Sidewinds

[ZorsT]

......Slow down...........??????

slowing down in this situation will make matters worse.

The faster your wheels are spinning, the more gyroscopic forces they create.

The gyroscopic forces are what keep you upright and in a straight line

[far queue]

Try the Canterbury Nor Wester then..

Normally riding in wind doesn't really bother me, but riding home from the March Hare rally last year, would have to be my worst experience of riding in wind yet. Rally site to Ashburton was OK, but Ashburton to Chch (about 80km) was a real bastard. Very strong and very gusty from left to right, I was being blown toward the centreline all the time, got scary a couple of times. Actually got blown 2ft across the centre line twice I tried varying the speed but it made no real difference. My bike is relatively light (147kg dry), reasonbly high compared to a road bike, and with carrying the gear for the rally CofG would have been higher than usual. I was knackered when I got home. My mate riding with me on a KLR650 experienced the same thing.

I normally slag off the Harley's but I noticed they seemed to be handling the wind really well. I assume it was the extra weight, the low height not catching the wind as much, and the lower CofG. I wouldn't have minded being on a Harley that day, a nice big low one.

One group of Harley's did really piss me off though. They sat behind us for a bit and must have seen us getting blown all over the road, then one of them passed between me and the centre line. As he did so another gust blew me towards him - it was bloody close If he had any intelligence he would've given me a wider berth. Then about a minute later another one of the group did the same thing having just watched the previous close call. Tossers.

[thealmightytaco]

...lean into it or steer into it?

Leaning is steering in the end, but counter steering will get you battling it as soon as and stop you going into the next lane. Just relax and do it.

[ZeroIndex]

pfft what kinda advice is that, pull a wheelie in this situation

I bet that's your answer for everything?

[Toast]

Most of the problem is caused by you holding on tight, and when your upper body gets blown to the side, you're actually putting force in to the bars. Simply grip the tank with your legs, relax your grip on the bars. That solves most of the problem. Try it.

[Merwood]

crosswinds are tricky, bruce was halfway there with the wheelie pulling trick, its a classic , some people who are uber pro handstand on the seat doing the splits, this creates less drag becuase it defys the law of gravity, the pink power-ranger told me this. You must put most of your weight on the hand furtherest away from the wind blast. This move has many variations such as the handstand bycycle, stupid post end

[kickingzebra]

Someone once suggested removing fairings etc, but that only works on tiny bikes with no motor... I find the sticking knee out like a loon approach, although, when the wind dies down, can be a slight problem, If you keep said knee relatively loose, let it flap in the wind, firstly you will give your quads a reeeeal good stretch, and secondly, I find when it gusts, it will take up the slack. Hunkering down on the bike, going faster, and looking where you want to go can all help too (Thankyou Foxton straights!!!) just make sure you look out for the fuzzy wuzzy Chops (and be thankfull that you ain't riding in a dustbin fairing!)

[ZeroIndex]

Someone once suggested removing fairings etc, but that only works on tiny bikes with no motor... I find the sticking knee out like a loon approach, although, when the wind dies down, can be a slight problem, If you keep said knee relatively loose, let it flap in the wind, firstly you will give your quads a reeeeal good stretch, and secondly, I find when it gusts, it will take up the slack. Hunkering down on the bike, going faster, and looking where you want to go can all help too (Thankyou Foxton straights!!!) just make sure you look out for the fuzzy wuzzy Chops (and be thankfull that you ain't riding in a dustbin fairing!)

I did that on the way back from Tauranga with the bike i just got, I was going up hill (170cc, top speed 115km/h) and all the putting out my leg did, was slow my hill climbing speed...

[Lou Girardin]

I noticed a lot of side movement on the Sprint when going over the bridge on Friday. It felt just like my old RF, then I realised it must be the fairing catching the wind. The Bandit is nowhere near as bad.

[pritch]

The Bandit is nowhere near as bad.

Yeah I notice that the Hornet is not as badly affected as the fully faired K100RS was. If it is necessary to travel in extreme conditions; gale warnings, great chunks of tree blowing across the road, motorists warned to stay home, etc, I modify my normal cornering lines so as to stay nearer the middle of the lane.

This, after I got blown right off the road at the entrance to a corner one day.
A good cure for constipation that though...

[Ixion]

I have heard this about the K100RS. Yet, oddly, Der Uberfharter (K75RT) is totally unaffected by any wind I've encountered. Dunno why, RT fairing is bigger than RS.