riding in high winds / gusty conditions

[Wonko The Sane]

Just chickened out of riding from Barnsley to Manchester via Huddersfield and the M60 due to the weather conditions.

didn't realise I was half way to huddersfield when I turned back (thought i was 1/3 the way) due to being stuck in traffic for a bit and fighting to keep the bike up.

wasn't enjoying being blown to the white line by the odd gust or unsettled in a corner due to the wind changing.


I've ridden in similar weather, but only to make it home through Manchester from work, any advice on coping with weather like this would be great, ta
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[ADSrox0r]

I'll ride in most conditions but once gusts get over 50mph, fuck that for a lark. If nothing else I hate the idea of the bike flopping over when I've parked up at work. Although I'm pretty sure it'd take a monster wind to push a lardy arse VFR over.
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[Dave70]

Grip the tank firmly with your legs and keep your arms loose and relaxed. Instinctively, keeping your arms relaxed appears not the thing to do but, it works.

Personally, I'd avoid motorways too, as they are more exposed to strong gusts of wind.

It's not particularly a pleasant experience but, it can be done relatively safely.

Try and take it easy too as you'll often find all sorts of debris has been blown into the road, everything from tree branches to wheelie bins and you don't want to be faced with something like that when you come around a corner and can't stop in time.
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[Eddie Hitler]

Can be dodgy when it gusts you on a wet/greasy road. Have nearly lost the front a few times from very heavy gusts. I remember getting incredibly angry, hitting my tank when wind almost blew me into oncoming traffic. Rarely that bad though.

[Nobby the Bastard]

[sickpup]

[yodagoat]

I also found that a wee bit speed helps in strong wind. I was caught in a bad gale and nearly blown on to the other side of the road over Rannoch Moor. Going round Loch Eribol we had winds that were nearly blowing a fully loaded GS off its side stand. I had to hold it down. I was nearly blown over again when some twat with a caravan stopped to panic about the weather.
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[Beehive Bedlam]

I've rode from the other side of Wakefield to Grassington tonight on my mighty Varadero the roads are littered with rubbish from blown over dustbins at some points we were reduced to 40MPH at others achieved an indicated 85MPH.

It is very windy.

[XBIKER]

The one that really puts the wind up me is when you've been following a truck for protection which suddenly goes sideways and you know that blast will hit you in a mili-second.

Try keeping that one between the hedges!

[Wull]

I've ridden in everything and windy conditions are the conditions I like the least.

I'm glad I don't need to use the bike daily these days.
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"Scooters are for men who want to ride motorcycles but prefer to feel the wind on their vaginas"

[monkeybiker]

The thing you need to realize is all this getting blown about on the road is mostly you steering it all over the road.

What happens is the wind hits you and if you are clinging onto the handle bars you will end up giving steering inputs.

Keep a loose grip on the handle bars and pinch the tank with your knees.

I have ridden in strong winds and it can be scary but the more relaxed you are the better you will ride.

[CaNsA]

Y'all need to MTFU.

https://i.imgur.com/exWs9DK.jpg

[esullivan]

I went on a motorcycle control course last year (i2i) and was told the wind affects the bike hardly at all. To prove it to us, they had us ride up and down a runway in gusty winds, while standing up on the pegs and holding our arms out to the side. The wind affects the rider, who inadvertently pushes on the bars. I came away pretty convinced.

That's why it works to grip the tank with your knees, keep your arms loose and hold the grips with about as much strength as you would a wine glass. I've even tried letting go when hit by a gust, and the bike rights itself and continues in a straight line. It's not something the mind easily accepts, though.
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[bikertomm]

Driving home from work last night on a 50MPH long section of road (Most people usually do 60/70..)

I come up to a cruiser style bike with huge handlebars and a huge screen doing 40 and literally swerving all over the road..

At one point he nearly got blown into an oncoming bus.

I thought I had probably best not overtake him just incase it made things any worse
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[Rogerborg]

Take a car or don't go at all.

If you absolutely must ride, correct by leaning yourself into the wind or putting your weight on the pegs, not the bars.

It's not an exact science, but I'm moderately convinced by the proposition that when the wind blows the rider to the side, our instinctive reaction is to prop ourselves up by gripping hard and leaning on the downwind bar, and hello inadvertent counter-steer.

Easier said than done, but gentle hands, weight off the bars.

Take a car though.
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[Slacker24seve...]

Stick a knee into the oncoming sidewind. It works.
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[thx1138]

I ride the 125vanvan when it's blowy, slower and lower to the ground

don't like gusty sidewinds, like on the A66 always

[andyscooter]

250kg bike FTw


Also ride in middle of your lane so have a bit of room to be blown about
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[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

180kg bike for teh lols.

Blimey it's a bit gusty up on the wolds today. Wind's really sweeping across the fields - strongest is about 60mph according to BBC, so nowhere near as bad as the worst. Parts of Scotchlandia have seen more than double that!

Seaways was like Ice Station Zebra. *was the only bike there*

Roads are in great condition though - bone dry and a lot of the grit's been swept away. Best they've been for weeks and weeks imo. Kind of have to forget about holding a decent line though and just let the bike do it. To say trying to tussle with it doesn't work is definitely a bit of an understatement.

Going to wake the dubya up now, cos it's been in hibernation for over a month.
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[Rogerborg]

[XBIKER]

I’ve ridden in all kinds of weather and have often found myself hanging off the left hand side of the bike to keep a straight line on motorway against a left hand strong wind and vice versa for the right. The interesting thing is you barely have to straighten up, often still hanging left for a right hand bend, which is just weird.

Once when stationary at traffic lights, I could not kick into first gear as the wind was pushing the bike so hard from the right. I had to stand up straight in a massive effort to stop the bike from blowing over and could not risk lifting my left leg off the ground.
I just had to wave the following traffic past me until the huge gust calmed down and I could get my leg up

I always rode as close as possible to the edge of the lane where the wind was blowing e.g. Hard left for”lefterlies” and hard right for “righterlies”
Just look out for car drivers coming in too close to your “safe zone”, especially if you are sitting hard left in the lane. I quite enjoyed letting the bike go with the wind if I saw coming up close just to let them appreciate what the wind was doing and why I was in such a lane position.

In dry conditions a windy ride can be great fun, just take it easy in the rain.

As Rogerborg says, whatever works for you as long as it gets you there safely.

[Frost]

I've done the Severn bridge in very windy conditions and found that counter steering was the solution. When the wind blows from the left push the left handle bar forwards and the bike will lean into the wind keeping you in a straight line.

[alex965]

I did a 250 mile ride down the M5 and then onto the A30 the other day in horrendous wind. At points I was reduced to 50mph on the motorway, any faster and I couldn't seem to control the bike enough to stay in my lane. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

I found, like others, sticking a knee out into the sidewind seems to help, no idea why. Maybe it's a psychological thing.

This next one is a little unorthadox, and it probably does more harm than good, but at one point in a strong sidewind I just got right down onto the tank, changed down a gear and went absolutely mad for about 2 minutes. It sort of seemed to work, I felt like I was slicing straight through any wind...until I got to a really exposed section of motorway and nearly got blown into the central reservation

My natural reaction to encountering a heavy sidewind seems to be to gently roll off the throttle a little, stay loose on the handlebars, and just lean into the wind, letting the bike correct itself...Sometimes, only very rarely, I wish I had a car.
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[andyscooter]

[Wonko The Sane]

Cheers all,

About to drive back across to my parent's to return my dad's car and collect my bike.

dealing with the wind in daylight will probably feel better than in the dark, a constant high wind I can deal with, drop a gear, let the bike rev a bit and lean into it, it's the sudden gusts that un-nerve me.
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