Side winds moving me around on my Norge

[OlderSlower]

While coming home from a quick trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway on my Norge while on the freeway in Tennessee (I think I 40) I felt a kind of weave that almost felt like tight steering head bearings or over inflated front tire, neither of which was the case.  Michelin PR 3's in good shape.  It was at relatively sedate speeds, 65 to 75 ish.  I felt really "disconnected" from my bike and it was scarey enough that my buddy and I pulled over to check, and found nothing.  Bright sunny day and not windy.  Later that day while back in Ohio the bike was rock solid as it normally is at speeds over 80.  I had some clothes and gear in the bags but not overloaded by any stretch.  Matris rear shock and front end kit installed.  Any ideas?  Oh, got a side wind gust (on a "non windy" day) earlier near Pigeon Forge that almost blew me off the road, never been moved that much in 40+ years of riding.  Any wisdom is appreciated...

[rocker59]

A little bit of wind and a tight grip on the bars will do that.

[Chuck in Indiana]

What Rocker says is true of course.. but it sounds like you are experienced. Maybe it was just a fluke of rearward biased loading and wind from a strange angle. I had a similar occurrence once on my V11S, a rock solid bike, coming home from the Illinois rally. Never happened again. <shrug> Dunno.

[Bill Hagan]

This issue has been addressed here before at some length.

Lots of tupperware on a Norge in addition to the ordinary wheel "dish," so crosswinds and truck blasts have little space to go between.

I try never to ride the slab, thus rarely encounter this issue, but have and not sure there is a fix beyond awareness and what r59 suggested.

Best,

Bill

[canuguzzi]

Wind happens, there is nothing you can do about it aside from the proven riding techniques. I've found my Norge to be very stable in side winds or any winds for that matter. I'm running stock suspension and tires, the side bags and top case.

[oldbike54]

 Rain grooves ?

  Dusty

[Lannis]

Rain grooves ?

  Dusty

A good chance - sometimes they're hard to see when you're concentrating on holding the bike straight ....

[kingoffleece]

Had my new Norge at 100 per today with 25mph crosswinds.  Stable as a rock.  700 miles on it now in 10 days (only 3 riding days) and she's a keeper.

[M0T0Geezer]

I am convinced that certain wind speeds and directions can deflect the front fender,  causing strange yet subtle steering input(s).

I feel this often on my Breva 750.

'Geezer

[Gliderjohn]

I ride a 2011 with side bags and top case. I find that it is affected more by semi truck turbulence than my T-3 which has a SP I upper fairing. That being said it didn't take long to figure out that you just loosen up on the grips and let the bike have it's head and it does just fine. Same riding it on none paved roads.
GliderJohn

[OlderSlower]

Thanks for all of the replies and sage advice...

[JoeW]

Rain grooves ?

  Dusty

:1: or just rippled pavement. I've experienced the same feeling especially on asphalt.

[Waltr]

  I have a 2012 Norge  with Matris Fork Kit and KE +  ID shock on the rear.  The Matris Shock has the adjuster that operates with a 5mm allen.  I would get some movement and a vague feeling in windy conditions.  I initially though is was due to too little ore too much rebound damping.  What fixed it was adding correct preload front and rear.  I went with 5 complete turns on the forks along with 5 clicks preload on the rear.  Did not measure rear but front has 30mm sag.  Tires set to Guzzi spec  36 F  40R.

[JeffOlson]

I have felt that, too, on my Norge while traveling at 67 to 75 mph on the freeway with a lot of traffic around. Large trucks really create a lot of turbulence.

However, at 90 to 100 mph with no traffic in sight, the Norge is very stable!