First time on Highway 401 today

BrownBrady said:

@conondrum: Yeah I have a 250 but maybe I was too tense. I thought I was very mindful of not over-gripping because I wanted my arms to be nudged by the wind without affecting the handlebar input. I even remember just using 3 fingers on the left handlebar to keep it light. My alterations were just light touches of counter-steering, but with a firm grip of the tank with my knees. I will just avoid the 401 on windy days.

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Practice makes perfect Once you get comfortable with the headwind, you will just go with the flow.

Thanks for sharing your experience, glad you got to experience both good and bad. Part of riding in GTA has to do with learning its traffic patterns. I'll take the 407 if I don't feel like riding in stop-and-go traffic. Most of the time, I'd get on the road before 6:00am and after 7:30 pm, same on weekends to get out of town.

brownbrady:

i was exactly like you the first few times i rode the highway. i live in brooklin, on, but the fiancée and all friends live in scarborough so i know the feeling of 401 riding from scarborough through durham. that construction area in ajax is the worst right now. practice does make perfect. remember to just be very light on the handle bars, and try not the stiffen the your legs so much while gripping the tank. i know that's hard to do but relaxation helps a lot. sometimes when i'm on the 401 and there's a lot of wind, i usually go full tuck. it feels funny since it's a 250 but it helps a lot. and quite comfy. also, looks pretty bad *** and looks like i'm in moto3. LOL

just more seat time will be the only thing that would help. i found that it helped me a lot.

Yesterday was pretty damn terrible, and i'm on a 675. Even taking Highway 2 to GP, I could feel the wind already. Going back home to Scarborough and taking the 401 was brutal. I was pretty much full tuck and battling cross-winds at the same time. Add to that I was only wearing my Spidi Multitech jacket (which is essentially just a vest) with an under armour shirt, I was friggin' cold! Was not fun.

My first season with M2 also, I take the QEW to work.
On very windy days [like yesterday or today (50km gusts) ] I still get pushed side to side on the lane. Not sure if I fight the wind or grip to hard. Can adjusting suspension settings help? Bike is 99' R6. I had similar problems on CBR125R however that bike weighs almost nothing.

I have yet to hit the Hwy (any) to date! Soon it will happen.

I HATE highways in the city. Too much traffic and no one pays attention.

Being pushed about in the wind is going to happen, but something to keep in mind is that having a firm grip on the bars is different than having weight on the bars. Resting your weight on the bars through you arms and wrists creates unintentional steering input as your body is pushed around due to the wind, and restricts the natural tracking of the front end.

Keep your weight supported with your core (back, abs) and legs on the tank. Doing that will allow you to keep your hands on the ready with a firm grasp on the bars (not a death-grip, the forearms should not be fatigued) giving you the ability to make quick and deliberate steering adjustments to combat the winds effect of pushing you from side to side.