Riding in a Crosswind

Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 02:48:34 -0400 (EDT)
From: Flash - DoD #412
To: bmwmc@world.std.com
Subject: Crosswinds: THE ANSWER

There seems to be some general confusion and disagreement about how to ride in crosswinds: go faster, go slower, hold tighter, be looser.

Years ago, I found THE ANSWER. It worked for me when I had an R75/5 with a full Avon fairing and Enduro bags, with a backpack strapped upright to the short sissy bar, with a passenger. (Maximum crosswind profile.) And it worked for me when I had a nekkid R80G/S, solo. (Minimum crosswind profile.) I have posted it occasionally on rec.motorcycles and gotten many favorable responses. Though, some folks, with some bikes, claim it doesn't work. YMMV. (It works on an F650, too.)

When riding in a crosswind, particularly a gusting one, all you need to do is stick your knee on the upwind side out as far as you can. The drawback is that if it is cold or rainy, you tend to scoop all the weather into your crotch. The reason it works, I *think*, is that with your knee out, you are putting your bike aerodynamically off-center and must compensate to get it to go straight. Now, when a gust comes along, your knee scoops up a bunch of the breeze, pulling you INTO the wind at the same time the wind is pushing the bike away. In any case, the effect of the gust is reduced by 90% or so.

Try it. It's free. If you don't like it, or it doesn't work, stop doing it. (Disclaimer: The suggestion assumes you are a licensed motorcyclist with enough sense not to fall off. If you try this and fall off, it is your own damn fault.)

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"A really good imagination is almost as good as... hmmm I dunno."- E.Foote
David Braun - Flash@DeathStar.org - F650-412 - DoD # 412 - BMWMOA #18854 - VBMW #540

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