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When is it too windy to ride?

Hogrotten does have the right idea. If you CAN decide not to ride in gusty winds, why do so. But it all comes down to whether it is a timing issue or not. I prefer to ride in decent weather, but sometimes you have little choice. Went on a ride many years ago thru Barstow...THAT WAS DUST STORM...one of our fellow riders had a big inch Suzuki which broke his older style roller chain from all the blowing sand and dust, tore it up big time...no joy that day. :(
 
When is it too windy to ride....

At about 160mph a full face helmet will start to turn down and the plastic will touch your nose
At about 200mph the sleeves of your leather jacket are above your elbows.
I'd say my limit is about 300mph. (although i haven't reached it yet)
 
Ran into gusty cross-winds in New Mexico last year on the way back from Sturgis. Everything was fine so long as we took into account the effects of passing trucks and changes in geography. Wasn't even much of a problem when it started to rain. However, when the rain got so heavy that it was hard to see the road and the traffic, we pulled over at the next off-ramp. There was fortunately a self-serve car wash right there so each bike had it's own cozy carport to wait out the storm.
 
The only thing I have to say about wind is to be careful of things, like a big truck/trailer that can break the wind. My buddy and I were riding on Highway 1 with a strong, steady, wind from our left. We both were leaning slightly into it when an oncoming truck went by and broke the wind at which point we both veered strongly to the left. Almost made it into oncoming traffic! Yikes!
 
In NE our riding days would be severely limited if we waited for those "pristine" 0-5 knot low-wind days. Our norm is 20-35 so just have to be extra cautious & predictable on how the winds will affect your ride. Good example; in cross-winds you have to lean a tad sideways to off-set, and what happens when you ride past a large farm-plot w/grove (common site(s) in NE) - the wind stalls until you hit the other side. Just gotta be ready for when the gust comes back so you don't blow-off into the ditch, or opposite lane of traffic.

hogrotten stated it best - if you're not having fun - it's too windy. Especially if you're uncomfortable & getting thrown all over the road. Be carefyl & ride at your experience level.
 
The other thing to keep in mind is debris blowing up from the side of the road,like tumble weeds piece of plywood etc...
 
Well yesterday I was reminded of the proper answer...when riding 2-up, let the passenger decide (45-50 mph heavy gusts, even though 72 degs F out and not a cloud in the sky) for a "casual ride out to the Ventura coast (18 miles away).

So often in the "heat" of battle, the seasoned rider will take any challenge on without a 2nd thought, exploring our limits every now and then. It takes a 2nd or 3rd party to bring things to your attention, as you have already accepted the risks of piloting a motorcycle...being a "pack leader" we sometimes need to reminded of how far we have gone in V-Twin riding.
 
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