I have ridden cross country quite a few times and have experienced some bad cross winds. On I90 I saw a tractor trailer get flown across the medium and I have now learned that the gusts being invisible are completely random and that one's riding style can only do so much to protect oneself in these situations. I have pulled off the road and hidden in a culvert, found an abandoned building to use as a wind-block and hidden under many an underpass (there are safety issues in doing this and never lift your face shield when vehicles are passing inside and once in the prairies ridden into a dry low ditch and stopped and leaned my bike agains the side of the windward side of the ditch. I typically ride dual sports and find the bags and windshield make really good sails. The overcorrection from gripping the bars too hard makes it worse/ I installed a Scott's Steering Stabilizer on my KTM 990 on a cross country trip in heavy cross winds the bike was much calmer.I am dreaming of the day when a Scott's is available for the Tenere. My K1200GT handles better after I ditched the BMW top box and began using a soft bag. I always lower the windshield all the way in heavy wind. If you are riding in big winds and don't have a gas gauge cut your normal range by 40% I am glad you are all right
I didn't think I took it quite like that when I read through the first time but it does make for a hell of a lot better story that way.... Ride on man.....
My now sold F650gs was the only bike that ever did this. It was a strong wind gust coming into my front right. My front tire slipped sideways 2" or so then immediately straightened up. Scared the hell out of me. Sold it and bought a bike that is 100lb heavier!
Glad your O.k, but thats dang scary. I look for deer, unattentive drivers, hidden driveways, loose wash on the road, etc.. I didnt pay much attention to wind warnings But I will now. Funny a few days ago riding home from the office it was Very windy, and I remeber thinking about how unfun it was getting bounced around. I think part of it was the fact I had on thicker clothes, insulated jacket that was bigger, etc.. made me more of a sail than a typical summer ride.
Is there a thread you don't shit in? AFAIK, this is a place for those who crashed to tell their tale for (hopefully) the benefit of others. Wind can produce some interesting riding as I learned living in the Plains once upon a time. The only effective tactic I found was to decrease speed. Of course, sometimes the best option is to pull off and regroup. Be thankful it's only the GS whcih was damaged, not you!
I have experienced the high winds that can whip across the KC landscape. Even when leaning against the wind it feels like the bike can flip out from under you at any minute. Worst experience on a motorcycle yet was in the high winds. Glad to hear your ok.
I hate riding in strong winds - takes all the fun out of it in my opinion. It is about the only time I would rather not ride. Glad you're ok and hope you're back in the saddle in no time!
Glad you walked away. Bikes can be replaced. The new cable barriers make me a little nervous. In some places they aren't even in the median, they're at the edge of the left hand shoulder. Not much margin for error. There are several factors that affect the way a bike handles wind. A heavier bike is not necessarily better than a lighter bike. If all it took was more weight, you'd never see a semi blown over. I was riding across Kansas on a two lane on a '91 Harley FXRP one time when a storm blew in. The gusts were shoving me from one edge of the road to the other. Definitely puckered me up. The worst wind I've been in on a bike. I had no doubt I would end up in the ditch if I didn't find a place to get off the road. Fortunately I found a small cemetery to pull off in and managed to wait out the storm.
OP, First off, glad you are ok! Regarding insurance, someone made a good point about the "Act of God" clause, this is the ins companies new get out of jail free card. If I were you, I'd delete this thread until you get a settlement. At least here in the Northeast, they are using every tool they can to deny claims. Not trying to scare you, just don't want to see you get burned, especially since this is your only mode of transport. Cheers, James
I hate riding in rain; I really hate riding in significant cross winds. Wind scares me more than anything.
Every time I look at them, all I see is a tomato slicer. I hope I never learn if they're as dangerous as they look.
Good topic to bring up. Glad you made it through OK. Where in KC did this happen? You know its bad when they just drag it up on the flatbed on its side.
I had my first experience with vicious crosswinds on my bike this past weekend. My bike and I only make a combined 480lbs. I respect wind much more after that - it was miserable. After hearing this from an experienced rider, I'll turn around sooner next time. Good to hear you walked away.
OP glad youre ok. and EFFFFF the wind, i ride in it quite often here in S. UT. always seems to make the ride less fun.
For sure, high, gusty winds is the most nerve-tweaking is the most nerve-tweaking riding I can think of. Wind can be so unpredictable-- you can't tell when, where and how hard it going to hit. Fortunately, here in the Southeast we don't have the sustained high winds like you have out on the Plains so we have only limited chances to practice. I'm trying to get into the mindset of "unusual happenings" for when I start doing transcon rides in a couple of years so these Faceplant mishaps are useful. SiouxsieCat, sorry that you broke the bike, but glad that you walked away... --Bill
I've hear people say God is either everything, or he/she/it is nothing. The "Act of God" clause should either put the big hand in every accident, or none.
Learning to counter-steer is a good thing....leaning doesn't always help. Meaning, leaning isn't always enough. And sometimes, there is absolutely nothing that you can do to fight it other than pull over. My F650 was the worst and I was actually blown off the road despite leaning and counter-steering with MUCH force. Thankful you are still around to talk about it!
After many years of using a large barndoor type of fairing (a Windjammer) I swapped it for a more aerodynamic fairing (a Hannigan) and the first thing I noticed was that with the Hannigan I need to make subtle countersteering corrections in strong winds whereas with the Windjammer I needed to make more substantial "body english" (Lean) corrections. So it seems that the fairing (or windshield) has a lot to do with wind stability. I've not driven a bike with a fork-mounted windshield for any amount of time and not in the wind, so I have no idea how that type of windshield will fare in the wind. --Bill
Glad you didn't get wound up in those cable barriers that our state has seen fit to install to dismember anyone or anything that happens to end up in the median. I really wanted to ride Sunday, but that wind was just too much. Ma Nature ain't no bitch to mess with.