Survival reactions - Tightening on the bars

[NordieBoy]

What gets blown around more, naked bikes or fully faired?

In a side wind?

Fully faired. They're streamlined from the front not the side.
They're a wall from the side.

My Savage 400 was no problems at all in a side wind whereas my VT250 was a bugger.

[Urano]

it's not so "streamlined"...

[george formby]

In a side wind?

Fully faired. They're streamlined from the front not the side.
They're a wall from the side.

My Savage 400 was no problems at all in a side wind whereas my VT250 was a bugger.

I'm not convinced. Used to ride a Pan European which was very stable in side winds. That could have been due to it's tonnage though.

[scumdog]

holly shit dude, 2 lanes is a long way, best get that technique sorted asap!

I find the best way is to let the bike get blown under, ie, you stay in center of lane, and the bike leans into wind; never tried it in 100knot gusts though. There are times when the best option isn't riding, few and far between though they are.

If the wind is relatively steady I find sticking out the knee on the up-wind side helps with stability, learned that trick from another KBer years ago and it works

[st00ji]

yep the steady winds are not too bad to deal with, its the gusts that scare ya. keeping the knees tight to the bike and hands relaxed has always worked well for me, but easier said than done sometimes as you discovered

[MarkH]

yep the steady winds are not too bad to deal with, its the gusts that scare ya.

True - in a strong steady side wind I just ride along leaned over into the wind, no real problem.

With gusts I ride in the middle of the lane, relax my arms and vary my lean as the gusts hit - I've never moved to either side far enough to go out of my lane.

[PrincessBandit]

True - in a strong steady side wind I just ride along leaned over into the wind, no real problem.

With gusts I ride in the middle of the lane, relax my arms and vary my lean as the gusts hit - I've never moved to either side far enough to go out of my lane.

I'm with Mark on this one - staying in the middle during swirling gusts gives you more options when you can't tell which side the next one is going to come from; and leaning against a strong steady wind might look weird but keeps you balanced. I hate strong swirling unpredictable gusts especially when there is the distinct possibility of flirting with the edge of a drop, but I even dislike it on long straight stretches like the Hauraki plains. Only ever got pushed over into another lane on the motorway once (on my ginny) and got a hell of a fright - took the nearest offramp and travelled home along the Great South Road for the rest of the way!! Hasn't happened since I've had the bandit (weight I suppose) but have always had the experience in the back of my mind as something to be aware of.

[Robtharalson]

Cross winds can be a real bitch if you're not ready for them, but after 50+ years of riding it has become second nature to compensate with body position, steering input, and generally paying attention to the foliage by the road to give some warning. The worst part is when passing pretty much any other car / truck on the downwind side -- the sudden changes in wind velocity and direction plus the wall of air you meet when abreast of their front bumper can be very unsettling until you know it's going to happen and proactively deal with it. And, yes, lightening up on the controls really does help even when your brain is screaming at you to hold on for all you're worth. Road racing and especially endurance racing are great ways to teach control minimalism, but it's also possible to learn it on the street, though the learning curve can be a bit steep when surrounded by cages.

There is little correlation between body style (naked VS. fully faired) when the winds are bad, but the lighter the bike the worse it will be affected. As an example I rode to a friends house in 80 MPH crosswinds on an unfaired XT500 cafe racer that weighed 110 KG dripping wet and it was all I could do to stay on the road, but when returning on his 410 KG Gold (lead) Wing touring bike on the same road and wind condidions I barely noticed the wind at all.

Rob

[NordieBoy]

There is little correlation between body style (naked VS. fully faired) when the winds are bad, but the lighter the bike the worse it will be affected. As an example I rode to a friends house in 80 MPH crosswinds on an unfaired XT500 cafe racer that weighed 110 KG dripping wet and it was all I could do to stay on the road, but when returning on his 410 KG Gold (lead) Wing touring bike on the same road and wind condidions I barely noticed the wind at all.

Rob

If the bikes are similar weight then there is a big difference.
VT250 vs LS400 the fully faired bike got pushed around a lot more.