Commuting in high winds

[dublinntv]

Got up this morning and the weather wasn't to bad not much wind no rain roads a little damp but for the most not a bad morning.

So jumped on the bike for the 60mile journey to college, now because I'm still on learner permit I can't use motorways so confined to back roads. Made it to college with not much hassle apart from two different Audi's that were coming out of side roads aiming for me, but despite this I made in one piece.

The problem started when I left college at lunch time, got out of the city centre and all of a sudden I was met with very strong heads. Weather forecast said they were 40kph but to me it felt like I was riding in a hurricane.

Every time I went over 45 mph the bike was being blown all over the place, so I sat at 40mph all the way home. Apart from the struggle with the bike in the wind the one thing that did horrify me was the attitude of car drivers.
I'm riding the bike with full bike gear on me plus a hi viz tabard with L plates on it (its the law for learner permits in Ireland) I'm clearly struggling with the wind and yet most cars still sat on my reg plate. On the straight sections I would keep into the left and make it easy for cars behind to overtake. Now I'm not exaggerating to say I problem let around 40 cars past on the run home.
Only 3 cars actually acknowledged the fact that I was keeping into the left, the overtook and most gave hardly any room when they were doing it.

Now I'm 40 years of age I've held a full car licence for 20 years and been a taxi driver for 12 of those years (not taxing anymore hence doing the mature student thing) and I would hate to think that over the years I would treat any motorcycle rider the way the cars did today let alone a learner.

Sorry for the long rant but needed to get it out of my system.

Oh and I do realise that 40kph winds are not extreme but for a learner who's only getting back into biking they can take a bit to get to come to terms with.

[gills]

I feel for you - it's not nice when you're nursing a bike with a problem and no one gives you an inch. Hope the weather's better for you today.

Just a thought: I notice that you mention changing the rear tyre, but what's your front like? From one of your pics, it looks as if it might be an Avon Roadrider without too much tread on it. If so, I wonder if this is why your bike was feeling so unstable in the wind (and rain?) I've had Roadriders on mine and they are great in the dry (loads on grip, go where you point them, predictable) but in the wet the grip drops off significantly. When conditions are wet and less than perfect (e.g. cold/poor surfaces/cross winds/etc) then they can be scary - poor grip and can let go unpredictably. This seems to have got worse as they've worn. Having loved Avon Azaros and Storms on other bikes, I have to say I've been disappointed by the lack of all-round ability of the Roadriders. I've got a Dunlop StreetSmart front on order, so will let you know if that's an improvement in the wet.

[dublinntv]

Yea was looking at front and maybe time to change.

[dublinntv]

Gills just out of interest what price is the dunlop.

[gills]

£75 from Oponeo (www.oponeo.co.uk/moto-tyre-details/dunlop-arrowmax-streetsmart-110-80-17-57-h-front-tl-m-c). I would probably have gone for a Bridgestone BT-023 in 110/70-17, due to their reputation for good cold/wet performance, but for the fact I've got some meat still left on the rear and it's illegal in the UK to run a radial front with a bias ply rear.

[gills]

Just a quick update on the Dunlop: It took some scrubbing in (not nice at all for the first 50 miles or so, but then I've not seen a tyre with as much release agent left on it before), but now I'm liking it. Not had any rain here in the past week, but it's great in the dry - stable in a straight line (I can take my hands off the bars downhill without the bars starting to shimmy), plenty of grip in the corners and good over poor surfaces. I'll let you know about grip in the wet when we get some rain.....

[dublinntv]

Wonder how good it's gonna be in the rain Wonder how difficult it would be scrubbing the tyre in if it was raining

[dublinntv]

Any rain on that tyre yet??...... Need to change front tyre think I'm gonna order the Dunlop in the morning if all goes well.

[gills]

It was rather damp this morning and we had a bit of rain the other week. The Dunlop seems to behave pretty well in the wet, certainly much better than the Avon. It's not quite up to the "you wouldn't know it was wet" standard that some of the modern radials (BT023, Michelin Pilot Road 3) are now apparently at, but it's good enough for me to feel confident in the front end again when it rains.

Generally, I think the Dunlop is a slightly slower, less twitchy tyre than the Avon, which means it doesn't have quite the same immediate bite in the dry that the Avon had. It seems to make up for it by being a more all round tyre with a much more consistent performance across all conditions/surfaces. For me, that's a better compromise.

I know tyres and how they make a bike feel are a very subjective judgement, but I hope that helps!

[sasquatch]

I had the same the other night, was late (about 1am) and I was bang in the speed limit on a relief rd that's hot with coppers.
3 different boy racers were up my arse and eventually overtook and must have hit 80mph.

One thing I always remember from my pre test lessons was "dominate your space" if a car wants to pass that badly.. Let him! Just be safe!