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Some of you may have given up on the other thread as it became argumentative but some good discussion on side winds has developed toward the end so I thought we could start a clean thread about the riding dynamics of cross winds. Side winds can move you off line in many different ways. By pushing the entire bike straight to the side. This is probably the only situation where increasing the total mass of the bike/ rider/ luggage will help. I believe other mechanisms of cross winds that actually cause the bike to steer will be more disruptive. Cross winds pushing on the side area of the bike/ rider/ luggage that is above the center of gravity of the roll axis will cause the bike to lean and actually turn off line. Worse yet, blowing the rider's head and torso to one side of an upright, yet comfy riding position, such as on the CBR250R, again makes the bike turn the wrong way. The next thing that probably happens is the rider will push back with their arms which applies a counter steering manuver to the handle bars which makes the bike lean the wrong way even further. All of this happens in a domino effect blowing you off line. Super Sport bikes with their ultra low and narrow clip on handle bars place the rider in a better position to resist all of this in the de facto riding postion they impart by lowering the rider's upper body, and so, the side wind center of pressure, by more firmly bracing the rider due to much more weight on the arms, and, by greatly reducing the leverage of unwanted counter steering commands because of the narrow bars. But who wants to ride in stop and go traffic or on a four hour highway trip in that position when you can have bars that let you sit up to get a better view of the car that is about to pull out in front of you from the side street, or, just to stretch out once in a while. Many of you may think it is dangerous or embarrassing to ride while laying on the tank but I feel very alert and safe on the CBR250R in this position and all of the perceived short commings of low power and light tires/ total mass, vanish when you do. The bike will roll on from 65 mph to 80 in order to pass with great ease because you are wasting less power to push forward through the air resistance. Also, it is my experience that the ill effects cross winds are completely negated. What I see with sidewinds while commuting on the highway is that when you lay on the tank, you accomplish two things. The center of pressure of the side area including the excellent faring, wheels, and your body, is lowered to the point that it is actually lower than the cg on the roll axis which causes the wind to push more on the bottom of the bike/ rider, than the top, forcing the bike to steer itself into the cross wind. It is an eerily magic sensation and very addictive. Also, the mass of your torso above the center of gravity on the roll axis is anchored to the tank so you don't get blown into leaning off of the bike the wrong way and you don't have to counter push on the wrong end of the bars to stabilize yourself. Honda did a great job designing the ergonomics of the tank shape. It is very comfortable to lay on and works perfectly in this position to take some weight off of the seat and arms for hours of riding comfort and provide a magic carpet ride that couldn't care less for cross winds.
JUST KIDDING! That's a short joke. You know we are happy to have you here.
