What's the trick for....
 

Riding in wind.

Went out for an hour today and was getting blown all over the place. Not too bad on normal roads but when i got onto an open A road i struggled to keep it in a straight line.

Going to shropshire at easter and was hoping to take my bike with me and am not looking forward to the motorways now.

Keep the speed down and don't grip the bars too tightly

Yep!

and be bloody careful overtaking lorries.

Dont fight it too much. Go with the flow a bit,its a bit like riding on rutted roads inthat the bike will move about a lot more than usual,so avoid tight gaps.I find the most dodgy thing is when I stop.You need both feet down or you can get blown over :arrow:

Relax and take visual notes where breaks in hedge rows and tree's are so you know when the next gust of wind is comming

No more to add but do all of the above and you should be ok.

trees are a good visual clue too...good direction and intensity indicators imho :thumbsup: Good luck

get down a bit - gives the wind less to hold onto,
slow down. (some may argue with this - but it generally makes me feel safer)

adjust your road positioning not to allow any cars to dangerously overtake.

Get a heavier bike. I've ridden several different bikes in strong wind and there is not replacement for a bigger weight. ZZR1100 seemed the best - not buffetted at all. Our little SVs take a bit of a battering, I'm afraid, and there's no real way around that.

I've found that being higher up the revs than I'd usually ride at also helps, gives you a quicker response in the face of a gust... And depending on the situation, it's sometimes helfpul to ride offset in your lane- if I'm getting big infrequent gusts from one direction I'll ride offset in that direction (a little) just to give me more reaction room. Doesn't work in a steady wind of course, you just end up in difficulties when it drops...

Avoid big open roads, is a biggie- don't take a motorway or big dual if there's an alternative route.