The wind and the 800

[BlacktopTravelr]

i hate riding the 800 on days like today, windy days. I had to go to Okmulgee, about 40 miles away, to see why I still have part B after asking them to take me off it two months ago. I found out the wind pretty much does whatever it wants with that little light weight bike. Going over I was blown off the driving lane twice and once I was within about 2 ft of the edge of the shoulder. And coming back I was blown into the left hand lane right after an 18 wheeler passed me, that was another pucker time. I was being blown all over the road by the wind and it wasn't what I would call a bad wind, but it was strong and steady blowing from the south towards the north. So I suspect we have a cold front coming through in the next couple of days. Anybody else have this trouble with the wind and the 800 or any bike?

I was told that if I could prove I had asked to be taken off Plan B two months ago I would get a refund for the months they have taken money out of my SS. So I hunted up the paper he gave me then and it is dated and stamped showing I asked to be removed. So if he was telling the truth I should get back close to $360. Hell that is over half my monthly payment.

[Suzuki Johnny]

On a return trip from Big Bend National Park in 2010 six of us were having a real hard time keeping in the same lane on Interstate 10 east bound
...from Fort Stockton to Kerrville, Texas
The speed limit in some stretches of that roadway is 80 MPH and several times we had to back down to 65 MPH to maintain proper control of our bikes..
4 Harley touring bikes....1 Harley Street Glide and a Harley Low Rider.....the Low Rider was having the worst time of it at 635 pounds and the touring bikes at 877 pounds were still having some difficulties with the strong winds....
We made a stop somewhere near Sheffield and that's when we heard on the weather channel that the winds were out of the south in excess of 45 mph with gusts of 55 MPH and higher......it was a nightmare to say the least.....
18 wheelers were doing 65 and in the process of passing them suckers when you cleared the front end it was like hitting a stone wall..

Depending on the wind speed and which direction it is blowing makes the biggest difference....I can only imagine what it's like on a light weight bike like your 800..... I had the same problems on my old 1400 since both bikes weigh about the same ...dry weight at 535#.
it's a common problem even with bikes weighing much more than your 800...it's just more difficult controlling them with lighter bikes..

[Prodigal_Sun]

That was one of the big reasons I got rid of my 600 Shadow. All the dimensions are about the same as the S83 but about 100lbs lighter, and half the power. Passing semi's on the highway was a white knuckle experience when it topped out at 75. I don't have a problem controlling it, but I get blown around a bit when winds are over 20mph, but it's manageable.

[Herb]

Wind coming from one side is pretty manageable. When riding a curvy road and it keeps switching sides it really gets hairy. Happened to me more than once.

The worst time I and my wife were south bound on I-5, riding one of my GT550s, These bikes only weigh about 420lbs. The wind was hard enough that I was riding half way leaned over to keep it straight, then things started to get really bad. We came into an area where there are a lot of gullys and cuts, west of Fresno. The wind was out of the west but only when going through a gully, when we would hit a cut, the wind would stop, hit the east side of the cut and come back at us from the east. Real challenge to keep the bike in the 2 lanes.

A friend of mine and I were on a trip to Death Valley. When we left we rode out the south entrance. The road follows along the edge of the valley and since it follows the contours of the land it has a lot of turns. The wind was blowing from the south at 40-50 MPH and halfway through a turn it would switch directions. Got kinda scary a bunch of times.

[Cuban]

The wind blows me and my little VS750 all over the place. It's quite annoying. Gusts are the worst though, 'cause you're leaning heavily into the wind to hold a staight line, and then suddenly there's a momentary lull and now yer crankin' hard into an unexpected direction change. The last time it happened to me, I shot completely off the road and careened over a 100' cliff and landed in a flaming heap on the highway below, where I was run over by a semi. ... ... I got better.

[SuzyRidr2]

Dang motor sickle riders. All they do is talk about getting in the wind, then complain when they get a little of it. [emoji106]

[Herb]

Dang motor sickle riders. All they do is talk about getting in the wind, then complain when they get a little of it. [emoji106]

Not complaining, just commenting on some of our adventures.

Isn't it interesting that most of our best stories are about difficult or dangerous times?

Back in 95 my brother and I took a bike trip. We met in Winnamucca, NV and rode to Salt Lake City, Up through the Grand Tetons, over to Yellowstone, across Lolo Pass to the Columbia River Gorge, into Portland, OR, then down the coast road to Crescent City, CA and through the redwoods to my brother's place in Medford, OR. I was riding my 87 1400, my brother was on a Yamaha xs1100, with a windjammer fairing and bags.

Between Winnamucca and Salt Lake City we crossed one part of the desert where the road was almost straight across a valley, from west to east. From where we topped over one hill to where we could see the road disappear over another was almost 20 miles. When we topped over the next hill there was another valley almost identical to the one we just left. The wind was blowing out of the south at about 30-40 mph, but it was real steady. We rode for an hour with the bikes leaned over at about 60 degrees, running between 90 and 100. What a great ride in the wind.

Got plenty more stories about rides, some good, some bad, but all interesting.

[old time rider]

Blow jobs can be bad on a motor scooter! My little gs400 I got as a work bike and from going 135 too often on the gs1100 on 97 mile work trip. In winter with the huge big shields we old hard core riders ordered from JCW it felt more like a sail boat than a bike!!

[Herb]

Blow jobs can be bad on a motor scooter! My little gs400 I got as a work bike and from going 135 too often on the gs1100 on 97 mile work trip. In winter with the huge big shields we old hard core riders ordered from JCW it felt more like a sail boat than a bike!!

back in 1980 I was riding a Honda CM 185 T 70 miles each way to work, mostly freeway. Had a small windshield on it. but only weighted 300 lbs. When the wind would blow, it was all over the place.

http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/honda_ ... t_1978.php

[BlacktopTravelr]

Blow jobs can be bad on a motor scooter! My little gs400 I got as a work bike and from going 135 too often on the gs1100 on 97 mile work trip. In winter with the huge big shields we old hard core riders ordered from JCW it felt more like a sail boat than a bike!!

I kinda wonder if it wasn't the windshield that caused most of my problems. ;IDunno:

[Herb]

Blow jobs can be bad on a motor scooter! My little gs400 I got as a work bike and from going 135 too often on the gs1100 on 97 mile work trip. In winter with the huge big shields we old hard core riders ordered from JCW it felt more like a sail boat than a bike!!

I kinda wonder if it wasn't the windshield that caused most of my problems. ;IDunno:

If it is handle bar mounted, yes. When the wind hits a bar mount shield it tries to twist the bars, causing the bike to go all over the place. The frame mount fairings and bat wings push on the whole bike and is much less of an issue.

[old time rider]

Agree. Had far more bar mount and only five frame mount. Four of those them the small stock sport bike. O he big wind jammer brand.

[old time rider]

Stick to fence pulling you beach bunny!!

[BlacktopTravelr]

wow, what a nice looking place that is. I keep forgetting how good looking your wife is, so thanks for the pic.