The design of the bike - centre of gravity etc - does have a huge effect on this. In the late 70's (might have been the early 80's - long time ago anyway) I was riding one of the early faired GoldWings, a bike that was really stable in cross winds. I toured northern Scotland on it in side winds strong enough to make it hard to stand up when you got off but the bike hardly noticed it when you were riding.

On the other hand the Honda CX650 Turbo that I had some years later - a bike with a high C of G, could be quite dangerous with cross winds on the motorway, particularly if the roads were wet as well so you didn't know quite how much grip you had. You would have trouble keeping it in one lane if the wind was gusty.

fantastic hospitality there mate, a lucky find indeed! I had a similar problem a while back but when I went into esso to ask if they had any plastic bags i could wrap around my feet all I got was "errr, you gonna buy some petrol?"

yes maybe i was exagerating slighty about faired bikes being the same as cars :rofl:
i understand why people like fairings & so on, its just a personal choice that i much much prefer to be without. my first bike was a fully faired sports tourer that i did about 20k on in 8 months, so ive got an idea what fairings are like to ride with. i just prefer to sit in the wind & wear a bit more in the cold.
mind you i am looking at those wotsits offroad bikes have over the levers to keep the wind off my gloves for the winter.

Fairings Yuk!
 

I agree heartily that fairings are over rated and not needed. My beloved Guzzi Le Mans has a tiny fairing only there to add a dash of style---and obscure the instruments as they are viewed through the miniscule screen. In my first week of riding it I accidentally read the rev counter as the speedo. They were the other way round on my car. "Sorry for speeding occifer, really. It's the screen you see." "Yes sir, would you prefer a ticket for 4000 in a 30 then?" So you see even a little fairing is bad. Linzi.

Mmmm not so sure!
 

I don,t know if my Ktm 950,s doings exactly make up a fairing,but I do know my touring screen enables my to hear my Ipod at over 100mph.Before anything over about 85 and it was just a waste of time.Oh yeah and that screen cuts out so much windblast that you spend a lot more time at higher speeds,ACE! Best money I,ve spent in a while.
Al theturtleshead

:rofl::rofl:

I have become one!!
 

Well on the trip up to Tan Hill, my headlights started to flash and dim, a week later on my daily commute home, It all went bad. I limped home only to find that my rectifier/regulator was putting out a whooping 19V (@ 4k revs). So My bike is now in bits (as i try and figure out what is the cause of the RR failure) and i am on the train... and you know what I would prefer to be cold and wet on my bike then crammed in like a sardine, with all the coughing and rudeness that goes along with train commuters...


I know RR go but this one was new. So the first failure was a symptom of some thing else not the problem.

Hopefully i'll be back on the road soon...

Having just come home at 6.30pm, so not exactly middle of the night, and felt a definite slither turning the corner into my street, I might be taking public transport for a few days till it warms up... :(

Plus reversing it into a slot between cars is interesting when you're on slight tiptoes on ice!!! :funmeterno:

BTW anyone else have issues with heated grips refusing to stay on when it's really cold? Seems to defeat the point a little....:confused1:

Laura

Hopefully i'll be back on the road soon...
Are you saying your RR was NEW?

hi Xander

if the RR is showing a high voltage the problem may be a poor connection in the 12v switched live, or the earth to the RR. If there is any loss of voltage due to a corroded connector a damaged wire the regulator will increase the recharging voltage, so i have been told as i am having probs on my bike at the moment.

Iain

others have said it but but earths & crap connections are a prime suspect. make sure the engine earths properly to the frame for example.

mine kept cutting out, turned out to be a slightly loose connection in the fuse holder.
unless you mean yours are switching off due to a low voltage sensor? if so check the connections & that your bike is charging properly. the auto cutoff ones normally cutout at about 11.5v. mind you if you do a lot of low speed riding it could be your bike is fine but just not putting out enough power.
oh last one - if yours opens, check the water in the battery hasnt dropped.

We crossed the Alps November 2007 on a GoldWing towing a trailer. Four-wheeled vehicles were in the ditch, but we made it over without incident. There is approximately 1" (2.5 cm) of compacted snow on the road surface and it is still snowing. Thank goodness for Gerbings (Gerbing's Heated Clothing // The World's Warmest Clothing!) heated vests and gloves.

http://www.bobkatsjaunt.com/images/I...rd%20001-A.jpg

That 19volts may be because the rectifier is shorted out and it is providing AC or pulsed dc. Many dc voltmeters will give a high dc reading when on AC :(

I do not think it is just the CofG. MY BMW which has a Cof G six inched or more higher than any of my older Triumphs is stable in crosswinds. ( it is also 150 lbs heavier). the steering geometry also plays a part becaus if the bike is naturally self centering it will recover by itself.
It irritates me when people criticise bikes for doing what they are designed to do. eg harley chopper, not my thing at all, but if I had free petrol and 1000 mile straight roads they make some sense. The big low stressed engines also leaves a low stressed rider. That is one reason I prefer to drive a diesel car ( maybe one day a diesel bike also).
However, if you look at those who have to ride their bikes all year irrespective of the weather, the ratio of bikes with fairings become disproportionally high.

Hi Guys!
Thanks for all your great advice! I have not had a chance to go though it too in depthly yet but I have already found a couple of bad connections and at least one short (after market add-on) when i was ripping it to bits. (family commitments and then too bloody cold/dark/tired when i get home from the salt mines.) Saturday is the big fix start anyway.

I am going to make my first step being a step by step checking and testing of the entire loom. Better now then next year when we will be on the road. I have already made sure that the RR connectors are all nice and shiny. Does any one know where i can get my hands on some dielectric grease?

Molly: it was an Electrex World one.. They come hightly recomended and when i called then they did not even stutter and told me to send it back for a free replacement. The EW ones come with a 1 year guarantee..honda come with a three week, and only if not installed (what is the point i ask you??). Hopefully it was the correct choice.. The new one is charging fine, so two options I got a bad RR or (as we all think and far more likley) there is a bigger problem here. I'll let you all know what i find (if i find the the cause).

Thanks again all
Xander