Feel like I don't fit in.......

I was checking out "another" BMW forum and was reading a thread about riders dropping their bikes. Things like turning in too sharply, simply losing their balance during low-speed maneuvers, etc., and of course.....the ole "I forgot to put my side-stand down" excuse.

Seemed like there was a lot of "dropping" going on. Brand new RT12's hitting the deck and such. I don't know about the rest of you, but if I dropped a brand-new bike, due to carelessness or lack of rider skill, I'd be devastated.

Might be a bunch of folks riding cycles that maybe shouldn't be after all? The last and only time I "dropped a bike", was back in 1977, and I actually didn't drop it, but rather, I was knocked off of it by a 16 yr. old gal that had been recently licensed for about a month or so, and pulled out in front of me from a side street.

I know some riders that routinely "go down" 2 or 3 times a year, both during low-speed maneuvers and while "at speed". For them, they just write it off as part and parcel of the sport. I don't buy that!!

Because of their beliefs and riding skills / abilities, I rarely ride with them, and if I do ride with them for some reason, I keep my distance whenever possible.

Maybe it's just me.....but I just don't get the whole logic that it's "okay" to drop a bike and become "one in the club". Some say that if you haven't dropped a bike.....it's just a matter of time. I've been riding on the street now for over 35 yrs. I'm trying my best to NOT become a member of "the club". Also been driving cages just as long, and I've never been in an accident or involved in a fender bender.

I crashed my K75 last Sunday. Was playing hard in the hills south of Milan, and encountered a car in my lane coming around a blind left-hander....I missed the car, but highsided during the ensuing attempt to complete the corner. I rode home over 100 miles afterward, so the bike isn't terribly damaged. But I still didn't feel good about it. I hadn't crashed for 14 years.

I would have been completely happy to have remained out of this club. The membership renewal process is just too darn demanding.

jdiaz said:

I crashed my K75 last Sunday. Was playing hard in the hills south of Milan, and encountered a car in my lane coming around a blind left-hander....I missed the car, but highsided during the ensuing attempt to complete the corner. I rode home over 100 miles afterward, so the bike isn't terribly damaged. But I still didn't feel good about it. I hadn't crashed for 14 years.

I would have been completely happy to have remained out of this club. The membership renewal process is just too darn demanding.

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We welcome you with open arms Brother Jon. He who is without sin cast the first sparkplug.

knary said:

We welcome you with open arms Brother Jon. He who is without sin cast the first sparkplug.

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Oh great.

Geez, sorry to hear about your crash, Jon! Hmm, maybe there is something to that thing about crazy Italian drivers after all!

I also agree that there's not really a lot to brag about in crashing. I've done it a few times in my 25 year riding career, and frankly, I'd rather avoid it if I can. There's little more depressing than riding home on a bike you know is going to need a lot of fixing.

Anyway, I hope you're feeling ok Jon, and that the K75 doesn't need too much work.

DarrylRi said:

Geez, sorry to hear about your crash, Jon! Hmm, maybe there is something to that thing about crazy Italian drivers after all!

Anyway, I hope you're feeling ok Jon, and that the K75 doesn't need too much work.

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Thanks Darryl. I think its only about $400. Mortons is sending the parts up to my wife today, so she can carry them back here. I should be riding by Tuesday.

I've done some stupid things as well...

...but I tend not to write about them on internet forums.

I'm not talking about crashing, crashes can happen to anyone. I was reading a 'cycle forum the other day where a fairly new rider was posting about his first real "get off". Turns out he dropped his bike in the garage.

I think some people that drop a new bike, whether it's due to forgetting a kickstand, or maybe losing it in a slow speed maneuver in a parking lot, are just looking for some validation so they don't feel quite so bad about the whole thing. They're looking for the "there, there, little bear, it happens to all of us. I drop my bike every night when I put it in the garage. Welcome to the club."

Knock on Wood

Well I must say that I've not experienced a bonified "get-off" in 20 years of riding, although I know several riders that have. Common themes are overcooked corners, not keeping speed within sight distance, (All the stuff David Hough talks about), Guiness, etc,.

What's more disturbing is that I know some guys with beautiful bikes (most of them sportbikes, some Ducs) that lay them down and don't seem to care. I had a '94 r1100rs (pearl) that fell over once (side stand debacle) and I had to take a day off for bereavement just to deal with it emotionally.

-JCD

What timing!!!!

I haven't dropped a bike in at least 20 years.. and just this week.. there I was.
making a u-turn in the grass at low speeds to get into a parking spot.. halfway through the turn the damn bike stalled. I had enough time to THINK.. "Friggin Bike STALLED" as it was hiting the grass.. not even enough time to TRY to put a foot down.

No dents, no dings, no scratches, just a little greenery on my Left Side motor guard..

Have to wonder if this is like the helo's in the Army.. if you don't come back with a LITTLE greenery in the skids, you weren't having any fun..

i've yet to really crash (quick find some wood!) but i've droped the bike(s) a couple times in they yr and a half or so i've been riding. as a new rider, i would always spin the airhead out in wet grass taking off after a night of camping, it would just go down, on its left side and do a neat 180 in the grass and i'd just straighten it up and keep on going, 2 hrs later, after the engine had dried the mud, i'd just flick it out with a stick. the oilhead has been dropped twice, once comming into a snowy driveway at about 2 mph, landed in soft snow, no biggie. the second was last week, comming home from Lima. i was walking the bike @ a gas station, turned it too tight while being too far away and couldn't maintain control, it went over, luckily i had the bags on, so they got a small scuff, minor ding on the bottom of the valve cover. i think our boxers take falls better than most bikes

It happens.

Most of the time it happens it will have to do with a loss of focus for one reason or another. Something frustrating happens and then wham....your down. I dropped my 03 CLC in my driveway. I am a daily driver for the most part, unless there is rain in the forecast...not afraid to ride in the rain...just afraid of all the cages in the rain...lots of tailgaters around here.

When I dropped it in the driveway, I was frustrated because my battery was dead. I was geared up and ready to roll. Going to the shop to get a new tire after another nail in less than 6 months. Pushed the starter switch only to hear that ugly clickity click that signals no battery. Just rode the day before. In my frustration, I just swung a leg over and got off. As soon as it started coming I realized what I had done....Pissed as hell that I was letting something so stupid put a scratch on my baby. Jumped it. CLC battery is well recessed under the gas tank....gotta take it off to access it. PIA. Got it to the shop and got a new tire and a new battery. Just not my week. Well things come in three's.

Nail, drop, what next....?

Took a loaner 650gs home for two days. Went back to the shop to pick up my ride....Such different bikes. Fun though.

Pick up my bike, hand over the green...head for home...Going through a traffic circle...cage in front of me stops short. Going slow. But even at slow speeds a sudden slow down can close distance fast. I got on the brakes....put both feet down and walk the bike around the cage, check for traffic and go...coming out of the curve rolling on the gas, two much lean angle on that new tire....gravity surge...and I am sliding at 40 mph down the highway. Just bumps and scrapes. Properly attired. First Gear Jacket doesn't even show the slide. Beautiful piece of eye candy stops to make sure I am ok. She was really pretty. All I can say is....I am fine but I just really $@#*!!! up my bike. She says as long as I am ok. Then stays with me for a little longer....Florence Nightengale syndrome....She was really great.

Called the shop....less than ten minutes away, can you come get me? Thank you very much to the guys at Cherry Hill BMW (Now DeSimone BMW). Came right out with the truck, we loaded the bike and road back to the shop. $4000 in cosmetic damage later, I am riding again.

Lesson learned...the initial danger isn't always the most dangerous.

People who haven't experienced gravity surges....great. Wish I was still in that group. Those who have, well life happens. Get up and get back on or go sit in the corner.

Keep it upright and between the ditches.

39 years.....

.......two drops and two crashes. That I can remember, that is.

One was four weeks ago. Dropped the R1150RS in the gas station. Stupid, short legged me! Bounced off the center stand onto a bad camber. Rib cage, bar end and cyl. head scratches and a destroyed set of earplugco. ear plugs.

Oh, yeah. There was that other time in the Shell Station in Fairfax, CA. Three drops of the new Triumph in four minutes. It was 1969. Ended up upside down in the rear seat of a friend's VW convertible that was gassing up as the chase-car. What was I thinking????? Guess the year says most of it.

haha, maybe i'm just accident prone. the first time i ever rode a motorcycle i dropped the clutch got up to about 20 mph and slammed into the back of my parents car (i'd only got my liscence 2 weeks prior) i haven't had so much as an accidental bump in the 9 yrs i've been driving cars though, go figure

Have K bike will drop

I personally don't know anyone with a K1100LT who has not dropped it. At any given gathering, look at the side mirrors...they are all scratched - first thing that hits. Center of gravity being where it is, one inch this side, one inch that side and down you go. Personally I like to drop mine at scenic vistas, bit of soft sand under the side stand and down she goes.

During my freshman riding year, I performed the obligatory, leave the clutch in, try to put the K75 on the side stand maneuver. Which will result in a big "dang my bike is on the ground".

I used to feel badly about these incidents, thinking I was not fit for such grand bikes...then I started exchanging stories, and learned that it wasn't a personal problem. Live and learn with the K.

SheRidesABeemer said:

I personally don't know anyone with a K1100LT who has not dropped it. At any given gathering, look at the side mirrors...they are all scratched - first thing that hits. Center of gravity being where it is, one inch this side, one inch that side and down you go. Personally I like to drop mine at scenic vistas, bit of soft sand under the side stand and down she goes.

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I like to drop mine by forgetting to put down the sidestand when I get off.

Two drops, one "crash".

First drop happened the very first day I had my very first bike - the F650. Had some trouble getting it around the corner, and stalled it out on the shoulder. Tried to get it going again, and couldn't hold it.

First crash also came on the F. Someone turned right in front of me. I couldn't stop quickly enough, hit and went down. No damage other than a broken turn signal and a bruise (it was very low speed).

Earier this summer, I dropped the R100. Went to turn around in a parking lot, put my foot down, and there was no pavement there. The ground was pitched at such an angle that I couldn't reach the ground with my foot. Before I could compensate, I was on the ground. No damage, other than a scratch or two on my crash bars and H&B bag.

I consider all three events to be the result of inexperience, and I learned something from all of them. None of them caused any serious damage to me or to the bikes. Yes, I am knocking wood as I write this.

Btdt

Now, let me see, where did I post that 'post'.

The For Sale add says "Never Been Dropped"?

Wait, I'm going fishing, this was too good to not post again.

Knary, where did I post that message?

Found it!!!

Starting a Fight GS v. R

Oh, wanted too add to and earlier statement (not by you), about having a GS: never been off road.

Ever see the sales add: "Never Been Dropped"?

Well, if you've never dropped your bike you are not spending enough time with it.

I've dropped every bike I've ever owned. Whether in the driveway, garage, avoiding some dumbas_ driver at an intersection or stopping on the wrong surface off the road and watching your foot go over your head as your trusty steed crashes to the gound.

I hate that sales approach: Never Been Dropped... Never been rode either... Who's going to tell you "I never slid my bike down the highway at 60 mph to avoid crashing into that deer that jump out in front of me". Cost $500 to fix the plastic and replaced my leathers at another $grand. But it's never been dropped!!!

I high-fived my riding partner that day I dropped my (NEW) GS in the snow. It was newly christened so I no longer had to wait to drop it again.

I always tell the people that ask me about riding. "Their are two kinds of riders, those who have crashed and those who will; again." It just a matter of getting back up and walking away.

Good luck out there, and remember "Keep the rubber-side down"


That's my opine. IÔÇÖve been riding motorcycles for 30(+) years, (27-street) and owned, I can't remember how many bikes (14-16?); street, dirt, trail. I've dropped them all at least once, laid two down hard (one totaled, the car also) and jumped off another at 60mph after it jumped the curb, ("damn them pretty girls in the lane next to you") (Turns out 'jumping off' saved my life). If you're not a member of the club then I'll say it again, "If you haven't dropped your bike, you're not spending enough time with it". That's NOT saying everyone should go out and drop or crash their bike.

Oh let's also make one thing clear: Dropping your bike only happens if you are not moving grater than say five-mph. Anything over that is a crash, 'cause metal and plastic gets scratched up and broken. Turn signals and mirrors don't count.

Any way, it adds character to you bike and a memory for your mind, and that is the best part of ÔÇ£DroppingÔÇØ your precious $20,000 on the ground. Forgot the ÔÇÿKick-StandÔÇÖ

I don't think dropping one's bike on occasion should be cause for alarm or shame. It may be embarrassing, but I'm aware of no evidence that it's always correlated with riding skills. For instance, I believe it's possible to be a very careful and skilled rider on the street, but perhaps to let one's guard down in the garage or in the driveway, or at an unfamiliar gas station, etc. Dropping the bike in such a situation is nothing to brag about, I agree, but it's no reason to go soak your head either. Seems to me the important thing is not to keep dropping the bike for the same reasons, in the same situations...we can learn from each experience so as to build continually on our competence....

two crashes and two drops in 30 years. First crash was drinking and riding, it taught me a valuable lesson. (dont drink and ride, especially when you are 19) 4 inches to the left and I would have been decoration on a huge sycamore tree and not here typing this.
Second crash, riding 9/10ths and caught a gravel washout from a driveway on one of the many blind decreasing radius turns in SW Ohio. Learned another valuable lesson there too. (the road aint the track)
Both drops have been due to gravel on the pavement when I put my foot down. Like SFDOC said it was like my foot was over my head in an instant.
Knock on wood, I havent crashed or dropped either bike I own now.