Scariest ride ever

[Geezer]

Charlie Hoss and I hit some serious cross-winds riding across the plains on our way to NAFO. I kept slowing down and Charlie kept indicating to go faster. I don't think it was any more challenging to go faster, and it did keep the 18 wheelers behind us. Best advice I can give is to hang on tight and stay focused. I got in the habit of poking my knee out into the wind from my naked bike days. If the wind is coming from the right I stick my right knee out. I'm not sure it helps in a faired bike.

 

[Geezer]

FWIW, my scariest ride so far was on my way home from the Cats and Daks ride a couple week s ago. It was after sunset, heavy clouds, and very dark. The rain cam down so hard that the cagers were going 40 mph on the Interstate. My face shield and eyeglasses would fog up immediately after I wiped them. All I could see was the tail lights ahead of me. I was riding in those conditions for almost two hours. I was very happy to get home and dry off.

 

[luvtoride]

It seems that last year coming home from Cats & Daks also offered white knuckles, Greg. Worse this year, huh?

Last year, I remember thinking "THANK THE GOOD LORD... LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GOING TO MAKE IT " when we stopped at that gas station on Rte 28.

 

[Duezzer]

Southern Alberta is known for wind and I have done alot of riding in it

Somethings I have found over the years.

Leather jacket much better than textile - Fits tighter and wind does not grab it

Death gripping the handle bar is a no no - make it much worse than it really is- any wind that hits you and moves your body imputs directly to the bars moving you where you don't want to go - this is compounded with a textile jacket

It is really hard not to try to hold on for dear life - It does take practice and it also takes time to get used to not freaking out

I have had to on occasion pull over get my head on straight and remind myself to relax my grip

Ride safe

Later

 

[RTSR1/FJR]

Usually the GIVI doesn't affect the bike much at speed, but in high winds at anything over 60 it gets to be a handfull at times.

 

[n1acguy]

I've had crosswinds scare the crap out of me too. We always seem to have strong crosswinds on CA126 between Fillmore and I-5. I had a Bandit 1200S, with a tank bag, tail bag, and backpack. My bike was so squirrely, the pucker factor was off the chart. Another guy had a Buell, mostly naked with luggage, another guy had an older Concourse and another had a Shadow. None of these guys seemed to be as affected by the wind as I was. Last fall I made the same trip on my FJR with most of the same guys. The winds still buffeted my bike around, but not so much more than everybody else. I do think crosswinds affect faired bikes a lot more but heavier faired bikes probably do a lot better.

As I'm sitting here writing this, I don't remember my Ninjas getting blown around. I'll bet the problem with my Bandit was that everything I was carrying was up high. As someone suggested, the top case probably had a lot to do with your wild ride :blink:

 

[weekend rider]

You were not going fast enough the faster you go the more the dynamics take over and glues you to the road

speed............................ speed..................... speed and more speed ............

faster is better

 

[SCWatts]

Your side cases and top case, plus the gear packed on the seat behind you, did contribute to the problems and along with your body, form a sail that catches the wind, causing you to fight harder to counteract the force.

I, too, have noticed some bikes seem less affected by the winds. Man, that ticks me off.

 

[flapsup]

Not much you can do about the headwinds except get behind the shield and gut it out. I learned a lot about winds and "frontal area" while I was learning to fly floatplanes, which are sailboats until you leave the water. With the fairing, all the body work, bags, and rider, you present a lot of frontal area to the wind and a stiff crosswind will most definitely blow you off your intended path.

About all you can do is relax your grip and go with it a little, like you should be doing on rain grooves.

The one I hate the most is passing a semi at an overpass on the slab, then finding a serious crosswind just after you come from the relatively protected area from the side of the truck. That one leaves teeth marks on the saddle!

 

[Geezer]

It seems that last year coming home from Cats & Daks also offered white knuckles, Greg. Worse this year, huh?
Last year, I remember thinking "THANK THE GOOD LORD... LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GOING TO MAKE IT " when we stopped at that gas station on Rte 28.

This year seemed worse. Maybe it was because you weren't there for moral support. We have to get the Zoooooms to do something about the weather next year.

 

[Deacon51]

How to beat the winds? Just relax and ride. Yes, the bike will move around a little, but don't sweat it. Yes, you may get some helmet lift, just ride through it. Wind is like just about everything else, sand, grooved pavement, wet roads... relax your grip, weight the pegs, be smooth and ride on.

I cross the Chesapeake Bay bridge (steal grate deck and high winds with heavy traffic) every couple of weeks. Talk about scary!