HDForums Tech Tips and More

By William Connor - September 15, 2014

In our latest column we will take each Monday to start your week with tech tips, riding tips, and more.

This weeks riding tip deals with cross winds. We get asked often how to deal with high winds and sudden gusts. This is particularly important for those of us who deal with bridges on a regular basis. I live in Maryland so I am often crossing both the Key bridge and the Bay bridge. At 185 feet above the waters surface winds can get pretty dangerous and is often closed to large trucks in inclement weather.

As part of my other job I run a motorcycle mentorship program for service members. I get asked often how to deal with these conditions. Riders want to go to Ocean City to enjoy the beach and ride the rural roads on the Eastern Shore. The most extreme fear I ran into was someone who thought they needed to change their wheels on a FatBoy because they were solid. Several white knuckle trips over the bridge and she was ready to give up crossing the bridge. Finally we had some time to talk about ways to make it better and here is what worked.

Relax. That’s it, just relax. Most of the time the wind is moving you and when you tense up on the motorcycle you move the bars as the wind pushes you to the side. When you relax and allow your body to move around while keeping your arms loose and the bars straight make it much easier to stay straight and in your lane.

My student left on a trip the weekend I talked her through relaxing. It ended up raining, gusting winds, and generally the worst weather you could run into on the bridge. When she returned Monday morning she was beaming. Not only had she listened to what I had explained to her, she actually enjoyed the ride. She was able to relax and let the bike do its job.

What are your stories about riding in high winds and what are your tips? You can discuss in the forums as well.