Riding in the wind?

[iCraig]

Well following on from the riding in the rain thread I thought I'd start one on the wind, the other arch enemy of the british (or scottish/welsh etc) motorcyclist.

So do you guys have any tips etc, as even though I've been riding 4 years I still get caught out by gusts .

[Bendy]

Leave room to be gusted at. If you know the wind's coming from the left, ride as far over to the left as you can.

Watch for weird funnelling effects around big buildings which can make the wind come from the wrong direction entirely.

Leave the bike at home and take a ton or so of car instead.


Never pick a fight with mother nature, cos you'll usually lose.

[The Tot]

I tend to keep a very low cross sectional area. I crouch to reduce the side cross sectional area, thus reducing the effect of using your bike and body as sails. A small frontal area means that you can slice through the gusts better. I'd tuck behind the screen for comfort too, but usually wind and rain go hand in hand this time of year. Best stay off the roads when it's utterly windy - crosswinds spell a bad story when you're on a ped
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[Flip]

Hey Craig.

My tip is to hold on.
Just relax and you can ride through the wind. (Although it was a nightmare on the NSR)

Off topic. Hey Craig I'm back on the road. Got me a ZXR400 while I fix the Gixxer! I eventually got a head frame for it this week! So I'll come to a ride out soon

[Marc_Buck]

[JonB]

The same goes for Lorries, just prepare yourself for the worst and hang on.

On A roads look out for gates in hedges as you could be swept a mile from wind compressed to squeeze out of a tight space that has building.
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[dibbster]

Wind is harder than the rain. If its raining you can ride smoother and brake earlier and more gently etc.
With wind one minute its coming from the left then the right, hard then gentle, and at this time of year it is often accompanied with leaves as well. Given the choice I would rather ride in rain than wind.
Try and work out which direction the wind is coming from to help you anticipate what might happen, look out for gaps in hedges, buildings etc that can funnel the wind. When overtaking lorries be careful as the lorry can shield you temporarily from the wind.
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[mr.z]

Theres not allot you can do about being blown about but its not a big deal (that is of course assumeing were not talking the kind of wind that upturns cars, because if it is... stay at home, or get off the road till it dies down.) If you can choose the scenic route, motorways and dualcarrageways are very exposed, a sheltered route will be less hard work.

When your being blown arround rideing, say accross farmland without hedges seperateing its relatively constant, so just stay relaxed, use your knees to grip the tank and -stay relaxed!- if you are tense and useing your kung-fu death grip on the bars and arms locked all that will do is transfer stright to your bars, and you will find yourself allover the place... if the bike wants to wobble a bit let it, hold the bars firmly but relax your shoulders and elbows... your forward momentum will keep it going the right way.

You will know roughly which direction the wind is comeing at you, i tend to countersteer accordingly against it, or just hang your ass over the side its comeing from and it will counter it a little... ride on the side of the road wich allows you the most margin for error, so if there is sudden gust of wind you wont get pushed over your line or into a hedge (if your being blown from your left to your right stay closer to the left).

Be weary of

* high bridges
* open roads
* coastal areas
* mountain tops and mountain valleys
* gaps between buildings and hedges
* as trucks pass
* below high rises in cities

These can catch you out, the lorry blocking the wind from you will have an area of low pressure behind, which as it passes will pull you in then push as the wind catches you again... which is a little unsettleing if your not expecting it!! Best thing to do is keep an especially good distance from lorrys in these situations, right next to it will make you **** your pants, 3/4 of a lane distance and you will barely notice it if at all.
Between some highrises are another area for caution, because of weird microclimates arround these ares the wind can completely change direction and be blowing fullwack one way then change 180degrees to blow you the other way, same goes for bridges, just be ready for it and in the best position.

Another thing is watch out for bits of tree and hedge in the road, a mates brother broke his arm and TOTALY mangled his pristine gsxr750, well within the limit probably not takeing it ever so easyly but i suspect many of us here dont allot of the time, this was yesterday on a road i use 3/4 days a week. The slower your going the more time you will have to see a hazzard and deal with it in whatever way is best.

I remember my cg125 being a bit of a git in the wind, the the cx being top heavy and the sail like sold front disk and wheel aint perfect... the lighter your bike and the biger your faring then the worse you will feel the gales, which is lets face it sports bikes, be carefull out there guys and gals
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>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[dainesefreak]

It's easier to ride a larger capacity machine when it's windy due to the extra weight providing more stability.

I keep the bike in a responsive gear, I find that you can use acceleration to steady and stabilize . I try to give high sided vehicles plenty of room and try not to be along side them for too long when overtaking.

[mr.z]

Letting the engine rev higher tends to stabilise the bike quite a bit (gyroscopic effect?), also helps allot when turning in the road!

From this weeks weather is look like were going to have allot more of it, think we have had it as far as summer goes...
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>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[stinkwheel]

Sit forwards on the saddle (I have sometimes landed up almost on the tank), crouch over the bars and keep your forearms paralell to the ground with the bars in a loose grip. This maximises the steering input and feedback keeping you more in control. Take more of your weight on the footpegs, loading up one or other of the pegs will tend to make the bike 'crab' accross the road without actually moving the steering.

In a very high wind you can use your knees and elbows as steering airbrakes by sticking the opposite elbow out to the side you are being blown to. This is also a technique you can use for fine position adjustment when travelling at very high speed or into a strong headwind.
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I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Rollins]

Filtering can be a bit dodgy too in high winds. My advice? Don't do it.

Although you may argue that you become more sheltered when riding the white lines, due to Transits/Eddie Stobart etc. deflecting the buffeting you would get in normal "middle of the lane" riding.

And RS125's aren't the most stable bikes in crosswinds
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