One News Weather

[Antallica]

Weatherlady warning about high winds and thunderstorms in the north:
"Keep your Motorcycles in the garage"

Good for some lady!
I got a job interview tomorrow and I 'aint got a car.

Surprising to hear Motorcycles being mentioned in the news however.

:bash: :stupid: :2guns:

Oh and yay 600 posts, if only I could get than in CC rating.

[Wenier]

i was gonna post the same thing but ya bet me to it. Yea the weather turn to absolute shit aint it

[750Y]

lol, i had a full sideways lock up in the wet this morning in the ute at about 80kms. yehaaa! 8-) a pine tree had been blown over last night & completely blocked the road just round a blind corner. lucky i was in the ute or i woulda probably gone sailing into the scenery on the bike. anyway that made my day. was thinking bout taking the bike tomorrow tho.

[MikeL]

"Keep your Motorcycles in the garage"
.
Well I believed the weather forecast last Friday and left the motorbike at home. Sat in a bus for 40 minutes:angry: in the morning and an hour in the evening. :angry2:
Tomorrow I think I'll risk the thunderstorms and 100 kph winds. Can't be any worse.

[jrandom]

Well I believed the weather forecast last Friday and left the motorbike at home.

You big softy.

Did you perhaps worry that a breezy zephyr would catch the expansive fairings on your lightweight hyper-rocket, blowing it (and your frail self) into the path of danger?

:lol:

[Lou Girardin]

100 km/h winds? A mere puff of a breeze.

[Mongoose]

100 km/h winds? A mere puff of a breeze.


Did you used to come from Welington Lou?
Got blown off the road coming over the hill (Rumatakas) one time, not a nice feeling to be in second gear and watch the front end slew sideways with no way of stopping it. The wind was so strong that for a while i could not take my left foot off the ground to clunk the Guzzi into first to get the hell outa there.

[Antallica]

Hehe 120km/h winds tomorrow apparently..... I could get blown away on my feather bike! Still remember the time I got some sideways action underneath a Helicopter taking off.

:D

[Two Smoker]

Man shitty weather and ive got my restricted test tomorrow :doh:

[Milky]

The testing person might just feel sorry for you and give you your license without you needing to go out... That would be a bonus :) See... crap weather aint all bad

[Cajun]

my gixxer will be in center of auckland tomorrow 750Y

i am stuck going down northwestern motorway all week in my leathers, ahh well its not far, and with lane spliting i can do it about 20 mins from start to finsh

[NordieBoy]

The testing person might just feel sorry for you and give you your license without you needing to go out... That would be a bonus :) See... crap weather aint all bad

Way back when dad was getting his license (Suzi tc100) he rode from Takaka over the hill to Nelson to do the test.
The officer told him that if he rode over in that weather he could have the license but they had better make it official with some testing :)

[wkid_one]

Did you used to come from Welington Lou?
Got blown off the road coming over the hill (Rumatakas) one time, not a nice feeling to be in second gear and watch the front end slew sideways with no way of stopping it. The wind was so strong that for a while i could not take my left foot off the ground to clunk the Guzzi into first to get the hell outa there.Yeah - Mangell Bung Bung and I went up there and on the second to last corner before the summit - with the white fence - the bloody wind stood the bike upright from lent over - thankfully nothing was coming the other way.

I also remember driving down the motorway on my Bandit 250 just coming to the Whakatiki turnoff, the wind was strong strong coming across the rode I had to ride on hell lean - then it fucken stopped suddenly, nearly went shooting off the road in to the toi-toi's.

[MikeL]

Well, it's 8:20 a.m. and I'm sitting in my office looking at blue skies after a pleasant ride to work.
"Leave the motorbike in the garage?" Hah!!
Now what's the forecast for this afternoon...?

[bungbung]

Yep, caning up the Himitangi straights on my bike with the inevitable roaring sidewind, I had to lean the bike on its side to keep it in a straight line. After kilometres of grassy fields I ride past a windbreak and because the sidewind suddenly dropped off I nearly rode off the road into a ditch. I haven't forgotten that lesson.

[dreamride]

Man, that weather in WGN etc. must be pretty bad...Not too bad in Auckland this am, rode into work from the suburbs, bit of shower, heavy clouds but will see :sneaky2:

[vifferman]

Weatherlady warning about high winds and thunderstorms in the north:
"Keep your Motorcycles in the garage".
Yeah, right.
I've ridden over the Harbour Bridge several times when they've warned bikes to stay off, and it's been OK. Scary, yes, but OK.
The secret is to keep your weight forward, and keep your grip on the bars light. It's mostly the wind blowing on your arms that makes you weave, but the wind gusts cause the bike to lean.
Having said that, the wind blowing through the railings on the bridge when it's coming from the South does make the bike do funny things, and I think it's due to it pushing on the front wheel and/or mudguard. It was worst on the VFR, OK on the VF (small front wheel and vented mudguard), and not too bad on the VTR (small mudguard and only three spokes on the wheel). However, the VTR's lighter in the front than the VFR-Pig, and carries its weight a little higher, so overall it's a bit more scary.

The other things that are bad are:
A strong north-easterly when you're heading north in the left lane, as the wind seems to funnel up along that side of the bridge. It's especially bad at the Stafford Rd offramp, as there's a weird turbulent effect as it passes over the median island thingo.
Riding near buses, trucks and vans, as the wind gusts speed up going around them. It's OK if you can use them as a mobile windbreak, but otherwise you need to keep clear of them, especially if they are in an adjacent lane to windward of your bike.
Riding over those stupid slippery expansion plates at the end of the bridge, when there's a side-wind blowing hard. The bike's front wheel momentarily skates sideways, and if I'm heading North, the one past the Ponsonby on-ramp causes MASSIVE wheelspin if I don't remember to throttle off when accelerating up the bridge.

I didn't actually hear the wind warning last night, but I didn't take my bike today anyway, not because I'm a wimp, but because my front sparkplug cap has a tear in it, and the bike misfires badly in the wet. :weep: I'm on to it, though, and have a new plug cap on order. So I had to suffer today, and travel in the Peugeot in the company of my wife and the receptionist from work (so I could use the transit lane), listening to CDs and suffering the climate-controlled comfort of the Peugeot's luxurious interior.
It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it... :msn-wink:

[Antallica]

Yeah it's looking good here for now, should last the day.

[750Y]

my gixxer will be in center of auckland tomorrow 750Y ...

lock it up tight while your in there bud, chain it to something if possible. theives will be lusting after that beast.

[Ms Piggy]

Actually even yesterday afternoon, when I rode from my place in Newtown (near the Zoo) to the bike shop down near the Basin Reserve, I got blown about a bit. The wind doesn't generally bother me too much, just slow me down a bit.

Thanks for the tips though firestormer, I tend to grab tightly onto the handles...need to relaaaaaaaaaaaax.

[Motu]

We had a thunder storm pass through awhile ago and at the time was talking to someone in the city who said the hail was piled up thick - then some woman came in for a WoF and said it was dangerous driving on the motorway.So I jump in her car and do a road test in the rain - but her wipers don't work!!!!! Take care,it's dangerous out there alright!

[jrandom]

Yup, I'm sitting at home in Te Atatu working in my gargre, and the weather's just been going mental. I swear the leaves were blowing down the street at 50kph at one point.

Lots of thundering and lightninging. Also, it's fscking cold. Feels about 10 degrees below what it was yesterday.

And I have to go to the office at 3pm for a meeting. You can all prick your ears up for a 'jrandom blown off the side of the harbour bridge' post...

[Jackrat]

Took two hours to get from Waiuku to Penrose in The Rav4 this morning,then just as I'm pulling out of the truck driving school at about 11.00 it pissed down big time,Rain,hail,wind, Flamin' truck was geting blown about heaps.
Oh yeah quite warning,I'm gonn'a be out there in a 15 tonne truck next week so keep ya' eyes open.

[bungbung]

... I swear the leaves were blowing down the street at 50kph at one point....

I thought Wellington was windy, 50km/h? nasty. :bleh:

Best you tie your gargre down before it flies away.

[sparrow_34]

Oh yeah the weather is mad! This morning I had a new set of Diablo's fitted to the Hornet and as I was leaving cycletreads all hell broke loose. First there was thunder, then just after I had crossed the harbour bridge the fricken hail started to come down, in about 30 seconds the motorway was white with hail and I was putting along at about 30k's trying to stay in the car tracks which was the only place where you could see the tarmac. I needed gas so got off at Fanshaw street, gassed up, and then proceeded to take it nice and easy the rest of the way home on my brand new slippery rubber in the pissing rain and wind. Sheesh

[Holy Roller]

Yeah, right.
I've ridden over the Harbour Bridge several times when they've warned bikes to stay off, and it's been OK. Scary, yes, but OK.
Back in the 80s a mate in the Navy lost his little toe when a gust blew him into a car beside him on the harbour bridge. Constant wind is not so bad its the gusts to look out for.

[Dr Bob]

Yeah - Mangell Bung Bung and I went up there and on the second to last corner before the summit - with the white fence - the bloody wind stood the bike upright from lent over - thankfully nothing was coming the other way.

I also remember driving down the motorway on my Bandit 250 just coming to the Whakatiki turnoff, the wind was strong strong coming across the rode I had to ride on hell lean - then it fucken stopped suddenly, nearly went shooting off the road in to the toi-toi's.
It does that around the plains north of Wellington, you have the tree windbreaks and then a nice little whole for a gate that concentrates the blast. But the worst for wind was down the South Island, there was a sign saying dangerous gusts. The wind was being blown up a gulley and lifted the front wheel from the ground depositing me, and my two other riding buddies each in succession, on the other side of the road.

[Dr Bob]

Yup, I'm sitting at home in Te Atatu working in my gargre, and the weather's just been going mental. I swear the leaves were blowing down the street at 50kph at one point.

Lots of thundering and lightninging. Also, it's fscking cold. Feels about 10 degrees below what it was yesterday.

And I have to go to the office at 3pm for a meeting. You can all prick your ears up for a 'jrandom blown off the side of the harbour bridge' post...
I came in from Te At at 2pm and the weather was well passed, Mr Random would have had a wonderful trip.

[vifferman]

Back in the 80s a mate in the Navy lost his little toe when a gust blew him into a car beside him on the harbour bridge.
My boss (back when I was a professional sheep botherer) lost his little finger (eventually) when he crashed his AG100 into a sheep.
I dunno whether the sheep was a wether, or if it had wind.

[marty]

i was at St Lukes when the hail storm came over - it was incredibly hard - my car, which is filthy at the moment, has a whole lot of white patches on it where the hail cleaned the dirt off!
bought a new helmet today, as although i am bikeless, it is only for another 90 hours (or 3 sleeps and a bit, or 5400 minutes). not that i'm counting :)

[Slim]

I vaguely recall someone being blown into the Harbour Bridge uprights very badly some 12-15 years ago. Friend of a friend of a friend, so I don't know the exact details. There were definitely broken bones & a stay in hospital though. :shit:

I brought a c@r because of the Harbour Bridge. It was extremely scary on my GB250 during the winter, and a couple of close calls & major adrenaline shots convinced me it was time to give in. I really feel for you guys on the truly little bikes.


Is it true that opening the throttle (or changing down a gear to get the revs up) whilst keeping your foot on the rear brake will stabalise your bike in windy conditions?

[vifferman]

....bought a new helmet today, as although i am bikeless, it is only for another 90 hours (or 3 sleeps and a bit, or 5400 minutes). not that i'm counting :)
...and the bike is...?

[Cajun]

ya bunch of soft cocks, road in auckland city this morning 20 mins in rush hour traffic, from the end of the north westen.

no a problem, road from city back down north western to other end, leave city at 4.30 took me 20 mins and still not a problem, you auckland folk need to harden up

and i am on a light as a feather bike

[marty]

here's some clues.

1: :ar15:
:ar15:


or, :2guns:


it's very
:cool2:


and it'll be here
:soon:

[marty]

who was the poor biker north bound on the ohinewai expressway this afternoon? was stopped on the road side it was so windy and wet and dangerous. looked like a VFR (red). i was south bound, otherwise i would have stopped

[Antallica]

Well it was ok for most of the day with about 4x 30 minute patches of hard-ass rain. Of course on my way home this evening I got caught in a short blast :(

[MikeL]

Perfect timing this afternoon. Left work at 3, rode home on dry roads in a gentle breeze and arrived about 2 minutes before that second lot of hail hit...

[Firefight]

Perfect timing this afternoon. Left work at 3, rode home on dry roads in a gentle breeze and arrived about 2 minutes before that second lot of hail hit...


got soaked :cold: as I rode home from first night shift this morning 06-30 spent the day sulking and drying out, then got soaked, hailed on, and the 50knot winds in the afternoon coming back for the second nightshift.

still love bikes :love:

F/F :blink:

[bgd]

It is very wet and very windy with not a lot of visibility. Only thing we don't have are low temps. Wimbledon must have started.

[MD]

Just returned from 2 days in Auckland. How do you guys cope on bikes. Rain passes over every hour(see I hate riding in the wet). Guess you all just time your runs between showers. Tawa to wgtn airport 25-30 minutes (OK so it was 5.40am-ish), wgn-ack flight 58 mins then 1hr 20 bloody mins in cab to city. Spot the problem though, every single car has a single occupant-yeah I'm guilty of that myself. Pity covered scooters haven't taken off. Seen pics of a neat Benelli with a fold out hard top. Shame they haven't taken off as a cheap & dry alternative to the car crawl. The BMW scoot doesn't count when you can buy a car cheaper!

[Lou Girardin]

After February's ride on the Himatangi Straight in 140 km/h plus wind, the Harbour Bridge doesn't scare me anymore. Some bikes are better behaved than others though, the Bandit is much better than the RF. It must have something to do with the full fairing.
I wouldn't want to be on a little bike though.