Holy Crap !!

[RichInFla]

Another newbie post. I finally went over the bridge from the mainland (all riding to date) to beachside, that wasn't too bad at 45 MPH (gotta tell ya though, was wee bit nervous with the wind). However, I then started south on A1A along the coastline. Wind was blowing east to west between 5-15 MPH. We have a lot of condos on the beach, so it it seemed "typical" of my riding experiences to date. As soon as I got to an area where no condos were blocking the wind, a gust came from the east and dang if it didn't push me a foot or two to the right. I managed to "adjust" without "freaking out", and I continued on, thinking, "holy crap, that was different !!"

I can't imagine being on the interstate when a big @ss 18-wheeler goes by you, holy crap !! Just thought I'd share, and ask anyone if there is a proper "technique" to deal with wind gusts ??

Thanks.

[mr. softie]

you will feel a small "push" as the 18 wheeler passes (it's "bow wave" so to speak) followed by a "pull" as it goes past. It is really not bad at all. Relax the grip on the bars as the bike will tend to travel a straight line. Rather than steering, use your body lean to counteract any effects. Sort of "go with the flow" so to speak. Large vehicles exhibit a larger effect when oncoming on a two laner,
but again, the bike will not fall over but may lean to maintain a straight track. Good riding!

[RichInFla]

That's cool. For some reason, I have this thought of some wind gust knocking me sideways. I guess I get that from living in a hurricane area !! It'll take some practice, but I figure as long as I don't "panic" and try to over-compensate, I might be okay. Thanks for the advice !!

[Water Warrior 2]

I have a real dislike for wind whether it be in a cage or on the bike. The wind is invisible and can cause some real pucker moments. Stay loose and just try to ride it out. With experience it gets much easier to live with and will teach you to trust your bike to stay upright. Lynda's GZ is not effected as much as my VStrom due to it's front fairing and overall size in a cross wind. Bigger is not always better so to speak. Wind gusts are quite common here and I have learned to trust the bike to remain upright with a little body english.
Wind from other vehicles can be bad. Never follow close enough to anything to feel the backwash from it. Also if you are that close they may drive over something and you haven't enough time to react and avoid it. Road kill, firewood and oil spots are good to see ahead of time. A good sidewind and an oncoming truck will upset you a bit too. Just ride and gain experience. Learn to think ahead and enjoy the fresh air.

[Graydog]

Rich,

Don't know about the others that have answered but I have had a cross wind push me more than a couple feet sideways.

While riding with a group in the Grand Prairie area going to a sport car rally back in the 70s we experienced a cross wind that forced us all into the next lane (oncoming...lucky no traffic at that moment). It was a huge "blast" of wind and two fairly experienced riders went down. The blast lasted only about 2 seconds but since we were traveling about 50 mph or so we moved many feet in a direction we did not want to go! We were still moving forward but we were moving at an angle forcing us into the oncoming lane. It was over like a flash. Keep in mind we were on a prairie where such winds can occur fast with no warning.

I have had the same thing happen riding in west Texas in open desert areas both in a cage and on a bike.

Same for the beach. I love to ride the sea wall on Galveston but on one of those 'tropical cloudy' days it can get nasty.

[music man]

I've had the same sort of thing happen to me down in southeast Arkansas around the cotton fields and such, your riding along trees on both sides of you and all of a sudden you come up on an opening with cotton fields(or any kind of fields for that matter) and the wind will hit you from the side like a ton of bricks, like Greydog said it will move you sideways a few feet.


Later

[Water Warrior 2]

Another good reason to be scanning left and right. You might see some trees, bushes or tall grass start to move a bit. Tall grass just beside the shoulder of the road may give you a heads up. And it will also tell you which way the breeze is blowing. The more you notice the safer you will be.

[Jenny]

I have a the small Suzuki windshield on my bike. It's not much of a windshield, but when an 18 wheeler is coming towards me, I usually shift a bit to the right (I tend to ride where the left tire of a car would be unless there's a reason to be elsewhere) and lean down like I'm on a sports bike. Anyway, I've found that really helps decrease the buffeting as much. Now, if the wind is caused by an unexpected very strong wind blast, I don't know about that in time, and I had one of those push me about a foot the other day when I was riding. It scared me because it was the first time I'd been hit by wind like that when I wasn't expecting it!

Was it one of those freaky metal grid bridges? Took my first one of those this weekend (ok, my first THREE of those, I'd been wanting to find one so that I could try it since we're considering a trip to Canada and that's a super long metal grid bridge, but I wasn't planning on doing three in one weekend! Local bike club ride took a route that included three). That was freaky even though I knew what to expect!

[Water Warrior 2]

The joys of a steel decked bridge. A true pucker moment for many riders. Most bikes( in my experience)will want to dance around a bit. That is okay as it seems to always stay up upright if you don't freeze up or fight it. My experience anyway. A smoother tread tire seems to be the least affected too. Same or similar to grooves running lengthway on the road. Hold your speed or increase it slightly on a short bridge to lighten up the front end.