It was a Sunday afternoon in late August 1985. “Maneater” by Hall & Oates was swirling into a set of Sony Walkman speakers I somehow managed to hotwire into my helmet, and my black and red Honda Nighthawk S was tracking through Malibu Canyon like a puma. Remember when Maverick rolled into Fightertown on his 900 Ninja? It was just like that. But then, without so much as a subtle tap on the shoulder, a massive gust of wind blew my motorcycle off the road and right up against the concrete barricade that stood between me and a 200-foot cliff. Not great. Like a shark: Back-and-forth motion within your lane mentally and physically prepares you for heavy wind gusts. (Photos by Kevin Wing) Luckily, I managed to ride the railing and ricochet back on the road with minimal scrapes and bruises. But from then on, I vowed that if I was going to continue riding on the street, I had to come up with a process that kept me safe when the winds kicked up. And 40 long years later, I think I’ve finally got it dialed enough to share. Today we’re going to jam out to a little yacht rock and discuss ways we can mitigate the negative effects of wind while on the motorcycle. We’ll focus on street riding only, as off-road and racing environments have their own challenges and solutions. Please understand these suggestions are just the ones I use. They are not “correct” or better than anybody else’s, but because I believe you should challenge yourself to have all the techniques and all the information, I’m sharing them with you. Headwinds slow you down and tail winds speed you up. They’re easy peasy. The major challenge with wind is when it’s pushing sideways on us. Below I’ve generated a list of key areas I focus on when faced with the back-and-forth tug-o’-war that crosswinds create. Speeds: I’ve heard people say that you should slow down in windy conditions, and if I was a lawyer representing a training company, I might agree. However, in my experience, more momentum means more stability, so if I can safely increase speed to help make me a more stable package, I will. This includes freeways, long multilane roadways, and areas without intersections and cross traffic. Where I do not employ increased speed is in canyons or otherwise winding roads.… [TheTopNews] Read More.
2 weeks ago
