Dealing with wind/ gusts in particular

I know everybody has experienced that cross wind coming across a mountain pass!  I am mainly talking about the gusty ones that happen.  I have been to the Basic Motorcycle Safety Course (Awesome and well worth it for anyone who has not taken it), I have watched a lot of videos regarding riding safety, and I have read many articles about riding safely.  I have not found any realing dealing with this issue.  My topic is dealing with those gusty winds.  Whether it be cross winds from a mountain pass, or trail winds from an 18 wheeler.  All you old pros out there: what is some advise/ tips in dealing with them?  All I know is I hate them, and they scare me half to death some times coming unexpectedly.  If anybody knows any articles for me to read-- point me in the right direction I will read them.  
Thanks,
Theace  

Hi; I live in an area that is noted for wind gusts. They are any where from 10-60 mph   I just let the wind take the bike then I correct to get back on course. Don't try to fight the wind. You will lose.Just go with the flow. I have riden in steady winds of 35-50 mph with the bike at about 30deg leaning into the gusts. try not to over correct only lean as far as needed just to stay on course inbetween the lines.
As far as semis. I ride in the center of the lane behind the rig before passing. I get about 4-6ft away from the side of the rig while passing. This put you in the area where the air is a neg pressure (drafting)  . This makes the wind turbulance less trouble some. When you get around to the cab speed up just a little then the transision from neg psi the pos doesn't seem so bad. The bike will wiggle a bit but then your gone and in front. I have not seen any information on this subject. I try to get around the truck quickly as possible.
I hope this helps   scruffy..  

For my 1st month, I went out every night after work, and rode about 30 mi, repeating the mantra "push right.. turn right" or "push left...turn left". After about a month of doing that, I got swatted by a gust. Without thinking, I corrected. I then thought "I may be starting to get this".

I found the trucks are less of a problem. They have a zone at the back that tries to suck you towards the tires. As you go forward, there's a pressure ridge... you will know it because your bike will slow down. A little more power at this point, then, you are in the push zone. All the wind that's being deflected from the front of the truck. Simple adjust, get out in front of the truck fairly quickly (they outweigh you by thousands). Once you get almost to the front of the truck, you should be back to normal air.

Same thing as Scruffy was saying, just phrased a little different.  

Lighter bikes are effected more, I had a 2001 Suzuki Marauder 800 and it made ridding on windy days unenjoyable.  Just be mindful of the wind, it's harder when ridding in a group, if your in a corner slow a little more.  Roll back on the throttle a bit when it happens, not cutting right off the gas.  If you don't like tractor trailers avoid divided highways there is usually a quieter road that goes the same way.  If all else fails get a bigger bike with a lower center of gravity I hardly feel it on my Vstar 1100.  

Some good advice from the forum. With trucks/trailers definitely test your position behind and towards the overtaking side of truck (with wind blast you will soon find best positions without getting to close to the rear of the truck). Same for overtaking; try 1 meter from the trucks side (usually the faster you overtake the better it is for you, oncoming traffic potentials, blind corners etc). The other one; i would recommend if you have oncoming trucks/trailers/caravans (highways) then dip your head downward  a little(while still having eye visual on the road). Your head gets buffetted less in that position, minimises your exposure to rocks from truck tyres or even items thrown from oncoming vehicles (cigarettes, spit, beer cans to name a few).

Cheers  

I ride a Suzuki C50 (800cc) I too had trouble adjusting to unexpected wind gusts. The most frightening thing was when I got caught in an unseen dust devil. Here in Texas and other states with a lot of level ground, especially in the summertime, dust devils occur when even relatively slow winds encounter a structure such as a barn, silo, or even a large tree. They cause a vortex which is fed by the rising of very warm air and are pushed along by the sutaining winds. They are usually easy to see when they are travelling over plowed ground as they pick up dirt and leaves looking like a mini tornado. They can pack winds of up to 80 mph. One caught me unaware as it had only picked up some bits of grass just before it crossed the road directly in front of me. I was suddenly pushed right and a split second later violently back left. I felt as if I had absolutely no control during that brief time span and only the opposing winds kept me upright. I pulled to the side of the road to regroup (and to see if I had a laundry problem) and I watched as the dust devil went into the field across the road, hit the side of a small metal barn and quickly remove three pieces of metal from the roof.
 I am hoping that was a once in a lifetime experience and I'm glad that I didn't have time to panic. Had I tried to adjust to the first gust, the second would have pushed me across the road and into the ditch.
I ride with more caution now, watching not only the road ahead, but to the sides for indications of unexpected changes in wind conditions.
As far as articles to read I haven't found any that give much info. Maybe experience is the best teacher.  

As frbock pointed out, countersteering easily compensates for windgusts from the side. It takes a little practice, but eventually you get to the point where the sensation of wind on your arms triggers the countersteering input with no effort on your part. Once you get to that stage, you'll find yourself riding down the highway in a straight line, with the bike moving under you and wondering why the cars are wandering all over the road.

regards,
Joe  

And, definitely a skill you want before you get on roads like the Mohawk trail in Mass. 2 lanes (total) 55+mph. When the blast from the 1st semi hits you at 110 mph, you want reflex to handle it before you go "WTF??".
After a couple of whacks, it becomes normal, but, I'd consider that far harder than slab. Once you get past the sensation of speed, slab's fairly easy. Big green signs saying "stupid people 1 mile" then a green sign "stupid people right here".  

This may sound crazy, but I found that being a windsurfer helped me naturally handle sudden gusts of heavy wind and steady hard winds.  I also do the push-right-turn-right and push-left-go-left mantra, but I also find myself using my whole body to handle the gusts, just like in windsurfing.  I ride a C50, and consider it a heavy bike compared to my dual purpose bike that got tossed around a bit more.  So there you have it: take up windsurfing and you'll be a better rider!  

Can't learn to windsurf to develop your "sea legs" on the bike?  Then do what my buddy does: drink lots and lots of beer to grow a huge beer belly that will lower your center of gravity.  

NO NO NO
Rez, you just invoked one of the most horrible things in my memory.

I was heading north on I95. In front of me was a Harley rider. Portly at least. He hit a bump in the road. He and the bike went up, and then came down. Unfortunately, the fat around him didn't get the message. He went up, he started coming down. The fat started going up.

It was just bad. an image that can't be erased from the memory.

Windsurfing makes sense. Rapid response to stimulus,or splat.  

I've found that the wind itself is not the problem; it's the stuff that it tries to blow you into that causes all the grief.  That kind of overstates the obvious, but a gust of wind from either Mother Nature or an 18-wheeler will be just a hard twitch on the grips.  Maintain clearance btwn you and the cagers when gusts are present.  What the one post said about slipping quickly and closely alongside an 18-wheeler has worked well for me.  Their turbulence is about 5' out from the trailer.  When you get to the saddle tanks, you'll really feel the blast from the front of the rig.  Keep moving, hard and fast, through the worst, about where the front axle is.  I've found the turbulence from a semi to be a gentle breeze compared to the gust front made by an RV.  No matter what is on your windward side, he's shadowing you from any natural winds.  If you're straight up while passing a semi, you have to be ready to compensate for the actual winds as soon as you come out of his "shadow", which can be drastically different.  Travelled across Oklahoma on a trip, most of it at about a 10-15 deg. lean.  The surprises came when I came out from behind a wooded or hilly area.  
Dave T.

i ride a c50 i have a real hard time riding in the wind its so hard i have to get off the highway, i can"t seem to train myself with it. i was tninking maybe it"s cause i added a after market windshield. can someone give me help please.  

How many thousands of highway miles did you ride, on that bike, before putting the windshield on it? If you don't like the way the windshield causes the bike to behave, take it back off.

Of course, you could always buy another bike to ride, while leaving that one parked so people can admire it's fine windshield :-)

Okay, I'm through being a smartass. It sounds like you need to spend some time riding on the backroads instead of the highway. 2 lane country roads where you can travel at 45 or 50 mph instead of 70 mph, trying to keep up with traffic. You can easily rack up a couple thousand miles of medium speed experience, while fine tuning the windshield position to minimise the wind's affect on the bike's handling, in just a few weeks.

regards,
Joe
--
Hurry up?!? Why? I have all the rest of my life to do everything I'm going to do.  

Joe,
I admit to getting off the slab, in spite of being in a hurry. NYS Thruway in early May. The gusts were coming non-stop from the left and right at 20-30 mph as I punched thru a cold front. Already had 30k on the bike, by me and my butt.

I rolled into my destination several hours later than I planned, and dealing with temps in the high 30s (why I was loath to get off the slab in the 1st place- I knew about the front).

There are limits as to what we are willing to put up with (not the same as what we can endure). I learned the difference in an earlier bad ride.