100km without getting my arse off the bike

[bosslady]

Any left .... ???

There are times when the best option to get out of an uncomfortable/unsafe situation ... is to power out of it. Not always easy on a GN I know.

Only the most over enthusiastic revenue gatherers (and speed cameras) would issue a ticket in such situations .... but they have been known to.

2 day old roast?

[FJRider]

2 day old roast?

I have a cast iron stomach ... I can even eat my own cooking ...

[Gremlin]

What was I doing when you passed me? Was I doing anything wrong? I can't remember but please tell me if I was. Was I in the "fast" lane or the middle lane when you passed me?

When I passed you, I was in the fast lane, gave you a wave, you were in the middle lane. As we entered the 70kph section I moved into the middle lane (some cars between us), and you passed in the right lane, with a small queue of cars behind you

Definitely best (especially being a learner) to keep an eye on traffic behind you and to let them pass when safe (motorway is ideal as you don't need to be in the fast lane much). While the NZ laws differ, it is best to treat the fast lane as a passing lane, and not to travel in it (goes for any road user of any licence).

[bosslady]

When I passed you, I was in the fast lane, gave you a wave, you were in the middle lane. As we entered the 70kph section I moved into the middle lane (some cars between us), and you passed in the right lane, with a small queue of cars behind you

Definitely best (especially being a learner) to keep an eye on traffic behind you and to let them pass when safe (motorway is ideal as you don't need to be in the fast lane much). While the NZ laws differ, it is best to treat the fast lane as a passing lane, and not to travel in it (goes for any road user of any licence).

I do only use the fast lane if I'm passing, except for yesterday when there were no cars behind me for mileeeeeeeeees i.e. the NW mway, very quiet. I'm not one of those pricks that sits in the "fast" lane and holds everyone up (nor do I wish to be, not on purpose anyway). I'm generally very cautious/aware of what's around me in my car and so too with my bike - as best a newbie can be with so many new things to concentrate on.
I'm thinking I probably changed to that lane as the middle lane that I was in was slowing down suddenly and perhaps I "eeked" a little bit and just changed to a faster lane and before I knew it uh oh it's a 70kmph zone, I'm in the fast lane, cars behind me, not quite confident enough to go back to the middle between cars/bike with a gap smaller than I'd have liked, knew there were cars behind me and was too scared to slow down for fear there'd come up by arse (minds out of the gutter boys). From memory I thought I might as well stay in the fast lane cause I couldn't remember if only one lane went to the shore or two and I didn't want to poo my pants changing to the middle then changing back again. I'd be lucky if I crossed that bridge once every few months so quite unfamiliar with that part of the city. Ah well, put it down to a learning experience eh. Oh and thanks for waving, lol And now that I think about it even more and it comes back to me, I remember thinking "that guy must think i'm an asshole/wannabe and that i'm trying to overtake him".

[Gremlin]

Ah well, put it down to a learning experience eh.

Exactly. When you started driving you would have been nervous as well, and became more relaxed and comfortable as you gained more experience. Same thing with bikes.

[unstuck]

When I passed you, I was in the fast lane, gave you a wave, you were in the middle lane. As we entered the 70kph section I moved into the middle lane (some cars between us), and you passed in the right lane, with a small queue of cars behind you .

See, he remembers.

[FJRider]

Oh and thanks for waving, lol

Was it the secret KB wave ... ???

[bosslady]

See, he remembers.

Lol I would have paid more attention too if I thought it was someone I maybe "knew", anyway he's prob been riding since I was in nappies? I dunno.... making assumptions on ages

Was it the secret KB wave ... ???

The finger you mean? no, a normal wave as I recall..

[FJRider]

The finger you mean? no, a normal wave as I recall..

Not the finger "wave" no .... obviously not the very secret KB wave then ...

Perhaps ... when you are a "senior" member ... you "may" be told ...

[James Deuce]

We'll need a new waving thread then.

[James Deuce]

The wind is more of a problem with light bikes rather than inexperience. So if you were to never progress to a bigger/heavier bike you would always have the same problem with wind. Beware though some very powerful bikes can still get blown around if they are light enough. For years I rode road legal trail bikes and progressed to a CB750 Honda which could handle all but the most powerful side winds which resulted in a far less tiring ride and safer too when I could overtake without fear of being blown off the road.

I've ridden probably upwards of 60 different motorcycles in all sorts of weather and size and weight have never predicated dynamic responses to gale force wind gusts or constant gale force winds. The only thing that moderates a motorcycle's response to wind is the rider, and some of the heavier bikes I've ridden have been MUCH worse in the wind, especially gusting crosswinds than some smaller, lighter bikes.

Factors such as fairing design (or lack of a fairing), handlebar width and steering geometry all have big impacts on a bike's response to wind and assuming that a bigger, heavier bike will be easier to control in high winds will have much the same result as any assumptions made about one's expectations of motorcycles. Simply holding the bars in a death grip can be a death sentence for an uneducated rider in high winds. It doesn't help. It turns your body into a sail which transmits wind force through your arms to the bars, resulting in a series of unpredictable steering inputs, which definitely multiplies the sensation of being moved about by the wind.

Aerodynamic drag is a big factor for motorcycles because despite some people's assertions that motorcycles induce less drag than a car (they don't) motorcycles effectively tow a giant wall of air with them just behind the bike (this is why 120hp will give you 260kph, but you need 200hp to get another 40kph - the effect magnifies in a logarithmic fashion for each kph thereafter). Interrupting this air flow unpredictably can and does have an effect on how a bike responds to crosswinds. I've had faired bikes essentially surf a wall of air while leaned over and end up on the wrong side of the road due to suddenly ineffective steering and yet not react to strong crosswinds while upright, and naked bikes bobble about a bit while leaned over in a gale, but veer across a lane when battered from the side while upright. In one memorable moment I had a 200kg bike start sliding front and rear after being hit by wind shear from a gully above the road on the Rimutakas at the apex of a corner. The only thing that saved me was exiting the shear stream into turbulent air. Luck, not skill.

It's not the bike that determines what happens in response to high winds. It's the mental attitude of the rider to wind and the skills that are gained over time with practice combined.

[scumdog]

It's not the bike that determines what happens in response to high winds. It's the mental attitude of the rider to wind and the skills that are gained over time with practice combined.

True.

A couple of things:
I 'let' the bike wobble around a bit as the wind hits it plus I sit on it like I'm a bag of shit (which some may think I am!) so that I'm not rigid, be relaxed, let the wind move you instead of the bike within reason! and don't try to stop the bike moving a bit too.

Sticking out the knee on the upwind side helps two

[The End]

Bosslady and FZR250, are you two keen for a ride some time tomorrow? Nothing too big, but I'm just itching to get these new tyres scrubbed in . I'm only on a 2̶5̶0̶ okay, a 225 so it won't be anything too hardcore.

[bosslady]

interesting reading, I'll have to read it again later, bit hard to take in in one read.

[bosslady]

Bosslady and FZR250, are you two keen for a ride some time tomorrow? Nothing too big, but I'm just itching to get these new tyres scrubbed in . I'm only on a 2̶5̶0̶ okay, a 225 so it won't be anything too hardcore.

Thanks but I've got work gonna ride there to get some miles though