Winds blowing hard, bikes too upright on stand, .........

[Smoky]

We were taking a couple of days to ride around eastern Washington. Friday was blowing a gale, and it was always a side wind, or right in your teeth. How come I can't get a tail wind?

 

We've had a good day, walked around the downtown island park in Spokane. Spent some time in the rolling farm land south of Spokane, and then headed west.

 

We'd done some miles on I-90, and needed gas and supper. Pulled into Perkins for dinner, had to park a bit up-hill, and off-camber. Bike is a little too upright, and seems unsteady on the sidestand. Wind is blowing hard from left to right.

 

You know where this is going....

 

We start into the restaurant, and I go back to leave my overpants on the bike. Deb goes ahead to get a table. As I return and approach the door, she comes flying back out, yelling the bikes going over!

 

I look back and can't see the bike, it was the last one in the line of parked cars. Damn!

 

I run back, but no bike on the ground!! It's on the sidestand, and three bikes lengths back of where I parked it, and behind the neighboring car! The bars are full lock to the left.

 

The wind had unloaded the sidestand, and it's rolled backwards, teetering on it's wheels and the sidestand! The stand has left a barely noticeable scrape on the pavement.

 

I've never seen aything like this! Move the bike into the lee side of the building. Go in and have the prime rib. Wonderful dinner.

 

A guy on a Harley was watching us from the window. As my wife came into the building, he hollered your bikes moving, and out she came.

 

Anybody ever seen anything ike this????????????

[Francois_Dumas]

Eerie !!

We have gales like that here..... the bike is snug behind the house when that happens Glad it hasn't caugth me on the road yet!

[ian408]

Wow. I was going to be a smartass and say you should have left it in

gear but maybe this time that's what saved it from going over?

 

Glad to hear the outcome though.

[GelStra]

The Bike Gremlins at work!!

See, sometimes they trash your throttle cables, sometimes they keep your bike safe and sound.

[red baron]

We left our bike parked in the dirt once to go take a hike ... I used to always park on the center stand in the dirt, because I had a bad experience with my old kawasaki on it's side stand.

 

2 hours later when we came back, we saw the bike from a distance and something looked wrong ... when we got up to it I saw that the center stand had started to sink into the dirt, which pushed the bike forward about 6 inches, and then on to the side stand, which I had thankfully left down.

 

Now I have one of those little foot thingies to put under my sidestand which I use on dirt, or soft pavement.

 

Never even thought about the wind ... yikes!

[Whip]

Contact the .. Myth Busters .....see if they can recreate this one.....exactly how much wind and from what direction????....

[leikam]

That's great. I've seen harleys at idle walk around a circle, but never just enough wind to back a bike up. But then, if I'd come out of that restaurant after eating, I'd have assumed that some person moved it and never been the wiser...

[Dances_With_Wiener_Dogs]

Whew, I'm glad that's it Smoky. Weird huh?

[Stan Walker]

It can get windy out there from time to time. Jan and I stopped for a roadside coffee break at a rest area on a windy day in Kansas. I sat down a full thermos top cup of coffee on the picnic table and the wind was strong enough that it started sliding sideways down the table. I was lucky enough to catch it before it went off the end of the table.

 

It's the truth, Jan is my witness......

 

Stan

[DouglasR]

Glad to hear your bike didn't go down! That is wierd.... Here in Wyoming they sell wind guages that are made of heavy chain that hang on a nail from a fence post. If it's standing straight out you know you'd better tie everything down and stay inside.

 

I've had my fill of wind for a while. I just got back this afternoon from visiting my son in Grand Forks, NoDak where he goes to school. We wanted to ride up into Ontario, but a big low pressure system is parked over the Great Lakes causing serious wet chilly windy weather for the area. I took the opportunity of a break in the rain to head back to Wyoming on Friday, and fought SERIOUS crosswinds from the north all the way West, about 300 miles. Then I turned south to head for the Black Hills and you guessed it, the wind was now out of the East and I fought a SERIOUS crosswind for 300 miles south . I was beat to a pulp by the time I reached Belle Fourche, South Dakota!

[Doug 55]

re: Anybody ever seen anything like this????????????

 

Fortunately hasn't happened to me (yet !) but a buddy had pretty much the "exact same" experience a few years back after leaving his airhead RT outside a store in Eastern WA.

 

His bike actually went over and some kid came in say "hey Mister is that your bike ..."

[BitScribbler]

I guess now you'll leave it in gear when parking on windy days!

[Kitsap]

This by chance wouldn't be the Perkins restaurant in Ritzville, WA. with the huge American Flag would it? That stretch is known for its wind. The way the wind blows there ones post restaurant odor could be picked up in the next county.

[MysticRed]

Friend of mine (R1100RT) was working in Airway Heights, just west of Spokane, and left his bike on the center stand. Big gust hit bike from rear and pushed it right off stand and, of course, over.

[Lawman]

Stopped on the right side of the highway to take a whiz ...Raining pretty good and windy....Put bike on side stand and headed for my spot..18 wheeler whizzes by just as I finish whizzing....Bike goes to almost straight up position but then fortunately comes back down on side stand...

[Smoky]

Kitsap,

 

Yup, it was Ritzville. However the name gives the impression of a more grand spot on the highway. And that big 'ol flag was looking like it was painted on plywood!

[Kitsap]

I thought as much About 5 years ago I was heading East on I-90 marveling at my estimated 65mpg. I looked up at that flag snapping in the wind and voiced a silent thanks for the free miles. Moments later as I-90 bent Northward the bike and I were blown from the fast lane to the rumble stips; A kindly 18 wheeler nursed me along until we were heading East again. The wind was blowing so hard that at rest stops one could here it blowing past the door seals of Westbound traffic, they sounded like traveling harmonicas

[RandyShields]

Actually experienced a 600 pound Harley go over in the wind. Riding with a friend up to Ohio many years ago. Crested a hill on the interstate in WV and saw solid black in front of us. Thought it would be wise to pull under a highway overpass to don some raingear when, in the middle of the ritual, we get blasted by sideways rain and howling wind. All our raingear is blowing down the highway when a top-down convertible comes screeching under the overpass within inches of our bikes, and my friend's Fatboy blew off the sidestand and went over. She was screaming in fear, and I was stunned but, before I could even think of helping her right her bike, I had to run over and brace my Road King from doing the same thing, as it was straining to go over as well. It was all I could do to hold it up against what had to be a 50+ mph blast of air. After about 4-5 minutes, the wind passed and we set her bike back up, with only a few scratches. Much of our raingear was long gone, although I do have one rain glove for the memory. That night on the news, we saw reports of numerous mini-tornados and microbursts in the area, including houseboats docked at the local marina lifted out of the water and deposited twenty feet away on land. Quite a memorable experience, and one that I do not hope to repeat! Even riding away in 30+ mph gusts was quite scary, as I thought the tires would just slide out from under me.

 

Don't mess with mother nature!

[BrianT]

Stopped on the right side of the highway to take a whiz ...Raining pretty good and windy....Put bike on side stand and headed for my spot..18 wheeler whizzes by just as I finish whizzing....Bike goes to almost straight up position but then fortunately comes back down on side stand...

 

Had the same circumstances except I was on the other side of the bike to catch it before it went all the way over. I've been leary of the side stand with wind ever since.