Riding in wind?

hi i do 60 miles aday to work , most of it in very open roads , im new to bikes , when the wind is about 20mph i find it very hard to keep the bike from blowing over to the other side of the road , is it just because the sv 650s is a very light bike , or is it the same on any bike , i see some bikes pass me and they dont seem to struggle with the wind , as much as i am , i am 12 stone , is there a way to ease this , or a way to help stopping this , or do i need to put a big bag of sand on the back to weigh it down lol , i do lean bike over into the wind , just thought id see if you had this problem , and what you do to to stop this , or carnt you do any thing about this apart from not takeing the bike out ,

Originally Posted by craig dow

hi i do 60 miles aday to work , most of it in very open roads , im new to bikes , when the wind is about 20mph i find it very hard to keep the bike from blowing over to the other side of the road , is it just because the sv 650s is a very light bike , or is it the same on any bike , i see some bikes pass me and they dont seem to struggle with the wind , as much as i am , i am 12 stone , is there a way to ease this , or a way to help stopping this , or do i need to put a big bag of sand on the back to weigh it down lol , i do lean bike over into the wind , just thought id see if you had this problem , and what you do to to stop this , or carnt you do any thing about this apart from not takeing the bike out ,

a faired bike suffers less from the wind,and luggage and or topbox and a heavy tank bag dont help in the wind

hi it is a fully faired bike , and i dont have a top box or tank bag on it , sure its just because its a light bike , and im not a heavey person , think i will need to eat more porrage , or have a few more beers at weekend and get my weight up to hold it on the road , lol ,

[fizzwheel]

Moved to bike talk

[fizzwheel]

I've been out on my pushbike tonight and been blown across the road a couple of times.

Personally I found a fully faired bike worse in a cross wind that a naked bike. Especially where you have a hedge with gaps in it for gates.

The trick I found was to keep an eye on the hedgeline and then prepare for yourself in advance for the inevitable gap and then it doesnt catch you by surprise.

Originally Posted by craig dow

hi it is a fully faired bike , and i dont have a top box or tank bag on it , sure its just because its a light bike , and im not a heavey person , think i will need to eat more porrage , or have a few more beers at weekend and get my weight up to hold it on the road , lol ,

that might explain why i dont get blown about much,two much good living and full english breakfasts,

Grip the bike with your legs, have a lose grip on the bars, it stops the wind interfering with the steering. Countersteer into the big gusts, you have to be alert when its windy.

It's yet another thing you'll need to get used to when riding.

If you haven't experienced it yet overtaking artics can be pretty hair raising.

I have a fun time in wind, I'm a few stone lighter on a naked bike. I think the OP needs a bit more practice, countersteering into 60mph gusts is the exhilarating bit!

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

Personally I found a fully faired bike worse in a cross wind that a naked bike. Especially where you have a hedge with gaps in it for gates.

Gaps in terraced houses are a bugger too.

I find the old Severn bridge a bit of a challenge on a windy day. The wind travels up the estuary and hits you directly side on. You need to lean into the wind and counter steer to hold a straight line.
The fun starts when you pass one of the stations that anchor the cables to the towers. All of a sudden.....No wind - feck!!
You soon get used to it and learn to read and adjust your riding to the conditions.