highway riding

[Logan812]

Hello all! I was riding on the highway the other night and was getting blown all over the road. I am not an experienced rider as this is my first bike in about 15 years however i am no novice either. Has anyone ever experienced this and what am i doing wrong? It was a pretty scary thing for me.

[Black_peter]

Rule #1 relax..

Due to several factors;
*relitively small contact patches.
*lean = turning
*you are the same shape as a sail
Means that cross winds effect a bike.
My advice:
#1 relax
#2 remember you may have to lean/turn to counter wind
#3 see #1.
#4 do not add too much input! This could do more harm then good (see #1 for tips on that)

If you make your self like a reed in the wind, grashopper, you will see that while sometimes tiring,
cross winds will become easy to handle. Yes, you will get blown from side to side but when you find your self in this position, try and position yourself away from other cars. If in the odd chance that you get blown
into another lane, you'll have a place to go..

[StoneJrW]

[quote="Black_peter"]Rule #1 relax..


What he said. It was hard for me to relax in cross winds but after I finally did the ride was a WHOLE lot better. 8)

[allblackkat]

Yep, what they said... I ride everyday on an East -West highway with a steady wind all the time from the south.. mostly 15-20 mph straight across(with occasional gusts to 30). You pretty much just lean/steer a little into it. If your crossing lanes with your lean, it's too much obviously, just keep your distance from other cars and you'll be fine.

[JZ67]

Rule #1 relax

That pretty much covers it. Gripping the tank a little with your legs and avoid death gripping while trying to RELAX, you'll nail it and soon enough forget you ever had a problem.

[KatanaSoldier]

wind blows, LoL!

[DreKat]

squeeze the tank with your legs and relax your upper body

[The CyberPoet]

NIGHTMARE STORY:

Met up with a rider from this board (who shall remain nameless lest the begin) for a ride. He'd been riding for about a year, but never did any highway riding in that time (no issues driving the interstate on four wheels though).

Off we set off for what normally would be just under an hour's journey for me... and he panic'd. Now I'll admit there was a bit of a lateral breeze at times, but it wasn't too bad (about 5-8 mph, 40 degrees off direction of travel). But clamping down on the handlebars, body lowered down behind the windshield, he was getting blown around a bit, and panicing, he kept decreasing his speed (65 - 60 - 55 - 50 - 45!) and trying harder to force it to stop by wrestling the bike harder.
This lead to additional problems as vehicles (including Semi's) started passing him at 70 - 85, with their side-winds blasting him about even more.

After a dozen miles or so, I was about ready to rip my hair out (as was my GF on the back)... We pulled off, and I tried to explain to him that:
(A) There's a certain ZEN involved. Trust the bike instead of trying to clamp down on it harder and harder -- loosen up the fingers and know that the force of the rotating wheels will keep it upright and going fairly straight no matter how bad the wind is at anything less than hurricane forces.
(B) The faster you go, the higher that rotational force at the wheels, as well as the greater the impact of the air from the front (compared to the winds from the side), and the less the wind will knock you about. More-over, if you're doing the prevelant speed of the rest of traffic, you don't have to deal with wind-blasts from vehicles passing you at up to double your speed.
(C) If the lateral wind-bumping is particularly bad, consider finding an SUV or van in the windward lane and getting into his wind-shadow (off to one side, like right next to the driver's window) to avoid having to deal with lateral winds.
(D) Try sitting as upright as possible instead of tucking. It moves your mass away from the bike's some and helps reduce the side-blast reactions because there's far more wind pressing back against you... Let your hips take the bike wiggles and bring it back instead of trying to make your arms do it.

That worked for about 3 miles... Then the speed dropped and it was back to the same-old , same-old (50 - 60 mph most of the way -- he went 60 if I was behind instead of in-front). It was a long journey. Funny thing was as soon as we dropped of the interstate, he was doing 65-80 mph with no issues on roads of approximately the same width and spacing. And I have to report that I got the best mileage that I ever got out of the Kat, somewhere around 48 mpg (compared to my usual 32-34 mpg).

He never did get the zen issue. Maybe at some point he'll get it... I tried... And came to the conclusion (based on his other riding off the interstates) that it's purely mental PLUS the tendency to try to clamp down too hard on the bike whenever it jostles a bit instead of just treating it like an red-light-district pro in Amsterdam and just going with the motions and enjoying the ride.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[AMorgan]

I haven't had many highway wind problems yet, but i've been on the highway several times. I usually tuck just to keep my head from jostling too much, plus it takes a lot of stress off my arms and chest. I guess the biggest thing is simply to relax. I usually conentrate on keeping an eye out for potholes and such and just enjoy the speed. To me it sounds like the more you let it effect you, the worse off you are.

[Viper817]

Just relax like everyone has said...I posted the same thing when I first rode my Kat...I was hit by a cross wind and pushed to the left lane from the right (obviously). Just keep tight against the tank, lean, and do not panic....The more you ride the more confident you get...I still am not ready to try to "rail" yet, but its coming.. I take my turns slower than others, and don't blast down the road...Just get the feel of the bike...you'll be ok...Stay safe

[katman05]

Relax and go with the flow.

[MDNTRDR]

is it just me or is the katana particularly touchy about cross winds (havent owned many faired bikes

[The CyberPoet]

is it just me or is the katana particularly touchy about cross winds (havent owned many faired bikes

It's no more touchy than any other bike of it's size. Obviously a shorter bike without fairings (or with fewer fairings) is going to have less "sail" area to contend with, but in my experience, the Kat's not particularly bad.


Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[TheWrightKat]

I must have found that Zen Zone Cyber was talking about, because I enjoy riding in a cross wind. Like others have said just relax your kat will take care of you. I've found in particularly strong winds leaning into the wind will stop you from being blown about and shouldn't turn you any unless you are leaning into it too much. Swirling winds are the best though it keeps your mind working because you don't know which side the next blast is going to come from.

[TheKlic]

... the force of the rotating wheels will keep it upright and going fairly straight no matter how bad the wind is at anything less than hurricane forces.
(B) The faster you go, the higher that rotational force at the wheels, as well as the greater the impact of the air from the front (compared to the winds from the side), and the less the wind will knock you about. ...

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

I have to agree, when I'm running flatout I don't feel the wind blowing me around at all.