Newbies riding in the wind!

[Rocket Man]

Hi all. Am new to the site and was wanting a little feed back on how others go riding in high wind... Went for my first long ride 3 weekends ago now down to National Park from Auckland.. The ride down was amazing!!! The ride home we unfortunately had the gale force SW's!!!! This was pretty frightening I have to say. Every time you hit an area that was exposed, the wind shear was unbelievable!! I ride a Suzuki GSXR 250.... Any advice out there to combat wind??? Couldn't imagine travelliong over the bridge in high wind! Are the affects of wind reduced with heavier bikes or is it the same for everyone? Do I just need to harden the f##k up??

[slinky]

my opinion - not fact.

get down low, and be ready to act. so that wen a gusts pushes u either left or right. you can quickly counter-stear it/lean it in the oposite direction to stay going straight, turn the corner...etc

[Trudes]

HI RM, welcome to KB!! Do a search of the KB threads on riding in the wind, you'll find a ton of useful info, mainly from Wellington people who are pretty well seasoned at riding in gale force winds, (and others of course). Good luck, happy riding!:sunny:

[James Deuce]

Reeeelaaaaaxxx.

Tensing up in the wind makes your body act like a sail in relation to the bike and stiff arms will transmit steering inputs to the bike, magnifying the feeling of being pushed around.

Don't alter your normal body position as that just complicates things.

Try to understand how countersteering works (push on the left bar to turn left, vice versa for the right) in relation to your own bike so you can actively counter any inadvertent changes of direction.

Relax. Go with the flow, participate in the experience, don't fight it.

There are threads and threads of stuff on KB so use the search engine as well.

[Kwaka14]

IMO with some experience you get used to looking for the "windy" spots and lean earlier etc. There's not a lot you can do about it, bigger bikes are affected less as are naked bikes, but there's a lot of other things that come in to it right down to how sensitive your steering is etc..

[bull]

As a noobie also i was a bit concerned with the wind blasts on the motorway here in Wellington that always seems strongest at aotea quay offramp.
Like Jim2 said reeeelaaaaax, ive found that if i put my knee out towards the wind it seems to break it a little and not push you so hard, also i tend to watch the landscape for possible breaks where the wind may be coming through.
Once youve got used to the wind its not bad at all and sometimes can be quite fun.

[Lissa]

Hey Welcome to KB :)

The first time you encounter a bit of strong wind can be kinda frighting... (I remember, scared me half to death!) ... all I can really tell you is that you will eventually get use it. :yes:

Lots of threads on Riding in the Wind somewhere on KB.

Enjoy.

[xwhatsit]

I went over the Harbour Bridge last night twice. Pretty flaming miserable and windy. The lanes are so frigging narrow too lol!

My bike is a hell of a lot lighter than yours (although it's naked, so less sail effect). Jim2 is right, just relax, especially your hands on the bars. I always find myself doing the same thing, tensing up and getting down low, but as soon as I relax the bike stops getting knocked around so much. Try accelerating. At 110kph the wind seems so much better than 90kph, probably because most of it is then blowing in your face rather than knocking you sideways.

One thing to keep an eye out for is hedges and walls and stuff. When one of those pops up (or goes away) the wind can suddenly vanish (or reappear) which can give you a bit of a fright.

Riding in the wind is fun. Sunny windless days are for losers who only ride their Harleys to the pub in the weekend wearing leather vests.

[Rocket Man]

Thank you all for your words of wisdom... I must say I felt farely powerless against Mother Nature. I think there were a few people who did not want to pass me on the motorway fearing that I was going down!!! I guess I have a lot more practice yet... Do many of you guys go riding regularly in the weekends??? Am always up for a lengthy ride but would be more comfortable with at least another bike or two.

[zeocen]

I made a thread about wind at speeds a while back (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=37086&highlight=wind), hopefully that helps!

What I took from it was just to relax and if the bike tips on an angle, then relax and let it, I eventually got used to it and it's sort of become second nature to move with the bike when wind hits it on the side. I'm still not quite used to getting punched by air in the helmet, that always gets me.

The main thing was to not be on such an angle that when you come out of a twisty hill area and hit the wind that you don't fall over completely!

Hope this helps

/Edit: Lots of us go for group rides whenever we can in Auckland, there's a good amount of 250 riders who have just gotten their restricted and are on their way to full (or have their full) and still go on 250 rides, no one makes anyone ride beyond their limit so just sign up whenever there's an event posted and have a blast !

[gijoe1313]

Thank you all for your words of wisdom... I must say I felt farely powerless against Mother Nature. I think there were a few people who did not want to pass me on the motorway fearing that I was going down!!! I guess I have a lot more practice yet... Do many of you guys go riding regularly in the weekends??? Am always up for a lengthy ride but would be more comfortable with at least another bike or two.

Did you say go for lengthy ride? :woohoo: Now, to me a lengthy ride is like going to Cape Reinga or down to Wellywood ... anything else is a pootle to me!

I'm always looking for an excuse to ride ... and now my report writing and exam marking is out of the way, there's some lanes to freedom I need to travel down!

The 250 crew in South Auckland are always out and about ... drop me a PM when you feel like it and see if we can scoot out for a ride! :msn-wink:

And oh yeah, the wind feeling will pass (bad pun :o) do as others have said, follow up the thread links, do a search and then - go out and ride some more!

[325rocket]

i hear what your saying about wind!!! first time i hit the motorway on a windy day i fair s**t myself. i felt like i was all over the place, i was way down low hugging my tank pretty much trying to stick my head into my dash when out from behind me comes a fella on an old triumph with an open face helmet no glasses and only one hand on the bars!
thats when i figured a bit of winds not that scary.

[johnnyflash]

Welcome aboard Rocketman. good to see you here, Wind i9s just another motorcycling skill you will learn to handle and anticipate, just relax, dont over react, Yes the size of bike has a major influence on how it handles wind sheer, my current ride is over 320kg plus another 200kg of rider pillion and luggage... so half a ton of metal presents a little more of an obstacle for the wind...

[Hitcher]

Do what Jim2 recommends, but in a gear lower than the one you'd normally choose. And if it gets frighteningly windy, stop and get off.

[NighthawkNZ]

Reeeelaaaaaxxx.


Agreed... this is very important... relax... loosen up a bit... accept that the bike is going to move about

[Renegade]

scary like being blown from one lane clean into the next on the wellington urban motorway in the rain?? still not not used to it yet.

[Pancakes]

Yep ..... RELAX, stay loose.

I quite like the wind and stuff, ride in a taller gear so you can keep the power on a bit without speeding up too much, your pretty much riding 'round corners on the straights as you counter-steer. I find it's fine to keep your speed up too, then your "lean-steering" not "turn-steering" to keep it simple. I like weaving when you can't go as fast as you like cos blimin' cars are in the way or it's not appropriate it's almost the same, like everyone says, just stay loose.

[xwhatsit]

Yep ..... RELAX, stay loose.

I quite like the wind and stuff, ride in a taller gear so you can keep the power on a bit without speeding up too much, your pretty much riding 'round corners on the straights as you counter-steer. I find it's fine to keep your speed up too, then your "lean-steering" not "turn-steering" to keep it simple. I like weaving when you can't go as fast as you like cos blimin' cars are in the way or it's not appropriate it's almost the same, like everyone says, just stay loose.

<hints id="hah_hints"></hints>I choose a shorter gear, as that way you've got the power instantly when you need it (big buffets), and the bike just feels more stable -- perhaps from automatic corrections your right wrist makes? I don't know.

I hate it when traffic causes me to go below the speed I feel safe and stable at, I haven't tried weaving, might give that a go. Getting closer to the car in front just gives you random buffets without warning.

It's been fairly windy up here lately. The slippery roads and surface water is far more of an issue, though.

[Kinje]

Do a search- there are a lot of threads like this.

RELAX. Let your arms stay loose so that when your body is buffeted by the wind, you do not transfer this movement to the bike through the steering.

[Pancakes]

I hate it when traffic causes me to go below the speed I feel safe and stable at, I haven't tried weaving, might give that a go. Getting closer to the car in front just gives you random buffets without warning.

I more meant most of us don't mind getting a wiggle on in fine conditions so the wind blowing you around is simalar, normally don't add my own bits in when the wind is bouncing me around.

[Steve 555]

I went for a ride in the wind last week on me ginny scared the shit out of me on the motorway so I turned back:shit::gob:

[BIKEGAL68]

I KNOW WHAT THAT FEELS LIKE AS A NEWBE AN I HAVE TO TELL MY SELF RELAX OVER AN OVER :mellow:

[Kittyhawk]

Meet "Storm" she's sexy blue and white and loves to slide on wet roads - my gixxer lol :dodge:

When there is a bad storm in AKL do what I do....go riding in the strongest winds possible, heaviest rains, and a combination of both, great time over winter....for practise.

I only had the bike a couple of weeks and decided to see what she is capable of doing. You just got to get to know it.

Best thing to do is just relax. I found this out while riding my old FXR 150 over the harbour bridge with strong winds. Fun times!
Let the wind take you, you wont completely blow over. When there is an open patch of land you are more exposed to stronger winds.

For those open spaces or such as the harbour bridge, I just speed up and tuck in but relax to the point where the bike is doing all the work.

[Zapf]

At 110kph the wind seems so much better than 90kph, probably because most of it is then blowing in your face rather than knocking you sideways.

I put it to the ratio of wind... more wind from front then the ratio of side wind is less.


Am always up for a lengthy ride but would be more comfortable with at least another bike or two.

Long rides? Love them... I will be up for some soon. Are you on your learners or Restricted? Night rides are always fun.

Also the reason for relaxing is as follows. Theory is its better to have a bike traveling in the right direction than having a upright rider. So its ok to be blown about in the wind, but you want to keep the bike pointed the right way (important in corners). Also transfer your weight to your foot pegs, as will steer the bike much better than your body as it gets blown around.


Did you say go for lengthy ride? :woohoo: Now, to me a lengthy ride is like going to Cape Reinga or down to Wellywood ... anything else is a pootle to me!

:Punk:


Do what Jim2 recommends, but in a gear lower than the one you'd normally choose. And if it gets frighteningly windy, stop and get off.

And make sure you park the bike in a way that is is not going to be blown over by the wind. E.g behind something against the wind.