Is it safe to ride a motorcycle in the rain?
It can be, if you adjust for less grip. A wet road gives your tyres less traction, so you need more distance to stop, and the road is most slippery just after it starts to rain, before the oil on the surface washes to the side.
Thunder is the exception. The US National Weather Service says no place outside is safe when thunderstorms are around. By that rule, a rider on a motorcycle is outside.
Know when the rain arrives before you leave.
Roveri’s weather card marks the rainy hours ahead where you are, and warns you when rain is coming after a dry spell. Where to ride, part of Roveri Pro, rates places near you hour by hour, so you can see where it stays dry.
Riding in the wet
How to ride, where the road is slipperiest, and when to stop.
How to ride a motorcycle in the rain
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s Motorcycle Operator Manual, originally developed under contract to the US road-safety agency NHTSA, boils wet riding down to a few habits:
- Slow down before the slippery part, not on it. Your motorcycle needs more distance to stop, and the manual singles out reducing speed before you enter wet curves.
- Leave more room. The manual’s usual minimum is two seconds behind the vehicle ahead; on a slippery road it says to open that to three seconds or more.
- Be smooth. Any sudden change in speed or direction can start a skid, so speed up, shift, turn and brake as gently as you can.
- Use both brakes. The front brake still works on a slippery surface. Squeeze the lever gradually so the front wheel doesn’t lock.
Where the road is slipperiest
- The first rain. The manual calls wet pavement most slippery just after it starts to rain, before the surface oil washes to the side of the road. It gives no time figure, and neither do we.
- Paint and metal. Lane markings, steel plates and surface covers are poor for grip, especially when wet. The UK Highway Code warns other drivers that riders may suddenly need to avoid drain covers and oily or wet patches. It also asks all road users, particularly motorcyclists, to take extra care near tram rails, especially wet ones.
- The middle of the lane. Oil dripped by cars collects there, and the manual says it can be hazardous when wet. When it starts to rain, it recommends riding in the tyre tracks left by the vehicles ahead.
- Leaves and oil spots. Right after warning about ice on bridges and in shaded spots, the manual says wet surfaces and wet leaves are “just as slippery”. And an oil spot where you put your foot down at a stop can make you slip and fall.
- Rain grooves and bridge gratings. They can make the bike weave. The manual says that feeling is generally not hazardous: relax, keep a steady speed and ride straight across.
The road doesn’t dry evenly either: the manual notes that rain dries faster on some sections than on others.
Seeing and being seen
Rain and spray from other vehicles make it hard both to see and to be seen, as Rule 227 of the Highway Code puts it. A faceshield keeps the rain off your face, and the manual asks that eye protection be free of scratches and let air through, to reduce fogging. Check that your visor is clean before you set off. To be seen, the manual’s best bets are bright orange, red, yellow or green jackets and reflective, bright-coloured clothing.
Staying warm and dry
Being wet is not only uncomfortable. The manual is blunt: you cannot control a motorcycle well if you are numb, and wind, cold and rain make you tire quickly. In cold or wet weather your clothes should keep you warm and dry, and it recommends rainsuits designed for motorcycling, which resist tearing apart or ballooning up at speed.
Cold doesn’t have to mean freezing. The CDC notes that hypothermia can occur even above 4.4 °C (40 °F) when a person is chilled by rain or sweat. Wet gear and the wind of riding add up, so check the motorcycle wind chill chart on our guide to how cold is too cold to ride.
Standing water and thunderstorms
Standing water. When tyres ride on a film of water instead of the road, the ability to steer and brake drops sharply. Tyre maker Bridgestone lists speed, tread depth and water depth among the factors, though its page is written about cars. The Highway Code says that if the steering becomes unresponsive, water is probably keeping the tyres off the road, so ease off the accelerator and slow down gradually. A flooded road is a different matter: the National Weather Service says 6 inches (15 cm) of fast-moving water can knock over an adult, and that it is never safe to drive into flood water.
Thunderstorms. The National Weather Service’s rule is “When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors”: if you can hear thunder, you are within striking distance, and no place outside is safe. Its safe shelters are a substantial building or an enclosed, metal-topped vehicle with the windows up, and it adds that rubber tyres don’t protect you. A motorcycle is neither of those shelters. From that, our advice is: when thunder starts, get off the road and wait it out under a roof. The NWS says to stay inside for at least 30 minutes after the last thunder.
How common are crashes in the rain?
There is no published share of motorcycle crashes that happen in the rain that we could verify. For all vehicles on US roads, the Federal Highway Administration counts about 745,000 weather-related crashes a year, roughly 12 % of all crashes, from NHTSA data averaged over 2019 to 2023. Over 77 % of them happen in rain or mist, and crashes in rain kill about 2,810 people a year. Most weather-related crashes, in other words, happen in the rain.
Your wet rides in Roveri
Roveri records the ride while your phone stays in your pocket. When you stop, it takes up to eight weather readings along your route, and a ride is classified as a rain ride when at least 15 % of those readings are rainy. Your stats count how many of your rides were in the wet. Before you leave, if rain is coming after at least 24 dry hours, the weather card on the home screen says “First rain after a dry spell — oil rises, grip can drop”. All of that is free. Roveri Pro adds the distance you rode in the rain, and Where to ride, which rates the hours near you and marks an hour as not rideable when the chance of rain is 40 % or more, or when 0.5 mm of rain an hour or more is forecast.
Rain or shine, keep the ride.
Roveri records your ride and the weather along it.
Common questions
Is it safe to ride a motorcycle in the rain?
It can be, if you ride for less grip. A wet road gives your tyres less traction, so slow down before slippery surfaces and wet curves, leave three seconds or more to the vehicle ahead, and brake and steer smoothly. The UK Highway Code says stopping distances are at least double on wet roads.
When is the road most slippery in the rain?
Just after it starts to rain, before the oil on the surface washes to the side of the road, according to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s Motorcycle Operator Manual. Painted lines, steel plates, surface covers and the oily middle of the lane are worse when wet.
Should you use the front brake in the rain?
Yes. The Motorcycle Operator Manual says the front brake is still effective on a slippery surface and recommends using both brakes, squeezing the front lever gradually so the wheel doesn’t lock.
Can you ride a motorcycle in a thunderstorm?
The US National Weather Service says no place outside is safe when thunderstorms are around, and only a substantial building or an enclosed, metal-topped vehicle counts as shelter. By that rule, on a motorcycle you are outside, so our advice is to get off the road and wait at least 30 minutes after the last thunder.
Roveri runs on iPhone (iOS 18.6 or later) and is free to download. Recording rides and their weather is free; Where to ride and the wet-distance detail are part of Roveri Pro, an optional subscription with a free trial. Read the full, code-verified fact sheet on the Roveri press page, or get Roveri on the App Store.
