My VFR 800 (08) Is "SCARY"to ride in strong side winds

My VFR 800 is scary to ride in strong side wind conditions.:frown: The front wheel feels like it wants to tuck in and it gives me no confidence in this condition.
Can i make any suspension/ chassis adjustments to make it handle the wind better?
Anyone suggest anything, is this common to this model?
Regards

 

Have you set your rider sag yet ???
The rear shock is pretty soft for mine. Have a look at your chicken strips. Are they even front to rear. Or is the rear tyre being used a lot more than the front.
I run 30mm rear rider on sag and it made a huge difference to how the bike handled. That meant dialing the rear preload up to max. Not something I would normally recommend. Being only 80kg myself. But yeah on these with the shocks more set to comfort I had no choice.
Not sure on your riding ability. but with cross winds just stay lose and weight the bar into the wind. The bike will naturally want to lean into it anyway. There pretty clever. Much easier to unweight the bar than move your body. Specially if it's just a gust.
Also check your tyre pressure. I use 36 psi front and 32 rear. And up the rear to 36 if I am two up. Alsoif it has the std Dunlops, chuck em at the dog. they are useless.

 

Any faired bike is subject to act like a sail in a crosswind.

 

Reminds me when I was most nervous when caught by gusting gale force winds with horizontal sleet down on a Snowys ride one year, had to ride it 80kph angled into the cross wind at times alert to sudden easing. Thought the VFR was bad until I saw a late '90s BMW K1200RS get blown into a farmers paddock in front of me.

 

Interesting.
I have been running the 36 front, 42 rear recommended in the owner's manual and never really considered running less.
Since I always ride solo, maybe I should consider it. I weigh about 210 lbs. before gear so I don't think I am taxing the tire load carrying capacity.
Then again, since the pressures I run seem to be working, maybe I will just leave things as they are.

As far as cross winds go, even my old bare bones Nighthawk gets moved around when we have the 15 to 20 mph winds with the 30+ mph gusts.
I seem to have 3 lines through the corners. The one I intended, the one the wind wants, and the one we compromise on.
And the compromise seems to be the way to handle the high wind conditions. Allow for it and expect to be surprised by it occasionally.

 

I went out last week when the winds were gusting up to 35/45 mph. I was going over a bridge over a river, just cruising and a gust blew me sideways so hard my feet blew off the pegs. It pushed so hard I almost went over the side rail (100 ft drop). I leaned into the wind to get control but the wind stopped gusting and I started to go over the center line. Corrected my line again but then the wind gusted again and I went back towards the rail. At this point I laid on the tank with my chin and chest, increased speed and got control. Note to self; pay EXTRA attention in wind gusts. 100 ft drop into a river = no fun. Wouldn't that be a trip.

 

Charles, that's bad advice. Do NOT run your rear tire at 32 psi. At 36F/42R you're doing it perfect and will get maximum tire life and very even wear and grip. I'm 220 lbs so we're a similar weight and that's what I run. Honestly I don't think your body weight has much to do with it. 32 in the rear will only shorten the life of your tire and give you uneven wear. Be careful about internet advice and just use common sense.

 

Faired bikes VW Bugs and old Porsches. No Yugos and maybe a few Corvairs.

A fun one is crossing any bridge across the Columbia River , Summer or Winter. The roadway changes direction on some crossings as much as 90 degrees and the wind blow at sometimes 50 knots. Sailboarders paradise.

 

Wind moves bike's, actually the VFR handles wind comparitively well. Suspension settings won't change side to side wind performance. Not to sound like a dick, but you'll have to learn to deal with it. We've been dealing with 60-80mph wind gusts in Colorado's early spring season; so you learn to ride and live with it, or you don't.

 

Thanks for that.
I had pretty much decided to not mess with what seems to be working good for me.

Since most of my riding is recreational, I try to choose roads where the wind is less of a factor. Like the areas that are sheltered by timber and terrain.
As was mentioned previously, bridges can be bad news. We have one that is about a mile long over a lake and it can be interesting with 15 mph winds. Today, they are saying 20 to 25 mph with 35 mph gusts. Needless to say, that bridge won't be part of my ride this afternoon.
I can't imagine riding in 60 to 80 mph wind. It would be a challenge in a car.

 

Ditto. Those numbers seemed a little out to me too.

 

You mountain guys are NUTS!

 

The weight of the bike makes a big difference. I had a Ninja 650 back in '06. It was fairing'd like a sport bike and was really light. OH MY GOD cross winds would toss that thing around like a leaf. My VFR weighs 100 lbs more and is so much more planted. I have way more confidence in strong winds, but I still pay extra close attention.

 

Cosmetic Surgery

Denver is _blustery_ in the Spring, so you have my sympathies as the 800 VFR has a high center of gravity. (Not uncommon to get blown into the next lane on C470, even with me at 200 lbs).

In addition to other remedies, you might try to lower the riding position. Laying on the tank and gunning the throttle do help, but I took a more radical approach (and pics will follow).

1. Shelled out the stock saddle 3.5 inches (my Sargent only lowered 2 inches and was very expensive. Shelling the stock saddle can be done at home with a turkey knife).
2. Since my butt was nearer the pegs, I replaced them with Buell pegs (1 inch lower and still OK for traffic, but might get dicey if you like to drag a knee in the turns).

 

Shelled Saddle Pic

Pic:

 

I would strongly suggest that you get your suspension set up for your weight. I've had my bike back for a week from a guy who does motorcycle repair and I can say that I've ridden the bike with a bad setup since I bought it in 2005! I did get stronger springs (RaceTech) and valving on the front forks but he just adjusted the rear shock. I think it needed to come up 25 mm! Now the bike feels super responsive. I have a lot more confidence cornering, too and the feedback is really spot on. As far as riding in the wind I've had a few but puckering moments going up thru Asheville. Not a lot I've been able to do for that other than always be ready in those kinds of conditions and try not to react too harshly. Easy control movements and remember the bike is more capable than you think. Hope that helps.

 

I got freaked out by cross winds early on. Once I learned how the bike would react, I learned to ride it out.
Now I can instinctively lean into a sudden gust almost as if I were turning. I think the key is to not jerk when startled by a gust. The jerking can cause you to make sudden over- or just plain wrong-corrections.
In the stronger more sustained winds I also slow down. This provides more constant solid footing.

 

Personally I get a real rush riding in gusty winds. We don't get them enough here but they do hit the high end from time to time. Coming back from SLO2009 I had a strong constant wind from the west as I travelled the I-5 until I got to Weeds Ca. Rode in that for about 6 hours and have to admit, I was tired after that long.

But like Drewl said, get accustomed to it and don't over react. You will be fine.

Passing by a semi in the wind makes me piddle in excitement.

 

Piddle, are you kiddin?