how does one deal with cross winds?

[TheGoodGuy]

I either have been off the bike too long or i just never learnt how to deal with cross winds.. head winds are okay..

while going over the causeway the winds were blowing..

i hate it.

on sunday we probably will take HWY 37 and that thing climbs.. at that height it has winds.. it will freak me out.. i will probably go slow.. cause all of a sudden im having fear of height.....

[scratch]

Bend like a blade of grass, let the wind pass over you, grasshopper.

Seriously, lean a shoulder into it, I find this to be more effective than leaning the bike into the wind, because when it stops, that's when you're skittering across the lane. Of course a really strong gust will get me leaning the bike too, but think of it as just leaning the bike while going straight. Don't steer, just lean.

[jangofett]

I feel you. I hate crosswinds. I also have a terrible fear of heights, so much so, that I get sick to my stomach. I usually travel across bridges and skyways fairly slow. I think my fears of crosswinds have more to do with fear of heights than anything. I swear those crosswinds can make you change lanes when you don't want to.

[pdg108]

I try to think in counter steering terms.  Slight pressure to push back against the wind.  The trick is to not push to hard, especcially when it is gusty.  
I give myself a little more room in the lane too, that way I don't have to fight every little push, just the big stuff.

Still sucks though...  :mrgreen:

[Turkina]

I put more pressure on the upwind peg, and then lean the shoulder a little if the wind is really strong.  I sorta like doing the peg thing when it's gusty because I can react faster.

[newbieone]

One of life's questions answered thank you motorcycle god's. hehe, I really always think about that. I bet the wind from a big rig blowing by you will nearly knock you over as well.

[TheGoodGuy]

One of life's questions answered thank you motorcycle god's. hehe, I really always think about that. I bet the wind from a big rig blowing by you will nearly knock you over as well.

on a calm day big rigs dont do jack.. on a windy day.. if the big rig is covering your wind path.. you will be sucked towards the rig.. if its blowing and its not covering its okay..

the issue i have is when you have these climbing interchanges and its windy.. its like that curves to teh left or right but your like 100 feet up in the air.. its freaky and those barriers you know wont hold you if you get pushed over.. its sometimes freaky in the car too..

LA ppl will know this.. 110 carpool South to 105 carpool West (and reverse).. and also 15 south -> 10E and 134 E -> 2N & 2S -> 134E

[Turkina]

With tractor-trailers I think you want to:
1) let it pass or get past it as soon as possible, to get out of the wind blast.  Don't ride alongside it if you can help it.
2) start the passing maneuver towards the middle of the lane, and don't fight the wind blast too much.  Staying near the edge of the lane might be bad of you get an extra gust, or when you reach the edge of the blast, your bike will swerve.

[conradvr]

On the road tour my wife and I just returned from we had two days of crosswinds with the added bonus of heavy rain in Tasmania - I now know why they are called the roaring forties.

The best way I deal with a crosswind is 1st to give myself as much room as possible so I am not pushed off the road or into the oncoming lane by gusts.  The 2nd most important thing is to try relax and not tense up especially in your arms and use counter steering to compensate for the wind effect.

To give you an idea of how strong the wind was at some stages, I took my first left hand sweeping corner still leaning right   Was pretty scary but if you stayed relaxed and used counter steering you could still ride pretty straight.

Cheers
Conrad

[GT Eye]

I have a great fear of heights and crosswings while going over bridges (I live in NYC) can be terrifying- especially over the metal grids!

[bikenut]

The good ole 59th street bridge (feelin' groovy).  Frist time I rode over that bridge, the front tire of my 160cc Ducati got caught in the groove and I had no steering input at all. Scared the sh-t out of me.  After that, I'd weave left and right in my lane and that did the trick.

Back to crosswinds.  In Hough's book "Proficient Mortorcylcing" he  claims that you should use body lean to the opposite side of the wind.  If the wind is blowing from your left, you should "hang off" to the right.  He doesn't mean for you to drag your knee.  Nothing that radical, just enough to compensate for the wind.  It's the big sideways gusts that still get me scared.

[Laura]

I have no useful advice- just wanted to say I HATE CROSSWINDS!

Laura

[mp183]

Just have to hang loose.  You'll get blown all over the lane.  It's rare that you get blown out of your lane.  Just lean slightly into it.  Keep a loose grip on the handlebars.  Don't slow down.  Just keep going at your normal speed.  I grew up in Brooklyn the NYC bridges were my training ground so I think nothing of if.  
I'll take a stiff crosswind over a mini-van driver with a cellphone.
Good Luck.

[john]

I got his by an 80 mph microburst.  So strong trees were flattened.  Hit me so hard it knocked me into the guard rail on the opposite of the highway.  If the gust is strong enough there is no way to control it.

Mild gusts can be just as difficult.  I just try to be ready to react of it's breezy out.  What else can you do  :dunno:

[Dom]

I just try to keep from flying into the other lane or onto the shoulder.  Pretty much instinctive, no special recovery techniques that I can think of... then I blame Bush.

[geekonabike]

This might be a useless reply but I'm feeling inspired.

I've been riding  for about 1.5 years, all in Oklahoma.  The first time that I got some crosswind, on a rural road, it seriously freaked me out.  Like why am I doing this?  I think I was going 45mph on my CB250, my bike at the time.  On I-40 I learned that I just had to live with the crosswinds in Oklahoma or give up riding, and though I'm still a newbie, I no longer think about them much.  Passing a semi is no big deal either.  I mean, sure I get knocked a couple feet one way or the other, but there's room and I just do what comes naturally to compensate.  I keep out of the wash of a semi more because I want to better see what I'm about to run over, but I will say the turbulence there is enough to make me want to stay back too.

Admittedly I'm not going over any high bridges with nasty rails, or near any freaky dropoffs.  My own vertigo would probably do a number on me in those situations too, and I'd slow to granny speeds.

I *DO* feel that we probably are not as kicked around by the wind as we imagine we are (cases where one actually runs into something being the exceptions).  A 6-inch shove to one side, with all that inertia, will feel like a body blow.  Living through it a couple times, at least once with documented 30+mph crosswinds on said interstate, and I don't think about it.  But again, heights are not a concern on that ride.  In fact I like to think with the wind I'm getting better cooling for my "E" and feel good about it.  (OK, lame I know.)

FWIW I do know a fellow who rides these same stretches of I-40 with his wife on separate Harleys, hers some kind of Sportster and his a Dyna something or other.  He told me that they once came back in a pretty strong wind, and his wife said "never again!"  She had a lot of time/money invested in this shared interest and about chucked it all.  So you are not alone in your aversion.

Come to think of it, I might keep away from some high, windy places in many a four-wheeled vehicle, like a cargo van.  Bridges don't bother me there, but some LA roads up in the hills would probably freak me out enough to avoid them, or build up the guts.

FWIW,
Mike D.

[geekonabike]

I just try to keep from flying into the other lane or onto the shoulder.  Pretty much instinctive, no special recovery techniques that I can think of... then I blame Bush.

Even when you get Kerried away?  <groan>

[Ed_in_Az]

 

[juggernaught]

Ahh...crosswinds.  In Hough's book (proficient motorcycling) he talks about this.  I've been hit by those crossing bridges in and out of the city and they did really freak me out as the wind seemed to just push me into the next lane.  Now i try to maintain as low a profile as i can when that happens..lean into the tank with knees hugging the tank and if necessary leaning a bit into the wind a bit.  A friend riding behind me once said that i looked like i was crossing the bridge leaning about 25deg. to the right all the while going in a straight line.  The winds were gusting to about 45mph. on that day.  Word of advice...avoid hi-profile knapsacks/luggage as they do act like a sail in a crosswinds.  Think your a rocket...aerodynamic...cut through the wind.......