first - but it was an electrician m8 at the local paper mill who put me onto it as they use it on electrical connections that may get water damage...

I use it on my bar mounted switches, even leads and pretty much every electrical connection I can get to and havent had a prob since - specially the indicator assembly which used to give meh trouble after a run in the rain... and as a lubricant it helps those lil moving parts along quite nicely

I also use it on my truck when Im going up the beach - I give the starter motor connections, distributer cap, plug leads and coil a blast cause the old MQ patrol had a habit of dying immediately I hit water at any speed... I would have to get out of the truck - spray the whole lot down with standard CRC and eventually she'd fire up...

after using this stuff - it was gr8 - it doesnt water proof - but it does give more water resistance than anything else I have found

just thort Id share

cheers

Phark

[earlfor]

I have found that on the old bikes, the electrical plugs, wrapped harness wires, plug boots, spark plug leads etc., can allow water intrusion simply due to age and not quite perfect sealing. Spraying them with WD40, Boeshield T-9 or any electrical barrier spray usually cures those problems. I wrap the harness connectors with fresh electrical tape and just spray things down. I've never had a problem with the electrical system due to riding in the rain and I've ridden in constant rain for two days sometimes when on a trip. Traction in the rain is about 80% of what there is when the road is dry, so that isnt a problem. Braking is more sensitive, but once adjusted to, isnt a problem either. I dont ride in the rain if I dont have to, but thats because I dont like being wet and cold, not because of the bike.

Earl

[Jethro]

Last year our Annual GS rally at Moosehead Lake, ME was a total washout. I rode a total of about 1300 miles that long weekend in torrential rain. Pod filters and all, stock electrical system- even my old wires!! No problem at all.

Worry less, ride more!!

[emjay]

...using crimp style butt splices, crimp ring terminals on the end of the new wires and attach them to the battery negative post with the other ground wire. :-D

I do not recommend crimp connecting any wires to anything. Solder all connections and then use heat shrink tubing to cover it up. Really, all existing crimp connectors should be replaced with soldered ones.

My dad always used petroleum jelly on all exposed connections like the battery. I'm not sure if there are any problems doing that, but it does prevent corrosion.

As fars as rust is concerned, there's not much we can do to avoid it, short of redoing all the body work or avoid the rain whenever possible. I only ride in the rain if I'm caught out in it.