Strugglin...

[patrickpruett]

Ok, so I bought my bike (07 gs500f) 2 weeks ago and riding is not at all what I expected. Well, I guess it is fun and exciting, but the amount of side wind I am incountering is just plain crazy! I am scared to go onto the interstate because I am being blown all around the road. I will be riding around town at 45-50 mph and feel like I am being pushed off the road or pulled over to the other lane.  It is just plain scary.

So, here is the bottom line: if someone can't help me with this, I am just gonna sell my bike below cost and ditch riding all together cause it aint worth it to trash myself and my ride. PLEASE advise!

[the mole]

Ok, chill a bit, and give us more to go on.
1. What is your riding experience, ie. none at all, or what?
2. How windy is it where you are riding, or is it passing traffic causing the problem.
3. Have there been any tornados there recently?
:thumb:David.

[patrickpruett]

Ok, chill a bit, and give us more to go on.
1. What is your riding experience, ie. none at all, or what?
2. How windy is it where you are riding, or is it passing traffic causing the problem.
3. Have there been any tornados there recently?
:thumb:David.

1. 2 weeks
2. Raleigh, NC. I guess windy? But never ridden a bike outside of this area and it aint windy when I am standing still.
3. Negative on the tornados, huricanes, and small micro bursts

I am indeed calm, but my ride today just angered me. I really felt like I was being pushed off the road. Apparently no one else has the problem.

[galahs]

I felt the same way with the wind when I was new to riding. You learn to deal with 95% of it with time.

Just keep on riding!!! It will get better for you 

[DoD#i]

There's a certain amount of wind force (mostly from other vehicles - big trucks throw off quite a bow wave and suck in at the tail) one learns to deal with - BUT -

I'd check both axles really carefully for something loose, wildly low tire pressure, something else "just not right". Have a decent mechanic or experienced rider check it out, just in case you actually have a mechanical issue.

Also - find and take an MSF course. That's motorcycle safety foundation - worth its cost a million times over. <edit> if you don't understand countersteering, (which they will give you a solid handle on both in the class and in the parking lot) YOU may be what's pushing/pulling you the wrong way, if you are alternating between doing the right thing without thinking, and then thinking about turning and trying to turn like a car.

In the non-mechanical end of things (after you get it checked out, go find a nice empty country road where you won't have other vehicle wind most of the time) you may need to relax your grip a bit - some folks unconsciously tense up on the bars and this can cause some peculiar steering wobbles.

[Mdow]

make sure you helmet fits i rode with a helmet a size to big for a week and it realy semed like i was getting blown around but now i have one that fits and its sooo much beter

[Ronin]

The other day I was on a major highway.Trucks and more trucks...Yeah the wind off'em can be a pain.I just slowed a little to let them pass and didn't ride in the wake,about 5 or 6 cars lengths back.When passing I just giddy up and go..cut through the wake and get on down the road.Sometimes throttle is a good thing.
The worst part of the wake is from 5 car lengths up to the back of them and to the sides.Tucking into the tank will cut your drag! If your even half way up in a normal riding position..you are a human parachute! Is your suspension tight? Are your tire pressures to high? Check'em... And ditto DOD#i's post!!

[the mole]

+1 DoD#i and Ronin.
If the bike is OK (tyres, pressures, alignment, head bearings, suspension) then you just need more tuition/practice. Check the bike thoroughly or get someone who knows to do it, move on from there. If its as bad as you say it can only get better!

[Bluehaze]

Patrick..

I have been ridiing for about 5 weeks.. let me tell you.. the wind thing is just something you will need to get used to.  When i rode on the rode for about 40 mph hour.. i felt that rush of wind and i thought i was not doing my posture correctly..  i rode everyday on the small roads going about 40-50 for about 2 weeks. I thought maybe i was not posturing correctly or soething.. Now i can ride up to 80 mph without the wind bothering me..  on the highway.. you get used to it and suddenly its like your body knows how to react to the wind.

My recommendation for what i found to work for me.. is i make sure my legs are tight against the tank.  This allows me to feel like i am part of the bike.. and it make me think i have more control. .you can try that.. mabye lean in forward more close to the gas tank.. then slowly relax to a better poster as u get used to the wind blowing around you. Also relax your arms.. that way the wind can push your body around but i does not translate to you moving the handle bar ..  But the sense of being pushed around by the wind can be overwhelming but as you ride more often will go away..

Third and last thing.. if you really cant get used to the wind..i think you are making the right decision to walk away.. motorcycle is not for everyone..

[yamahonkawazuki]

youre on a lightweight faired bike. not well suited for teh interstate. BUT is tolerable with ride time. i rode in a 100 mile funeral escort the otehr week on my 97, and i was being passed by a tractor trailer every few miles or so. , cept in the inbound leg of the trip. ( we owned te interstate at that point no one passed us), BUT stick with it. youll get used to it. and check a few things. tire pressure. make sure helmet fits correctly. jacket fitting correctly etc

[Agno]

+1 for the helmet advice.  Made my ride a million times more tolerable.  I also tend to spend as little time alongside cars as possible.  Accelerate away from traffic and cruise in the open areas between groups of cars.

[yamahonkawazuki]

BTW patrick are you anywhere near charlotte nc?, if so might want to get ahold of buddha, maybe he can look the bike over and see if anything is amiss. it wouldnt hurt to try. man dont give up yet< infact,dont give up at all 

[Mdow]

def skip the interstate with big trucks i havn't been on the interstate yet and i plan on avoiding it backroads is how i like to trave hehe

[the mole]

youre on a lightweight faired bike. not well suited for teh interstate.

One option would be to take the fairing off until you get more experience, that extra windage and weight on a light bike doesn't help. You can get hold of a standard headlight shell and brackets and fit that, not a really big job and if you do drop the bike it'll cost a lot less to repair. Fairings are a bit of a mixed blessing unless you're doing a lot of high speed work.

[tripleb]

I've ridden 90+ on the interstate before many times and have never found it to be enjoyable.  Just going fast is boring IMO.  Mdow might be on to something with findinng a better fitting helmet.

+1 to finding some good twisty back roads!!  Those are a lot of fun!!

[werase643]

get a gazateer( NC state map with every stinking road on it) and ride the back roads
the highway sucks a$$.... fastest way to wear out a perfectly good rear tire

"Average" lives near you in cary or apex

yeah the big trucks are scarey.....ride places where they ain't.

until you get better and used to the way the bike handles
we all started there, some learn faster than others.....like everything else

or give up, sell it and buy a sport ute

[Unknown]

First week I got my bike the wind felt like it was gonna arm-bar me off the road, but after alot more riding experience I barely notice the wind unless its unusually high. I found that the slower I go (i.e. 50-60mph) the more susceptible I am to the wind, but the faster I went (i.e. 65+), the more I cut through the wind like a knife.

I say +1 to what everyone has said, especially the counter-steering. If the wind is pushing you to the right, and you "turn" your handle-bars to the left, then thats what your problem is.

[plurpimpin]

i just started riding a gs recently too and i live in chapel hill, nc. our weather is the same as your's and it really hasn't been windy at all around here. i think you just need to practice and get used to the feeling. i'd practice and ride some more if i were you before i sold the bike.

[blwnbwtie]

When i first started riding the wind was a little much.  Of course it didnt help that it was really windy, probably about 60mph side winds.  You get used to it after a while though.  In my opinion, just keep riding for another month or so and see if you get used to it before selling the bike.  +1 for the MSF course, best money i ever spent.

[theUBS]

I've been riding for about 3 months now.  Crosswinds defintely take a little while to get used to and trucks definitely create some turbulence.  However, it's all (IMO) just a matter of time and experience.  Personally, I haven't yet tried riding on the interstate.  It's just not appealing--and for that matter it's illegal in Ohio since I don't yet have my endorsement.  Though it is possible, I don't think our bikes were designed with the long haul in mind.  I might eventually start using the interstate for my commute, but I'd only be on it for less than 10 minutes. 

Also, as it's been said, the more you tuck, the less you'll feel it.   Give it some time!