I went into town ( closest town is 45 minutes away) yesterday afternoon to do some shopping. There were a few scattered rain clouds in the area, but radar showed they were heading north so i took my Busa. I hit a few sprinkles, but the sun was mostly shining! Nice riding as the weather was a bit cooler.
As i approached the shopping mall i saw the local Steak House was setting up for a Bike Night to start in about an hour. I knew the band that was to play for the event so i decided to drop in after cruising the mall for my purchases. Skies were still cooperating.
I pulled into the Steak House parking lot, sliding the Busa between a couple of squeeky clean Harley's. Perching myself on the back of a bench seat just below a small overhang, I ordered a Bud Light. "Nice little turn out, the Band Rocks!" i said to myself.
Twenty minutes later the rains came. I was happy to have picked the overhang spot as others were fleeing to safety inside. The band had been setup under a large tent and they continued to play. Untill the rains REALLY came.
Bike night ended an hour after it started and i was left perched on that bench watching the band crew tear down and the Steak house staff roll up any remnants of the festivities. I decide to motor out once the rain slowed to a light rain. Bad move.
I get 3 blocks and the skies let loose! I headed for a gas station, park under the pump canopy and head for the convient store. I am mostly soaked, save for my back side and my feet which were sporting my new Alpinestar Octane street boots! I get a large coffee, puff on a Camel and watch the rain.
Buckets upon buckets come down. From my vantage point in front of the mini-mart, I see cars pushing up water from the street cascading up over their roofs! "Whoa, lotta rain" i say to no one in particular. By this time darkness has settled over this little town and i am wondering if I'm gonna make it home. I get out my iPhone and bring up the Dopplar.
Looks bad as the Dopplar shows big patches of yellow and red across the area and to the north where i need to go. I sip more coffee and smile to the people scurrying out of their cars and asking me if that's my bike. "Gonna get Wet!" they say. About an hour later i check Dopplar again and i see what looks like a small window of oportunity to make a break home.
Sure enough, the rain slows to almost nothing and i gear up and head out. Main street has about a foot of water in the intersection dip, but i slip thru it very slowly with out incident. I make it out of town and start up the curvy road home at an easy pace. Speed Limit is 55, but i slow to around 50. About 7 miles up this stretch of 12 miles to my turn off, i am feeling pretty smug about calling this break in the storms. I approach a small "blink ya miss it" town where the speed limit drops to 45 and i start to let off the throttle a bit. But something is out of place here.
The little yellow road reflectors are not shinning back at me and i realize the road is under water....BREAK!! i hit what turns out to be almost a foot and a half of water in the road that extends over 200 hundered yards. As i hit the water, i let off the break and get back on throttle to keep me moving thru. The Busa was throwing water up over my helmet and we were creating quite a wake! I just said to myself "keep her upright and power thru".
The water enveloped me and the bike and every inch of me was soaked through and through. But i was semi-wet anyway and i just skied my busa over 200 yards through a foot and a half of water.. "AWESOME!!" I exclaim!
I make it home without further incident. Next morning (today) as i am watching the news, they make mention of the little "blink" town where the residents opened their doors to over FOUR feet of water!
And I thought the Busa was just AERO-dynamic!
As i approached the shopping mall i saw the local Steak House was setting up for a Bike Night to start in about an hour. I knew the band that was to play for the event so i decided to drop in after cruising the mall for my purchases. Skies were still cooperating.
I pulled into the Steak House parking lot, sliding the Busa between a couple of squeeky clean Harley's. Perching myself on the back of a bench seat just below a small overhang, I ordered a Bud Light. "Nice little turn out, the Band Rocks!" i said to myself.
Twenty minutes later the rains came. I was happy to have picked the overhang spot as others were fleeing to safety inside. The band had been setup under a large tent and they continued to play. Untill the rains REALLY came.
Bike night ended an hour after it started and i was left perched on that bench watching the band crew tear down and the Steak house staff roll up any remnants of the festivities. I decide to motor out once the rain slowed to a light rain. Bad move.
I get 3 blocks and the skies let loose! I headed for a gas station, park under the pump canopy and head for the convient store. I am mostly soaked, save for my back side and my feet which were sporting my new Alpinestar Octane street boots! I get a large coffee, puff on a Camel and watch the rain.
Buckets upon buckets come down. From my vantage point in front of the mini-mart, I see cars pushing up water from the street cascading up over their roofs! "Whoa, lotta rain" i say to no one in particular. By this time darkness has settled over this little town and i am wondering if I'm gonna make it home. I get out my iPhone and bring up the Dopplar.
Looks bad as the Dopplar shows big patches of yellow and red across the area and to the north where i need to go. I sip more coffee and smile to the people scurrying out of their cars and asking me if that's my bike. "Gonna get Wet!" they say. About an hour later i check Dopplar again and i see what looks like a small window of oportunity to make a break home.
Sure enough, the rain slows to almost nothing and i gear up and head out. Main street has about a foot of water in the intersection dip, but i slip thru it very slowly with out incident. I make it out of town and start up the curvy road home at an easy pace. Speed Limit is 55, but i slow to around 50. About 7 miles up this stretch of 12 miles to my turn off, i am feeling pretty smug about calling this break in the storms. I approach a small "blink ya miss it" town where the speed limit drops to 45 and i start to let off the throttle a bit. But something is out of place here.
The little yellow road reflectors are not shinning back at me and i realize the road is under water....BREAK!! i hit what turns out to be almost a foot and a half of water in the road that extends over 200 hundered yards. As i hit the water, i let off the break and get back on throttle to keep me moving thru. The Busa was throwing water up over my helmet and we were creating quite a wake! I just said to myself "keep her upright and power thru".
The water enveloped me and the bike and every inch of me was soaked through and through. But i was semi-wet anyway and i just skied my busa over 200 yards through a foot and a half of water.. "AWESOME!!" I exclaim!
I make it home without further incident. Next morning (today) as i am watching the news, they make mention of the little "blink" town where the residents opened their doors to over FOUR feet of water!
And I thought the Busa was just AERO-dynamic!