Darn wind is driving me crazy !!

[Lord Derosso]

I haven't been on the 600 for several weeks now so was going to go for a ride no matter what! STIR CRAZY !! So yesterday, I went over the hill to Kilbirnie, no bikes around, strange?, filled up with gas and then headed for the Bays road around to Oriental Parade and the main city centre of Wellington. Nice little stroll to give the bike a blast and oil her insides. Whilst going around the bays the wind was gushing so much I swear the bike and I was picked up and dropped at one stage and worse was to come. I was heading towards the second to last corner before the Parade and the wind got so bad that when I went to change down the wind almost stopped me dead in my tracks like the engine braking of a big Mack ! Never experienced anything like it and thats saying something because we have had some terribly windy NW's down here the last few weeks. Funny....didnt see any other bikers around??!! I headed home in disgust.

Moral of the story... You might be going crazy but you are crazy if you ride some days in Wellington.

[Str8 Jacket]

I can definately sympathise with you! Damn wind....

[Wasp]

Give me a bike, I'll ride :ar15:

[Korea]

Yep, it's a shocker. Used to commute daily from Whitby to Wellington (60kms return)- wind, rain, hail or shine but it was usually the wind that was the scariest.
Have been blown across lanes and found myself going straight at 45-degree lean (slight exaggeration).
You never get 'used' to it but I guess you learn to deal with it...

Oh yeah, stay away from cabbage... :dodge:

[Kinje]

Ditto

Wind driving me crazy too. Some of my trips over the takas have taken some serious buffeting from winds, tho I'm getting to know which corners are the worst.

And none of those trips were as bad as the day at Castlepoint where I was riding a quad bike for work and the gusts were hitting 160km/hr. I could barely stay on the track.

Please weather gods???

[Bend-it]

yeah... felt it heaps on the bandit, but I rode into town on the rf900 on Saturday and barely felt the wind on the bike at all! I knew it was there 'coz it was buffeting my head whenever I stuck it up, out of the fairing, but the bike was rock solid...

Buy some ballast and weld it to the bike! :) Larger engine sure counts as ballast! :)

[Str8 Jacket]

Buy some ballast and weld it to the bike! :) Larger engine sure counts as ballast! :)

Arrgh, I wish someone would buy my KR so I could find out! Im really hoping that I dont get blown around as much on the 400!

[Lord Derosso]

Glad to see its not just me. I have been riding many years but this year has been the worse for wind ever and thats no cabbage assisted. I am seriously thinking about shedding the full fairing because that must be picking up the side wind big time. I want to do a two week tour in a few months and not have this hassle. What do members think? Will taking the side fairing off make the bike more comfortable in these high winds.? I have to admit that I was actually riding dead into that gusty wind yesterday which nearly stopped me in my tracks. It was so bad I very nearly turned around and was going to head back to Kilbirnie at 400kmph,wind assisted, but decided I wasn't going to let it beat me . Still scary stuff alright.

[lukelin250]

full fairings are like a god damn sail,i feel like im sailing a boat sometimes, tacking into and out of the wind

[Lord Derosso]

Does anyone esle have a say? Does the full fairing really make a difference or can it be taken off until resale? This is my first full fairing bike and some days its unpleasant riding on the motorway because of the way the wind comes across the motorway a lot around the harbour. I have also been blown across lanes though not on this bike. I find I am forced to slow down more rather than speed up as with my other bikes which were naked styles. I am tempted to take the fairing off and see but is this a big job?

[Drum]

I ride naked and havnt had too many wind issues (ahem). The hutt motorway runs almost directly into the southerly and northerly, depending on my direction of travel, and while it frequently gets pretty rough - Ive never been blown across lanes or anything.

Ive never ridden it on a faired bike, so cannot make a comparison.

[Bend-it]

My bandit was naked, and always got blown around heaps! The monster ray is fully faired but maybe the weight keeps it real planted... I guess you really need 2 similarly weighted bikes, 1 faired, 1 not to compare.

[Forest]

I don't mind riding in the wind. The only think I don't like is when a heavy wind is buffeting.

I've had a few hairy trips over the Auckland Harbour Bridge and I once read about some poor guy on a light-weight Scooter who got blown into the bridge railings.

[Mom]

The wind is a real challenge sometimes.......it is the time of year though that makes it worse.....Oct/Nov are the worst months for it.......I dont carry much weight and gave up commuting for a while after being blown across lanes on the Pakuranga bridge.....:gob:

I live rurally now and have got to know the places where it is really bad......have helped a bloke drag his bike back up on to road after being blown right off the road in front of my eyes.......roll on summer :Punk:

[Stormer]

On my daily commute to the big city of Carterton, the wind`s been a real pain lately...real sketchy at times.
That coupled with the blast of those bloody trucks going the other way, and things can get interesting.

[Ixion]

Does anyone esle have a say? Does the full fairing really make a difference or can it be taken off until resale? This is my first full fairing bike and some days its unpleasant riding on the motorway because of the way the wind comes across the motorway a lot around the harbour. I have also been blown across lanes though not on this bike. I find I am forced to slow down more rather than speed up as with my other bikes which were naked styles. I am tempted to take the fairing off and see but is this a big job?

Nothing to do with fairings or not fairings. von Klunken has the biggest fairing there is , and refuses to deviate an inch from his chosen path, even in the teeth of a tropical cyclone (yes, I did ride through one - just for kicks). 'Course , that's mainly just him being a typical stubborn Kraut.

ffwabbit is naked and blows around a lot - mainly I think the wind catching the big front wheel. He's a wet bike , too.

You get used to it. Feels more scary than it is.

[Qkchk]

This is my first full fairing bike.......................

Suppose ya cant count the VF as one any ;)

Need to move to Auckland :p

[Lord Derosso]

Suppose ya cant count the VF as one any ;)

Need to move to Auckland :p

Well hi there young lady. So you remember the old VF750? mind, that was less than 10 years ago but she was only part fairing whilst the Katana is almost fully enclosed though nowhere as much as the MV Augusta F4 1000 I am reading about at the moment. That looks like a boat the way they have shaped the side fairings.

Hows the new bike going anyway? We have had a lot of very constant hard wind down here for weeks now. It was nice and settled this time last year and they were about to sink the frigate Wellington so I remember walking around the waterfront every day and it been nice. Weather has been awful the last six weeks. The bike handles well and I know the tricks of riding through weather but you wouldn't believe the power of gusts which can literally slow you down so quickly head on. Far better than any engine braking and the 600 isnt exactly a small bike though lighter than a thou of course. Give my regards to the family. Cheers.

[Hawkeye]

Heard on the radio yesterday that October had been the windiest October on record since ..? (can't remember which year, but it was a long time ago). And I can totally agree with it. It would be nice to be able to ride without the worry of getting picked up and dumped into the lane next to me.
It's happened a couple of times, but thankfully the lane was empty at the time.
I've also been down to 65 on the motorway trying to fight the Southerly head wind. Not good....

[Lord Derosso]

Gee Hawkeye... I totally agree. A month ago I was heading to Waikanae, 30 plus miles north of Wellington on SH1 for the uninformed, with my flatmate on the back and we hit the very worse day, as a lot of locals also mentioned at the time in forums. The worst wind I have ever ridden in. Unfortunely it was also my first experience of the cheese cutter railing along the coast road and the wind was coming from the NW. It was very freakly as we were been pushed towards those cheese cutters all the time and I was constantly having to open the bike up to get her to regain the 'high' ground to the left. I have been blown around on the motorway a bit the last two months. Wish it would end.

[Qkchk]

Well hi there young lady. So you remember the old VF750? mind.......
.


Oh yes I do remember the Black VF750 you had. Was my first motorbike ride, even tho I only had a cycle helmet on (imagine getting away with that now.....) so I guess I can blame you for getting me onto bikes ;) :p

[Paul in NZ]

The wind hasn't driven me crazy... I asked the pink bunny that lives in my desk draw and he said I was just fine.... That damn invisible dog thats following me is getting up my nose though...

[Drum]

Today seems like an appropriate day to revive this thread.

Bloody wind.

[Pex Adams]

I can not remember a northerly ever been this strong. Bloody Glad I didn't ride today...

[sanchez]

All the people i saw lanesplitting cheerfully down SH1 this morning, you are all INSANE :gob:

[Mom]

I dont know how you guys ride in normal "Welly" conditions.........I HATE WIND!

[Qkchk]

.........I HATE WIND!

Yeah I hate it when Ive got a sore gut from it............:dodge:

[Lord Derosso]

The wind hasn't driven me crazy... I asked the pink bunny that lives in my desk draw and he said I was just fine.... That damn invisible dog thats following me is getting up my nose though...

Then show it your butt ! Thats what its properly really interested in.
Hell my cat told me thats why they hate dogs so much. Always wanting a little pussie . Not sure I trust what my cat tells me though as I think shes just leading me on to get fed all the time.

[Lord Derosso]

Oh yes I do remember the Black VF750 you had. Was my first motorbike ride, even tho I only had a cycle helmet on (imagine getting away with that now.....) so I guess I can blame you for getting me onto bikes ;) :p


I think you must mean the old black SR500 single because I thought you were long gone when I took the VF750 up North as it was only about 8 years ago. Lets see...TS185, XS250, XS360, GS750, SR500, XV500, VF750 and now the 600F. Could have been the XV500? Your old man had bikes too so it was predictable. Glad you enjoy riding so much and with someone whom shares the passion. Its a wonder I would allow you on the back without a proper lid too!!

[Colapop]

I just laughed at the chick doing the live feed on the news from Oriental Parade - saying that she couldn't stand up in the wind... and some nonchalant Welly joggers running through the back of the shot... wondering what the chick with the camera was doing?

Nah it's not THAT windy....

[Qkchk]

I think you must mean the old black SR500 single because I thought you were long gone when I took the VF750 up North as it was only about 8 years ago. Lets see...TS185, XS250, XS360, GS750, SR500, XV500, VF750 and now the 600F. Could have been the XV500? Your old man had bikes too so it was predictable. Glad you enjoy riding so much and with someone whom shares the passion. Its a wonder I would allow you on the back without a proper lid too!!

Im sure it was the VF you had, It had a fairing.............maybe its wasn't black but thats all I can remember :p Funny how certain things stick your memory, that must of been back in 1987/88?

[Lord Derosso]

Yes I saw that and I was trying to work out what was wrong with the report and what I was seeing. You're dead right. Everyone esle was out running and strolling pass and shes whinging about a 130 kph wind and she cant stand up in it... dah.

[Lord Derosso]

I had the VF750 mid 90's from memory but it did have a half fairing and windscreen. Funny how the years go by. How is the Yamie anyway?

[Qkchk]

I had the VF750 mid 90's from memory but it did have a half fairing and windscreen. Funny how the years go by. How is the Yamie anyway?

Ruddey nice. Better since Ive done the kms on it and got the feel of the bike. Was even better last weekend (5th) took it to Taupo......... yee haa. Want to try and achieve knee-down next time, concentrated on getting myself off the seat and managed to be chicken-strip free!

[AllanB]

Canterbury has not been much better - hopefully summer will improve.

[Lord Derosso]

Ruddey nice. Better since Ive done the kms on it and got the feel of the bike. Was even better last weekend (5th) took it to Taupo......... yee haa. Want to try and achieve knee-down next time, concentrated on getting myself off the seat and managed to be chicken-strip free!

How does it compare to the Busa 1300? Did you ever open that thing right out in the back country? I have seen a few of the Tube clips of supercharged Busas and they sound mean as .

[Qkchk]

How does it compare to the Busa 1300? Did you ever open that thing right out in the back country? I have seen a few of the Tube clips of supercharged Busas and they sound mean as .

Yeah got to open it up a couple of times. Even with a pillion on the back as well ;) There are not many places where you can do it now (specially up here) without being pinged or road condiotions etc... All I can say it has a similar power but obviuosly the Busa had a heap more torque. I would say it would be 'the best bike' for pillions.

[Lord Derosso]

The 600 lacks a bit of torque for sure but still handles a pillion fine. Shes an ideal step up from the 250 stage for learners I reckon as86HP isn't over kill. Still, its intended for my sole riding 99 % of the time though now I am back into riding I do feel I wouldnt mind a 900 or 1000 for that extra torque. Something like a 1000VF would make a good tourer for my distances and needs. Must go so will catch up another time.

[Qkchk]

Must go so will catch up another time.

Yeah, sorry guys Ive taken the thread right off track :dodge:

[Lord Derosso]

Yeah, sorry guys Ive taken the thread right off track :dodge:


Yeh same here.. darn that winds getting up again ! It roars pass the front of our house like a 747 at times. No bikes on the road all afternoon...smart.