Riding in high and/or gusty winds - Motorcycle-Journal Forums

Nick Mystic · 03-27-2008, 04:40 PM

It got up into the 70s here today in western NC, so I took my M50 out for a hundred mile ride. It was pretty windy, but the majority of the ride was on country roads with little traffic where my maximum speed is about 55 mph. On the way home I decided to jump on Interstate I-40 for about twenty miles or so. Traveling at 70 mph the gusty winds made a huge difference that really detracted from the enjoyment of the ride.

After being knocked around pretty good for about ten miles I decided to lean forward like a sport cyclist would do. I have the OEM windshield on my bike, which comes to about the height of the mirrors. By leaning forward my helmet was able to duck behind the windshield so that my eye level came to about the top of the windshield. I was amazed at what a huge difference this riding position made in eliminating the wind buffeting.

I'm not a big guy to begin with (5'8" and 145 lbs.) and by leaning down on the tank the wind had nowhere to buffet! The only drawbacks with this riding position is that I could not use my mirrors or see my speedometer without lifting up a bit. However, since I was maintaining my speed to keep up with the traffic flow, which was quite light on the big open stretch where I was at the time, this wasn't a problem.

I made this post because I've read a number of postings where people mention having been on a ride and having a very difficult time dealing with some high winds that came up. I don't know how this would work in extreme conditions, but today when the wind was perhaps 20 - 30 mph gusts it seemed to work great. This technique might be worth a try if you find yourself in such a situation. Cruiser riders with their laid back position might not think of leaning way forward, which is why I decided to make this post.