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Don't Drop the Bike

My thanks to Tom, Merlin III and Terry Karney. It takes real courage to post these kind of details - and they were exactly what I was asking for. If the revised article is ever published in the ON, many of your insights will be included - without attribution. I'd also like to extend a warm welcome to the last two posters; relative newcomers to the forum.

It seems none of the better known posters on this topic have volunteered to receive and forward PM's, so if any of you wish to contribute information on this topic for a future ON article without "going public," you can send me a PM with my assurance of annonimity.

The more I think about my own mistakes and those I've heard about or read about in this thread, the more I think most (but not all) "drops" are preventable. Absorbing and applying information may be the greatest safety "secret" of all. And we all have more to learn.

Please do add to this pool of knowledge - either in a reply or a PM - with the sure knowledge that you will save some riders some grief.

An excellent idea for a future ON article! I've already sent my two (2) unfortunate (and preventable) moments of drama off to the OP.

I hope many do likewise, so that he'll have lots of data to review before composing an article we'll all like to read.

Thanks, BCKRIDER :german
 
I dropped my R1100RT twice. Once, in the garage, after adjusting the shifter and checking the shifts with the dash indicator, I simply dismounted. Unfortunately I wasn't on my K and the R requires the side stand up for the gear indicator to operate. As I stepped off, the bike gently rested on its cylinder head. :doh

Last fall, I when in a parking lot, I did my usual practice after putting the side stand down; I pulled the bike back before dismounting. That has worked in the past, but this time I was parked on a decent downhill slope. As I got off, the bike slowly rolled forward, the side stand retracted, bike shifted left and parked on the left cylinder head. :eek

I know and can use the walk your butt backwards against the bike to upright it, but, in the one case, I walked across the street and got a neighbour to give me a hand and in the parking lot, I flagged down a pickup with a couple of guys in it. I may have hurt my dignity, but why chance hurting something else when there is help available? :laugh :dance
 
I've dropped every bike I've had since I started riding again a few years ago. Mostly they were manhandling the bike around the garage incidents. It took me a little practice to get used to rolling them around. No high speed getoffs, thank goodness.

I dropped the R90/6, or rather, it dropped itself, this past fall. I had rolled the bike out in the driveway and parked it "downhill" on the sidestand. My drive is very nearly flat, so much so I thought nothing of which way the bike was pointing. I started the engine and let it idle while I went back in the garage to don my gear. As I was starting to put on my helmet, I hear a crash, and turned to see the bike on its left side. The vibration of idling was enough to roll the bike "downhill" and off its side stand :doh

The engine cut off before I could get to it, probably due to the left carb flooding out. I got her back upright, checked her over, and hit the starter button. She fired right back up, with a little hiccuping, and soon was purring as usual. I parked her perpendicular to the slope and finished putting my gear on. Aside from a small scuff on the left valve cover, there was no damage.

Lesson learned. :thumb
 
Sending PM's (personal messages)

Could someone PLEASE tell us all EXACTLY how to send a PM to a poster perhaps several posts back? I suspect the reason I have received only Greenwald's PM has much more to do with this general lack of understanding of the process of sending PM's than lack of interest or unwillingnes to trust me not to reveal identities in any future ON article.

I am sure this information is available somewhere on the site. For many, finding it is just too much trouble, so they just don't do it.

Your help would be greatly appreciated I think by many of us.
 
Could someone PLEASE tell us all EXACTLY how to send a PM to a poster perhaps several posts back?

To send a PM to someone when you are reading one of their posts do this:
  • click on their user name; you'll get a pop up menu
  • from that menu click on "send a private message to ...". Your window will be replaced with one that looks something like that when you reply to a message. The user name of the user you are sending the PM to will already be filled in.
  • click in the title field and fill in a title. This is the subject of your PM.
  • click in the message box and write your message exactly as if you're writing a new post to the forum.
  • optional: hit the preview button to see what your message will look like.
  • hit the submit button to send the message
Anything else?
 
Thank you, marchyman

I believe the ONLY THING you fellow computer semi-illiterates need to remember when you want to send a PM is to click on the "user name" - in my case, BCKRider.

Everthing after that is crystal clear to anyone who has posted on a forum. I printed off marchyman's post before realizing that I (and you) only needed that first advice - click on the "user name."

I am still solicitting information - either by posts to this forum or PM's - before I write a draft to the ON. Anything new is very valuable, even if was something you saw rather than did.
 
The only really unexpected drop i have had was like this.Riding an 83 suzuki gs750es into a closed gas station to take a break.Ran over one of the metal caps where the tanks are filled.It wasn't locked down and fipped up and jammed into my header pipe.I looked like the laugh-in guy for a moment.Luckily no injuries to me or the bike and a couple Harley guys that were there helped me pick it up.I haven't ran over a metal cover since. Ed
 
"4. ANDYVH, as a very experienced rider, I'm sure a tall saddle with your shorter legs is no problem at all. As an experienced rider coach, would you say the same about your students? It took me a few years before I could be sure the bike would tilt left, not right, when I came to a stop. So I think my comment about "flat feet" is appropriate, though "this does not neccessarily apply to experienced riders" perhaps should be added. Welcome your comments."

Very true. It takes new riders, and many riders of "experience" to adapt to the left foot down first method. One thing I coach is to "lead out" with the left leg a bit early which shifts body wieght to the left and then the rider can adjust before the stop is actually made. With the left-leg-lead, the bike will lean in that direction. BUT! The bigger part of it is scanning the stop area before you get there, and keeping your vision forward WHILE making the stop. As many riders have a tendency to look down while stopping it makes the bike unstable, which is countered by both feet popping out. By keeping the head and eyes up, the bike remains stable and its very easy to get one foot down. I have been doing this for so long, quite often I can come to a full stop, and then place my left foot down. The visual control has that much influence. Your peripheral vision handles picking up the actual point stop and foot down, while you keep your head/eyes up.
 
There is just one risk factor you missed in your article - ride an LT. :laugh

I haven't dropped mine yet in a couple of years of riding it, but I've sure come close. I love the way it handles once it gets rolling, but at very slow speeds, it can be tricky.

I agree - your article is excellent and should be published. Voni said she might be able to help with pictures. If ON doesn't want it, there are lots of other good magazines that might. Rider is one of my favorites, but try again with ON and send it directly to Roger Wiles.
 
I'm a huge believer in the Peltzman Effect, or the idea that when one safety feature is implimented, humans naturally accept more risk and therefore there is no increased level of safety. People drive faster and more recklessly when they have airbags and seatbelts. If you don't believe me, you probably will agree that you would be significantly less likely to tailgate if there was a spear jutting towards you from your steering wheel.

Point being, I dropped every bike I had, probably 8 drops in three years. All the bikes had crash bars or frame sliders. A year ago, I took the frame sliders and crash bars off, giving myself the full knowledge I'd do significant damage to my bikes from a careless drop. No drops since.

I can't prove that the absence of crash bars caused this, as I'm a young rider so increased skill may have something to do with it. I will say that the care I use now is much greater than the care I used when a dropped bike didn't have consequences.
 
Oh come on! Now I gotta hear the story!
:lurk

Don't know his story, but you always read about this one on advrider. That's what I call planning ahead! :bow

857959986_vbTaE-L.jpg
 
At one time or another I have dropped every bike that I've owned. In the dirt, on the road, practicing tight turns, on purpose, etc. Now that I have purchased a sidecar rig dropping the bike should become a memory of times past.
Ride Safe :usa :usa

PS: I have never dropped a borrowed bike (Thank God).
 
If it's not too late, here are couple thoughts related to front brake mistakes:

Rolling stops with right turn: I used to really hate putting feet down, and would creep toward the stop sign, looking for traffic. More than once I was surprised after starting to initiate a right turn and grabbed too much front brake. Now, if I'm not absolutely certain about visibility before I downshift to 1st, I keep my eyes forward and stop completely before looking for traffic--besides, that's the legal way turn at a stop sign.

In gravel or very tense slow maneuvering situations, I use two fingers on top of the brake lever. Between lack of leverage and lack of friction, it's harder to "grab too much" brake.

Rotating the hips and shoulders, along with head and eyes, in tight U-turns helps turn head and eyes farther and hold them there longer.

Dropping the elbows creates a more relaxed upper body and helps prevent the arms from fighting each other's inputs. Joe Morgan, Cincinnati Reds second basemen (back in the day) was famous for flapping his inside elbow when at bat. The reason was it reminded him to get it into the ideal position before the pitch. I check my inside elbow, then relax and drop it before pushing on the opposite bar at low speeds.
 
Excellent hints!! I had to laugh because I did the exact thing on my RS, where I modified the handlebar position and the the brake lever hit the fairing as I pulled out of a parking spot....

With no warning what so ever, I found myself laying on the pavement with the Boxer propped up on its' left jug...I didn't even have time to brace myself.

I know the tourists walking by probably thought I had a few pints in me, to fall over at one MPH!:blush
 
I've dropped my RT twice

I blame the first time I dropped my RT on lack of coffee, but it was really due to lack of attention and too much front brake with (I surmise) the wheel slightly turned when I tried to follow my husband, who suddenly pulled into a parking space along the road. My bike fell over so quick I was left standing over it swearing like a sailor. It took me a really long time before I would ride before coffee again. :coffee

The second time I dropped my RT was in a parking lot. I thought I had shifted down into first, but was actually in neutral. I gave the bike some throttle and it just fell over.:blush I landed about 6 feet away on my back. I had no idea what had occurred until we got the bike upright and I saw it was in neutral.

The most embarrassing drop occurred with my R26, a much lighter bike. I was 15 years old and just got my license. I went to a local motorcycle shop and purchased a new pair of riding gloves. There were 4 or 5 guys in the store watching me go back out to my bike. When I took my first kick on the starter ( which involved putting all my weight on the kick starter while facing the bike from the side) it didn't start and I dropped the bike and cracked my mirror. I was mortified. The guys all came running out of the shop and picked up my bike for me. Did I mention how much I like electric starters?
 
I admit it. I'm an old guy, newbie biker. I got my ticket and rode a Suzuki Burgman 650 for a year and then got a R12GSA. Stupidly, I have dropped the GSA a couple of times. The first, I won't even count, as it left not even the slightest mark on the bike at all. Rode it home from the dealership. Pulled into my parking lot at work, where I've parked the Burgman about a million times on the upsloping motorcycle area. Stood there for a minute, trying to figure out how to turn off the engine the dealer-recommended method of using the key instead of the kill switch, without the benefit of either a rear brake on the left hand, or a parking brake as the Burgman had and dealing with the clutch as the Burgman did not have. I puzzled with this momentarily, lifted my right foot back to apply rear brake, turned it off at the key. Got started to get off the bike, not having put the kickstand down. Duhh. I set her down as gentle as a lamb on the smooth asphalt. Didn't leave a mark at all. Not even a little one. Decided from then on, the kill switch would be just fine for shutdowns on any kind of slope.

Then there was the very close call, that I don't feel too bad about. Came up to the top of a steep hill, to make a left turn, had the green arrow. Rolled into the turn and spotted a pickup truck cresting the hill at a rate that immediately in my mind said, "he ain't gonna stop". I was right, grabbed the front brake while trying to straighten out. Got quickly down to 0mph and my pant cuff cut the toothy metal footpeg of the Adventure. I went down on the left side. Left a few marks on the adventure case and crash bar. I was fully geared, so not even a scratch on me. Righted the bike with a little help and rode on. The pickup driver probably never even saw the red light, much less saw me go down. Had I not stopped quickly, I would have been hit. Decided I needed to deal with my gear a bit and to install rubber footpads on the adventure's pegs. (the ones from the 650-Xcountry fit it perfectly).

The last one, entirely my stupid fault. Intersection at the bottom of a steep hill. Following a buddy in traffic. Light changes, I stopped too quick and toppled over at 0mph. Sigh. Another little scratch in the crash bar, no harm done.

Things I've learned: It takes time to get used to a new, big motorcycle. There were parts of my riding experience from a year on the Burgman that were undeveloped, such as dealing with the clutch, parking in slopes (a breeze on the burgie) and that even though the Burgman 650 features powerful ABS triple disc brakes, the powerful ABS triple disc brakes on the R12GSA are way more powerful and completely unforgiving of technique. The Burgman for whatever reason, despite being heavier, is a lot more forgiving of braking technique. You can squeeze it hard for dear life and it just won't dump you. The GSA, well, it will happily dump you on your butt for being a little sloppy.

The Burgie is also easier to pick up, even though it is heavier. The GSA, that thing is hard to lift, even though it is 60 lbs lighter.

Confessions of a real life semi-newbie.
 
The first time I dropped my bike was coming up to a stop where the ground was uneven and when I put my right foot down, nothing but air....

The next time was a double drop... I broke my own rule after riding several miles to pull into a nice flat spot to park and easily get off. Instead I spotted a nice restaurant with a parking spot in front which sloped down toward the curb. I was fully loaded down. As I was backing down into the slot down went the bike on its right side... I was so pissed I picked it back up without the kick stand out and down she went onto the other side... This time a couple guys came to my rescue and helped me right it...

At this point I had to decide if I wanted to go into the coffee shop after such an embarrassing display or just ride on off... I was hungry so in I went.. A lady sitting at the counter who watched this whole episode unfold said to me, don't you hate it when that happens...:sick

Living here in the Northwest a lot of us commute by ferries. I like to mention something here about putting the bike on the center stands.. If the boat encounters any heavy wave action there is the possibility the bike will get pitched forward off of the stand.. It's a good ideal to put it on the side stand and in gear.. and if you are crossing the straights and it's really nasty out just hang with your bike and go rinse the salt water off after getting off the boat...
 
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