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Had a wild weekend on my gs500!

1K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  GApump 
#1 ·
After a few years of wanting a sportbike I took the MSF a while back and purchased my bike 2 weeks ago. I put about 300 miles on it around town and on some back roads around my house, just familiarizing myself pretty much. So this weekend I decided to take my bike on the road for some distance travel. I was heading about 90 miles away to a graduation and then another 100 miles to visit my mother for mother's day, and then another 90 miles back home. So I threw a change of clothes into a backpack and hit the road.

I had an absolute blast on the way up, but things got a little hairy today. Some of you might have seen the weather reports from Georgia, but basically there were some tornadoes and high winds, and also some heavy rain. I had planned for this, but the weather was a lot worse than predicted. I felt lucky when I woke up this morning and found pretty clear weather. I was able to make the second leg with no rain, just some debris in the road, but nothing serious.

This evening I set out on my last leg, and the winds really picked up about 20 minutes in. This was my first time riding in high winds, which I estimate to be around 25 mph in gusts. My bike was doing some pretty serious moving on the road, but I rode it out, taking it slow and just doing the best I could. I had to take a break about 2/3 through the leg b/c the winds got a little much so I pulled in and had a bite to eat before finishing up.

I was surprised at how much movement I was experiencing on the road, and although I don't think I was in danger of losing control at any point, I do admit that it was a bit unnerving. All in all, a great weekend though-I logged about 300 miles and had a blast. I'm looking forward to making a lot more of my weekend trips on my bike.
 
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#3 ·
Here's a picture of all my gear, the only thing I'm lacking are pants. I had some ordered, but they fit poorly so I'm exchanging them. I got pretty much all of this on clearance/discount so I was happy with the amount I spent and the quality I got.






Stupid dealership... I dont understand how it takes FOUR days to mount tires.
that sucks bro, I'm taking my bike in next week to get a new rear tire put on, I'm going to be pissed if they keep it that long!
 
#6 ·
Wind can be unnerving. As long as you stay loose, you should be OK. When you tighten up, you can put unwanted inputs into the steering when the wind moves the bike.

Remember to keep your arms loose, hold your upper body up with your abdominals and lower back, and use your knees to squeeze the tank and anchor yourself. Squeezing with your knees also helps transfer your weight lower on the bike, helping to lower the bike's center of gravity.

Good thing you didn't get caught up in any of the real heavy weather. Tornadoes are no damned good when on a bike!
 
#7 ·
thanks for the advice, I'll keep that in mind for next time. I was riding in it long enough to get a pretty good feel for what worked, and I definitely noticed that after I loosened my arms up I had better success. At first I think I was giving it the "oh sh*t" treatment and overcompensating! The heavy weather mostly came through early Sunday morning, but I heard on the radio that there were 6 tornado's across the state, a couple of people got killed, and a lot of property damage from downed trees. :eek:
 
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