Severe crosswinds are a fact of life in this area. It’s important to understand that a motorcycle will handle most crosswinds without extraordinary effort from the rider.
It is vital that you not use a “death grip” on your handlebars. Holding on too tight tends to lock your elbows, which transfers front-end instability to the rest of the bike. Loosen your grip, relax your elbows, and allow your bike to be a bit unstable, while staying in the center of your lane.
To stay on course in a crosswind you will need to lean into the wind. How much is a matter of feel, and depends on a number of factors.
The primary determinant of how great the effect of a crosswind is on your bike is its side profile. For that reason, crosswinds will typically more harshly affect a full dress touring bike with a passenger than a lighter low profile bike with just the rider. (Contrary to myth, solid disc wheels such as those found on a Fatboy do not add significantly to the effect of crosswinds.)
A steady crosswind will cause your bike will move off course. Normal modest counter-steer will lean it into the wind and keep it on track.
A strong gust will blow you off track. When this begins to happen, correct your steering, gently, and keep going. You should neither anticipate gusts, nor respond too quickly in an effort to remain traveling in a straight line. In windy conditions your bike will NOT travel in a straight line. It will be modestly blown off course with each gust, but gentle steering corrections will bring the bike back on course and keep it in the center of your lane.
Sudden crosswind gusts will change your bike’s direction of travel on two occasions: when the gust hits, and when it stops. Both events require that you allow the bike to respond and use normal modest counter-steering to correct your course.
You can expect severe buffeting from an oncoming large vehicle and while entering or exiting stretches protected from the wind such as tunnels or bridges with relatively high retaining walls. In these cases position the bike away from the source of the wind-sheer and maintain a firm, but not locked grip on the bars.
If crosswinds involve huge short gusts, don?t hesitate to park your bike in a safe, sheltered spot until the wind calms down. If the crosswinds are more sustained, pucker up and keep going, making sure to remain aware at all times of the traffic around you.