Goofy Drop overs

So, what are the dumb things we have done on our fine machines?

My best is the time I was all set for an afternoon ride, and as I flipped up my sidestand, it hooked my bootlace and before I could get loose, over I went. As the bike sat there on its left jug (was not running, thankfully), my foot was totally pinned by the bike...not hurt at all, but 20 minutes of digging and pushing finally got me free....

Or my friend Jeff, who after riding all day to a big rally pulled up on his pristeen 81 RT, as, in front of dozens of Beemerphiles sitting on lawn chairs he went to put his left foot down, but of course, that was the one place where the ground dropped off, and over she goes...to the applause of the multitude....

Pulled up to a stop in a DQ parking lot with some riding buddies (having passed the convoy of Goldwings up the road) and stepped off my Shadow. Forgot to put the kicktand down ...

32 looks and no stories
Wasn't on a BMW...but had forgot to remove the big ass padlock on a new '77 Superglide's front fork lock one fine evening after leaving a local hangout. Girlfriend was griping about something and I just got on and took off...to the amusement of everyone in the area( never happens when no one is around)...a big wide left turn and over we went to the right...Ahhhh...good times!

Lucky for me, no drop overs in public. But, twice in the garage. The first time, the bike (88 R100 RT) fell over on to the garbage and recycling cans. The side mirror broke, but that was all. I felt luck. The second time I was moving it to do some work and it started falling away from me, and I just couldn't hold on to it. It just marred the valve cover, which is par for the course with these bikes. But, I had just repainted them a few months earlier.

If I tell them all we'll leap right to page 2 or 3.

My favorite (but not at the time) happened in a National Forest campground up northwest a bit from Yellowstone National Park. We had spent the night and I was packing my F650. The bike was not well parked, the sidestand being slightly up hill from the tires, so it was a bit upright. With it almost packed, the last item was my Thermos brand vacuum bottle full of coffee. I walked over to the bike and placed the Thermos on top of the right Jesse bag.

I turned and walked away, only to hear a thud as the weight of the Thermos bottle was the final straw causing the upright motorcycle to fall over to the right, away from the sidestand.

I practiced my vocabulary lessons for a while and then with Voni's help picked up the overburdened beast to an upright position, after kicking a shallow hole in the gravel for the sidestand.

In the garage while manuevering to get the R90 out, my foot slipped on some loose gravel and down we went. My husband heard me yell, since my foot was trapped. He came lifted the bike up off me and it fell over the other way into my new car! Dings are still there! Terry

2 of note so far:

The first was on my old Kawasaki. Long after the bike had become unreliable, my car was in the shop and I was forced to ride it to work. At the end of the day, when I left to go home again, it took the usual 20 minutes to kickstart it. By the time I got it going, I was in no mood for nonsense. Five minutes later, I stalled it on an on-ramp, about 50 feet away from where a policeman was sitting with a radar detector. Not wanting to draw any attention to myself, I quickly put the side stand down and flipped the kickstarter out. My foot was about three quarters of the way into the first kick when I realized the bike was still in gear as it rolled off the side stand and down onto my left leg. Adrenalin being the wonderful thing that it is, I had the bike up and in neutral in about two seconds, and it started on the second kick. The poor thing died for good about a mile from my house, and, after another half hour of fruitless kicking I pushed it the rest of the way home. Three days later, my neighbor backed over it in his truck.

The second time was about six months after I got my K75. I had developed what I believed was a pretty slick method of dismounting: I'd come to a stop, put my left foot down, and swing my right foot over the bike and onto the center stand and then pull the bike up on the stand in one fluid motion. It worked wonderfully until the time, in the supermarket parking lot, when my right heel caught itself on the 12-pack of empty beer bottles I'd bungied to the passenger seat. Over I went, with the bike on top of me, in front of dozens of witnesses. Again, adrenalin being what it is, I was out from under the bike and had it up and on the center stand before anyone could even ask if I was alright. It was only ten minutes later, in the produce aisle, that I realized how badly I'd wrenched my shoulder.

I can't wait to find out how it will happen next time.

pglaves said:

i practiced my vocabulary lessons for a while...

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+1

rtdirks said:

In the garage while manuevering to get the R90 out, my foot slipped on some loose gravel and down we went. My husband heard me yell, since my foot was trapped. He came lifted the bike up off me and it fell over the other way into my new car! Dings are still there! Terry

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Ouch!!! Both sides of the bike AND the car.

I used to joke that at the start of every endurance rally I should just kick my bike over and get it out of the way.

In the 05 IBR I managed to drop my fully loaded GS in a state highway maintenance facility in Idaho after taking a short nap. It was pea gravel and the seat was just lower than the tires. This and the bad traction meant that the skirt method wouldn't work unless I unloaded the bike. This was just after sunrise.

Rather than burn up a ton of time and energy I walked out into the interstate, flagged down the first car and got him to give me a quick hand.

power nap in the saddle at a PA reststop. woke up to the sensation of gravity.

About 35 years ago I was on a tour on a Honda XL350. I had slept in a rest area north of Sacramento on I-5 and awoke around 2:30 AM to continue my trip south with less traffic. When I got to LA and Palos Verdes in the late afternoon I came to a stop sign, stopped and forgot to put my feet down. I fell over. That was pretty goofy.

rtdirks said:

In the garage while manuevering to get the R90 out, my foot slipped on some loose gravel and down we went. My husband heard me yell, since my foot was trapped. He came lifted the bike up off me and it fell over the other way into my new car! Dings are still there! Terry

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Now thats having a bad day.

I was putting my '97 F650 with full tank of gasoline (putting away for the winter) up on the centerstand, and my foot slipped. I lurched, and so did the bike - leaned up against my car. I tried to use Skert's method to pick up the bike, but my knees hit the car - and the bike slid down my car some as there was no traction on the concrete floor. I turned around to lift the wrong way, and my butt hit the car. Gasoline was leaking onto the floor. I found a cup to put under the leak, tried again - no luck. I looked up and down the street - all my neighbors are old (even older than I - and in a lot worse shape)! I remembered a fellow BMW MOV member who lived not far away. He had just come home from across the state and was there in 5 minutes. Even with his help, it was a struggle.

Muriel

Jim Shaw to the white courtesy phone.

Pulled into a scenic overlook in Yosemite. Braked on some sand and the front tire washed out. Down goes my well laden K75S. 2 Germans, touring the US on Harleys, come over to help. When we get the bike righted, one of them remarks what a nice bike I have. The other one doesn't say anything but is probably thinking "yeah, but stupid American rider"

As if

35634 said:

The other one doesn't say anything but is probably thinking "yeah, I'm glad no one saw when I dropped my bike in Bavaria"

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There fixed

Pulled into a gas station about 20 miles from home before the completion of a 5,500 ride to the Pac N/W. Turned off the bike, got off to fill up and realized the sidestand was still in the "up" position. I was wedged between the bike and the pump. Had to ask a young kid to come over and help me lift. I was too tired to be embarrased.

Telling on a fellow local clubmember, not a member here..I think

First group trip to the Sipapu Rally in NM for us and first meeting with seven guys from the club for me. I had been riding another brand prior to this. We met up in a local town and had backed in to parking spaces with rear wheels to curb. I was third to end next to "rider X". As we were preparing to roll out, rider X stood his bike up from sidestand, looked over at me in a panic and fell my way. I somehow stayed upright on my RT with him and his new ST laying against me. I looked over at the other 5 guys to my left who just smiled at me with a "meet rider X" look. I was actually able to push him up enough to let him regain his footing...thanks Gold's Gym! I asked why they didn't help later...they still were smiling!

Same fellow was changing tires on his R1200R last year in his cramped garage and had both wheels off. Came out the next morning to find his floorjack had leaked down and his bike was up against his pristine German Roadster Sport car door and a nice crease in it and the floorjack had punctured his oil filter of his R...not a pretty site as he later told a few of us.

Sorry "rider X"...lifes lessons!