GS1000 weaves on concrete rain grooves

[srsupertrap]

Assuming you dont have other issues, with wider radial tires it all goes away

My ED with 18" GSXR 3 spokes doesn't do it anymore. Currently running a Pirelli Strada (110/80-18 on 18x2.75" rim )and Dunlop Roadsmart (170/60-18 on 45.x18" rim)

No GSXR wheels for this GS. . . but thanks to Renobruce find my lone nos Morris 18 x 2.50? rear wheel has finally found his mate, a nos 19X2.15 front. Won't fix the weave but the profile will be flatter and it will look period correct.

[mighty13d]

the flatter the tire, the less it will pull you around over the grooves. Think of a street pedal bike tire rolling down the road and pulling from stuff like that vs a car tire. I know it's an extreme difference, but it should allow you to see why a bike pulls.

Just as pointed out though, it just feels bad and isn't actually bad unless you freak out and fight it. I let my bike have it's ''head'' and go how it's going to on stuff like that and it goes just fine. It's apparently very disconcerting as a passenger though. My gf has let me know that she does NOT appreciate grooves or grates. I haven't tried any with my bandit to compare to the GS850 though.

[bwringer]

I think because it's a quite natural to be a little concerned when it feels like you're riding on marbles. Getting used to that feeling could be very dangerous on the day that you hit some real 'marbles' (a patch of sand for instance) on the same road.

On the contrary, it doesn't feel the same at all. Haven't you ever ridden down a gravel or dirt road? Rain grooves don't feel anything at all like reduced traction.

Different tires and different bikes follow rain grooves to different extents. This makes sense -- every bike reacts in a different way to its environment.

But what I'm getting at is that the real problem is an unreasonable fear reaction, which arises from gaps in training and skill -- in terms of actual control over the motorcycle and available traction, rain grooves are pretty much a non-issue. You can corner and brake very hard over rain grooves, in fact.

Getting used to the feeling of rain grooves doesn't mean that you will be numb to the feelings of reduced traction. Quite the contrary -- you simply need to be able to tell the difference.

Read the "Twist of the Wrist" books by Keith Code. He spends quite a lot of time in these books examining what he calls "Survival Reactions". We didn't evolve riding motorcycles, so there are several way in which our natural survival reactions in dynamic situations produce incorrect results. (Chopping the throttle or nailing the brakes midcorner, for example. And by "incorrect results", we mean dead and mangled riders.)

To become a proficient rider, you must retrain your natural senses, reactions, and reflexes around the somewhat unnatural reality of the way a motorcycle works.

You have very limited control over the way a particular motorcycle reacts over rain grooves and other pavement irregularities. Assuming the motorcycle is functioning correctly, some tires are better at this than others, but it's remarkably short-sighted (but depressingly common) to base your choice of tire entirely on this one meaningless factor.

On the other hand, all of us have a nearly unlimited ability to learn, gain experience, and become better riders. And this is the real answer to this question -- learn to understand, adapt, and react correctly.

[OldVet66]

Progressive springs, 15 weight fork oil with 5Lbs. of air give you a lot more confident feeling of control on the road on a GS1000E. I have Metzler Lasertec tires on my bike. It will follow the grooves a bit, but does not affect handling as long as you ignore the unsettling feeling it may produce (assuming the bike is in top shape). If you look, rain grooves are never strait, they are always wavy. A little conscious counter steering (push with the hand in the direction desired) will overcome the harshest rain grooves in a heartbeat with no feeling of loss of control. As bwringer said, it is a non issue. Tires with a small contact patch will always follow grooves to some extent.

[Zooks]

On the contrary, it doesn't feel the same at all. Haven't you ever ridden down a gravel or dirt road?

Yep. I live on a gravel road made almost entirely of small river pebbles.

It's enough to make me contemplate selling all my bikes at times. I love the house and the location but the road truly sux.

[bwringer]

Yep. I live on a gravel road made almost entirely of small river pebbles.

It's enough to make me contemplate selling all my bikes at times. I love the house and the location but the road truly sux.

Sounds like fun, actually, aside from the cleaning.

A GS850 will throw an impressive rooster tail of rocks and dirt in third gear. And no chain to clean...