I ride over the Sam Houston Tollway Ship Channel Bridge to work and back, it has 175' clearance underneath with flat landscape all around, and today the wind had the pucker factor maxed out!

The bridge runs north to south and the wind was coming out of the south, so as i was riding south bound and reached the top, the head wind was pushing upward of the road and made the bike feel very unstable and shaky. I already new it was going to be bad so i slowed, before the top, to what i felt like would be a safe speed, 50-ish, but not to slow because that seems to make it worse. When the wind is from the side i lean that way to compensate, but this was head wind, I leaned forward and tried to relax as stiffing my arms seemed to make the shaking worse, and it worked out.

Anyway i shot LRS's an email asking which shield creates the most down force, and now just looking for any advice on riding technique???
Thanks in advance.

Oops, forgot to say i am on the Ultra in my signature pic.

 

That is a lot of bike to be moving through wind as you describe. Have been to/through a few such areas and there is usually a warning if not a closure of the bridge. Guess you are a grown man so will close in saying that most often judgement is the best deciding factor. Sometimes mine (judgement) gets clouded and that is when mistakes/regrets happen.

 

I have the Chesapeake Bay bridge Tunnel near me. They have wind restrictions that limit what vehicles can cross depending on the wind speeds. Bad enough they will stop Semi trucks, motorcycles and cars with car top carriers on them from crossing. Does your bridge in Houston have any rules in place about strong winds?

 

Confederation Bridge to PEI crosses Northumberland Strait, that section of the Atlantic Ocean between PEI and New Brunswick Canada. Its about 7 1/2 miles long:



Stay off this sucker during high crosswinds unless you're prepared for a true test of your skill and stamina.

Coastal winds are characteristically gusty and can be strong even when wind is not a consideration in non-coastal areas. Plan your rides advisedly so you don't end up half way across one of these thinking "WTF have I done"? Ask me how I know,,, .

 

This!! Rode across on a Wing and that baby was dancing under me. Bought more underwear in PEI.
Only advice for riding in bad situations is- DON'T do it purposely.

 

OP~

You did perfectly.

You slowed your speed and relaxed your shoulders/grip. The bike is going to move around underneath you. Let it. Don't try to fight it. I probably might have slowed to the "35ish" speed, but not much slower. (With speed, comes stability.)

Not aware of any "downforce effect" for any Harley. The "batwing" may cause instability or "vagueness" but not aware of any "lift" associated with it.

Riding in high winds is like riding in deep mud. Best to avoid it, if possible.

We have hurricane winds out in our desert sometimes. The CHP shuts down portions of I-8 when this happens. Except for Corvettes/P-cars, F-cars. It stays open for them as they're very low cars and air doesn't get underneath them. Found this out of a run with my old car club.

 

Good Lord !! I think I peed a little just looking at the photos !
I get jittery on some heights, even a High 5 exchange in Dallas. Rode Colorado in July at 14,000, off the bucket list, probably won't do again... ha

 

Good question, none that i'am aware of, but that does't seem rite, so i am going to keep looking.

Wow! Landscape doesn't get any flatter than that! I have nothing to prove, and will stay of that bad boy, unless weather checks out.

LOL, can't blame you there! i usually stay on top of the weather report, this just caught me of guard.

Thanks for the advice, I agree about the bat wing, it doesn't cause "lift", or none that i'am aware of.

Yea, that pic of the Confederation Bridge, is killer!

 

the batwing itself may not cause any lift, but with the wind hitting that big *** barn door, you are going to feel it in your handlebars. relaxing your grip was absolutely the right thing to do. trying to strong arm it would make it feel much worse.

 

I ride across the Fred Hartman Bridge to Baytown for work and there are days it moves me across lanes. When I know its going to be bad I get as far over as I can for the direction the wind is going to be coming from and lean into it, and make sure there isn't a car in the next lane. I've gone as slow as 30 over it on really bad days. Sounds like you did everything right, it's just scary to get moved around that much.

Bridge is roughly the same height over the water but much less steep and far longer.