Ducati Sporting Club UK > Sport > Trackdays & Race Schools > CSS and wet weather?

[JPM]

As we all know the British Weather is unreliable at the best of times, but what happens if/when you do a CSS day and the weather goes to pot?

I don't have any spare wheels/discs etc with wets on, and the tyres on the bike (208GP's) aren't exactly made for wet use.

Obviously if this was a normal TD I'd be there twiddling my thumbs waiting for the weather to change for the better, but CSS is a school, not a trackday, I'm guessing you cannot skip one, two, three sessions etc waiting for a change in the weather? Can CSS still teach their drills in wet conditions? I am sure they can, but can they be as effective?

You could argue that it would be my fault for not turning up on a set of rubber for the conditions, but I wouldn't dream of riding in the wet anyway (I am the fair weather biker )

Do CSS have a tyre service? although I've never ridden on wets, or I guess at a cost I could use one of their R6's???

[Edited on 25-7-2005 by JPM]

[Rattler]

I've done a wet CSS day on Supercorsas no probs - in level 2 you're still basically using 1 gear and no brake for most of the day anyway.

IIRC the CSS will be able to flog and fit you some D207RRs if you fancy a bit of tread!!

Tim

[Jools]

I think that practising riding in the wet is essential, it gives you much more feel for the bike, it makes you much smoother, and while you might not get the andrenalin buzz of howling round corners with your knee on the deck there is a certain satisfaction in the challenge of riding as quickly as possible.

I think that wet weather riding and CSS skills are entirely complementary, just try it...you may like it

[gary888]

You can do either, Jon. Hire the R6 or get some 208RRs fitted to your bike on the morning of the day. Just give the school a ring to reserve a pair for you- they usually have several with them, and the mechanic will put them on when you arrive. IMHO they are a really good tyre and work well in the wet.
I agree with Jools about riding in the rain.
Be careful with hiring the R6 though! You may become a convert
Regards,
Gary.

[Whele]

Buy some wets and stop being a tight arse

£10,000 worth of bike, £300 CSS day

1 x set of wheels with wets and disks £600 the wheels last the lifetime of the bike and the tyres will last 1 or 2 years provided you only ride them in very wet conditions.

Why wouldn’t you dream of riding in the wet, if you are going on a CSS day you are obviously eager to learn and develop your riding skills. Riding on track in the wet will teach you more about being smooth and perfecting your lines than any other single technique.

I know somebody who has a pair for sale too

[psychlist]

The number of people that aren't used to riding in the wet! Some of them wasted so much time (obviously it's their choice and I can follow their reasoning) when they didnt come out to play until it dried out and those bravehearts that did were noticeably slower cos they're no used to it. Like Jools said, you get a whole new understanding of bike control in the rain, it takes finesse to ride a bike fast in the wet, I'm still practising as it makes you a smoother rider all year round

[Steve M]

How about swapping the tyres for something with more tread pattern in them, if only for the period in which you do the race school? I was suprised at how much grip I was getting in the wet from my Dialbo Corsa's at Cadwell (not full wet tyre levels of grip, but pretty good all the same) and when it dried out they were superb.