Motorcycle Forums

Cheers Harleylady...

... & very glad that you are OK, & wish the couple a speedy recovery.

I thought the headline sounded a bit suspect... blown over by a gust of wind maybe but blown off their bike? Couple fall off bike because of diesle spill (wind may have been a factor) sounds a bit more plausible... chinese whispers in action.

It would take a seriously strong gust to take a bike down, especially given the inherent self righting ability of a bike at speed. I'd heard of it gusting to a six (strong breeze on the Beaufort scale) on monday. Certainly not enough to take a bike down unless there was some other major outside influence. I could believe in an eight causing an accident, but not blowing riders clean off their bikes. However an eight is about 50% stronger than a six so I can't see a freak gust of an eight suddenly cropping up in monday's conditions.

Hi Im new here but thought this a good place to start as wind, after ice is my most hated part of riding..

I have a small capacity sportsbike and commute mostly 60 miles a day, mainly down the A1 and A19 in the North. Believe me the wind can hit you and send you flying across the cariageway. I realise weight and style of bike may matter also experience  but wind steering (yes I countersteer) happens to me frequently and im not exactly a newbie.. Basicly if wind speed (not gusts) is over 30 I prepare for anything, gust above 30 can cause the main problem though, I have found.

Most of the time I am prepared going to work, expecting the usual wind battering, wishing for calm for one day at least. So one dark February 5am start, I checked the weather and wind speed was expected to be around 25mph (30 gust) going south to Darlington, not too bad. Reaching the A1 and going past the many crosswind signs and open areas this seemed the case and cruising at 70 didnt cause any real shifting or twitching.

Then coming upto a flyover I felt an almighty very cold draught screaming up my helmet and the front of the bike was twitching like a good un, the wind was hitting the flyover with some force I thought. Going through the flyover I just felt this almighty bang and next I knew I was in the hard shoulder struggling to keep on, all the time my speed was dropping, right down to 20, in my headlights I noted the grass was flat and shimmering at hurrricane speeds. The bike felt as though there no wheels on the ground and felt as if someone was keeping a hold of the bottom of the exhaust and trying to pull the bike from under me, it struck me at the time that I felt  I was hovering and about to be hinged over and if I stopped I would just fall over.  It took me a couple of hundred yards before I regained composure and this was just before the next flyover. I went through this flyover and everything went back to normal.. for the next 10 miles no problem..

The scariest wind moment I have ever had, and thank goodness for that hard shoulder...