Modern Buddy

As an avid golfer, used to be tennis player, and a part-time cyclist I have always had a hate/love relationship with wind. But lately there has been little love. We have had alot lately with constant 25-30mph and gusts over 40+. Riding my little scoot at speed (60bmph) in it is tricky to say the least. Two days ago I got hit with a gust that blew me into the oncoming lane (for the second time, the first happen in the winter), I'm glad there was no traffic.I can't wait for the calm.

2wheelNsanity wrote:As an avid golfer, used to be tennis player, and a part-time cyclist I have always had a hate/love relationship with wind. But lately there has been little love. We have had alot lately with constant 25-30mph and gusts over 40+. Riding my little scoot at speed (60bmph) in it is tricky to say the least. Two days ago I got hit with a gust that blew me into the oncoming lane (for the second time, the first happen in the winter), I'm glad there was no traffic.I can't wait for the calm.

Amen! We are going to have 60 mph gusts today and the news even warned motorcyclists against riding.

it's supposed to be really windy here today as well. the reports are saying 5-40mph wind with gusts of 60mph possible. a couple if years ago we were going snowboarding one morning and it was so windy that the freeway sign blew off. we promptly turned around.

Same here in Saint Louis a couple of days ago. Thursday was windy... I got a couple miles out and thought okay, not to bad. That is until I literally to knocked sideways by a gust. It blew me into the next lane that was thankfully empty. And it would have otherwise been such a perfect day. The pollen was really stirred up too. I got home and sneezed for the next three hours.

So for those with winsheilds... Better or worse in wind. Seems to me like it would me worse but???

The wind yesterday where I live was terrible. I had to battle it for 20 miles and it kept pushing me to the right. I think we had 40+ wind speeds yesterday.

Indeed! we have a lengthy group ride today, and I'm hoping the wind waits until late afternoon. We've also had our fire quota for the year, so...knock it off wind!

are you guys still gonna go for it then? I think I'm going to sit it out. The Buddy's already pretty ligt, and I don't weigh much either haha I can totally see me being blown over.

Yeah the wind has been a bit here in STL as of late, nothing to put me in the next lane, but still feel-able.

We had a great time. Wind was strong coming home but not so much as to be crappy. Most of the day we were wishing for a breeze!

Mutt the Hoople wrote: So for those with winsheilds... Better or worse in wind. Seems to me like it would me worse but???

With cross winds or when making a turn, a windshield can definitely make things tricky at times in windy conditions.

When wind might be a concern, I generally ride an MC instead of the scoot ... just because of the added weight and stability.

Rob

Tips for riding in the wind!
Give yourself extra room in your lane. In group conditions, LOTS more room.
Stay loose and relaxed on the handlebars, i.e., do not stiffen your arms and grip. You have to remain flexible to react to changes but not OVER-react to them.
Do not lean into the wind. Gusts, etc. can change as they whip around buildings, etc. Leaning in will cause you to overcorrect and go astray. Let the wind hit you, then correct using the handlebars/countersteering.
Beware of gusts coming between buildings and at intersections.
Make sure your eyes are well protected.
Take it slow and careful. Here, we get all kinds of crazy plant mater and other stuff flying around in the high winds. Palm tree husks can take a ride out, easy.
Riding into a headwind: SUCKS.

Also, be very careful where and how you park in high winds. Don't use the side stand. Don't park perpendicular to the direction of the wind. If you can, park close to buildings or other features to protect the scooter. A high wind can blow over a Buddy!

[quote="Mutt the Hoople]

So for those with winsheilds... Better or worse in wind. Seems to me like it would me worse but???[/quote]

Can depend if you're riding with the wind or against it. (I'll pause so you can get Seeger out of your head. you're welcome.)

My brother had a friend who once scooted from Paris to Normandy. Going there against the wind took six hours. Coming back with it took four.

You could move down here. We're in the Horse Latitudes. The wind blows very little or not at all inland, especially in the summer.

Of course, then you would have to deal with our stanky humidity.

The windshield helps when you are in direct wind.

We have been having 40 mph gusts the last couple of days and the cross wind moves me around in my lane.

I just got my riding jacket and hit an exit on the interstate just to see the difference... wow, night and day with the wind, night and day!

A windshield is more aerodynamic than you are. People worry about "buffeting" or a sail effect, but unless you have a really tall shield, it's not much of a factor. I've been riding with a mid-sized shield on my Vepsa for years and have never had a problem with this.

One of the first things I do each morning is check the wind report during the weather of the local morning news.

Even on days when I know I'm not going to scoot~LOL

I've been doing that too lately Moses. . . as it was terribly windy last week. I didn't ride once last week due to the gusts the day before that blew me into the other lane. I'm not about that business. It is really scary going across the river to get north where I work. There is little to block the wind so I feel tossed about. And then, driving through downtownis scary with the gusts between buildings . YIKES!

I think my windscreen helps. At least my body is not beaten down by the wind . . . just the scoot. I had a much larger windscreen on my Stella and it was NOT helpful in the wind. I would not get a large one again for that reason. I really like the mid size Prima one I have now. Seems perfect. Careful out there everyone.

The wind was brutal on that small section of the interstate I rode, only one exit and I felt like it was three. Though maybe my cars speedometer is off, because I was going 63 mph on the scooter and the wife said she matched me at 60 mph in the car.

This week has been nice. I was so bummed not getting out today. I have a class beginning Saturday and the descriptions for the fall classes were due, and orders had to be placed. I missed a beautiful day to be out on a scooter. And rain in the forecast tomorrow.

But last week. Twice some wind gusts practically blew me into another lane. I found it very unnerving. So for a Buddy 50, which windshield is most recommended. Would a short one do the trick?

Rain and wind today here too, so I'm taking the cage.
I didn't like the small Cuppini windscreen. It was just too short. I'm 5'8" and the wind hit me right in the face. With the Prima med. it fits perfectly. And there is quite a bit of room to move it up or down probably 2 inches, so it can be somewhat adjusted for your heigth. And, the price is right. The Prima Med will fit the 50! you might check it out. I actually ordered the Cuppini first just from a "coolness" factor. Scooterworks was super-easy to return to and it was credited quickly so I could get the prima ordered . . and NO restocking fee! I was impressed. I wanted to get it at my local dealer but he did n't have any of either in stock. . . Good luck! I found them both very easy to install too!
Be careful in those gusts!

Glad you said that. I would have gone for the Cuppini myself. I'm about 5" shorter than you but the medium sounds like it makes more sense. No riding today from the looks of it. Perhaps the weather will shape up a bit later. Friday is looking good.

Looks like a Frog Togs day for me... can't let the rain get in the way of making money.... or the wind!

Well, I'm 5'7" or so, and I have the Cuppini Short (the one with the Genuine logo), and it does a pretty good job - although my head is higher than the screen, it deflects the air up and over when adjusted correctly.

My Cuppini came with my box-o-winter-blingage in 2011, but even if I were buying standalone, I don't like the looks of the Prima - I prefer the shape of the Cuppini as it extends around the sides of the headlight. I wouldn't have bought the Cuppini Tall, either, as I wouldn't want to depend on looking _through_ a plexi windshield after a couple years of accumulated road rash.

Good point. I see it is supposed to be sunny tomorrow... With 20mph winds.

The headwind was terrible tonight going down Lindbergh in South County, with the rain it made it quite cold.

It wasn't nice out. It was very English-like weather today. England in March.

Everything Eric said above. I have had a Prima medium for 2 yrs or so now… Never had a problem in wind and I live in Oklahoma and ride into up to 30mph winds regularly. Try to do less and we have way bigger winds I can't even think about riding in. Everything everyone has said plus careful riding over Interstate bridges and rivers or any bridge in wind. Just be cool and you'll be cool.

yes wind always stinks on scooters/ small motorcycles. The way I see it use that baby to your advantage. Stick a sail onto it!

I swear if my scooter had wings it would have took to flight with that headwind on the way to work this morning!

I too preferred the look of the Cuppini, but after riding it for a week I just didn't like the wind in my helmet. So I got the slightly less sportish med size and it works great. I am going to powder coat the hardware and tint the screen to try and like the look better. But, hands down, way better feel.

2Wheel,
So in Kansas is it better to ride in clockwise circles in tornado season?

We only have hurricanes so we have to ride in a northerly direction as they approach and the southerly after it passes.
I get a kick out of the ocean windsurfers who go like a bat in those storms, but again it's a one way trip until the eye passes and the wind reverses.

I just love a good storm.

Talk about wind, I had to race a storm home last night, and for the first time EVER riding, I felt as if it was trying to blow me away.

Capt_Don wrote:Talk about wind, I had to race a storm home last night, and for the first time EVER riding, I felt as if it was trying to blow me away.

You rode in that too. I was out shooting some pics when I looked up and thought oh oh... Better get home.

This spring I was racing a storm, but was losing.

It was juuust starting to rain when I jumped on Poppy to head home. I noticed the clouds were moving towards my house, so I was hoping to race ahead of the sprinkles.

Sure enough I got ahead of the sprinkles within a couple blocks.....then got stopped at a light. Doh! The sprinkles caught up. So I raced and got ahead of it again until....the next light. It kept going like that, but each light I was losing ground. Normally I don't hit nearly that many lights on that route, but this time I was hitting them all. And each time I got stopped, the storm kept gaining on me. I finally lost and was riding in rain with the edge of the clouds juuust out of my reach.

I thought it couldn't get any worse. I was wrong. It then started to hail. By the time I was on my home stretch at 50mph, I was getting pelted by hail. Luckily I had leather on and my FF. But it still stung the hell out of my neck.

Fortunately, there was very little wind that storm.

But the other day I got pounded by wind too. It was like being in a 40mph washing machine cycle without water. Unlike normal, the wind wasn't blowing in one consistant direction. It was all over the place. It was wierd to watch the trees because you'd have a line of them and they were all bent over in different directions getting thrashed around.

It was really difficult riding that day. It was sort of stupid for me to venture out in conditions like that in the first place. I only saw one other motorcycle out on the road that day due to the conditions. All the other riders had more sense. Winds were 35mph sustained with 50mph gusts - coming from all directions at once.

When I put the scooter in the garage I was truly relieved I made it home in one piece.

Mutt the Hoople wrote:

Capt_Don wrote:Talk about wind, I had to race a storm home last night, and for the first time EVER riding, I felt as if it was trying to blow me away.

You rode in that too. I was out shooting some pics when I looked up and thought oh oh... Better get home.

If I had not taken 270 I would have not beat it.

I know how both of you feel, I drove thru a hail storm when I first got my Arrow. If i were on that yesterday itwould have been a different adventure.

The good thing about where I live is that if you see Saurons eye being lowered its means some bad weather is approaching. so time to get home.

Saurons eye is a large survaeillance blimp that watches the border.

scootavaran wrote:The good thing about where I live is that if you see Saurons eye being lowered its means some bad weather is approaching. so time to get home.

Saurons eye is a large survaeillance blimp that watches the border.

So the illegals all know to cross the border when the blimp goes down. Nice to give them a signal.

k1dude wrote:

scootavaran wrote:The good thing about where I live is that if you see Saurons eye being lowered its means some bad weather is approaching. so time to get home.

Saurons eye is a large survaeillance blimp that watches the border.

So the illegals all know to cross the border when the blimp goes down. Nice to give them a signal.

Obviously we have over methods too, but lets try not to ruin this thread please.

I know, I know! ... yeah I got nothing., but I do expect the wind to be tough today on the way home.

My favorite storm-racing incident was two years ago, when I was in eastern Michigan and saw on radar a pretty harsh storm approaching from the west, across Lake Michigan. My final destination lay between me and the storm. So I spent the day riding toward the storm, trying to get home before the rain did... and toward the end, seeing the storm clouds rising up in front of me. I felt the first raindrops about half a mile from my house.

Wind and a little rain is part of the challenge. And Dust sand and odd bits of trash are not much fun. R

still shifting wrote:Wind and a little rain is part of the challenge. And Dust sand and odd bits of trash are not much fun. R

I agree, they should get one of those thing my wife uses to clean the carpet; uh, you know those noisy things?

Here in Washington state we don't get hurricanes, and only the occassional very small, short lived tornado...but yesterday sure was gusty.

My husband and I were sitting at a light, and the wind was so gusty at our backs that I kept feeling like I was being blown out into the intersection, even though my brakes held me in place.

Very weird feeling.