How slippery is hot/melting tar?

I have no confidence riding on those roads which have a high tar to
hard-core ratio on hot days because they look so slippery, and being a
pansy daren't actually test my theory. Has anyone managed to crash
because of it?

 

No.

 

Good-oh.

<gets bike out>

 

Vaseline v. KY, for example.

Nick?

Si

 

The only time I managed to fall off of my XS400 was on a hot/melting tar
corner.

It was such a hot day that I went out in T-shirt and shorts, but after
half a mile I got a feeling that despite the temperature, that sort of
riding gear was stupid.

After returning home and putting on jeans and a leather jacket, I went
out again and promptly lobbed it as I lent into a bend. Close inspection
afterwards showed that there was a patch or squashy tar :-(

 

So opinion is divided. Curses.
I've just returned from a fairly enthusiastic hoon during which I had
one mid-corner rear end slide. Whether this was attributable to melted
tar, ham-fistedness or Avon Azaros is open for discussion.

 

this is actually a VERY complex question, a few years ago if you went
to greece it was practically impossible to wear out tyres, they used a
different combination tarmac because of the heat, at the time I was
riding an FXE and it was "interesting" to habitually spin the back
wheel from almost tickover in 2nd and 3rd in tune with the power
strokes simply by opening the throttle.

So many interdependent factors, tyre compounds and pressures and
temperature, tarmac compounds and compositions and types of grit and
method of laying and temperatures, the only real answer is "depends"

HTH etc

 

As you can imagine, not really. I was planning on crashing and then
coming back here to blame someone.

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, GungaDan belched forth and ejected the following:

Yes, when I was 17, on my DT125 and on my way back to work after lunch.

Left my (parents) house, took the first corner a bit sharp and off I
came. Skinned my hands and my knees. I broke the clutch lever. I cried.

 

Was she trying to get her jodhpurs down?

 

Well, one of the girls out with me today nearly binned her horse on
it.

 

Fnaaar.

 

At the risk of mentioning Pahnd Island, there was often dire talk of
melting tar in those balmy pre-global warming days of yesteryear. Anyone
up to speed on tar v bitumen ?

I guess as Champ says if it only *looks* slippery it may be still
grippy, but if it has actually got to melting point as in Gyp's scenario
then beware.

Perhaps Safety Nazis should start campaigning for roadside temperature
indicators or another 'melting point' idiot lamp to add to the below
freezing warning light on today's increasingly computerised cars.

--

+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Moto Guzzi Mille GT/Squire RS3 Gilera Nordwest |
| Gilera GFR Moto Morini 2C/375 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+

 

If it's not slippery don't worry about it but if it is slippery watch
out?

They could use those smiley signs to display the track temperature. Or
maybe the motorway matrix signs. They're bugger all use for anything
else.

 

Fair comment. A Safety Nazi might play the 'precautionary principle'
card - in the absence of evidence to the contrary, if it looks slippery
it might be advisable to treat it as such until proved otherwise.

They often show the ambient temperature (and time) sur la continent when
there is nothing more useful to offer.

--

+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Moto Guzzi Mille GT/Squire RS3 Gilera Nordwest |
| Gilera GFR Moto Morini 2C/375 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+

 

I didn't blame the road surface, I blamed myself for not paying
attention to the road surface.

 

Prefer Liquid Silk myself.