take caution when riding in the rain
It's been raining quite a bit the past few weeks here in southern California. As a result, I haven't been riding much. I don't like to get wet, and I don't like the added danger when it rains.
On Tuesday morning, I get a call from a friend saying he will be late for class because a motorcyclist had an accident right in front of him and he is helping the biker out. From the description, it sounds like the bike's rear wheel lost traction under braking (slippery surface, it was raining kinda hard) and crashed as a result. The motorcyclist then slid into a car, and I think the car ran over or hit his wrist. He got out easy, I think a chipped bone in the arm or shoulder, and some other minor cuts and bruises. I helped the motorcyclist ride his bike back to his apartment later that night.
Remember, when it rains, the road has reduced traction, especially over painted lines and man-hole covers. So take it much easier than under normal driving/riding conditions!
On a side note, I got to ride a Honda Rebel 250 for about 5 - 10 minutes as a result. It looked much better than the old rebel 250 I rode during MSF. The bike looked decent, and had enough power for regular street riding (I just rode it about 5 - 10 minutes on surface streets to get it to the destination). Compared to my ninja 250, at those speeds, probably similar power, maybe a bit less. But it gets that power at a much lower RPM. However, the bike seemed much louder than the ninja 250. I don't know if the exaust is stock or not.
