9toenelson Ep 06: How to Ride a Motorcycle in High Winds

[@jahmic]

Years ago I decided to go to a "hurricane party" in St. Pete with a friend. Woke up the next morning to the evacuation alarms going off. Crossing the Gandy bridge leaned waaay over while going straight is an experience I'll never forget (or repeat).

[@9toenelson]

Yep. I relate. But now you know that you CAN if you need to. 👍🏼

[@robyzf4829]

great day for a ride! a heavier bike definitely helps curb the wind push. slowing down does too.

[@9toenelson]

That’s true about slowing down, but in my experience, only so much. The gyroscopics of the wheels are stronger as they spin faster. If you slow down too much, you lose that force, which helps keep you upright. Compare a motorcycle in motion to one stopped. You need to keep the stopped motorcycle balanced and upright with your legs or sidestand. The bike and you can easily be blown over with a strong gust. When I’m motion, the gyroscopic forces at the spinning wheels help keep you upright, although you may be blown of course a bit.

[@paulscountry456]

I ride in wind in the desert here ,try putting a knee out like a sail for some reason it helps,the worst thing about wind is it does not effect cars much so they are not slowed down.

[@9toenelson]

I’ll give that a try. Do you do that when you are riding through crosswinds or just headwinds and tailwinds? I don’t see how advantageous it would be riding into headwinds. And crosswinds seems as though it would be kind of tricky also.

[@paulscountry456]

I did it once years back around Elk Heights in the Desert here with really powerful wind gusts of maybe 40 to 50 mph ,cars were riding my ass and eventually, I pulled over and waited it out but I noticed it helped some .

[@9toenelson]

When I went through the Arizona desert, I had a similar experience. It was the first of that kind with such high winds. A full tuck felt appropriate at the time. I’ve learned more since then. Next time I’ll give your technique a try. 👍🏼