high temps in the north

[Guy B. Young II - COG Tech Ed]

Had an interesting experience on my way home from work yesterday. My route takes me on a fairly high bridge that spans the James River (Richmond, VA). Normally, this is a pretty mundane ride, but on this day there were some storms rolling into the area, accompanied by some pretty high and gusting winds. Never did gwt much rain. http://www.virginiadot.org/images/895-bridge-fall4.jpg The winds were blowing from the north, which meant they were hitting me on the right side, pretty much at a 90 degree angle. They were pushing the KLR was all over the road. At times it felt like the front tire was actually scooting on the road surface. Needless to say, the sphincter was working overtime until I cleared the bridge and was back on the regular roadway. Those were the highest winds I have experienced with this bike, and quite frankly, don't look forward to an experience like that again. It was far worse than crosswind landing in a an old 150. Guy

[Mark St.Hilaire, Sr]

> http://www.virginiadot.org/images/895-bridge-fall4.jpg

Wow, that's a great picture! Where in the world were you to take that, or is it a "professional" photo? Virginia is a beautiful state; our son is in the Navy in Norfolk / Chesapeake, and we almost always drive down to see him. I've been down a couple times on the KLR, which is even better. Great shot, and interesting story - thanks for sharing. Mark KLR650 Motorcycle Pages: http://klr6500.tripod.com/ HomePage: http://home.adelphia.net/~msaint/index.html My Adelphia Email can be "iffy." If you don't get a response, please try: KLR6500@...

[Guy B. Young II - COG Tech Ed]

Mark, Wish I could lay claim to having done it, but it is Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) photo. The bridge is impressive and was more so during the construction phase. It was built tall to accomodate small ocean-going vessels traveling up-stream to Richmond's Port, just out of view around the bend in the upper LH side of the picture. VA is a pretty state. I moved here from PA in '66 when I got out of the service, actually living in Chesapeake for 7 years during my stint with Cat. There is a definate Navy 'presence' over that way. Guy -------Original Message------- From: "Mark St.Hilaire, Sr" Sent: 03/27/03 09:05 AM To: 1 - KLR650 List DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com>, "Guy B. Young II - COG Tech Ed" Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] Crosswind Training

> >

target=_blank href="http://www.virginiadot.org/images/895-bridge-fall4.jpg">[url=http://www.virginiadot.org/images/895-bridge-fall4.jpghttp://www.virginiadot.org/images/895-bridge-fall4.jpg> Wow, that's a great picture! Where in the world were you to take that, or is it a "professional" photo?

[dooden]

One thing I have found in crosswinds is to spread my leg out into the wind ( right leg if wind is from the right ) and hug the tank with the other leg, even sofar as to tuck the left arm in to smooth out the airflow, and kinda raise the right (right side wind now) and catch more air with it. It helps cancel out the crosswind alot for me. Dooden --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "Guy B. Young II - COG Tech Ed" wrote:

> Had an interesting experience on my way home from work yesterday.

My route takes me on a fairly high bridge that spans the James River (Richmond, VA). Normally, this is a pretty mundane ride, but on this day there were some storms rolling into the area, accompanied by some pretty high and gusting winds. Never did gwt much rain.

> > http://www.virginiadot.org/images/895-bridge-fall4.jpg > > The winds were blowing from the north, which meant they were

hitting me on the right side, pretty much at a 90 degree angle. They were pushing the KLR was all over the road. At times it felt like the front tire was actually scooting on the road surface. Needless to say, the sphincter was working overtime until I cleared the bridge and was back on the regular roadway.

> > Those were the highest winds I have experienced with this bike, and

quite frankly, don't look forward to an experience like that again. It was far worse than crosswind landing in a an old 150.

> > Guy

[Guy B. Young II - COG Tech Ed]

Dooden, Appreciate it, and will give it a try the next time, however, I think *everything* was stuck out into the wind during that little adventure. Guy -------Original Message------- From: Dooden Sent: 03/27/03 09:31 AM To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com Subject: [DSN_klr650] Re: Crosswind Training

> > One thing I have found in crosswinds is to spread my leg out into the

wind ( right leg if wind is from the right ) and hug the tank with the other leg, even sofar as to tuck the left arm in to smooth out the airflow, and kinda raise the right (right side wind now) and catch more air with it. It helps cancel out the crosswind alot for me. Dooden

[RM]

On Thu, 27 Mar 2003, Guy B. Young II - COG Tech Ed wrote:

>Those were the highest winds I have experienced with this bike, and quite >frankly, don't look forward to an experience like that again.

Fork brace?

[Guy B. Young II - COG Tech Ed]

Don't believe that would have helped. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but a co-worker was ahead of me in his car. He asked me earlier today how I managed to keep the bike up-right, and on the road. He said it was all he could do to keep his Trans Am in his lane. My 'Stich is at the cleaners now. Guy -------Original Message------- From: RM Sent: 03/27/03 02:57 PM To: "Guy B. Young II - COG Tech Ed" Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] Crosswind Training Fork brace?

[TM1669@cs.com]

Ive had some wind in the 55mph+ class that had me literally hanging my ass off the bike and the bike leaned as far as I could to counter the wind and keep me going straight. At any high speed it was impossible to turn the bike into the wind. I felt like Lieutenant Dan challenging the hurricane in the Forrest Gump movie.

[Tony Holt]

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "Guy B. Young II - COG Tech Ed" wrote:

> Those were the highest winds I have experienced with this bike, and

quite frankly, don't look forward to an experience like that again. It was far worse than crosswind landing in a an old 150. I was apprehensive about the crosswind behaviour of my Tengai but in fact it's surprisingly stable.I think that the low mudguard (and its mounting bracket which is quite sturdy and acts as a fork brace)makes a difference.Maybe this would be an option if you don't need the high guard? Tony tengai Dorset UK

[Conall O'Brien]

>From: RM >To: "Guy B. Young II - COG Tech Ed" >CC: "KLR, DSN" DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com> >Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] Crosswind Training >Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 14:57:32 -0500 (EST) > > >On Thu, 27 Mar 2003, Guy B. Young II - COG Tech Ed wrote: > > >Those were the highest winds I have experienced with this bike, and quite > >frankly, don't look forward to an experience like that again. > >Fork brace?

My happy Trails fork brace dramatically improved my confidence in the crosswinds. I have a big sail ( givi box) hanging beyond my rear wheel axle, and have found if I "balance the load" with tank panniers in the front, the KLRs back end doesn't try to steer the bike. Bogdan figured this out, I tried it and it works for me. Also hanging your knee out into the wind is an old roadriders trick that works too. Conall _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail