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Don't Drop the Bike

You wanter pictures of drops? You got'em.

http://forums.bmwmoa.org/picture.php?albumid=192&pictureid=953

This is my 2000 R1150GS taking a nap after a full lunch of 87 octane (only gas available) at Twin Butte, Alberta, Canada, in Jluy 2010. This was the second day of a 34-day trip from Missoula, Montana, to Deadhorse, Alaska. I tried pushing Big Bertha away from the pumps, the side stand drug, and when she leaned toward me, she just kept leaning! This was the last time I pushed her. Ride that five feet and stay balanced!

My son helped me get the bike back up after taking the picture and laughing hard. He got his someuppance at our camp site at Liard Hot Springs in northern British Columbia a few days later.
 
All in all I've had better luck with bikes than cars, I think. At just a few days past my 14th birthday I received my brand new drivers license. It went like this. Drive to the Courthouse; then drive around with the State Trooper. Walk inside and get my new license. Walk back to the car. Get in. And get hit by an oncoming car as I pulled out of the parking space. In my defense, it was a one-way street and I was parked on the left side instead of the right side so couldn't see very well, but still. I drove almost exactly 6 feet with my brand new license before my first accident.

Essentially no damage to my car. Contact was just with the bumper. But the car that hit it and slid on by had a crease starting at the front fender and proceeding back across both doors and the rear quarter panel. Looking at the crease you could actually see how the front of the car dipped when she slammed on the brakes after she hit me. My first accident reconstruction case. :)
 
All in all I've had better luck with bikes than cars, I think. At just a few days past my 14th birthday I received my brand new drivers license. It went like this. Drive to the Courthouse; then drive around with the State Trooper. Walk inside and get my new license. Walk back to the car. Get in. And get hit by an oncoming car as I pulled out of the parking space. In my defense, it was a one-way street and I was parked on the left side instead of the right side so couldn't see very well, but still. I drove almost exactly 6 feet with my brand new license before my first accident....................:)

We have a winner!:laugh
 
OP finally back!

Below is the revised article for the ON. (I'm emailing it to Roger Miles tomorrow.) I reviewed every response to the original article posted on this forum as well as the PM's before doing the re-write. Then I let days elapse before re-reading, just to be sure I didn't want to change anything. I trust you will see your "hand writing" in some of the changes if you made a contribution to the discussion.

I tried to make this article as concise as possible while still making it readable - and suspect it is too long for a single "Motosafe" article. If any of you reading this have Roger's ear, perhaps you could make suggestions to him.

He will probably also ask for some appropriate photos - which I can also not provide. Again your help is requested.

I like to think I am the person who "got the ball rolling" on a mostly ignored topic that effects almost all riders. But if this article is ever published, it will be a co-operative effort. I think the information, not the credit, is what is important.

My thanks to all of you who dared to admit your stupid mistakes, and consequently made this article as comprehensive as it is.

BTW, while I am done revising the article, comments on it and additional "unfortunate experiences" can certainly be posted on this forum.

REVISED ARTICLE:

DonÔÇÖt Drop the Bike

LetÔÇÖs define dropping the bike as ÔÇ£a motorcycle accident at 0 ÔÇô 2 mph.ÔÇØ These accidents inevitably cause elevated blood pressure, fears about how to raise the fallen beast, at least some damage to the bike if not the operator, and acute embarrassment. The otherwise excellent books and articles about riding safely mostly ignore the causes of these accidents and the preventive measures one should take to avoid them. My qualifications for writing this article are simple: in twelve years and about 60K miles of riding IÔÇÖve made several of these mistakes and also admitted them in campfire conversations. Virtually every rider I talked to told me about a time or two that he also dropped a bike. Some of the ideas come from these conversations. Even more come from the Just RidinÔÇÖ MOA forum where I posted the first draft. The candid admissions of these mostly very experienced riders helped fill out this article.

There is a myth that these are problems which only plague beginners. I wish! Sure, beginners make these errors more often, but I believe it is a life-long problem. Most of us donÔÇÖt repeat too many of our previous errors, but learning through print how to avoid any type of accident is definitely better than learning through experience.

Side Stands: While taking the MSF beginner course I once dismounted the bike without putting the side stand down at all. I thought I had put it down! Moral: always be sure the side stand is down and will take the weight of the bike before dismounting. On flat concrete you have no worries after you are sure the side stand is really fully extended. On every other surface, beware. Make sure the ground is not too high or too low or too soft before you commit yourself. Before you leave the bike, ask yourself if the side stand could sink into the asphalt - quite possible on a hot day - or if the weight of the bike could push the stand deeper into sand, gravel, or grass. Carry some sort of pad to place under the side stand whenever there is a question mark. Make it standard practice to always use the side stand before dismounting. When your right foot encounters that forgotten duffle bag as you dismount, you will be glad that the side stand is taking the weight of the bike.

I guess it is obvious that parking a bike with the front wheel pointing downhill is inviting disaster. Occasionally it is unavoidable. Shift to first gear, use the rear brake to hold the bike in place as you shut off the engine, let out the clutch and release the brake to engage the engine. Then put down the side stand and dismount.

Center Stands: There is a knack to putting a bike on a center stand, but it is easily acquired (with most bikes) if your bike doesnÔÇÖt have a lowered rear suspension and the ground is hard and flat. Remember those words, ÔÇ£hardÔÇØ and ÔÇ£flat.ÔÇØ If that bike tilts ever so slightly to the right because the ground under the two center stand contact points really wasnÔÇÖt flat or the right leg contacted softer ground, gravity will yank that bike out of your hands. I think it was Voni Glaves who labelled the center stand as ÔÇ£the mechanicÔÇÖs stand.ÔÇØ Great for checking oil level, removing the rear tire, etc. Not so great for most parking situations.

Front Brake Mistakes: I guess almost everyone realizes by now that it is the front brake that provides most of the stopping power in most situations. The old fear of flipping the bike is almost groundless. The fear of locking the front wheel and falling down is not groundless! One problem with the front brake occurs on sand or gravel roads, or worse still, sand or gravel on hardtop. The instant that front wheel locks you will suddenly find your bike horizontal. IÔÇÖve twice dropped a bike making a very low speed turn when there was gravel on pavement. Both times I saw the gravel, did my serious slowing before reaching it, but I think failed to get completely off the front brake before the wheel touched the gravel. Riding on sand or gravel roads, favor the rear brake and use the front brake very judiciously if at all. On wet pavement (maybe all pavements) ease off the front brake lever when you are almost stopped and use the back brake for the final stop. Yes, IÔÇÖm afraid this is the voice of experience. The road was wet, my wife was the passenger, and all of a sudden there were two very unhappy (but unhurt) people and another scratch or two on the bike. And this was just a simple stop sign, not a panic situation at all.

David Hough preaches that in an emergency your reaction will be your usual riding practice. I think this idea can be extended: in an unusual situation (for many of us, riding in the rain qualifies) you will probably apply your dry road habits, though you certainly wonÔÇÖt brake as hard unless you have and trust anti-lock brakes. If using only the back brake for the last bit of a stop in the wet is a good idea, I think doing the same thing on dry roads is also a good idea, even though easing up on the front brake certainly works just fine on dry roads. Build good all-weather habits

Yet another front brake error that often ends badly is a low speed application with the bars turned. While this can occur at a stop in a turn, more frequently it happens at a stop sign or light. You make that full legal stop, turn the bars, start moving, and see a vehicle on a collision course. A light touch on the front brake and you are down. I believe the better idea is to get moving with the bars straight, just a few feet, and then make the turn. If a second straight ahead stop is required, there shouldnÔÇÖt be a problem with either brake.

Modifications: I had just installed a new windscreen and took the bike for a short test ride. When I pulled into a gravelled church parking lot and made a slow left hand turn, the bike again was suddenly on its side. The proximity of the church did nothing to improve my language. It took me awhile to figure out the cause of that accident. With the bar turned fully to the left, the windscreen touched the front brake lever. Rotating the clutch and brake levers a bit provided the necessary clearance. This is definitely something to check before you ride off with your new screen.

Flat feet: I think it is a very good idea to be able to put both feet flat on the ground while sitting on your bike. It can be tough for people with shorter legs on some bikes. Tippy toes are ok on flat concrete. Every other stopping situation puts you at much greater risk of dropping the bike. There are some very experienced and very skilled riders with shorter inseams who disagree. This advice is for us lesser mortals. I recently spent three weeks riding a rented KTM 990 Adventure in New Zealand. That bike is just slightly taller than my K100RS and on a perfectly level road I could flatfoot it. Twice, I nearly dropped it backing into a parking space on sloping pavement. Twice, I mounted the bike and couldnÔÇÖt right it from the side stand because the pavement sloped just a little to the left. Leg leverage, not bike weight, was the deciding difference between the two bikes. If you ever come to a stop and put your left foot down on something slippery, or have something slippery on that boot, a small difference in lean angle could well be the deciding factor in whether or not you go down.

Check it out: A few years ago I was examining a friendÔÇÖs quite new F650. Though this man has ridden many more years and miles than I, his right saddlebag bore lasting testimony to a drop. ÔÇ£We pulled into this gravel parking lot. I put my right foot down and it just kept sinking. CouldnÔÇÖt hold the damn bike up.ÔÇØ I had a similar experience. After a weeklong trip with not a single scary experience, I confronted my formerly paved road just two miles from home. The road was now rolled gravel. I could have made a left turn, stayed on pavement, and added maybe 15 minutes to my journey. But, hey, the bike is already dirty, so whatÔÇÖs a little more dirt. Before I had gone ten feet I knew I had made a serious error. As the tires sunk into this wet gravel, I knew my only hope was to stay on the throttle. Somehow I made it through to pavement with a totally sweat fogged face shield.

Maybe you should park the bike and check out suspect parking lots (or roads) on foot before committing yourself. That, of course, is for wimps. But being a wimp can save you both money and pain. IÔÇÖm now old enough to take the kidding.

Ramps: If parking your bike involves riding up a ramp, make it a very wide ramp. Yet another time I dropped the bike, the ramp was pretty narrow because the rise into the open shed was only a couple inches. I managed to kill the engine and that extra two inches before my foot touched ground was more than enough to put the bike on its side. And also into my wifeÔÇÖs scooter. Our bikes are now housed in another building that requires a ramp. That ramp is 4.5 feet wide.

I have transported motorcycles a few times in the back of my pick-up and remember getting the bikes in a rather scary experience with narrow plank ramps. The better ideas deserve another article.

Pushing and pulling: A lot of bikes topple while being pushed or pulled. HasnÔÇÖt happened to me yet, but boy am I ever careful. These accidents frequently involve less than ideal footing such as gravel or wet grass, a slight grade (slight, because nobody expects to push or pull a road bike up anything greater) or else you bump into something. At home, figure out a safe routine for moving your bike in and out of where you store it. At a campsite you might want to park the bike and then figure out how you can park it under power so you can also ride out under power with no manhandling. Brainpower beats muscles in this department. If you err and there are people around, ask for help. I assure you they would rather help push and pull while you steer than help you pick up the machine. These efforts always involve both hands on the grips with a couple fingers over the front brake lever. IÔÇÖve heard that some more modern BMWÔÇÖs have almost no front braking with the engine off. If that is the case on your bike, be sure to find it out before you have it pointed downhill with the engine off.

Snags: I heard about a low speed catastrophe in Spokane at the 2004 rally. The guyÔÇÖs pant cuff caught on the footpeg as he tried to plant his left foot. The foot peg severely injured his leg as the bike toppled over. Could this happen to you? Do you ever ride with loose cuffs? Lately IÔÇÖve started riding with my pants over my boots. Must make sure that the velcroed pants donÔÇÖt present this very problem as they deflect the rain outside my boots. Before I bought my first BMW, a friend let me ride his K75RT. A fine bike and I almost dropped it, because there was fairing exactly where I was used to putting down my foot on my 1980 Honda CB750. Before you ride a different bike, be sure you can get your feet down.

ItÔÇÖs going over! The advice of many was ÔÇ£get out of the wayÔÇØ when you realize the bike has passed the point where you can save it. Yes, you screwed up, and there is going to be cosmetic damage (maybe expensive) to your bike. Minimising that damage at the possible cost of a broken leg or wrenched back probably isnÔÇÖt worth it. A tough, split-second decision which I hope you can avoid by not encountering the problem because you anticipated it.

Getting it back up. First, turn off the kill switch and then the key. If fuel is spilling out, do something about that if you can. Then step back and take several deep breaths. If your dropped bike poses a hazard to other vehicles, your first priority is to warn them. Soon you will have help (I hope) with traffic control and help to raise your bike. When your bike is upright and safe from other vehicles, take some time to examine it. Scratched Tupperware is one thing: a missing shift lever, brake pedal, etc. something else. DonÔÇÖt ride off until you are satisfied that both the bike and you are fully operational.

If the drop occurs in a much more private setting, donÔÇÖt rush to get the bike upright. Swallow your pride and get help if at all possible. You really NEED to look at pinkribbonrides.com/dropped.html. Carol Youorski, AKA ÔÇ£SkertÔÇØ site if you need to ever raise a heavy bike yourself. The only criticism IÔÇÖve read of the technique is that it is much more difficult if you donÔÇÖt have cylinder heads (R-bikes) and hard luggage keeping the bike from lying really flat. Even fairly strong men may then have a problem.

Summing up: It seems that having a serious accident has a certain cachet. Dropping your bike because you backed it into your car, etc. just seems (and is) stupid. But most of us have done a few of these really dumb things and only realized after the fact that the accident could have been avoided with a little thought. One of my thoughtful forum respondents summarized it all: ÔÇ£the common denominator in all these drops is a momentary lapse in attention.ÔÇØ I agree; you do have to pay attention. Always. The whole point of this article is things you may not have realized required your attention.

Anyway, I hope this article saves some scratches on both you and your pride and joy. If you would like to add your experiences, or criticisms of this article, please do so on the MOA website in the Just RidinÔÇÖ forum. I have no illusions that this is the last word on the topic.

Doug Sonju
#95998
 
Nice article. You covered the topic well and made it personal and interesting. It is both interesting and entertaining. :thumb

My only suggestion is that you email it to Roger Wiles instead of Roger Miles. :)
 
Lots of thought-provoking information we all can use.

Looking forward to seeing it in print in an ON issue! :thumb
 
Professor - thank you for your kind remarks and also correcting my "brain dead" thought on who to send it to. (Actually, I sent it to editor@bmwmoa.org as requested in the ON note on submissions. Not sure who reads those emails but expect it will be forwarded to the right person.)

Again, thanks to all who revealed their embarrassing goofs in the interest of helping other riders avoid the same errors. Only quality people would do that.

And thanks to all of you who offered encouraging words about submitting this article. Without them, I doubt that I would have done the re-write.

We'll see what happens.
 
Unlock the handlebars before you get going!

I call slow speed dropping of the motorcycle a "clown fall." I was very distracted (another way to have accidents) one day. Forgot to unlock the bars. The moment I accelerated and leaned right I had a spectacular slow speed fall. Now I never get moving until I have "wiggled" my handlebars first.
Thanks for an excellent article!
 
+1 to Clown Falls

Two weeks ago Sunday, leaving the Mt. Olympus apartments at Bloomsburg U. Slowly riding down the road b/w the apts to the "T", and making the right-hand turn. Two buddies were parked on the right, just after the "T". Wanted to talk to them before we took off.

Grabbed too much FRONT brake while the handlebar was still cocked right. "Laugh In" splat!


Fortunately, got off easy and only broke a turn-signal lens on my R1200R. Bag scuffed too. Bruised ego the worst effect.

Just forgot that there is a time & place to use the front (linked) brakes. That scenario was not the time.

Before we righted the wallowing R1200R, I should have taken a pic, just to remind me what inattention can do.
 
Low speed low sides...

Have had LOTS of these over the years, most of which have been described here. Sand/Gravel, new mods (new case guards on my Yamaha Turbo took me to the ground in front of close to a hundred of my peers in Mobile, AL once...). In the early '80s, I was leaving an establishment south of Houston. It was about 5 in the evening, and there were lots of attractive young ladies watching as I saddled up (on the same Yamaha Turbo). Did I mention that this was shortly after I bought my first Kryptonite lock, and it was neatly positioned around the front forks and through the front cast spokes? Hm. Started it up, and rocked it off the center stand with my feet on the pegs and gunned it. Oops.
The only GOOD thing was one of the girls was very sympathetic (and had wider shoulders than me..). Lifted it up enough for me to get my leg out. Stood the bike up, got the lock off, and tried to leave. In a hurry. On failed attempt #2, I still had the kick stand down. Interlock switch killed the motor the instant I let the clutch out. Put my foot down, slipped in the gravel, and there I was again. Even Miss Sympathy 1983 was laughing too hard to help that time. There are two kinds of riders. Those who have done something dumb and fallen over, and those who someday will.
:doh
 
Just finished the article in ON. Great one!

One item I did not see mentioned, but almost experienced myself & watched another guy do is the "engine killer" drop. This is where you go to start out & let the clutch out too fast, killing the engine, dropping the bike. I am pretty sure this is always caused by initiating a turn at the same time as starting, as I had my bike leaned a small amount when I did mine. I hurt my ankle doing this & saw a guy drop a new Kawi Connie 14 when he killed his bike starting out on an uphill, leaving a stopsign.

John.
 
Why you should be ready fir the road when you mount the bike

Doug,

In response to your article in the ON, I thought I would share an incident which convinced me that you should ALWAYS be COMPLETELY ready for the road when you throw your leg over the bike.

I spent a night at a motel on the way to the Land of Enchantment rally at Sipapu, NM around 2003. When I got ready to leave that morning, I happened to have all my riding gear on, ready to ride. (I point this out, because before this I might not have had my gloves on, or even my helmet!)

As I pulled the bike off the centerstand, the side stand -- which must not have been fully extended -- folded up. The bike proceeded to fall towards me. As it did, the centerstand trapped the toe of my right boot, and then the bike slammed me to the asphalt.

My helmet hit hard on the asphalt, enough so there was a complete ring at the impact site, which required me to replace the helmet as soon as I could. Also, the center stand tang left a deep dent in the toe of my right boot, which persisted for several years.

I am convinced that if I had not had full riding gear on, ready to ride, my ride would have ended right there, with a trip to an emergency room! Instead, I got to do the embarrassing hunt for someone to help me right the bike.

My pre-ride checklist now includes having ALL my gear on (ATGATT!), and checking that the side stand is fully deployed before bringing the machine down off the center stand -- every time!

Food for thought...

David Peterson
BMWMOA # 35271
BMWRA # 12729
'79 R65 'Grey Ghost'
'86 K75T 'Black Beauty' (Gone, but not forgotten)
'99 R1100RT 'Greenbike' (RIP)
'99 R1100RT 'Greenbike II' (the sequel)
 
A different moral about the last post

Most of us pull our bikes off the center stand from the left side of the bike. Our left hand is on the left grip, the right hand on on the lifting lever or some other part of the bike. We can't cover either brake. Unless the ground is slightly uphill or truly flat, there is a good chance it will keep rolling. A fully extended side stand will very likely retract when it touches the ground.

Solution: (This assumes that the rear tire is off the ground when the bike is on the center stand:) Put the bike in first gear before you leave it. When you pull the bike off the center stand, it will come to an abrupt halt, even if it is pointing down hill. That is the time to deploy the side stand. Then you can mount the bike, start the engine, and are good to go, after remembering to snick up the side stand.

I'm very grateful for the previous post. I just had not thought of that. I usually back my bike out of the shed in street clothes, park it in the level drive (sometimes on the center stand for cleaning or packing) but usually leave the bike in neutral. While that has always worked at my home, there are clearly scenes where it would not work. I think leaving the bike in gear when you use the center stand would be sound advice and good general practice.

I'm sure we would all agree that avoiding accidents beats surviving them with damaged gear. That's the reason for this response. We all have more that we can learn from each other.
 
Securing on Ferries

I have had a couple of experiences riding on ferries with my R200RT...and they pertain to this thread on not dropping a bike. I have found that most of the time, metal parking decks on ferries are wet. As a result any movement is a little perilous.

One ferry (Lewes, DE to Cape May, NJ) had a crewman who gave me precise instructions in parking the bike...90-dgrees to the rail, on the side-stand, in first gear, bars canted to the left. He chocked in the front wheel, and on a pretty rough passage, the bike didn't quiver. I wanted to tie it down, but he would not let me. Here's how it looked:

DSC_6956.jpg


On another ferry (Orient Point, NY to New London, CT), I and a bunch of Harley riders were left to our own devices. I ended up about 45-dergrees to the rail, on the side-stand, in first gear but with a ratcheting strap securing the bike to the side of the boat. Again, an OK passage. The Harley riders either sat on their bikes, or borrowed rope from the ferry. Here's how that ride looked and note the wet, slippery deck:

IMG_0462.jpg


Finally, on a very rough passage from Martha's Vineyard to Woods Hole, MA, a group of about 20 bikes was parked on the back end of the deck. When it became apparent how rough the ocean was, all riders were instructed to sit on their bikes. Most did so with the side-stand down.
 
Solution: (This assumes that the rear tire is off the ground when the bike is on the center stand:) Put the bike in first gear before you leave it. When you pull the bike off the center stand, it will come to an abrupt halt, even if it is pointing down hill. That is the time to deploy the side stand. Then you can mount the bike, start the engine, and are good to go, after remembering to snick up the side stand.

that is a really good tip!

a corollary... hopefully it hasn't been mentioned above, put the bike in first gear when backing it off a trailer. yes, you can trailer your beemer from time to time, we won't laugh.

the front brake is very ineffective when backing down a slope.

But with the bike in gear, you get much better control using the clutch, letting it out slightly when needed to allow the engine's compression to act as a brake.

ian
 
In my experience, the absolutely fool proof method of not dropping a bike is to only ride where there are no other BMW riders.

It's kind of like the airhead gearbox crunch, you can ride 30,000Km without a single crunch, however the first time you pull up to a rally with a bunch of riders standing around you'll make the world's loudest shift.

In support of this theory I offer the time my airhead was over on it's right side on the grass at Finger Lakes and there I was standing upright with the left handlebar grip in my hand........Obviously needed a better glue.......Of course there were also a bunch of BMW riders to witness the event.....Regards, Rod.
 
Just embarrasing

I've told numerous people that since I wrote the original draft of "Don't Drop the Bike" it was great advice for at least one person. Me. Not a single drop since I wrote the first draft a few years ago. That record ended yesterday.

What I SHOULD have added to the article is "don't ride the bike when you have been drinking." Well, you know that. I know that. But how hard can it be to ride 20 feet from where you have just washed the bike in your driveway to the shed it lives in? Answer: too hard.

I'm not exactly sure how the bike ended up on its left side at a weird angle to the ramp (which possibly tells you something about the ratio of wine to wash water.) Then, contrary to my own advice, I did try to lift it. No go, though my back today attests to the effort. Then I did the smart thing and called my neighbour.

We got it upright, got the mirror back in it's holders (K RS mirrors always fall off in a tipover) and I then did get the bike in the shed under power. Don't think there is even a scratch on the bike. Just another lesson learned at no cost except to my pride.

Today, I thought very seriously about keeping this dumb little event to myself. Then I thought about all of you who contributed your own dumb little events to this thread, both before and after the published article, in hopes of helping someone avoid your mistakes. I decided I would feel more ashamed by NOT revealing my idiocy than by sharing it.
 
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