Windy Days

[amysue529]

Ive had my bike since april and before that i had absolutely no experience on a bike whatsoever. I bought a 2009 ninja 250 as my first bike. My friends tease me because I cannot ride on windy days, and if i do i go about 45. I dont know if it is just me, but to me when a gust of wind comes at me from the side, it feels as if my tires are going to be blown out from under me. It blows me across the road and especially on curves that is way freakin scary!... I rode one time on the highway, I 94, and Im not sure if i could ever do it again. The wind gusts and suction from semis was so scary. Is it the weight of my bike? The tires that came with my bike are pretty skinny, my boyfriend calls them dirtbike tires. Would getting wider tires help? I know that if you avoid the situations that you're not ready for you will never be ready for them... but back in May I wrecked on a curve... almost totaled the bike but thankfully I wasnt hurt too bad... Some people say that i should be over that by now and just suck it up... but I cant help but have a minor anxiety attack when a curvy rd is coming up and its windy....Please Help me!

[MZ33]

What kind of bike do you have?

[Johnj]

She has a '09 Ninja 250. I know what Amy is talking about with the wind blowing you around on the road and stuff. As you gain experience dealing with things like the wind you'll find them easier because you'll automaticly react to them. This year you'll get pushed all over your lane, but next year that will only be half a lane. etc etc

Amy have you taken the MSF course yet?

[BuzZz]

Windy riding is an acquired skill. Wider tires won't help, so save your money.

It might feel like the tires will slip out from under you, but they won't. You just have to learn to trust them.

[PacificShot327]

Windy riding is an acquired skill.

+1

I was terrified to ride in heavy winds at first. Just keep a calm head and feel it - the gusts, your tires, the road beneath your tires, everything. If you are so inclined (this is what I did), purposely go out on a windy day on roads where there is little or no traffic, and just ride. Eventually, you will get the idea of how much you need to compensate for wind.

Good luck.

[Social Distortion]

i feel the same way w my 04 thruxton
on crosswinds, it feels like those tires will slip out from under me...
are the tires really getting pushed out or is it a physics allusion w/ the weight being mostly on the top of the bike.
I slow down and get my witts about myself.

[Wrider]

I've felt like that too. Windy conditions you just have to get used to. It's like driving with a strong cross-wind in a car, it's gonna blow you around but you get used to it and learn to maneuver the car and work with the wind.

As for the tires, like they said, save your money, plus the skinny tires help you corner easier. If the big sportbikes (600s and 1000s) could get away with the power delivery to the ground I guarantee you they'd all be on tires that skinny too, especially on the track.

[Ryethil]

AmySue,

Another problem you may be having is that the Ninja 250 has a lot of bodywork that is also a great wind catcher. This is ususually not a problem. Actually, a great help in most conditions. But for you now it's going to be a problem. My suggestion is not to panic, you'll get better in all ways and skills in motorcycling as you gain experience. Everyone goes through the same upsets and all of us only have to think back a bit for us to remember how scary someof this stuff was.

Like everyone has said before, don't worry about your tires. their fine for now unless somehow you've been putting a lot of miles in the last few months.

I don't see where you took the MSF course. You really ought to think about taking it. It doesn't dirrectly help you with crosswinds in a highspeed corner but it will help you build up confidence and teach you the basics the right way so you have a good space to build up from.

Now on the wind. First of all, do what feels comfortable to you now. If wind scares you then be careful when you ride in windy conditions and learn stonger skills in other area's. The more you learn will have a cumulative effect on all your skills. Then you find confidence to tackle crosswinds.

I don't know personally how you ride a bike but I keep thinking the problem you might be having is that when the wind hits, you will find yourself tensing up and sitting up straighter which in turn gives the wind more surface to blow up against. Which causes you to be blown harder which cause you to tense up more. Am I making sense?

If this is the case, try to relax for now and accept you will be blown a bit. As you gain experience, you won't tense up as much which will... guess what? And all of this will happen over a period as you learn the basics til you become profficent and a lot of this will fall behind you. And you'll be here answering questions for beginners.

[havegunjoe]

Windy days are not fun but as others have said you get more and more use to them as time goes by. I don’t think they will ever become fun to ride in but tolerable is more like it.

[stupidnuk]

I too was scared to death when I first started riding on windy days. But I began to trust myself and my bike more and more. Today, I feel just as good riding on a windy/rainy day as I do on a sunny day. However, I'm not sure how I'm going to feel when I get back on my bike. I had a wreck at around 60mph on 7/2 and still haven't gotten the bike bake together yet, but as soon as I do, I'm going to be riding again. I will probably be pretty freaked out at first, but I will hopefully get more comfortable again. Good luck with getting comfortable on the bike, and I do believe it is the fact that your bike is so light that makes the wind so fierce for you. I have a Suzuki VZ800 that has a dry weight of almost 500lbs so the wind doesn't affect it that much.