had a bad ride today....

beatnck · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 29 May 2006 Karma :

i went out on the bike today for the first time in two weeks as ive been way too busy lately.
bearing in mind ive only been back on a bike for about 5 months, and only covered 900 miles in that time, ive been taking it steady so far, and slowly improving, but today was awful! Crying or Very sad

the wind was so bad it felt like i was going to be blown off the road (not helped by my bike being a little rs125), the sun was blinding me everytime it was in front of me, and i was just generally being crap. i guess riding on an unfamilier road didnt help either... Wink

to make me feel even worse i got overtaken by lots of bigger bikes, which would then seemingly just glide round the bends i was struggling so much with.
the final straw was when i was battling a fearsome sidewind at 70 mph and a guy on a 1200gs overtakes whilst waving at me!!
at that point i decided to just go home and have a beer..
not sure why ive posted this here, i guess its made me feel a bit disilusioned. Confused

Whosthedaddy · Super Spammer Joined: 11 Dec 2005 Karma :

Its one of those things Wink

I hate riding in the wind, I sturggle to lean into it to keep the bike stable yet as you mentioned people just seem to have no problems at all Confused

.

Its all about mental state and relaxation I suppose.
____________________
Current : MSX 125 Past : CBR 900RR Monkeybike : c50 LAC : ZXR750 H2 : FZR600 : ZX7R P3 : YW100 : TRX850: Trophy 900 T309 : GSXR 600 L0: Monkeybike : XJ6S Whosthedaddy

mr.z · World Chat Champion Joined: 04 Feb 2004 Karma :

Don't assume your being mocked, most bikers have been there as much as they dont like to admit it, i can tell you right now its a shit site harder to ride a 125 than a larger bike.

Choose your roads more carefully for plesure rides Wink

+ in sidewinds take the route that offers more protection, i.e. country lanes with hedges either side as opposed to flat open dual carrageway.. of coure thats for when you do know the roads.. relax your arms and hold the tank with your legs, harder it pushes harder you grip.. it gets easyer Thumbs Up

____________________
>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

doggone · World Chat Champion Joined: 20 May 2004 Karma :

Big heavier bikes do cope with winds far better.
The low Winter sun is a real hazard to all vehicles though.

Whosthedaddy · Super Spammer Joined: 11 Dec 2005 Karma :

lee8040 · Nearly there... Joined: 27 Jan 2006 Karma :

i went through a stage like that i do find more power makes the ride easier. i had a cg125 and used to struggle on that as it was so slow and rattly and so light that it moved in the wind, i then got a 500cc and found it easier to ride, being heavier and more power

mr.z · World Chat Champion Joined: 04 Feb 2004 Karma :

Tell me about it Sad

the problem with the uber faring..

Only thing with the scenic route you have to be carefull of is the leaf coverage Confused

Agg the sun, pain in the arrrse was driveing today and had to sit like the seat was made of cactus so the flipy down visor thing was blocking Brick Wall

____________________
>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

extreme3d · World Chat Champion Joined: 27 Dec 2004 Karma :

A 125 is a lot lighter so this may or may not apply so much, but in the wind try to take as much weight of your hands pressing on the bars as possible. Also loosen your grip on the bars.

The wind is not moving the bike around as much as it's moving YOU about on the bike. If you are gripping/leaning on the bars heavily this movement pulls the handlebars and results in the bike moving to.

By relaxing your grip you will find the wind doesn't bother you half as much Wink

As to the sun, the only thing you can do is try a darker tint visor or sunglasses.

CortezTheKill... · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Karma :

wilbur · Traffic Copper Joined: 20 Sep 2006 Karma :

Hey cheer up, the waves are of friendship.

Dealing with our weather takes experience.

Wait until you have to deal with the wind AND turbulence of overtaking an artic on a motorway with a side wind. THAT can be scary.

Should be taught IMHO. I assume it is still not ?

yambabe · World Chat Champion Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

The other thing to remember is that whatever the weather sometimes your riding just goes to shit and sometimes it's spot on perfect.

If you're anything like me you don't know which it's going to be til you've got out there - been more than one occasion when I've been really looking forward to getting out on my bike and ended up coming home after a very short while cos I've just felt that it wouldn't be safe for me to be out any longer. Sad

____________________
Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate. Very Happy

wilbur · Traffic Copper Joined: 20 Sep 2006 Karma :

Further to that, if you have a cold your balance can be seriously bjorked by blocked tubes.

It is one of the things that were addressed by the "do not ride unless you feel well" stickers. Which, on reflection, I have not seen for years. Are they still in use ?

Everybody ignored them anyway, if you need to get to work you need to get to work.