The wind swings mad punches in Auckland

[rie]

how absurd do i look clinging for dear life to my tank at 11ish tonight, terrifying motorists everywhere as bike sways madly from one side of the lane to the other? (i stupidly assume they even noticed i was there)

the machine also got knocked over a few times this week at nighttime while parked against the house.

not to mention the fact that i walked into a garage the other day and someone informed me that ALL their pickup vehicles were out picking up dropped bikes.

please be careful. : (

[howdamnhard]

Yes it was great fun coming home tonight,winter is certainly here.Need to park your bike somewhere else before it gets munted.

[PirateJafa]

Or at least, a lovely bike like yours Rie!

The rust-buckets most of us ride ain't so important though. :P

[howdamnhard]

how absurd do i look clinging for dear life to my tank at 11ish tonight, terrifying motorists everywhere as bike sways madly from one side of the lane to the other? (i stupidly assume they even noticed i was there)

Gusty wind is worse than a constant wind,especially sideon.Lean into it and keep your arms loose otherwise when the wind hits your body ,your bodies movements will be fed back into your bars,which will make it even worse.Also expect the usual buffeting when going past big trucks,buildings etc.

[Cr1MiNaL]

just relax, take a loose grip of the bars and let the bike do what its doing under you, just look where ur going and keep smiling, it'll sort itself out.

[motorbyclist]

heck, even driving the car was getting a bit dodgy tonight! probably looked like a drunk

EDIT: and that last lot of gusts just now made my flat shake

[howdamnhard]

just relax, take a loose grip of the bars and let the bike do what its doing under you, just look where ur going and keep smiling, it'll sort itself out.

Yip thats pretty much it ,well communicated.

[xwhatsit]

Hey Rie -- riding in weather like that is half the fun Most of these lot are dead right, just relax your arms and hands. The bike wants to go straight, gyroscopic blah blah blah (I didn't take physics), it'll only swerve in a major way when you get hit by the wind and jerk the bars because you're hanging on too tight.

When the wind is constant, it's a lot easier of course -- lots of fun going down the motorway in a dead straight line at the sort of lean you'd be copping if you were rounding a marked 35kph corner at 50kph or so. Must look odd to the spectators

Gear choice is also very important. Change into a gear lower than you'd normally have, keep the revs up high where the bike makes most of its power. Gives you a lot more control when you get buffeted. If you're cracking along the motorway, instead of hugging the far left lane at 80kph (like I saw a GN250 rider doing in this weather), you're really better off sitting at higher speeds. 100kph or more is a hell of a lot more stable. Nothing worse than going over the Harbour Bridge in weather like this and being stuck behind numpty cagers doing 50kph. Don't listen to the turkeys here who tell you to hook a high gear, they either ride big bikes or are inexperienced and making shit up.

Anyway, HTFU I did it on a 50cc Honda Super Cub (getting blown backwards at the traffic lights is odd), so a GPX is luxury!

[Taz]

Or at least, a lovely bike like yours Rie!

The rust-buckets most of us ride ain't so important though. :P

A great attitude.... Costs just as much to replace a brake lever on a "rust bucket" as it does a shiny newer bike, and chances are that rust bucket brings a smile to your face every time you ride it and serves you faithfully. Take the same care of it as you would a new bike, it deserves it!!!!!! Unless it's just utter crap like my moto guzzi was

[PirateJafa]

A great attitude.... Costs just as much to replace a brake lever on a "rust bucket" as it does a shiny newer bike, and chances are that rust bucket brings a smile to your face every time you ride it and serves you faithfully. Take the same care of it as you would a new bike, it deserves it!!!!!! Unless it's just utter crap like my moto guzzi was

Sarcasm is lost on ye my friend! Evidently just one "joking" smiley was not enough! From here forth, I shall inundate my posts with a veritable plethora of smilies, so that people know not to take me seriously - like anyone who has met me in real life knows!

[HungusMaximist]

Nice, like Tom mentioned, just relax your arms aye. I got hit by a few massive gusts while crusing along Tamaki Drive, I pretty much just took the hiding and let the bike do it's thing.

And ah, I gonna try that revving higher in a lower gear, but all my bike wanna do is go fast...!

[xwhatsit]

And ah, I gonna try that revving higher in a lower gear, but all my bike wanna do is go fast...!

Yeah -- probably not so much an issue on a 750 or 900, instant torque and all of that. On a 250, you don't want the engine at cruising rpm; you want instant power and torque available to let you deal with stuff, so keep the revs up.

[Ixion]

What others have said. 'Twas indeed wet and wild last night, but there are advantages to being on a machine with an all up weight of half a ton or so.

Loose hands on the bars, correct but don't fight, use body lean to compensate for wind, and keep the revs and speed up (one of the nmost annoying things in these conditions is when you are going nicely along, keeping to a steady 80 or so, I find between 60 and 80 is best, and you come up behind Enid crawling along at 30kph in her cage!). Try not to brake, it just upsets things . If you must, gentle rear brake.

And do not be in the least worried about using the whole width of the lane. Let the bike wander a bit, you are entitled to the complete width, use it. If you avoid trying to correct every minor deviation, you will find it much less stressful.

I would be VERY suprised if any bikes were actually dropped as a direct result of wind. What usually happens is that a neophyte gets scared when hit by a gust, and grabs the front brake hard. Then, it's all over, Rover.

[PirateJafa]

Yeah -- probably not so much an issue on a 750 or 900, instant torque and all of that. On a 250, you don't want the engine at cruising rpm; you want instant power and torque available to let you deal with stuff, so keep the revs up.

Green rep to you Xerxes, for somehow managing to fit "power and torque" into the same sentence as "250"!

[skidMark]

It's only wind ffs.

Keep the acceleration pull going and she wont get blown around, sit in a cruisy gear with just enough grunt to maintain speed and you are going to get thrown around.

Its not the weather thats causing the bins, rider inexperiance.