Effects of Cross Winds: Cruiser vs Street Bike

adri

adri

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Forum Sponsor
What will be better on crosswinds - defined as strong, sudden, gusts / bursts of wind hitting you at 90d egrees (directly on your side)


a) Suzuki M50
Length: 2395 mm (94.3 in.)
Weight: 265 kg (584 lbs)



OR


b) Kawasaki ER-6n
Length: 2,110 mm (83.1 in.)
Weight: 204 kg (449.7 lbs.)




Case A we have a lower, longer bike with a lower and more spread out center of gravity, and an extra 140 lbs to keep it planted.
Case B has greater ground clearance to let more air pass under the bike and 11 inches less of surface area for the wind to be hitting for less air resistance. Also, the rider's weight (in my case a skinny 145 lbs) is a greater proportionate to the vehicle, if that helps?


Is the heavier bike the winner, or does having a smaller sail mean getting blown around less?

Start the flamin'

*drops the microphone*
 
I don't think it matters for street legal bikes... it's more a question of feeling than anything else.
 
ER6 due to the "sail" being much higher which increases the felt effect. With that being said, strong crosswinds never bothered me, just let the bike do its thing under you, you'll see it will lean into the wind by itself.
 
You can get blown around on both .I if the wind is really strong .I would imagine the wind would effect you more if you have a windshield on the C50.
 
OP
I think you are over analyzing....we just don't have serious cross winds here the way the west does.
It's far more a skill issue than anything given your bike range.

125 CBR - yeah maybe it's an issue but in my view I'd not be making a decision on cross wind for the type of bike you are looking at.

I've only been slammed memorably once in the last 10 years ( we were all shocked ) and that was a vortex off the corner of a double trailer we were passing on the left on the 403. Sure woke us up but we ranged from SS600 to big cruiser and in between and aside from surprised no one was particularly worried and mine has a lot of side and front tupperware and about 550 lb.

In my view side winds are annoying and can be tiring but I think that would be the case with any bike.
 
I dragged a peg once in a ridiculous crosswind (tail end of a hurricane in new brunswick) with the Caponord. Tall bikes will be worse in crosswinds.

Look at any sailboat, they all use tall masts with relatively short booms to catch the wind. If short and wide worked better, it would be the standard sail.
 
I agree with GreyGhost. I have also observed that if riding a sport bike - taking off the fairings and thus eliminating those aerodynamic efficiencies makes the crosswinds less dramatic.

Can't say that I completely understand the science behind it, but it proved to work during that one windy day at Shanny.
 
last friday's storm ( the first one when the city was taken by surprise!) had gusts strong enough to make me "change lanes" without my input. You kinda feel as if the bike's going to wash out right under you. Freeky 3 seconds!
 
Xyrus said:
I agree with GreyGhost. I have also observed that if riding a sport bike - taking off the fairings and thus eliminating those aerodynamic efficiencies makes the crosswinds less dramatic.

Can't say that I completely understand the science behind it, but it proved to work during that one windy day at Shanny.
Click to expand...

Bike fairings are typically designed for aesthetics on street bikes. They can act as sails in non-laminar air flow. Some fairings have been designed in wind tunnels, but these designs also assume laminar flow from one direction, perhaps +/- 30 degrees of yaw.

Short answer to the OP: all bikes are prone to effects from cross winds, but this effect is reduced on long wheelbase bikes with raked head angles. This is why cruisers have raked heads.
Forum Sponsor
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom