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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 18
| ridding into a west wind on interstate 80 in Ohio at 70+ mph the bike picked up a big wiggle regardless if behind a semi, car or none. Head wind was about 20 gusting but not all the time, made the bike feel like it was loose on the road. Is this common with a big front cowling bike like the Vision? |
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Visionary
Posts: 1436
| spot32, actually it is YOU and not the bike. The Vision is extremely and I do mean EXTREMELY sensative to rider input. So when you get hit by the wind you unconsciously move a little and this is transfered through the bars. Feels just like riding on marbles, lol...
All I can recommend is you really loosen up and relax instead of doing the opposite when riding in the wind. Took me several thousand miles to get it dialed in, but I don't notice it at all now. Just be REAL careful in gusty winds (20+ mph) that come directly from the side because the Vision does become a very big sail and requires a great amount of rider input and lean to keep from being blown off the road. My RG was similar in this respect but the vision is a bit worse, tour bike thing with all the surface.
Hope this helps........ T |
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Cruiser
Posts: 260
| +1 My first thought when I road the bike home was WTF did I do. You will learn to have less grip. The side gusts are a bitch. I normally ride without the trunk and it does have less inpact of the wind. |
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Visionary
Posts: 2027
Brighton, TN | I believe there were a couple of folks who have made this same ?, only to find people telling them to change their riding styles. Eventually, they find out, we speak the truth.
on another note, was it the road possibly, or is it only in the wind, does it still continue to wiggle? |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | ride captain ride upon your mystery ship...
my experience, if it counts, i tried riding the vision like i was still on my other bike, whooa, wrong answer. you just need to tune your mind and body to the lower center of gravity and nimbleness and it will be like no other ride you've ever experienced. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 141
Cumming, GA | I rode through Oklahoma on the way home from my trip and went through one of the worst rain, lightning and wind storms that I have ever been in on a bike (and pulling a trailer). I was getting hit from the south with the wind that was driving the rain side-ways. I was also traveling around 60-65 mph. The bike had no problems and was very stable. The key, like has been mentioned before, is loose hands and let the bike do its thing. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 208
Wichita, Kansas | Here in Kansas when the wind is gusting to 35 - 40, we call it Tuesday in the Spring. 45 - 50 is not uncommon, and we've had gusts estimated at 90+ three times since April right around here. When in high wind conditions, always ride the center line on Interstate exit and entrance sweepers. If you are leaned into the wind and there is an obstruction, the wind will suddenly stop. Just as you turn in, it comes back with a vengeance and now helps push you over. Real exciting, real quick like. That's the closest I've ever come to going down at speed. Staying in the center of the sweeper gives a little more room for corrections. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 619
Southeast Iowa | I agree with everyone else............loosen up on the bars and don't over correct for the wind. I stuggled for a little while until I figured out I was the problem not the bike. As for crosswinds just lean a little harder. The Vision has a lot of surface area and when the wind hits her hard from the side she wants to lean over. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 154
Cabot Arkansas | We rode thru the Okla. panhandle last friday on our way to Colo and the wind was coming from the south at 30-40 mph every time I checked my rear view my wife's vision looked like she was in a steep curve the bike was leaned into the wind so much,then when a tractor trailer passed us the opposite direction the wind would quit for a second and then hammer us again,made for some interesting riding.The temp gauge on my wifes vision was showing 105 -108 most of the time mine was showing 104 -107.Not only is my midnight cherry TP faster it also is cooler than her black TP 
Maverick |
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Tourer
Posts: 460
Centennial, CO | I can't add any more than the rest have already! You get the point I am sure at this juncture.
It DOES take time to realize this ship is NOT a Volkswagen but a FERRARI! Doesn't take much to make it turn, lean...etc.
I have to note that someone mentioned the trunk off/on. Yes, this DOES make a difference. Actually, quite a bit of difference. I found that going by tractor/trailers with a trunk is MUCH worse than without. I was almost blown off the highway the other day with my GF on the back. She didn't freak but I did. LOL! She has more confidence in me that I do at times. Not a bad thing... |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 18
| Thanks for the info, Its hard to loosen up when riding on marbles like you said but will try that |
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Tourer
Posts: 319
| wow..I never have experienced a wobble from my bike....That was one of the things I love about my Vision...stable as a rock at all speeds |
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Tourer
Posts: 363
Goldsboro, NC | Weird thing happened to me yesterday. There are about 600 yards from the parking lot where I work to the first traffic light... which is always red (its a rule, I think). I get up to third and coast in.
Yesterday, I was in a hurry so I di not fasten my gloves while getting on the bike. I turned out, got to third and coasted in to the light. While coasting at say 35mph, I sat up and fiddled with my gloves. I ride no handed a LOT. This time, I got the strangest wobble in the front. High amplitude, medium frequency. It really threw my game off and I worried about getting the bike to the stealer (sic). Axle bearings? triple tree bushings? wheel balance? O gawd, what is it?
I started back up from the light... drove fast, drove slow, accelerated, decelerated, coasted. Hands, no hands. Never came back. Never happened before. Definitely scored high on my weird sh!t-o-meter. Must have been some oddball input I put into the steering like Teach said or maybe I hit the right speed for some resonant frequency coming up from ripples in the road.
Either way, the bike's geometry and associated physics drive this bike to stability which definitely saved me some road rash and almost fatal embarassment (nothing like going down while riding no-handed in front of a couple dozen of your co-workers) ... which is one of the reasons I like it so much.
As for the original post from spot, I have this to say. Whether from the fairing, the trunk or your own body, I have found that the size of wind gusts don't throw you around very much. Like KansasG-man tried to say, the problem is with the gradient. Most truck buffeting is not much more than 15mph relative to you, but you feel it a lot beacuse it comes and goes and even reverses itself very quickly.... high gradient. Same with gusts of 20mph or even breezes as low as 5mph. I can feel them if the gradient is steep enough.
Think about it this way. A mountain is thousands of feet high, but the road you ride your bike up is gently graded (low gradient). It takes time to ride up the mountain, but no problems. A Jersey Barrier is 4 feet tall but vertical. You hit that sucker at 70 mph and you are going to die (extremely high gradient). In between are jumping ramps and Allegheny backroads... and my father-in-law's driveway.
I think the "wobble" you are feeling is low strength high gradient input from the wind. Relax and resist the urge to get yourself into an ocercontrol situation. It is less stable and will exhaust you. Turn on the stereo... play some Yanni or something.
Edited by trailbarge 2009-08-27 11:35 AM
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Visionary
Posts: 2027
Brighton, TN | trailbarge - in regards to your situation, bet ya cash it is your front wheel giving the wild oscillations. I do the same thing and like another poster, the same thing, between approx. 35 and 45. If you let go of the handlebars, they get pretty shaky. Don't know the reason just the cure. Replace the front tire and that will go away. Or you can continue to ride and it only appears under the circumstances you stated. I kept my front tire till it was worn way down. Replaced it and all better now. |
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Tourer
Posts: 363
Goldsboro, NC | pollolittle - 2009-08-27 12:51 PM
trailbarge - in regards to your situation, bet ya cash it is your front wheel giving the wild oscillations.
No bet. I'm an engineer, so I can analyze forces. What I do not have is motorcycle experience. I've only been riding for about a year and a half now.
Besides... I'm a po' li'l my own self and can't afford to be wrong.  |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | it think it was triggered by that dead possum in the middle of the road you hit... |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 742
North Orange County CA | There are a couple of recent threads dealing with the issue of wind /turbulence on handling of the vision. A post by atvtinker (see thread below) got me thinking about steering and frame geometry.
www.vision-riders.com/bb/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=4156&posts=29&start=1
Its interesting that whenever a thread of this nature comes up there is never any discussion about the total weight, load distribution, rear shock settings, tire size,Tire condition, etc etc.
The answer is almost always a universal admonition to "loosen up and you'll love it" (which I have been guilty of myself); but atvtinker did something totally different.
When he dropped his forks 3/4 of an inch, he changed his steering geometry by reducing the rake and the trail, he also lowered his center of gravity and moved it slightly forward in the process.
There are a couple of interesting articles below that make me wonder how much the rear shock setting and rider/ passenger weight have to do with this wobbling phenomena. I also wonder because my bike reacts very differently when I change the rear shock pressure.
www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0310_art/index.html
www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0404_motorcycle_traction_geometry/index.html
I have no conclusions but its certainly food for thought and maybe a good argument or two. |
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Tourer
Posts: 363
Goldsboro, NC | varyder - 2009-08-27 2:08 PM
it think it was triggered by that dead possum in the middle of the road you hit...
Are you saying I hit the possum or the road?
Anyway... I only hit live 'possums.... and bats.
For all who think I might have been overly wonking... it was a one-time thing so far. Very transitory and not repeatable. It was some combination of weird conditions and I have ridden from Goldsboro to Wilson NC without hands, just to prove to myself that the bike is still stable. GAWD I love this bike! |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | yeah, a few weeks ago their was a dead possum in the road around the stop light at the end of 795 going into goldsboro. but i was just messin' with you since it was a one time thing.
i hit a groundhog around that same area about 6 months ago and it was loads of fun. after about an 8 hour visit and on my return, something either drug it off or i didn't wound it too bad as it was gone. |
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Visionary
Posts: 2027
Brighton, TN | trailbarge get the bike up to around 55 or so, then let it coast down to below 30 and see if it duplicates. Just curious. |
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Wind Wobble