Have you ever dropped your bike?

[MichaelHoward]

Well,
Years ago while still living at home.I had my new to me 79 1000E model in the garage.It was pitiful, no headlight, turn signals from a go cart, and etc...

I had ordered a correct gas cap, and I was using a generic one from where I do not know.It leaked gas like a Siv(sp)?

Anyhoo,
I was backing it out of my Moms garage and I slipped, down went the bike on my right side, gas guzzling out all over my chest and face,(was smoking at the time also:shock: ). It took ten minutes for me to get out from under it. I finally got out from under it, took another 30 minutes to get it back up on the stand.Since I did not know how to properly lift it at the time, I threw out my back and missed 2 weeks of work,,, still have a bad back because of it.
Then, the gas had made it onto the newly sealed blacktop I had it tracked all over the garage floor and everywhere. Had to use gasoline to break down the sealer and get all the blacktop off the garage floor.

There I was, soaking wet in Gas, shaking from pain, bent over, wiping up blacktop sealer,and mad as hell!! I parked the bike and stayed out of the garage for atleast a month.

 

[Billy Ricks]

Welcome Darci, being from San Antonio I can say I've been out your way many times.

Back in about '69 or '70 when I was still in high school I was learning to ride what at the time was my brother's and eventually my T305. I got to my first stop sign and had a heck of a time getting going again. I think twice I picked my feet up before I got the bike rolling and dropped it.

 

[bonanzadave]

Nothing is as ugly as when I was up on the center stand with the swingarm off. While waiting for parts, I moved up front and took off the fork tube covers to service the fork oil. First one, then the other, and then wham bam the forks went down and the bike fell down off the centerstand and over on to a 5 gal bucket of really nasty drain oil. It was like the exon valdez was parked in my garage. 100 degrees with high humidity and boy was I pi$$ed off.

 

[Billy Ricks]

Nothing is as ugly as when I was up on the center stand with the swingarm off. While waiting for parts, I moved up front and took off the fork tube covers to service the fork oil. First one, then the other, and then wham bam the forks went down and the bike fell down off the centerstand and over on to a 5 gal bucket of really nasty drain oil. It was like the exon valdez was parked in my garage. 100 degrees with high humidity and boy was I pi$$ed off.

And the entire thing seems like it's in slow motion. BTDT

 

[Sandy]

Nothing is as ugly as when I was up on the center stand with the swingarm off. While waiting for parts, I moved up front and took off the fork tube covers to service the fork oil. First one, then the other, and then wham bam the forks went down and the bike fell down off the centerstand and over on to a 5 gal bucket of really nasty drain oil. It was like the exon valdez was parked in my garage. 100 degrees with high humidity and boy was I pi$$ed off.

LMAO!!! Pardon me!! I've done the thing with the forks tubes before but it definitely wasn't as spectaclur as yours though. I did however provide some good entertainment for my neighbours when I had my '83 750 Interceptor. I had just brought it home from storing it at a friends house for the winter and had it all polished up nice and shiny. The bike was about a year old at the time. It was the time of year that anything that wasn't planted or paved was absolute muck. Anyway, I pulled into the backyard, put the bike on the centre stand and as I walked away it toppled over into the vegetable garden which we turn under every fall and it was just thawing out. It was about 8 inches of pure muck, would have been a mud-boggers heaven. I thought it was going to sink out of sight. The bad part was to get it out I actually had to go into the garden to get to the handlebar end of things. After falling a few times trying to upright it I finally got it and myself out. We sure a sight when that was over.

 

[rustybronco]

which one? and then i'll tell you how many times. last november i got off my gs850 when it was running in the garage, swung my foot over the seat leaned her over on the kickstand, kickstand? i knew i forgot something! down we went, gas leaking (full tank) grabbed the bars turned em right and up she popped.

 

[MissFabulous]

I laid the GK down again in the barn a week or so ago. The wheel bearings are shot but I wanted to try to move it back a little and the wheels don't want to budge. Floors are dirt and we've had tons of rain, so while it's packed, it's slick and it's not moving. The more I rocked it the more I knew what could happen... it has the sidestand sensor so leaving it down just in case wasn't an option and down it went on the left side... AND I PICKED THAT BIATCH UP!!! Pretty much first try too! It has crash bars and laid down softly, so no damage done. I just got up along side it, put my backside to the seat area, grabbed a luggage rail and the left side of the bars, and up she went! Still managed to turn around and fiddle with the wood block to get it into place and back on the sidestand. She didn't even think about toppling to the other side either - probably helped that I was calm, and I think that's an advantage to holding the bar.

After reading about all of the centerstand mishaps, I'm thinking I'd like to get mine parked under this big, massive support beam so that maybe when I'm working on it, I can somehow also tether it to the ceiling beam. From what little work I've done on it so far, it's very easy to see how it would get knocked over even just while getting serious with a rusty, stuck bolt.

Wheels are coming off Sunday, but not without the help of two bike-savvy friends coming over to help. They're bringing their bike jack, too...

 

[Guest]

It was the time of year that anything that wasn't planted or paved was absolute muck. Anyway, I pulled into the backyard, put the bike on the centre stand and as I walked away it toppled over into the vegetable garden which we turn under every fall and it was just thawing out. It was about 8 inches of pure muck

Neither the side nor the center stand have much of a contact patch. I like to carry a crushed steel ("tin") can with me. Cut out the top and the bottom and stomp on it. Beverage cans are too thin to work well. Put it under the side stand. Helps on asphalt. I've seen a bike go down on soft asphalt on a hot day. Absolutely needed on soft ground.

 

[Baatfam]

Can't remember all the times I've been down.....not even countin' dirt bike days....
The highlights....

Late one night on the '78 Sporty with some gal I just met on the back.....
I pull up to a stop sign, on the right side of the road, next to a buddy on his sporty....and put my right foot down on........nuthin'....
Drainage ditch was right next to the asphalt....as we went over into the ditch, my buddy drove off from the stop sign....didn't miss us for a few blocks.

Some bike, different night....
Coming out of a toll booth, I decide to pull over and put my gloves on....only I turned to soon and clipped the concrete curb that extends our from the booths.
Went down fast and hard at about 10 MPH....right in front the next booth with a car just pullin' out.
Picked that sucker up fast and pushed it out of the way just in time.

'68 Glide one sunny afternoon....ridding down the road I spot a nice rock I think would be perfect for my fish tank, so I quickly hit the brakes and pull on the shoulder....
The very, very soft shoulder....as soon as the front wheel hits the dirt, bang...I'm down in a cloud of dust....That was the day I learned I could pick that bike up by myself...

My drag bike sits to low to fall over. Just leans over on the frame...

Bob T.

 

[rthor]

Like many, I had dropped my (extremely heavy) GS on occasion. But the greatest mishap was more along the lines of a FALL. I foolishly parked my bike near the edge of a gravel road with a 15-foot drop to a lakeshore. After deciding that I would leave it at that spot for the weekend, I checked the stability of the center stand and I couldn?t foresee anything knocking it over. After a few days (and nights of heavy rains) I came back to the scene only to find that the road where I was parked had broken off and my bike was now lying among the rocks of the lake shore with waves crashing around it. Quite an upsetting sight!
With the help of a couple of strong hands, we propped up the old girl and inspected the damage: lots of assorted dents and scratches, some water and gravel in everything and that was about it. And being true to form, that engine fired up without too much trouble. Some serious smoke burnt off for the first few minutes but then she ran normally. I checked that the lights were operational and that the tires were good and I rode it over a 100 miles back to my home without incident.
Now that is bulletproof engineering!

 

[Pharkmeh]

Like many, I had dropped my (extremely heavy) GS on occasion. But the greatest mishap was more along the lines of a FALL. I foolishly parked my bike near the edge of a gravel road with a 15-foot drop to a lakeshore. After deciding that I would leave it at that spot for the weekend, I checked the stability of the center stand and I couldn?t foresee anything knocking it over. After a few days (and nights of heavy rains) I came back to the scene only to find that the road where I was parked had broken off and my bike was now lying among the rocks of the lake shore with waves crashing around it. Quite an upsetting sight!
With the help of a couple of strong hands, we propped up the old girl and inspected the damage: lots of assorted dents and scratches, some water and gravel in everything and that was about it. And being true to form, that engine fired up without too much trouble. Some serious smoke burnt off for the first few minutes but then she ran normally. I checked that the lights were operational and that the tires were good and I rode it over a 100 miles back to my home without incident.
Now that is bulletproof engineering!

lmfao

hahahaha

gr8 story - Underwater GS adventures...:-D

 

[Billyboy]

Like many, I had dropped my (extremely heavy) GS on occasion. But the greatest mishap was more along the lines of a FALL. I foolishly parked my bike near the edge of a gravel road with a 15-foot drop to a lakeshore. After deciding that I would leave it at that spot for the weekend, I checked the stability of the center stand and I couldn?t foresee anything knocking it over. After a few days (and nights of heavy rains) I came back to the scene only to find that the road where I was parked had broken off and my bike was now lying among the rocks of the lake shore with waves crashing around it. Quite an upsetting sight!
With the help of a couple of strong hands, we propped up the old girl and inspected the damage: lots of assorted dents and scratches, some water and gravel in everything and that was about it. And being true to form, that engine fired up without too much trouble. Some serious smoke burnt off for the first few minutes but then she ran normally. I checked that the lights were operational and that the tires were good and I rode it over a 100 miles back to my home without incident.
Now that is bulletproof engineering!

Way cool!

 

[Vegerito]

ive dropped my share lol. my old honda cx500, i dropped first pulling in a new driveway, deep gravel, pretty much just slid in, no damage. second one was messing around riding wheelys, when i came down i got on the front brake a little too quick and slid on the gravel (old country road) only damage was my pride, i got made fun of by my friend lol. 3rd one, taco bell parking lot, kicked the kick stand up and went to put on a glove and it tipped over under me, i acted like it happend all the time, finished putting my glove on with it idleing under me, pick it back up and rode off lol. and only had one on my yamaha seca 750, i had been enjoying my new tires, taking it down to the frame in turns, and tried that in a bank parking lot, hot pavement day, slowly slide out, i just stayed on the bike and slide accross the parking lot, when it finaly came to a stop i was still sitting on it sideways and it went to lean to hit the ground and i grabbed it and picked it back up and was parked beside my friend before he even knew it happend

 

[gsgeezer]

I know that, as soon as I paint a bike, I will knock it over in the driveway, or slip on some gravel road!! Usually the handlebars hit the tank resulting in dents.

 

[beergood]

I had just picked up my 750 and my friend/seller helped me load it into the back of my truck with the help of my handy 8' 2x12. My neighbor was going to help me unload it.

After one slight miscalculation in the bed of the truck, which resulted in the bike leaning against the left wheel well of the bed (which, due to the bed liner left the bike with no damage) we were ready to unload it.

My other bike is a 92 GS500, which weighs way less than this bike. I can get that bike in and out of the truck all day.

Anyway, as we were preparing to back this bike out of the truck the 2x12 was looking a heck of a lot thinner than normal. My neighbor is a young guy who is quite a bit bigger and in better shape than me, so I was very happy to have him helping.

Getting it down the ramp was a harrowing adventure preluded by two aborted attempts. We were both standing in the driveway, taking deep breathes and recovering from the effort when heard that sickening sound of a bike tipping over.

In our haste to be done, I didn't check out the stability of my park job in relation to the incline of the driveway. I was just happy to have it safely out of the truck.

Sometimes I feel like a real idiot.

 

[the_zander]

Ive had several low/no and high speed experiences, one today actually, i was just relased from the Cochrane urgent care facility (up here in Canada). I was t-boned on the ride back from banff (a weekend destination for us Canuks). A jeep cherokee hit my left side at a t-intersection on one of our secondary highways, Pining my leg between their bumper and my tank. The jeep pushed my bike laterally several meters while i somehow managed to maintain the bike upright. i coasted to a stop put my right foot down only to find out that it (my left leg) wasnt working. Naturally the bike toppled to my dismay and embarassment.

There you have it, dropping a bike is nothing to be ashamed of.

-Zander.

 

[7981GS]

Zander, keep us posted on your recovery and the perpetrators losses $$$.

Daniel

 

[Guest]

Yeah, I'm sorry to say I dropped my bike once, this was the "Skunk" back in '79 in Biloxi Mississippi. I was out riding around on a weekend night with a passenger on the back. For some reason I was driving very cautiously, maybe I had a gut feeling. Anyway, I was driving through this neighborhood at night getting ready to make a left turn, a Voltwagen was
approaching from the opposite direction, as soon as he cleared I turned, and there was a little pile of gravel in the road along with about a foot long piece of broomhandle. Too late to avoid it, my rear tire hit that broomstick and out from under me the bike went. I must've been doing all of 5 mph. Still the bike was down on the left side, went down hard enough to crack the stator case a little as oil started to leak from it. I made it home and put some epoxy on the stator cover which stopped the leak.
Hopefully I learned a lesson as it's important to see whats on the road soon enough to avoid any debris on it.

 

[oldpara]

Oh yes !
I got four of them, I've dropped them all, driveway, parking lots, on the lawn, solo and 2 up.
I have a couple of aquaintences who boast about been riding for 200yrs and NEVER dropped a bike, blah blah blah...
They ain't trying hard enough.
Boy are they going to be embarassed when they do.
I certainly don't enjoy falling over but it happens and I don't really think too much about it. I do get a kick out of the nice people who actually will stop and gasp and ask if I'm ok.
They seem astonished that I survived a tip over.
You know, these dangerous, deadly motorcycles.

 

[Hovmod]

Twice.
Both times my previous bike, a BMW GS.
Once at a gas station, just one of those "S**t I can't hold it" things from a stand still, but the other time was spectacular.
I was at a hillclimbing event, and decided to take the bike down a trail to the bottom of this quarry. As I descended, the path turned worse and worse and I knew I'd have problems getting back up. My brilliant idea was to open up and see what happened. So I'm fishtailing up this steep muddy path, almost enduro style, full throttle, when my spinning rear wheel hits a rock under the mud. I go flying, straight up in the air, and flopped down in the mud on my right side, still in the proper sitting position, only on my side. Exactly half of the bike (and me) sunk in, so I had one clean side and one covered in gray clay. A nice perfect stripe down the middle of my helmet and all. I looked ridiculous, of course, but I was laughing hard too. I got a cut and bruise on my calf, which had hit the right cylinder as I kicked out when I flipped over in the air (boxers...), and I needed a new plug cap. The first guy who came over actually had one in his pocket, so I was up and running in ten minutes, and this time I made it up without incident, exactly half caked in mud.