Kawasaki Concours Forum
Mish mash => Open Forum => Topic started by: Rubber_Snake on May 05, 2018, 03:44:27 PM
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Saw this today and I thought it might make for good “food for thought”. At worst, it make make us rethink how we ride in heavy winds. I’m not posting this to harp on this rider, he makes some obvious errors in his riding, but, to his credit, he doesn’t overreact to being blown into the grass median and keeps the bike upright.
Questions:
What factors contributed to him getting blown off of the roadway?
Could this happen to us on our C14s?
How would you react if this happened to you?
What would be the best way to prevent this?
https://youtu.be/38N7UKh4phU
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IMO:
Operator error- he should have leaned further to the right. He had plenty of room left to lean and was increasing his lean angle but not fast enough. NOTE: that said, he did maintain control quite nicely transitioning first over the rumble strip at 80 MPH +, and then onto the grass, and doing it quite gracefully.
Yes, it could happen on a C-14. All you need is the bike, and to be riding on I-90 in the state of South Dakota (seriously). I rode for hours in such cross- winds that they actually blew my glove box cover off the bike (the cover and mount, not just opening the lid).
That rider actually did exactly what I would have done in accelerating and moving slightly to the left side of the lane in preparation of passing that truck. He did everything fine IMO, just not quite enough 'right rudder' quickly enough to stay on the pavement.
Be prepared for make more significant corrections as needed. Seriously. The C-14 is a great bike but with a large windshield and a big top box, it would have been blown farther, faster than the bike in the video. Either more aggressive and faster steering inputs, or go the other way and simply slow down and do NOT pass large vehicles, and if possible, do not let them pass you.
Excellent video- thanks for posting that. It makes it extremely clear how small under or over- corrections can add up fast and have the whole thing get away from the rider. IMO that was not a gross error or even operator error, just a rather small mistake that the situation would not allow. Same thing would go if one was driven off to the shoulder of pavement where the sand is- a fairly common situation.
Brian
Saw this today and I thought it might make for good “food for thought”. At worst, it make make us rethink how we ride in heavy winds. I’m not posting this to harp on this rider, he makes some obvious errors in his riding, but, to his credit, he doesn’t overreact to being blown into the grass median and keeps the bike upright.
Questions:
What factors contributed to him getting blown off of the roadway?
Could this happen to us on our C14s?
How would you react if this happened to you?
What would be the best way to prevent this?
https://youtu.be/38N7UKh4phU
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Would have had more room if he was in the right lane.
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At 80 MPH, I don't think he was prepared for the blast after leaving the "protection" of the large vehicle in the right lane. An honest mistake, but 100% preventable.
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+1. I've ridden out west through those winds on a C14, it wasn't pleasant and you always have to think about where a crosswind might suddenly appear like in passing a truck. Heck, I've seen that here between King George and Fredericksburg on route 3.
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When passing a truck or trailer like that in high winds, I'm prepared for the onslaught as you get passed it. Start from the left and start pointing the nose to the right as I get past the wind break. And I agree with Brian, plenty more lean angle available. That said, nice job not panicking and keeping the rubber side down as he went into the median.
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This guy missed his chance at 'winning' that day's Darwin Award. And he was so close! :thumbs: