CB1100 and Wind

[The Spaceman_imp]

Having never ridden my CB in any truly foul weather I have been curious as to how it might be affected by high wind gusts that sometimes accompany severe thunder storms. Yesterday I learned the answer.

Coming home from running a few errands I encountered a bad storm that had been generated by the day's excessive heat and humidity. Ahead I could see tree limbs being ripped away and pines being bent as though they would break. Dropping to about 45mph I braced for the wind's impact and was surprised at how stable the bike was in these gusts which thankfully didn't last long. Perhaps the lack of a large fairing and bodywork is a factor. I did get blown about a bit of course but the CB felt safe and stable. I love this bike more every time I ride it.

We'll recall from physics class that the force required to effect a gyroscope from the plane ninety degrees from rotational increases exponentially as the speed of the gyroscope's rotation increases. What that means is, the faster you go, the more wind it takes to blow you over. Don't slow down for crosswind.

So the takeaway here is: "When you're breaking wind on your CB, do it quickly!"