Advice On Riding In Wind

20 mph is the upper end of what is reasonable, I would also agree that sometimes it is easier to "punch through" turbulence when passing trucks etc but electing not to pass is also an option.
It is difficult to ride smoothly in gusty turbulent conditions and therefore it is just not quite so enjoyable.
Build your experience up gradually, spring is just around the corner.

 

The bottom of a ditch is a sore place to be learning your lesson , 20 mph winds are fk all , but if you are getting blown around then slow down , easy

 

Watch out for wood,plastic and any shite that's blown into the road.


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Hard & fast but allowing for gusts shoving you about across the road.

 

stick your knee/leg at right angles to the bike kind of like a sail sounds daft but it works stabilises the bike

 

" Hard and fast "into the front of an oncoming articulated lorry can be a very steep learning curve !!

 

Pater was a motorcyclist back in the day and gave me some sound advice when I was a lad.
He told me to watch out for farm gates, i.e. gaps in hedges where the wind will blast through.
You can't see the wind but you can see where you are likely to get turbulence.
Also, some bikes are better than others. My SS was badly affected by side winds but my 999 much less so.
If you can avoid taking your bike out in strong winds, do so.

 

You were lucky you weren't pelted with stones. The causeway in big storms can become strewn with golf ball and even cricket ball sized pebbles which have been hurled over the shingle bank by the sea. The exposed areas of the coast road from Weymouth to Bridport can be pretty horrendous too in a south westerly gale and the A35 over the Ridgeway at Askerswell sometimes gets closed with overturn lorries.
I avoid such conditions on a bike. Apart from anything else its usually pelting with rain. Pete is right, its the gusts that are dangerous. Or even a sudden drop in a continuous wind when you momentarily pass a bit of shelter. Either can cause you to veer across the road. Alarming in a car or van, potentially disastrous on a bike.

 

Definitely agree that it is sudden gusts, when passing a gap in the scenery, that are the main problem.
Equally a sudden drop in wind when passing momentary shelter can have a similar effect.

Years ago we crossed the fens in high wind.
We maintained a decent lean angle all the way down a dead straight road.

 

Eat more pies, more pies more weight :

 

How did you get on ?

 

second the point about hedge gaps (gates usually). Different bikes get affected differently - it's to do with mass and solidity of area. The 888 is heavier than my steelie, so gets blown about less even tough they have similar levels of side area, but the GPz500 get's blown about least of all. I think rather than absolute speed, it's about being on the power when you sensibly can.

ride loose and if you don't have to fight it, don't (ie if there's space, let it drift across lanes).

re bridge boasting - Thelwall viaduct in the dark and (sideways) rain, with a busted headlight...

 

IMO one of the worst places is the elevated section of the M2 over the River Medway at Chatham, Kent - the side gusts are really bad especially on a fully faired bike. The same applies over the Orwell Bridge in Suffolk.

 

...and sit on the bike the right way around.