Nobody likes the wind

[Genesismatrix]

I was riding this evening in some fairy heavy cross winds. Are there any good techniques out there to be more stable and not get blown all over the road.

Keeping in mind Big Guy (105kg) Small Bike (130kg)

[skidMark]

hang on for dear life...and oh don't try to overtake any big truck's in heavy wind that could possibly change direction and try blow you into them....to such a point that you almost have the peg down to go in a straight line.....

***speaks from experiance**** (fuck me that was scary shit when that happened coming up the southern...in the wet too) and on a gn 250 :gob:

[White trash]

Yup. Keep the front wheel firmly planted on the road, no matter how cool people tell ya you look otherwise.

Trust me.

[MidnightMike]

Get a heavier bike mate. :scooter:

[skidMark]

now theres a good excuse for license exemtion......why do you need the new gixxer thousand on your learners....cus my light lil bike gets blown round in the wind :blip:

[justsomeguy]

Relax your grip on the bars, if necessary hang off your bike going with the flow of the wind - keep the bike upright.

Expect the front end to be pushed by a sudden gust of wind and prepare yourself for it. Its no big deal and you will get used to it.

Try and keep your speed more or less constant, slow down to a speed you feel comfortable at. Don't speed up as some people may tell you, it may make the bike stable but it also gives you less room for error.

If you feel the wind is too strong please pull over and stop until it dies down.

Last point - if you have to stop - remember in extreme cases your bike may be blown off the stand or shifted around by the wind.

[White trash]

Carefull what you say about the mighty FXR there MNMike. Have you looked in a mirror lately?

[MidnightMike]

Carefull what you say about the mighty FXR there MNMike. Have you looked in a mirror lately?

Whats that suposed to mean?

[Ixion]

It's more scarey than dangerous. Especially you being heavyish. Just relax, put your weight on your feet not your arse, grip the tank tight and the handlebars loose. If the wind blows you, don't try to fight it through the bars just move your weight around on the pegs . And don't be afraid to let the bike wander a bit you're entitled to use the whole lane.

Anticipate when you'll get hit, coming out of the lee of hills and such like.

Don't really know that bike weight makes such a difference myself, a light bike gets blown easier than a heavy one, but it's easier to correct.

If you have to balance out a steadish cross wind, don't lean the bike to compensate, move your body over and hang off (you'll still have a lean a wee bit) - the one time when that technique makes sense for road riding. That way when the wind drops you don't swerve suddenly in the direction you are leaning.

Like I say, one of those things that feels really frightening to a novice, but after a while you get used to it. Like the bike moving around on gravel. Feels like you're not in control, but I only ever heard one instance of anyone crashing directly because of wind. And that was a feather weight chick on a feather weight bike. Usual reason people lose it in wind is a gust hits them , they get a fright and jam on the brakes. bad idea.

[beyond]

Get a bigger bike. e.g. A GSX1400 :)

Or make it a tail wind, you get another 5kmh top speed. :)

Seriously, I've been in gale force winds on the Auckland harbour bridge on smaller bikes when I was younger.
1. Don't panic.
2. Remain calm and lean into the wind.
3. Gusts change and therefore you can be leaning into the wind one second and nearly falling over the next. Again, be prepared for the wind shifts.
Don't go too fast as has been said because the quicker you go the faster the change in direction when the wind changes on you.
4. Sudden wind gusts at reasonable speeds for the wind conditions can be dealt with by counterstering quickly as necessary.
5. Most bikes can be ridden safely in very strong winds. If they get cyclonic, find a culvert. :)

[White trash]

Whats that suposed to mean?
THATs s'posed to mean that I'd have an over sized scooter (actually have a couple) over a reVolty any day.

But that's just a personal thing.

[MidnightMike]

THATs s'posed to mean that I'd have an over sized scooter (actually have a couple) over a reVolty any day.

But that's just a personal thing.

Fair enough, Id rather have a volty than a fixxer halfway up my ass, its just a personal thing. I removed that comment anyway, all good. :rockon:

[White trash]

Nothing like a fixxer halfway up your arse man. Stops the butt cheeks chafing.

[Genesismatrix]

Thanks for the advice fullers. Im looking at bigger bikes for when i get my full any sudgestions ?

[beyond]

Thanks for the advice fullers. Im looking at bigger bikes for when i get my full any sudgestions ?

GSX1400. You will never look back. I mean it. :first:

[Big Dog]

Wee tip I would have killed to know 14 years ago, Point your windward knee out. Don't know why or how. Do it really care either.
It does thats all I need to know.
Both knees in a gusting headwind is good too except for cold balls.

[sunhuntin]

riding a gn250 along the foxton strait with a side wind is fun...freaked me out to begin with but i knew there was no way around it so i just knuckled in and let the bike tell me what was needed. she decided where we went, all i had to do was keep her within the lane.
as someone else said, we are entitled to use the whole lane, i use the wind as an "excuse" to play....also, by veering with the wind currents, it keeps cars from passing dangerously, looks like im about to blow out of my lane.
worst bit of wind ive encoutered was coming around a sharpish corner at the bottom of a hill in a 100k zone....swept around the corner, kinda in the middle of my lane and got blown hard left....damn near into the ditch. managed to haul her back into line somehow.

careful on corners too...you can sometimes come out going faster than anticipated, specially if the sidewind turns into a tailwind as you change direction. i went in once doing about 80 and came out at 120 :blink:

like anything, the more you do, the easier it is.

[Rincewind]

I was riding this evening in some fairy heavy cross winds. Are there any good techniques out there to be more stable and not get blown all over the road.

Keeping in mind Big Guy (105kg) Small Bike (130kg)::innocent:

Wear a pointy hat with wizzard written on it !!! and leave the luggage behind it'll catch up on it's own !!! :rockon:

[oldrider]

One thing we do get down here, WIND, copious quantities of WIND!
Yes there is plenty of wind here and it comes from every direction and you never know just when it's going to give you a nudge.
Thank god I learned to sail a yacht!
Sailing gives you a good insight on how to handle wind.
On a bike just relax, don't fight it, use it and learn to let the wind in and out of your fairing and frame work.
Always watch for little gullies or obstacles and places where wind will come from unexpectedly and give yourself room to "wash it off".
Relax, it will just shove you about a bit, if you try to fight it, it will toss you off the road.
It's like most other things on bikes you have to constantly be on the watch and plan your way around the expected outcomes and try to outwit the unexpected.
Can't emphasise enough, RELAX don't fight it, use it.
I am like everyone else with wind, I prefer not to have it but I refuse to be intimidated by it.
No one said it is easy but that's biking. Love it! :yes: Cheers, John.

Edit:This is not intended to sound like a smart arse, I am trying to be helpfull!

[Genesismatrix]

One thing we do get down here, WIND, copious quantities of WIND!
Yes there is plenty of wind here and it comes from every direction and you never know just when it's going to give you a nudge.
Thank god I learned to sail a yacht!
Sailing gives you a good insight on how to handle wind.
On a bike just relax, don't fight it, use it and learn to let the wind in and out of your fairing and frame work.
Always watch for little gullies or obstacles and places where wind will come from unexpectedly and give yourself room to "wash it off".
Relax, it will just shove you about a bit, if you try to fight it, it will toss you off the road.
It's like most other things on bikes you have to constantly be on the watch and plan your way around the expected outcomes and try to outwit the unexpected.
Can't emphasise enough, RELAX don't fight it, use it.
I am like everyone else with wind, I prefer not to have it but I refuse to be intimidated by it.
No one said it is easy but that's biking. Love it! :yes: Cheers, John.

Edit:This is not intended to sound like a smart arse, I am trying to be helpfull!


Thankd for the advice mate

[scumdog]

Spend more time watching for wind-blown obstacles and less time on how it affects your riding and before it you won't even think about the wind.

The only wind that worries me is the stuff from double vindaloo curries - now THAT you do have to think about.:blah:

[sunhuntin]

thats a point, windblown objects...never thought of that before! though i have been told to watch tall vehicles as they may blow over.

[hunt]

tip i got today was to watch the vegetation (if there is any that is) and you can see the wind coming,if you know what i mean, its the unexpected big gusts that cause me the most trouble

[TerminalAddict]

I keep an eye on the surrounding trees.

but I've been doing that for years . ..works when hauling arse in a car too

[Steam]

When I was in Taiwan I was riding in a hurricane, just a little one really, trying to find the eye of the storm which was apparently passing only 20ks or so away. I decided to turn back after I had been blown off for the second time (smashed up my fairings good), and after roofing-iron started to blow across the road. And I wasn't even going faster than about 30kph, it was just impossible. That's my 2 cents.

[Str8 Jacket]

Welcome commuterjim, with experience like that our Wgtn "wind" must be more like a breeze for you...

[Karma]

In fairly extreme cases I just find something the block the wind for me.

On a windy day crossing the harbour bridge I'll get next to a bus / lorry and let them block the majority of it for me :D

[Big Dog]

When I was in Taiwan I was riding in a hurricane, just a little one really, trying to find the eye of the storm which was apparently passing only 20ks or so away. I decided to turn back after I had been blown off for the second time (smashed up my fairings good), and after roofing-iron started to blow across the road. And I wasn't even going faster than about 30kph, it was just impossible. That's my 2 cents.
So not a candidate for a scholarship then?

[Big Dog]

In fairly extreme cases I just find something the block the wind for me.

On a windy day crossing the harbour bridge I'll get next to a bus / lorry and let them block the majority of it for me :D
Doesn't help much when your jacket to bike ratio is close to that of spinnaker to yaught....... hover it is a jolly riot when you hit the gap between trailers lol:second:

[sunhuntin]

In fairly extreme cases I just find something the block the wind for me.

On a windy day crossing the harbour bridge I'll get next to a bus / lorry and let them block the majority of it for me :D

tricky on a 2 lane highway....lol. only time i get alongside a truck is when they are either overtaking/coming from the other direction, lol.
like others, i watch the trees/little hills etc alongside the open road...not so much for movement, but to see when the shrubby barrier is coming to an end. foxton strait has a fair bit of that, so i know when thats gone, ill be hit pretty hard.