Manhole covers + RAIN = VERY SLIPPERY

[beechfront]

WOW. I would never have guessed those things could get so slippery. I was turning out of work just creeping along. somehow the front tire must have missed it but when the back tire hit the back end of the bike slid over about 2 feet.

[Dragonrider]

Yep. And the painted lines on the road...and those friggen big arrows they stick in the lanes as pointers...and those big smooth steel plates they use to cover holes when they are working on the road...

Be careful out there!

[uk1.1s]

Manhole covers from hell

Yep - killers aren't they.

A memorable trip down to the far SW of the UK (Cornwall) for a bike rally on the XS about 8 years ago was done mostly in heavy rain for the last 150 miles around Cornwalls more 'interesting' roads.

The local road builders had seen fit to place 4 foot by 2 foot steel rectangle covers on every corner I rode around....

Somehow kept it upright whilst being cold / tired / pissed off .......maybe the XS11 God was guiding me that day

[rfbatman]

In California, we have those raised reflectors in the road. If you catch them just right they can cause a problem too.

[Port V.P.]

Manhole covers + rain

How about the steel "cheese grater" decking on bridges. On a dry day it will pull your front tire around, but on a wet one.... holy doodle!

[fusionking]

Booby Traps????????

You know I can't even believe that bridge decking is even legal, much less all the temp stuff. I bet if more people involved in that business rode you'd see a lot less of that sort of crap!!!>>>>>>>>>>>Garry

[sksxs1100]

there is a bridge close by that has the grating on it and it doesn't bother mine too much... guess there are correct ways to do it

[ratbyk]

Grated bridge decks

I learned a long time ago that on these grated bridge surfaces you need to RELAX! Do not clamp onto the handle bars. Hold them very lightly and allow the bike to find its own way across. Don't worry the bike really will continue across on it's own. Lighten up on how tight you hold the tank with your knees as well. Just let the bike squirm away and relax on the controls.
If you clamp down on everything the tire contact patch is locked in and every little irregularity is transmitted up to those balance sencers in your ears and they will likely be moving back and forth by 3 to 4 inches. TERROR!
Relax and that 3 to4 inches takes place at the tire contact patch not at your head 3 1/2 feet above the pavement and the sencers in you ears are happy.
Just let the bike work away under you.
If you have ever watched 1/2 and mile dirt trackers work the corners they let the bike work away underneath them. The ones who lock onto the contols usually fall away back or worse, they fall down.
When these steel grids are wet it is really important to relax on the controls and let the bike work under you.
Ken/Sooke
78E Ratbyk

[Racer X]

.................Also RR crossings! We have some RR tracks here in Vancouver that are in the MIDDLE OF A CURVE! How friggin stupid is that? Plenty of dumped bikes right there over the years, none of them mine thank goodness.

[TopCatGr58]

Just wanted to add a riding tip for RR crossings, just in case someone doesn't know the correct way. You want to straighten out your direction across the tracks so that you are travelling as perpendicular to the tracks as possibles, which means you might have to swing wide left or right first before the tracks to get yourself lined up right, so that you can then be upright and hitting the angled tracks essentially dead on!!

Ratbyk is right about loosening up across those bridges. We have one that I used to have to cross everyday twice going to and from work, when the bike was my only transportation. Got to experience it in rain, sleet, snow, high winds, everything!!!! Stay Loose!!! Of course putting my feet down as possible training wheel/slides helped me 'feel' better/safer anyways!!!!!

Other fun hazards to watch out for are those little patches of dusty sandy gravel that builds up near rural road crossings, lots of loose leaves and such especially during the fall, that nice oily patch of asphalt in the middle of the lane as you approach intersections, gotta stay alert to stay "on top" of things, especially your bike....pun intended!

T.C.

[Jerry]

Out here in the west an additional hazard...cattle guards. Use same advice as rr track crossings. There are a *lot* more guards than crossings....

[Mike Hart]

Re: Grated bridge decks

Originally posted by ratbyk
I learned a long time ago that on these grated bridge surfaces you need to RELAX! Do not clamp onto the handle bars. Hold them very lightly and allow the bike to find its own way

Good advice for ANY riding condition! Keith Code, in Twist of the Wrist II, lists arm/hand tension as the 2d most dangerous wrong thing one can do on a motorcycle.