Highway Wind Turbulence

[rene123]

Normally, I ride in the city or on back roads where don't have to deal with wind turbulence. And, most of the time I'm not going fast enough for it to affect me. But on a recent trip along multi-lane highways with lots of transport trucks and busses I really noticed a difference. The turbulence constantly changed depending on the vehicles surrounding me and whether I had a tail wind, a side wind or was bucking a head wind. It even changed depending on the topography. In some areas with trees surrounding the highway it seemed to cause a swirling wind that tried tossing me from side to side. I was riding a Honda 250 CBR which is fairly aerodynamic but it still tossed me around a bit and it was a little unnerving. I just had to relax and let the bike go with the flow. Any kind of tensing up made it worse. I guess I could have ridden along on the edge of the highway like the scooters, but I wanted to make a bit of time and kept the speed around 100 to 115.Km/hr. This isn't anything new to more experienced riders, but it was a bit new to me. Does it happen with the heavier bikes in the 650 cc or up category?

Another thing I noticed was when a friend joined me from Kanchanaburi into the mountains west of there. He was riding a rented 125 scooter and thought he had a wheel wobble, but it turned out to be just a very localized cross wind as we passed through gaps in the trees. It didn't seem to affect the CBR at all and I rode behind him trying to see if I could spot the trouble... but didn't notice anythng strange. Then, we switched bikes for a while and it happened to me as well. It just felt for a moment like I was riding on ice and the bike actually shifted about a 20 cm or more to one side or the other. And, we were only going about 80 km/hr. After that we slowed right down to about 60. I would hate to have the same thing happen on one of the main highways with all the transport trucks. The turbulence disappeared once we hit the mountain area and road up to Si Sawat and back. That was a very scenic ride along a big reservoir, and there was hardly any traffic.

[VocalNeal]

It even happens in high vehicles. Wind or air has mass so yes it is a is a natural phenomena. How did you think sailing ships navigated the world? You simply have to learn to deal with it. Larger bikes have more mass so they are less affected by sudden changes or turbulence but they are still susceptible to cross winds. Like you say just go with the flow, if you try to fight it you will over compensate.

[macknife]

Yes it can be very scary at times. I was on a country road with no tree cover and a rain storm came from nowhere. The wind that usually comes before the rain starts, almost blew me of the road (on a CBR). I actually had to drive counter steering to the left to counter the crosswind for about 10 minutes and had to slow right down.

[moe666]

The bit of riding I have done here the wind hasn't been that much of an effect. yes you will have crazy wind around a truck, get in the sweet spot behind it and the vacuum will suck you down the highway, not to safe but riding any twwo wheel vehicle over 100 k is not to safe.

Once hit a head wind in the central valley of Calif. my r-50/5 with throttle full open slowed to 45 miles an hour. Riding on a highway next to the ocean can be a trip as the wind blowing in can be very strong pass a hill or something that blocks the wind and you will find yourself going over as the compensation is no longer needed

[rene123]

I talked recently to a long haul truck driver who drove the 18 wheel rigs. He said pretty much the same thing, and high winds affect the big rigs just as it does a motorbike. He said he had to compensate when going through gaps and openings in the plains or along the coast.

[loserlazer]

Even while walking during a windy day, your body gets pushed a little!

Wind force is a major factor for all moving objects - and unmovable objects -.

Cars, bikes, trucks etc. all.

But no worries, it is not that dangerous.

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