Cross Wind handling

[SpyderBen]

Just recently purchased my RT.

Question:

Are there any adjustments that can be made to a RT to control the wind handling. If I am riding in a crosswind of 15 MPH or higher, it feels like I am on a pair of water skis, from about 30mph and higher. ex. increase front air pressure, tighten shocks,????? anything

[bone crusher]

Just recently purchased my RT.

Question:

Are there any adjustments that can be made to a RT to control the wind handling. If I am riding in a crosswind of 15 MPH or higher, it feels like I am on a pair of water skis, from about 30mph and higher. ex. increase front air pressure, tighten shocks,????? anything


Crosswinds are tough on any vehicle...more-so on a bike, for obvious reasons. Wind is infamous for making riding that much harder as it can definitely toss you around...be lucky you have 3 wheels...

[boborgera]

Just recently purchased my RT.

Question:

Are there any adjustments that can be made to a RT to control the wind handling. If I am riding in a crosswind of 15 MPH or higher, it feels like I am on a pair of water skis, from about 30mph and higher. ex. increase front air pressure, tighten shocks,????? anything

:hun::dontknow:
See WIND???

[bruiser]

Tighten your grip and ride it out. That's all you can do on a :spyder2:.

[harddrive]

Must be something with the silver RT's ...:roflblack:

nojoke I know what you mean. I have noticed it is worse if the windshield is at the highest setting, your from socks are set softer and the front tires have to much air in them. You can make it less, but will always feel the cross winds.

I set my front shocks to the stiffest setting and run the tires at 18 psi... Also, I noticed that the RT reacts a lot more when the cross wind hits me and causes me to pull one way or the other on the handle bars...:chat:

[scudrunner]

One approach I take is to be like jello on the bike in wind. If I tighten up, the bike reacts to my body and the buffeting is worse. If I let the wind blow me around without a death grip, the bike won't feel it as much. And we do get some winds here in Galveston County on the coast. 15 to 20 is a normal day.

[altonk]

Stiffen the shocks and roll bar

[bikeguy]

One approach I take is to be like jello on the bike in wind. If I tighten up, the bike reacts to my body and the buffeting is worse. If I let the wind blow me around without a death grip, the bike won't feel it as much. And we do get some winds here in Galveston County on the coast. 15 to 20 is a normal day.

:agree: The night I rode my new RT home from the dealer I thought it was the worse thing I had ever ridden in a crosswind and that wind was probably no worse than 15 MPH at the most. After finally learning to loosen up on the bars and ride it as scudrunner recommends, I feel like it is the best bike I have ever ridden in a crosswind. I've had it in crosswinds gusting over 30 MPH and, while it's certainly not rock stable, it is very controllable. But it took me some miles to learn to ride it right.

Cotton

[NancysToy]

:hun::dontknow:
See WIND???
I guess he didn't like the answers we gave him there. :dontknow:

[2manycars]

I rode several different motor scooters. I had a small Vespa, and before the RT a Silverwing.

Though the crosswinds are a pain, I feel much more secure on 3 wheels than I did on the 2.

I sometimes have to fight the crosswinds, but on the Silverwing I was trying to lean to compensate and felt it was difficult to stay in my lane sometimes.

I love the RT and still hate the gas mileage-especially with gas prices going up, and my wife reminding me that her mini-cooper S gets 32 mpg versus my average of 30.

[Bob Denman]

Stiffen the shocks...
:agree: and run with the winshield in a lower position. By reducing your exposure to those crosswinds there'll be less of you for it to grab onto. The stiffer preload on the front will reduce how the suspension is forced to react. :thumbup:

[pjp623]

Stiffen up the shocks, adj the tire pressure and upgrade to the EVO swaybar.
Worked for me. :yes::yes::yes:

[SilverSurfer]

Scudrunner makes a good point, as does Lamonster in a previous post. 90% of adverse effects from crosswinds can be managed by ryding style. As Scud alludes to, when we feel ourselves being blown about by crosswinds, our natural reaction is to tighten up and bear down on the Spyder. Unfortunately, this just amplifies our bodies' response to what the Spyder is doing and the reaction becomes equal to or greater to the action of the wind. "Hold on loosely, but don't let go. If you hold on too tight now, you're gonna lose control," per 10cc. So loosening up on those grips, being an unnatural act, is something one has to train him/herself to do. You'll find that the wind isn't really moving the Spyder from side-to-side that much. Among all the other fables reported in this forum, no one has yet reported themselves blown off the road.

Mechanically and aerodynamically (I didn't catch whether your Spyder is an RT or an RS), the Spyder has a lot of mass up front, plus a closed fuselage as it were, where air can't pass through. The RT has the most pronounced effect with the larger forward area, huge instrument cowl and a big windscreen. Let us not forget the rear trunk area sticking up either. All these combine to cause a 'sail,' or air dam effect in crosswinds ... you can also feel the headwinds pushing back on the bike . The way I've mitigated this, mainly, is mod'ing my front suspension. I replaced my stock shocks with Elka Stage 1+'s, although ST1's are fine. I have 250 lb springs. Many others prefer 300lb springs (there are threads upon threads in this forum on the Elkas, adjustments, spring preferences, etc). This $700, was the BEST money I've spent on the Spyder in the 6300 miles I've had her and completely change the bike for the better on the road. Yeah, I feel the wind, but the Spyder doesn't tip or roll in it and that mitigates that 'sensation' you're reacting to. If you don't want to spend the money, you can crank your stock shocks up to max pre-load and it should help a little.

While not so much bang for the buck on the RT, I hear RS ryders, in addition to upgraded shocks, singing the praises of the Evoluzione sway bar. Finally, I hear the most recent DPS recall favors keeping one's line better in the wind. Otherwise, front tire psi: 20. Rear tire psi: 32.

~ Surfer :spyder:

[Eraser]

Just recently purchased my RT.

Question:

Are there any adjustments that can be made to a RT to control the wind handling. If I am riding in a crosswind of 15 MPH or higher, it feels like I am on a pair of water skis, from about 30mph and higher. ex. increase front air pressure, tighten shocks,????? anything

Elka....:thumbup:and "learning" about your Bikes' limits for safety and comfort would be my advice...

[Yazz]

Among all the other fables reported in this forum, no one has yet reported themselves blown off the road.~ Surfer :spyder:

I haven't been blown off the road but have been blown into the next lane. And that was with a Phantom windshield. It was in west Texas near Fort Stockton. The winds were bad enough it was hard to stand when filling the gas tank and there were gusts on top of that.

The best thing is find a comfortable riding position and relax. If the winds are coming from your left, stay as close as possible to the center line, opposite for wind from your right.

[DragonSpyder]

The Toe settings on the front make a big difference with crosswind. I have found the more toe-out makes the Spyder track straight regardless of wind. However, it does turn/handle better with toe-in. Toe-in will also help alleviate imperfections in the road surface from affecting your direction.

Unfortunately, you can't have it both ways!

[DougB]

I had the same problem, to the point of getting stressed out. The RT would move side to side w/o input from me. Changed the front shocks to Elka's and the problem disappeared. The RT also handles curves much better. Seems the stock (made in Mexico) shocks have no rebound. Elka's are a bit pricey, but well worth it. I NEVER had a 2 wheel motorcycle in 40+ years of riding handle as poor;y as my RT did before changing the shocks.

[M2Wild]

Use some body english and lean into the wind .... weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee :roflblack::shemademe_smilie:

[Dudley]

Living between San Diego and the Imperial Valley, the winds here are as common as sunshine. A 15mph wind is mild. Many times it fluctuates from 15 to 25+ in a heart beat. I have the RT with the front shocks on 3, the air Pressure on 20psi. The rear shock is at 35psi and the rear tire at 30psi. I have found that the best way for me to ride comfortably in the wind is to use the cruise. That way the speed does not fluctuate and the mass pushing against the wind remains at a constant. Also, I can use both hands to keep a light control on the handlebars. The most the RT has ever traveled left or right of track is less than a foot. And that's if the winds are 30mph or more. I rode the RT when it was first available with the old DPS. I told Jennifer that there was no way I was going to buy one with that steering. The winds on that day were 20-30mph gusts and the RT was going all over the road. The new DPS is a dream compared to the old one. Now I can set the speed at 75mph on the interstate and take on the wind with a smile on my face.

[SpyderGirl]

One word.... RELAX. The wind is blowing you around the same, if not more, than the Spyder, and the Spyder responds to your body movement.

Speeding up helps too, not that endorse speeding. :shemademe_smilie:

[SpyderBen]

I guess he didn't like the answers we gave him there. :dontknow:


Your answers were helpful. Someone else suggested that I post under my own request or situation. So I did. Thanks for you help.

[bone crusher]

Scudrunner makes a good point, as does Lamonster in a previous post. 90% of adverse effects from crosswinds can be managed by ryding style. As Scud alludes to, when we feel ourselves being blown about by crosswinds, our natural reaction is to tighten up and bear down on the Spyder. Unfortunately, this just amplifies our bodies' response to what the Spyder is doing and the reaction becomes equal to or greater to the action of the wind. "Hold on loosely, but don't let go. If you hold on too tight now, you're gonna lose control," per 10cc. So loosening up on those grips, being an unnatural act, is something one has to train him/herself to do. You'll find that the wind isn't really moving the Spyder from side-to-side that much. Among all the other fables reported in this forum, no one has yet reported themselves blown off the road.

Mechanically and aerodynamically (I didn't catch whether your Spyder is an RT or an RS), the Spyder has a lot of mass up front, plus a closed fuselage as it were, where air can't pass through. The RT has the most pronounced effect with the larger forward area, huge instrument cowl and a big windscreen. Let us not forget the rear trunk area sticking up either. All these combine to cause a 'sail,' or air dam effect in crosswinds ... you can also feel the headwinds pushing back on the bike . The way I've mitigated this, mainly, is mod'ing my front suspension. I replaced my stock shocks with Elka Stage 1+'s, although ST1's are fine. I have 250 lb springs. Many others prefer 300lb springs (there are threads upon threads in this forum on the Elkas, adjustments, spring preferences, etc). This $700, was the BEST money I've spent on the Spyder in the 6300 miles I've had her and completely change the bike for the better on the road. Yeah, I feel the wind, but the Spyder doesn't tip or roll in it and that mitigates that 'sensation' you're reacting to. If you don't want to spend the money, you can crank your stock shocks up to max pre-load and it should help a little.

While not so much bang for the buck on the RT, I hear RS ryders, in addition to upgraded shocks, singing the praises of the Evoluzione sway bar. Finally, I hear the most recent DPS recall favors keeping one's line better in the wind. Otherwise, front tire psi: 20. Rear tire psi: 32.

~ Surfer :spyder:


I think you'd want less tire pressure to keep more friction on the road...if you pump up to 20/32, you're reducing your footprint...this is not desirable in windy conditions...

[StriperKing]

You don`t need foot print, its not like you are sliding. The increased air preasure is to stiffen the side walls and decrease tire flex.

[SilverSurfer]

Bone Crusher, the 20psi /approx 32psi has been vetted by literally hundreds of ryders on this forum. The manufacturer's spec of 13-17psi in the front was ludicrous for the RT/RT-S. I can tell by tread wear that my tires are in full contact with the pavement; what's more, there's no spongy float in handling on curves or twisties ... or in a strong x-wind. Bear in mind as well that between the RS and RT is 230 pounds of weight (RT 929 lbs; RS 699 lbs), which reinforces what StripperKing is saying; while many RS-ers are running 20psi up front too.

Bottom line is what works for you ... works for you. The original poster rides an RT. The weight distribution and aerodynamics between the RT and RS are sufficiently different that we could be talking apples and pears.

[chris56]

most of this problem was away after i cutted the shield and deinstalled the flaps - and I use also "scotty´s shock adjustment" ..