I'm am only 200 or so miles into my KLX250 and motorcycling riding in general. So far my greatest adversary has been high wind speeds from either South or North (25+ mph not unusual with 35+ mph two Sundays ago).

It seems that the bike being as light and tall as it is makes crosswind riding a real SOB. With the 35 mph winds mentioned above I was at a lean angle going straight down the road that made me look like I was in a turn.

My biggest concern is vehicles approaching in the other lane when the wind is strong from my left shoulder. I was feeling that a large truck or something similar could create serious enough turbulence as to make things very dangerous.

Is it just the nerves of a new rider or is there a limit to the KLX250 in crosswind at highway speeds? Bear in mind that in Kansas 90+% of the roads have a N-S and E-W orientation with very little shielding from wind and we are in the war zone between Canada and the Gulf of Mexico, weather-wise.

How 'bout it, experienced riders?

 

Guts and nutz, it happends to all of us and you'll get better. Do you know about counter steering, this is where you turn the bars right to go left and is something you already do and don't know it, Practice it until it becomes second nature and it will keep you out of the wrong lane in most situations. But with that said it is the same for all of us and there may be days that are really too windy to ride at speed on the highway.

 

Don't have a death grip on the bars. Be firm but relaxed. Go with the flow. If it's real windy travel on roads that have a lower speed limit. Here there is girdered bridge that is interesting on windy days. The big uprights create a wind shadow, so as you ride across you're in and out of the wind several times; only one lane each way, undivided with 12" curbs at the sidewalks.

 

I'm a new as well. I've found that all of the above works, and when it's really bad, I'll also lean into the tank a bit to get my profile down. Since the KLX seems to get a little light in the nose sometimes, this at least adds to the the feeling of stability


I also started out with an MX style helmet, with a visor on it, which was like a wind sail I've since picked up a street helmet, which cuts alot better. While the MX helmet probably had little actual effect on the bike, it didn't help to have my head knocked around constantly

 

Nothing like gusty cross winds on a light bike. I think inertia is mass x velocity which is one part of the reason heavy cruisers and touring bikes are stable on the freeway, but the KLX feels like trying to shoot a feather out of a cannon. I've read the same thing on KLR forums, tall bike like a sail from the side, and not too heavy relative to it's size so it gets blown around a lot.

 

Loose arms is the key. The more relaxed the better. Really.

Gusty winds toss around the rider more than the bike, if you have stiff arms the tossing about of your upper body gets translated to the bars and jerks the bike around. This applies all bikes with wide bars (lot of leverage) and little wind protection, no matter how heavy.

The BMW 1200GS is a great example. Many people call that bike "twitchy" and unstable in windy conditions. The bike is not. But stiff arms and tight grip on bars will make the rider to jerk the bike around using the great leverage the bars give to the rider.

In steady side wind the best technique that I've found is to lean the bike into the wind "under you" keeping you body mostly upright and vertical.
Kind of the opposite of "hanging off". You stay vertical and just tilt the bike into the wind to keep it going straight.
I'm not sure why this works better than just simply leaning into the wind but it does.

Relaxing the arms is still they key #1.

--
Mikko

 

ride loose and remember you do the same thing in your car without thinking about it. Just keep riding and it WILL come to you.

 

I appreciate everyone's responses so far.

The advice to lean the bike but keep myself upright is intriguing. On the "bad day" I was definitely leaning both the bike and me at the same time. That mixed with counter-steering and staying loose on the handlebars may give greater control with the approach of the dreaded 18-wheeler in the oncoming lane.

Now I'm looking forward to a ride in strong crosswinds (sort of, gulp)!

 

Get far away from the big trucks! Way over in your lane.

My biggest problem is I get all set with the wind blowing and come to a protected spot so the bike (and I) heads the way I am leaning or counter reacting to the wind. Some places back home the road is cut through hills. In these spots the wind swirls and is going the other way. It sort of throws me for a loop. I have always survived. My KLX gets blown around more than my BMW 1100 but its easier to react with the KLX.

DAVID

 

Wait till you are going 60 down the road and a log truck or other big rig passes you, that will cause your **** to grip the seat. LOL