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Sometimes it's not the gust that gets you it's when the wind suddenly drops and you find yourself overcorrecting. I used to commute over the Orwell Bridge in Suffolk. It's high with a lot of HGV traffic. You could ride towards it feeling the wind coming from one particular direction. Once you got on the bridge you could almost guarantee the wind would hit you from the opposite side. I can only imagine it was the aerodynamics of the bridge itself.

I’m have a question. At 15:15 when you exit that round about your in the right hand lane as you go around the island but you say as you exit “take which ever lane you feel is appropriate” but I’ve watched people who got majors as they say that is cutting across lanes with no indication? I mean as you exit that island shouldn’t you exist on the right side lane and indicate left if you wish to move over if your going to take the next left let’s say? I hope that makes sense. How is it you say that’s ok to do but some test centres fail your for it.

The devil is definitely in the detail in this case; good analysis Phil

The dirty little secrets of IAM are Speeding and hunting for Overtakes. they call it "Making Progress".

The wind can be bad when riding, but the one i hate the most when you have stopped at light etc, and you have both feet on the ground trying to keep your bike upright as the wind is trying to flatten you, i used to ride 52 weeks a year, but so far the last time i was on my bike was somewhere around start of November, i will wait till weather picks up before i go riding, till then i will walk?

It was fine when the brake and gear change were the right way round, as old Brit bikes. - no foot changing ! But they had to change as car drivers were used to braking with right foot

Very timely vid thanks. I do enjoy your videos as I've got the same bike and it feels like you've made it just for me 😂

More good advice for new and existing older motorcyclists , very much relevant since we have a storm blowing through on a weekly basis, the most wind affected bike I owned was a Suzuki gsx750f \ katana,that was like a sail on a windy day.

Good training.

Great vid as usual. On a related note, I was advised by one of the officers on a BikeSafe course I attended last year not to linger too long when passing large lorries, because if there is a blowout you could be blown off the bike! Not something that had occurred to me, but worth adding to the long list of potential hazards, although the probability of such an event is very low.

I have had many wettings over the year's, and now use every excuse to avoid Windy Wet day's on my bikes. Fair play to you. Great Channel.

Great video - I agree re relaxed upper body especially arms hands albeit ready to make meaningful inputs if needed. Lower core, legs & feet often more tense/braced & with legs tucked in...I don't do this all the time - posture concentration can lapse plus also be tiring. Presently my only bike is a litre sports naked....Somewhat character building to ride in bad weather. Maybe I need 2 bikes 🤔😅 Thanks 👍🏍👊

I hate riding in the wind, was previously a road cyclist and spent many many times riding in strong head and crosswinds riding off the Isle of Sheppey where I live. Only good it ever did me was make me a stronger rider, oh and the rare times it was a tailwind I would fly along with little effort. Now I'm on 2 wheels with an engine it's a different matter altogether.....had a few lairy moments! 😬

One of the scariest rides I ever had was in high winds on a tour of Wales last year.

Once I came across a dead Badger in the middle of the carriageway ,I stopped at a safe place and pulled the poor thing onto the verge .I don’t have a fairing but have a quick release screen ,I don’t think I could ride without one .Thanks for your vids .

Lots of hazards pointed out and very informative. Think local knowledge is a good one to think about, live by the sea and the main rd A55 really catches the wind, so will opt for the slower more protected roads. Again living by the coast in the summer it can be a lovely day but can get wind gusts on the seafront causing sand to act like sand blasting and most likely you will have your visor open and yep straight into your eyes. One final thing, the wind can make hearing difficult, pedestrians not hearing your bike due to the direction of wind, cheers again great vid

Excellent advice (especially at the moment!) many thanks

Nice change of scenery. Like to know which sea side town? I felt cold just watching. As per others, I found, riding a small bike in wind rain was much more nerve wracking.

The force generated by the wind, varies as the square of its speed. So, if you are comfy in a 10 mph wind, and then go out in 20 mph wind, you will experience four-times the 'wind-effect' .. not twice-as-much. Similarly, if you venture out in a 30 mph wind, then its effect will be 9 times that of a 10 mph wind. It's one of the limiting factors in your bike's performance; this increase in drag as your bike's speed increases. I suppose that, in extreme conditions, a good tail-wind would markedly increase your braking distance, too.

better wind on bike than enclosed in a car lol

The wind is very underestimated, it will make you think differently on how you stop in traffic from your usual technique. 40 knots is the limit where I dont bother going out on the bike.

I’ve occasionally wondered what our Police bikers do when the weather is too bad to ride? Do they revert to cars as I can’t believe they’re stood down on full pay during the really bad winter months?

Well, bugger ! I was in the process of typing quite a long comment, and it’s gone! I’m not going to bother doing again, hooray he says! All I will say is , I have complete confidence in my old ST1100 and in the worst weather, that trust in my bike lets me give full attention to all those other considerations. Just one thing , make sure your tyres are good, not just ‘they’ll do’, including pressures. On a different note, you’ve obviously got speakers on your bike. Any particular opinion on listening to the radio whilst riding. Obviously there’s the potential for distraction. Maybe a subject for a short one.

I ride a light 125cc Lexmoto Michigan, and honestly me being 18stone and almost 6 feet tall, one of the things i was told by a friend was use your knees on the cruiser like a sail or airbrake. If a strong wind blows from the right i put my right knee out and it adds air resistance and can counter maybe 75% of the wind pressure and keep me inline. It has not worked 100% of the time and a few times i have been shoved, sometimes literally skipping across the tarmac *partly due to crap tyres* On the subject of luggage, I run a set of panniers, a tal pack, and large tankbag as the bike is my only form of transport (disabled rider) other than public transport. I have been riding since 2017 through all sorts of weather, including storms and snow. Panniers have almost no effect on handling as I keep them low slung and far back, as for the tail back and tank bag, if they are FULL I notice a difference, but more so with the tailpack as again, my bike is quite light.

Tailgaters in conditions like this, put the fear of God into me.

Great video and information to ponder. I use my Transalp daily for work, no other realistic option. Wind makes the journeys...erm....entertaining. Also plays havoc with my morning wheelie down my high rd into my local coffee shop ;-) Wishing you well, dry and safe journeys.

I don't think any amount of pleading from those who've lost loved ones, police public awareness campaigns e.t.c, will stop this. We are a living in an age where "selfish" seems to be the norm when it comes to driving. The sad thing is, I'm sure the technology already exists to prevent the use of such devices whilst a vehicle is in motion. I expect either vehicle manufacturers don't want to put the added cost of such tech onto their customers or the government, inspite of *appearing* to frown upon the practice, are more concerned with any economic ramifications of lifetime bans or prison sentences. I do sometimes wonder if these devices in particular were marketed wrong from the outset; the term "mobile phone" *does* suggest they're intended to be used on-the-move. Why we didn't call them "cell phones" as they do in the U.S?.

Great bikes. I ride a R1150RT. Choose it from my budget perspective, wanted a reliable bike to ride 20-30.000km a year. Felt in love with the bike, drive always with filled panniers with wrenches and gear to do some quick repairs/diagnostics to our machines. But even with the extra weight it steers great. Rode a brandnew GS1250 few months back, hell of a lot smoother but really missed that more snappy throttle response off the old gall

Great Vid, really great advise. What gloves are you wearing.?

Epic vid, this one you normally learn on your own because its not taught. I do love riding in wind tho, it makes me laugh for some bloody reason 🔥🔥🔥👍

A question on a related topic: What about water repellents and biking? Difference between screen and visor? I have very good experience with them on cars for improving visibility in rain and to me it seems like they would be even better on a bike due to the lack of windscreen wipers.(If you've covered this previously I've missed it.)

As a sailor (and prospering rider) I have good experience with wind and interpreting it. Thus this is probably the topic that I find most against starting to ride. So some reflections: * Generic about wind and resistance: Many times it's more important how the airflow leaves then hits! * Wind direction: As long as it comes straight on or from behind it might be an irritant that causes increased noise and fuel consumption (or the opposite), but not a direct danger. * Turbulence: High objects/terrain with sharp edges in the windward side increases the risk for strong and sudden changes. Leeward it is more likely to generate protection (but watch out if the "screen" ends suddenly. * Gusts: The difference between gusts and the steady base is more important then the figures themselves. I have my weather app set to show gusts as default, peaks are more interesting (except for windmills perhaps). * Fairings: They help with creating a more smooth flow if properly designed. I remember when BMW K1 was introduced, they claimed a lower wind resistance with an upright rider then hunched down because this was what the fairing was designed for (I have no idea if that's correct). Do take the above with a grain of salt since I have no experience of riding a motorcycle. Thanks for another good video that has helped me relax and understand a bit more!

Very inconsiderate driving by whoever's at the wheel of the blue car (around the @3.00 mark), especially on this class of road - hardly surprising that rural roads claim more motorcyclists lives than any other.

Thank you for this excellent video. I'm a new rider, working towards my test in March. I got my CBT in Sept2024 and bought a Yamaha XSR 125 for commuting 40+ miles to work, on fast dual carriageway, into London. It's a great journey, but I work 12 hour shifts so my commute is entirely in the dark at the moment. It possibly wasn't the cleverest decision I've ever made, to switch from train to bike, but I don't regret it. However, this winter has roughed me up a few times. More than once I've found myself on a dual carriage way in the rain, with horrid gusty side winds. Often other drivers act as if it's a dry sunny afternoon, including in thick fog. Thats possibly more challenging than the weather, I would like more education for drivers about the importance of adapting how they drive to the weather.

In my experience, the smaller and lighter the bike the more trouble you have in the wind. The bigger and heavier the bike the better.

I have ridden in a number of storms, including the probably 6 storms in a row we had winter 23/spring 24. I found the Pan Euro 1300 I had at the time awesome in the wind UNTIL gusts of 60+. At that point, it caught the wind worse than any bike I have ever had, but then that's always going to be the case with wind that bad. The worst bike I had for wind resistance was my Triumph Sprint 1050 - specifically with the panniers on. Because the panniers blocked the area around the swingarm, wind had the largest surface area to catch me. Even with winter, I miss riding - ill health both mental and physical is preventing me from being safe. Thanks for the vid!

For me, the worst bike that I have ever owned in respect of being caught out by wind, was a Kawasaki ZZR1100. I recall being blown from lane two to three on the M25. When I bought my R1200RT I expected the same, but even with my daily commute, this hasn't proved to be the case. As you have said, it remains solid and planted.

Excellent advice as usual, best motorcycle training vids on TH-cam. A fan 👍

Great tutorial 👍. In these gusty winds conditions is a must to plan well ahead so the rider wont end up in the ditch or in the oncoming lane when sudden gust will strike from any side

I often have wind problems..🤣..especially after a curry, but my trusty FJR1300 keeps it in check thankfully. 🏍️💨

I totally agree, windy weather is not nice on a bike. I also agree that the RT is probably the best bike to be on in adverse weather conditions. To my amazement my Aprilia Sprint 500 maxi scooter does quite well in windy conditions. I had never expected this.

Top instructor skills here; patience, lots of confidence-boosting praise, the ability to spot any errors and explain concisely how to correct them. Great job mate.

There's a story on the BBC news website today; this is an edited-down version :- An 80-year-old driver who admitted causing a motorcyclist's death by careless driving is set to be released from prison after his sentence was reduced. Raymond Dagnall served 7 weeks of his initial 12-month sentence before it was quashed on Tuesday by the Court of Appeal. Dagnall, who has no previous convictions, pulled out past a give-way sign on Park Road in Worsborough, Barnsley, and hit motorcyclist Aaron Smith. The 25-year-old died in hospital after the collision which took place at around 7:30 GMT on 22 November 2023. Rebecca Stevens, for Dagnall, said he had a "momentary lapse of judgment" and performed an "unsafe manoeuvre". She told the court: "He did slow. He pulled out at a normal speed. *He inexplicably did not see the motorcycle* " Nicola Quinney, opposing the appeal on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "From the CCTV, he simply came out of the junction without having paid any attention to vehicles on the road." Just one example of why we all need to take heed of the advice in this video.

Yet another good one, lots of information well versed.

Very good, lots of useful information for us learners. For my car driving it's IPSGA starting with Information.

Is a great bike, but, the problem with BMW is the insulting prices of spares or maintenance. 1.300€ for change a clucht? when in a Honda ST 1300 you pay for the same maintenance about 400€? It's ridiculous. The heated grips, for example 244€? for each!! No way, is abusive. My ST1300 runs better, is more reliable, has cheaper maintenance and it will run forever. BMW? Great and beautiful bike, but, riculous expensive spare parts and maintenance. Honda? Great an beautiful bike, acceptable prices for spare parts and maintenance and, more reliable than BMW in some aspects, for example, the shaft drive. (or cardán for us, the Spanish guys).

Hello Sir, As a new rider, the last 2 months I've caught myself dealing with very strong winds in the Netherlands and I was wondering if you could make a video about dealing wind hard winds. For example : riding position, luggage, rpm's, leaning into the wind, how stable is a bike in the wind, speed etc. Hope to hear from you. Kind regards

In my younger days, I owned a Suzuki GS650 Katana. The riding position, with it's slightly rear set pegs and non-standard "ace bars", definitely made me feel like winding on the throttle that bit more whenever I had the chance. My next bike was a Yamaha XS65O which was mildly customised (lowered seat, custom tank e.t.c), made me ride completely different. It wasn't so much the difference in performance (about 20 bhp between the two), but *how* the bikes *felt* to ride. Interesting topic for discussion this 👍

Watching this to see if I need to do a CBT plus before going DAS, been riding for about 6 months on a 125 but it's a lot of money if you are to fail, would a CBT plus be worth doing or is there some sort of course that can give you a "trial" so to speak, to see if you're ready for a DAS?

A very interesting video. I've ridden an RT, I think it was a 2013 model 😉 and was surprised how well it handled. Put the electric windscreen up on the dual carriageway and you're totally cosseted. Tbh I wouldn't want to push one around and it just felt too big for my liking. However, my 2024 R1250RS is great apart from the wind noise. What a fantastic bike! Ride safe!