Riding in wind

[waltroman]

I was searching for discussions about riding in wind for various BMW bikes. I have a 2016 RT that I rode from Gettysburg to southern NM. The wind conditions at times were pretty severe as one instance had me riding in a dust storm north of Alamogordo and on my trip back across the TX panhandle and OK the blades on the wind towers were moving faster than I thought possible. I had a large RKA tankbag and I had to hold it in place from the side winds.  I got to thinking about a comment I read that I never saw discussed before. The poster said in windy conditions adjust the suspension as stiff as possible. I have known from riding Harley touring bikes that they handle wind very well. They also have little to no suspension travel when loaded. I think weight could a possible advantage with the Harley but could the lack of suspension be and advantage also.  I wonder how the BMW Trancontinental does in heavy wind?  It is certainly heavy enough. I also has the similar steering geometry as the H-D touring bikes. 

Just throwing this out for discussion. I have since found at least for me the Michelin road 6 seems less twitchy than the Dunlops I was running during the trip.

[dirtrider]

1 hour ago, waltroman said:

I was searching for discussions about riding in wind for various BMW bikes. I have a 2016 RT that I rode from Gettysburg to southern NM. The wind conditions at times were pretty severe as one instance had me riding in a dust storm north of Alamogordo and on my trip back across the TX panhandle and OK the blades on the wind towers were moving faster than I thought possible. I had a large RKA tankbag and I had to hold it in place from the side winds.  I got to thinking about a comment I read that I never saw discussed before. The poster said in windy conditions adjust the suspension as stiff as possible. I have known from riding Harley touring bikes that they handle wind very well. They also have little to no suspension travel when loaded. I think weight could a possible advantage with the Harley but could the lack of suspension be and advantage also.  I wonder how the BMW Trancontinental does in heavy wind?  It is certainly heavy enough. I also has the similar steering geometry as the H-D touring bikes. 

Just throwing this out for discussion. I have since found at least for me the Michelin road 6 seems less twitchy than the Dunlops I was running during the trip.

Morning  waltroman

 

The newer BMW 1200/1250RT's are actually a fairly stable motorcycle at speed even in the wind BUT, they do a have a large sail area so side winds can effect them.

 

I'm probably not the best person to answer wind riding questions as I just love riding in the wind, the more wind the more I like it as long as it isn't storm type winds. 

 

The larger the tank bag, the larger the top case, the larger the rider, the higher the windshield then the more side & quartering winds will push the motorcycle around. 

 

For me personally, I  just allow the motorcycle to work in the wind, if the wind pushes me off line I just gently ease it back to my intended line. The more you fight a BMW in the wind the more it will fight you back. If rider takes a death grip on the bars & stiff arms the controls the more it makes riding in the wind a tiring task rather than fun. 

[taylor1]

Living on the east coast, I am constantly riding in the wind. I've gotten so accustomed to it, I'm like D.R. and enjoy it. There are times I can't wait to hit the higher bridges when it's blowing. As mentioned above, just relax, enjoy, and get back into your line if blown off.

[Stiggy]

Coming from an 850 lbs. Road Glide, which by comparison to my current 2017 RT was seemingly impervious to wind, the BMW spec's 250 lbs lighter and significantly taller AND runs a larger (Werks) windshield so it's no where near as planted as the HD when the wind blows sideways. Physics be physics. But I suspected all that before purchase too. The trade offs (handling and performance and ease of maneuverability at 70 y.o.,) work for me.

That said, I would thing stiffening up the suspension would help.

[Stiggy]

8 minutes ago, Stiggy said:

Coming from an 850 lbs. Road Glide, which by comparison to my current 2017 RT was seemingly impervious to wind, the BMW spec's 250 lbs lighter and significantly taller with a top case, and runs a larger (Werks) windshield, so it's no where near as planted as the HD when the wind blows sideways. Physics be physics. But I suspected all that before purchase too. The trade offs (handling and performance and ease of maneuverability at 70 y.o.,) work for me.

That said, I would think stiffening up the suspension would help.

 

[TX Mike]

The RT weighs about 300 lbs less than my old GL1800.  As a result, I expected it to handle different in the wind, especially a cross wind, and it does.

[92Merc]

I think it would be helpful to define what you consider windy.  I'm from North Dakota.  It's wide open prairies here.  I've ridden head on into sustained 30mph winds, with gusts up to 45mph.  That time it was 2 lane back roads, so other vehicles weren't much of a consideration.

Side winds around 25mph sustained is about my highest.  The RT is light years ahead of my previous old Honda VTwin cruiser.  So I can't complain.  I try to avoid riding in the high winds, but sometimes you have to.

[Hosstage]

The fun runs are when riding along a tree line and it blocks the wind, then clear the treeline and get blasted with a side wind, sending the bike substantially sideways. That will catch your attention.

[Hank in WV]

My worst wind was crossing the Mackinac Bridge in high cross winds with gusts. On top of that, one lane was closed, soI had to ride on the steel grating. Was sure glad to get off of it.

[DBULL]

I would have ridden around the WHOLE lake Michigan to avoid that bridge under those circumstances!

[dirtrider]

12 hours ago, Hank in WV said:

My worst wind was crossing the Mackinac Bridge in high cross winds with gusts. On top of that, one lane was closed, soI had to ride on the steel grating. Was sure glad to get off of it.

Morning Hank in WV

 

During motorcycle season (spring/summer/fall) they are usually working (maintenance)  on some part of the Mackinac Bridge so riding on the grating is pretty normal on a motorcycle.  If it's real windy they try to place smaller vehicles beside a tractor trailer to block the wind . I usually say OK then don't do it as I have seen those tractor trailers actually lift the wind-side wheels if empty. (if real windy or in some high wind cases they will close the bridge to smaller vehicles). Years ago a Yugo flipped up & over the side rail with that long/long drop to the water. 

 

Regular street motorcycles with street tires are not that bad on the grating if you relax & allow the motorcycle to move around & work a little. If you fight it then that grating can get your attention. 

 

Now on a dirt bike (or at least a motorcycle with knobby tires) it is real challenge as some knobby tires have knob spacing that drop right into that darn grating & that makes trying to stay upright a real challenge (it feels like catching a continuous edge). 

 

I don't know if they still offer it but they used to have a few designated drivers to drive scared-drivers cars across the bridge for them. I don't think they offered that for motorcycles (at least that I know of).   

 

 

[6speedTi]

Chris Cross says it best.

"Ride like the wind"

[Hosstage]

Running across South Dakota on the way to Sturgis, at times it feels like I'm riding at a 45° angle or more to fight the side wind. Pushing on the bar like I'm carving a corner.

[dirtrider]

2 minutes ago, Hosstage said:

Running across South Dakota on the way to Sturgis, at times it feels like I'm riding at a 45° angle or more to fight the side wind. Pushing on the bar like I'm carving a corner.

Morning Hosstage

 

 Pushing on the bar like I'm carving a corner.-- That is what puts the fun in windy riding!

[Hosstage]

One other fun thing about wind, passing an oncoming semi truck on a two-lane, sometimes the wall of wind that blasts me as it pasts will drastically upset the bike, accompanied by a loud blast of sound too. Other times when I'm braced for it, calm as if passing a small car. 

Riding is fun!

[Cap]

[DakarTimm]

A few years back I rode from Oklahoma ,through northern Texas and into Las Vegas .The wind was coming from the southwest the whole way . 

What I learned from that experiance was to relax my grip on the handlebars and let the bike get pushed a little ,and use my knee on the tank to push it back into the center of the lane .

It was much easier mentally and physically to ride this way for days at a time . 

The Mackinac Bridge isn't really that bad . Maybe because I learned to ride in a large city with lot's of steel grating on bridges . 

Loosen your grip and let the bike gently wander back and forth. Eventually the bridge will end .

[duckhawk64]

Nice observations.

A true 90 degree crosswind that varies can be nerve-racking on a two lane hwy.  From your left, when it lets up, you get a little close to oncoming traffic. 

[waltroman]

On 11/5/2023 at 10:58 AM, 92Merc said:

I think it would be helpful to define what you consider windy.  I'm from North Dakota.  It's wide open prairies here.  I've ridden head on into sustained 30mph winds, with gusts up to 45mph.  That time it was 2 lane back roads, so other vehicles weren't much of a consideration.

Side winds around 25mph sustained is about my highest.  The RT is light years ahead of my previous old Honda VTwin cruiser.  So I can't complain.  I try to avoid riding in the high winds, but sometimes you have to.

 The wind that came before the dust storm was violent when it hit and probably seemed worse combined with vision restricted to 8-10 feet.  I counted myself lucky that withing less than a minute I could make a pull off and was able to pull off. There would be these brief windows that you could see and not see again. Scariest thing I ever road through.  The experience shook me for a number of days.  On that same trip leaving Amarillo and going to Joplin MO their was a storm front I managed to miss that had the wind towers spinning faster than I ever thought possible. The La Quinta in Joplin was an oasis retreat with a great Restaurant and a 45 min soak in a well needed hot tub for my 70 year old ass.

[Dirtmerchant]

Born and raised in SWFL I have ridden motorcycle is some pretty healthy winds. A few years ago the wife and I were riding the RT on an road at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) that goes past the end of the runway. We were hit by Wingtip Vortices from a commercial jet that had just landed, it was like a mule kicked the side of the bike.  I don't mind riding in the wind when I know it's windy but that was a little different experience 

[Rider1260]

The first time I road my RT in really windy conditions it was an eye opener ( coming from sport bikes or non faired bikes ) 

I still don't love it , on smaller 2 lane or twisty roads, on the HWY it OK if I have to , I usually just change my route to be more wind friendly when I can. 

That fairing punches a fine hole into the wind and a tail wind is so quite :) 

Only once did I turn around and head home , when the wind was really gusty they was just no real way to enjoy myself. 

[Wayne Johnson]

After starting riding on the road at 16 and getting used to the honda sl100 going straight at a 45 degree angle over a local bridge i just let the bike do its thing!

[Paul De]

Cross winds have had an effect on every bike I’ve owned to some degree.  The touring models with large full fairings are always affected by cross winds the most. In the late 70s I was on my R75/5 with a full Avon fairing on it with a constant 30+ mph crosswind for a long ride on a two lane state highway. I became lazy and shifted my butt into the wind side of the saddle and all seemed in balance. Open fields in the mildly hilly area.  As I  approached a crest of a hill the road grade had cut off the peak with a high natural wall of the hill remaining opposite the direction of the wind. Just as I got to that wall the wind did a 180 as it bounced off the wall and I went over the crest in the on coming lane.  Yikes!  That knocked the lazy out of me and went back to managing crosswinds with counter steering.  I only use counter steering inputs to deal with the wind since then.  The upside is that my 2015 RT is more responsive and has a lighter feel on the bars than my oilhead, so the input to keep on line is nearly imperceptible in most cases