Wind - Slow or Fast??

Right - Had my first proper scare riding in the wind this morning, so I'm calling on the collective knowledge of the mighty FZ6 forum to tell me the best way to handle high wind situations.

Vote and then explain your choice, please. Thanks!

i just make sure i am paying attention and ride relaxed, just up your alert level a touch to make sure you aren't going to get knocked off balance while riding alone.

Today was the first time I've been physically blown into another lane on the motorway. It was pretty scary, I have to admit. Funny though, it didn't feel like I expected it would. It felt like the bike was being pushed out from under me. I thought it would be a more "pushed over from the top" sort of feeling - like someone was pushing my shoulders maybe. I totally didn't expect it to feel like someone was pushing the bottom of the wheels out. Really strange.

It probably didn't help that it was in the driving rain as well so conditions really were horrible. I should have taken the train but it didn't look that bad when I left the house.

I have ridden my bicycle in Nevada going into Wendover with 60mph+ crosswinds...

that is a 17 pound bike with close to 400 pounds... I do not worry...

just relax ---- stay alert and enjoy the challenge

Doorag said:

Today was the first time I've been physically blown into another lane on the motorway. It was pretty scary, I have to admit.

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and that my friend is why i avoid riding directly next to other motorists. also they change lanes without looking a lot. both are very good reasons and i adhere to it every time i ride.

reiobard said:

and that my friend is why i avoid riding directly next to other motorists. also they change lanes without looking a lot. both are very good reasons and i adhere to it every time i ride.

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I consider the wind as the biggest hazzard to a motorcyclist. Why? Because it's probably the only thing that is not predictable. You really don't know when it's going to hit you. Left turning cagers, bad lane changes, intersections, those are things that you can predict. If I know that I'm riding in windy conditions, I make sure that I'm in the correct powerband, usually a gear lower than I normally ride so that I can throttle into the wind when it hits me. I rode my bike to LA last Dcember and the winds were pretty damn brutal. I made sure I had enough space to my left and right on the freeways. I usually favor the extreme left lane on the freeways as I consider it the safest lane, however, in high winds, I choose not to travel in it so that I didn't end up against the concrete barrier. For all you members who live in Southern Cal. Kudos to you all for riding in those extreme and dangerous conditions.

For what its worth, the bikes we ride have weight and mass. The winds we ride in are a generated force against that mass. If the wind we are riding in is say 30mph we will need to ride faster than the speed of the wind in order to overcome the force on that mass. If we ride the same speed or less, it's going to be interesting as the force of the wind will have an advantage over the mass and we will get pushed all over the place.

As the speed of the wind changes so must you change the speed necessary to overcome the force generated by the wind and when you do things will actually smooth out. A good example of this would be I10 between Indio, California and Cabazon. Cross winds in that stretch can hit 40-50mph but you can still get a nice ride out of the bike by running 70-75mph. The same would hold true when crossing Hwy 111 between Palm Springs and I10. So, for me it boils down to an ability to maintain good control by gaining an advantage in speed.

What I want to know is how many folks get a death grip on the bars simply because you are riding in windy conditions? If so, relax because that death grip reduces control.

On grip - I tried to focus on relaxing my shoulders and particularly my grip but I found it very difficult to overcome the instinct to grab at the bars when the crosswinds hit really strong.

I'm glad I went out in it although it was scary. I need to get experience riding in all conditions so better sooner than later. It will be an interesting ride home as the weather isn't getting any better.

one thing I have learned is to loosen up on the bars and relax. this makes the bike move less for the force of the wind. when you tense up you move the bike as much as the wind.

For the most part you can feel what direction the wind is hitting you from .So what I do is ,If wind coming from left move left into lane That way if gust comes it will most likely push you to the right side of lane And not into the other lane . I like to be more aggressive and get out in front of traffic so I don't have to worry about jack ass on the cell phone .The big thing not to do is fight the wind .Adjust your riding to The conditions that You feel comfortable with .
Greg A.

Doorag said:

On grip - I tried to focus on relaxing my shoulders and particularly my grip but I found it very difficult to overcome the instinct to grab at the bars when the crosswinds hit really strong.

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this is exactly what you don't want to do. I know it is your first instinct but you must learn to overcome this feeling. and you want to overcome that BEFORE you expirience any headshake, because if you tense up then......BLAMO you are going down!

cashcrzzy said:

For the most part you can feel what direction the wind is hitting you from .So what I do is ,If wind coming from left move left into lane That way if gust comes it will most likely push you to the right side of lane And not into the other lane . I like to be more aggressive and get out in front of traffic so I don't have to worry about jack ass on the cell phone .The big thing not to do is fight the wind .Adjust your riding to The conditions that You feel comfortable with .
Greg A.

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IF the wind comes from one direction that works. Unfortunately for some reason on the M25 around London the wind seems to whip itself into a frenzy and attack from all directions. Seriously, I had a left-then-right incident the other day that was pretty bad. I've never seen wind like it and I used to live in 'tornado alley' in the US.

the day I bought my bike it was really windy (40mph gusts) and after riding for about.....10mins I had to cross the skyway bridge where the wind is even worse and you are high up in the air. I think that was one of the scariest things I have ever done. I have gone over it again and was much more relaxed and it was not even a little scary. Practice makes perfect!

but it not practice if you aren't trying to get better!

I have had my bike blow under me one time in the rain as well. Normally I dont mind riding in the rain, and I dont mind riding in the wind. This night it was dry, and a huge storm was blowing up. As I was heading home it was the kind of wind that picks stuff up in the fields and slings it into you, and then it just started a downpour. The roads were slicked up from road scum, and a huge gust just blew the bike under me, like you were describing. It lost traction and went sideways. I pulled off and hid under a banks porch. LOL

I know that there are things called micro bursts. They crash airplanes, break trees, and blow roofs off houses, where around them the wind is 30-40mph they can be 60-100 mph winds, they blow down, hit the ground and spread out. You may of rode into one of them.

It was a combination of freshly wet roads, stronger than normal winds, and crappy tires that came stock on my ninja. Relaxing and letting the bike do what it wants recovers it if it can be recovered. I dont know who said it, but when it gets real bad, let the bike have its head, if it can recover it will. Dont believe it? Jump off the bike and watch it ride away with out you. LOL

we have a bunch of bridges here that cross teh Willamette river. The winds get pretty bad going over and there is usually no room for error. I have found, and someone may have proof of this being wrong, but when the wind is pushing me goosing the gas up will make the rear end grab and straighten the bike back out.

Relax and loosen the grip on the handlebar.

Steve

wrightme43 said:

I dont know who said it, but when it gets real bad, let the bike have its head, if it can recover it will. Dont believe it? Jump off the bike and watch it ride away with out you. LOL

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correct, a bike by itself is stable as can be, it is the rider that makes it unstable. be smooth and in turn be fast.

Hi Mate,
Good post however all this thread has really demonstrated is. How unpridictable weather and wind is. none of us were riding in you particular weather so we all have variables.
All of the responses are very valid. In any given conditiona relaxed rider is going to have beter control of his machine.
I personally do not subscribe to the theory that my 400lb motorcycle is going to have an degree of stability in a cross wind. We have all seen semi's and trucks moving all over the place in the wind.
I used to ride 1500- 3000 miles per week as a courier. The only thing weather wise that screwed me up was freezig fog and un-predictable cross winds.
The worst I ever experienced was going down the M3 in late spring. I was doing 90 - 100mph in the outside lane. In a few seconds I went across two lanes and on to the shoulder. The wind was so violent and sudden I had no time to prepare. I had to lean so hard into the wind that when it stopped my weight took me back into the inside lane.
At that time I was a very resonable rider. Did I tense up you bet? Did I consider bailing out? totally.
On the way back I tried to excelerate through the gusts and drive slower. The net result was the faster I went forwards the quicker I went side ways.
So to answer your question:
1) Slow is safer more time to make your decisions.
2) If in doubt dont ride in crappy weather.
3) try to plan and think ahead.
4) If possible stay lose.
5) If it gets gusty move in so you have the shoulder as an escape route.

Nel

I went for ride slower...but its a 50/50 between normal speed and riding slower but you really must relax in high wind and give yourself plenty of space either side of you and just be careful of side winds (breaks in cover either side of your road are pretty dangerous!)

Riding faster is an absolute no since you are giving yourself less time to adjust your position and posture before being thrown into something or off the road. Ride conservatively, conscious of what is going on around you and relax when you know you'll be faced with side winds. Also you may decide to position yourself in the centre of your lane to give you more room but of course if you have more wind coming from your right...drive the bike nearer the right to give more room to your left to swerve into when that wind catches you.

I rode home from Reading today in really quite high winds. My response to high windage is to make myself smaller, i.e. crouch down. The smaller the physical area the less sideways push from the wind. It works!

So, as for the survey....none of the above - get smaller!