Bikes Falling Over (Post Courtesy of Oldbiffer)

[costablancabika]

Open Thread.

Just read Oldbiffers post about him being a prat with his bike falling over. Just want to say biffer, you are NOT a prat.

Unfortunately their is absolutely no monopoly on this often embarrassing feat. I'll start with just one of mine...............

Doing a bit of DR'ing in between jobs years ago in Central London I stopped and was checking my next delivery whilst still astride my FJ1200. I dropped one of the envelopes onto the road so leant over to pick it up. Unfortunately, I passed the point of no return and over I go into the road - fortunately no passing car to wipe me out. I did manage to pick the 525 lb. lump up, perhaps with thanks to my years of marshalling.

Please add yours.

[2old2boogie]

Unfortunately their is absolutely no monopoly on this often embarrassing feat.

You can say that again! I've dropped 'em all over Europe(!). I think the most embarrassing though was on a FireBlade RRX about 5 years ago.

I'd just bought the bike, and was finding the 16" front wheel a bit strange to get used to. I took it to my daughters at Southend to show it off, and was leaving with them all waving goodbye, rode up to the end of the drive, pulled left onto the road and the front wheel tucked underneath me and down it went in an undignified heap!

Red face or what! I'm sure I saw the grandchildren smirking!

[HRHpenfold]

I ran into the back of M40man at a roundabout at junction 40 M6 after a long spell on the motorway, seems to have forgiven me though ;D

[pebbles]

i was once involved in a seven bike pile up in the
fog coming back from the duke of wellington pub
the first chap put his yam 250 into a tree the one behind
him hit the brakes it was so foggy that we just ran into
each other i was at the end so got off lightly but the
girl in front of me got off her bike and fell down a ditch

[Fiasco]

fazerian said:

I ran into the back of M40man at a roundabout at junction 40 M6 after a long spell on the motorway, seems to have forgiven me though ;D

Yer I know Ian

Luckily the new fairing brace sorted that one !! (but don't tell Teejay )

Dave ;D

[m40man]

Well, if we're getting all confessional - I might as well mention our little incident on the 2005 Oatcake Run. Who put that post there, right in the path of my pannier?

A slow drop ensued. MrsM40Man & I alighted unscathed. Cost me half a Wingrack though .

............ & the CX has been dropped a couple of times. Once trying to bump start, then later on the very same day returning home, negotiating down the side of my house

[Fiasco]

m40man said:

Cost me half a Wingrack though .

Yer cost me half a wingrack too

Dave ;D

[theviking]

Oh,
Here I am, thinking that I joined a discussion board about the Divvy. And then it turns out that you are "Droppers Anonymous"

But as it seems to be confession time, who am I to argue?

Two incidents springs to mind:

No 1.
In my spiel before I let a pillion anywhere near the bike is included a bit about feet glued to foot rests, you know the thing "my foot goes down your stays put" type of thing.
Ok, so I have my then 14 yo stepson on the rear seat and as I exit our drive way he moves around, ever so slightly but enough to get me off balance as I haven't got any speed. As my foot is just in front of the curb the bike is almost at 45 degrees before I reach the ground. No chance of me holding her up so I lower her to the ground and crawl away from her
Then I realise that Edd, my step son, still is "sitting" on the bike with both feet still on the pegs!!!
(Yes that would be the only time he actually done what I asked him to do)

No 2.
Imagine the scene, you parked your pride and joy on a busy High street on the first Saturday of the month. When you get back to it there is a yellow sporty little number parked next to it and as you fill your topbox up with your shopping a stunning leather clad young lady start unlocking that yellow bike. One thing leads to another and soon you are to ride off with her Mobile number and a promise of a ride out in the near future .
This is where it goes wrong, very wrong, got out to the middle of the street, then BANG, FU##K, the BL##DY disk lock.
And if that wasn't enough, she had to help lift the bike off my leg

[bigkesh]

Dropped my GSX750f on the garage forecourt a couple of weeks ago. Went to fill up, finshed, put the side stand down, thought it had settled but the forecourt obviously sloped the other way. I turned round to put my helmet on the seat and saw the bike falling away from me resulting in that soul destroying "cruuuuuunnnnnccccccchhhhhhhhhh".
Guy in a van on the other side of the pump gave me a hand to lift it. Very lucky really, smashed indicator, bent brake lever and a few scratches but nothing else broken and no cracks.
Very annoying cos although it was never bought to be my pride and joy, until then it was virtually unmarked

[bigkesh]

theviking said:

One thing leads to another and soon you are to ride off with her Mobile number and a promise of a ride out in the near future .
(

So never mind the spill, did you get anywhere with the owner of the yellow bike??? ;D

[biwoz]

Petrol station forecourt -- on a hill. Filled bike and, being Mr Nice Guy, rolled it forward a few feet to let person behind me in to the bowser. Kickstand down, lean bike ... bike keeps travelling forwards down the slope until kickstand goes over centre and snaps up.

I actually "caught" it as it fell towards me. Managed to get it back upright and secured -- but couldn't sleep lying down on my back for a week! Finally had to go to a physio.

[adbru]

Me Too

Recently while trying to free a seized front caliper (nearside) while the bike was on the sidestand.

Applying gentle pressure (!) to loosen the allen bolt and it tipped slowly away from me.......
Being on my knee at the front wheel there was sod all i could do but lower gently against Caz's TY.
Broken mirror mount and lots of sweary words


Then there was last year, 2up with Caz at the Glen Shee car park when a gust of wind caught us side on while stationary. (another gentle drop)

At least no-one saw me at glenshee ..... (apart from the 30 odd members of the Divvy Club present

Adbru

[Oldbiffer]

Well...........seems like confession is good for the soul after all

At least we have learnt how to pick a bike up unaided.

I did manage to go out for a "progressive" ride afterwards...lovely day in the back roads of Dorset.

Viking Sorry, but the bike lock and the bird is funny; talk about pre-occupied....Its like driving along in the summer looking at the scenery, if you know what I mean, and the B*****D in front stops: no consideration whatsever ;D

Did you date the stunner?

[carrots]

Ok time to own-up,

I've been riding since December end of first week I decided to pick-up a glove I had dropped... on a hill... erm...

Next here in Portugal it doesn't rain all that much and it certainly had not rained much at the beginning of the year... anyway mid January changed job location and starting on a new contract in the middle of Lisbon, and it starts pouring with rain!

I decided to brave it anyway and all started fine... then trying to filter through traffic I pulled in behind a cage to let a non newbie biker pass me, used the front brake a tad too much (I was only at about 2mph) next I knew my right shoulder was meeting the asphalt.

That earned me a broken shoulder and 3 weeks off the bike. Also learned that waterproof trousers are not waterproof at all...

Dunno which agony was worse, the physical pain or the phycological from not being able to ride... (anyway my new boss lived near me and rode a KTM so I pillioned with him for a while!)

3 weeks over and on the way back from work the front tyre got caught in a tram line ... left hip, arm and knee decided to hit the cobblestones... ARGH! fortunately no breaks that time...

latest... with swmbo on pillion just stopping 100yrd from the house... put me foot down, didn't see the sand... slipped and toppled over... main problem I forgot to switch off the lights... so after I got me wind back.... tried the starter and nothing. Had to push all 200kg of my divy6 up hill to the house! ARGH!

[pebbles]

on my way to a job interview wearing lace up shoes
put my feet down at the lights one lace gets caught
up in the gear lever, over we both go no damage
tho apart from pride

[lea840]

Well, quite a few of you MUST remember my embarassing moment on one of the Divvy runs... Iron Bridge spring to mind??

When my naughty bike decided to jump on the Divvy that I had stopped next to... ok, well I put the side stand down and when I took my weight off the bike it kind of just disappeared from underneith me and jumped on the Divvy I was next too... much to the shame of myself!!!

I can't remember who owned the Divvy, but if you recognise it in the pic... then my apologies to you once more!

The damage was, to my bike, snapped rear foot peg! And if i remember correctly a crack and scratches to the Divvy

Lucky for me Tigger saved the day and put my rear foot peg on the front so at least I could ride home without a struggle ;D

[Fiasco]

Yep remember that Lea

In fact I think I picked it up like a true gent

Dave ;D

[lea840]

You most certainly did.... And without any effort at all I might add ;D

[Doom]

Mine got away from me in the garage the other day. Just flipped away from me for no apparent reason as I was putting it away. Fortunately the garage isn't that wide and the mirror coming up against the wooden handle of the snow-removing device stopped any damage at all.

Will be careful in future.

Ed

[eliminator]

Lyme Regis, 1150GS. Heading west out of town, uphill. Decided to go back to town, turned left into car park, swung round. Now pointing uphill, waiting to turn right, downhill. Stopped, foot down, conspicuous absence of tarmac. Bugger, straight down onto right shoulder.

That night in the A & E having an X ray, Diagnosis.... severely bruised ego ;D

Not sure if this was worse than when I pulled in by a bus stop (crowded) to use the adjacent ATM. Sise stand down, off the bike. Oops side stand not down, bang. Picked up the bike instantly.

Back ache, middle of the night, pain so bad, I got up to get some pain killers. Next thing I know my missus is slapping my face. I'd fainted. Doc came out, I had blacked out, apparently as when pain gets intense, the blood pressure drops.

[Pops]

15 years ago and my wife and lad still laugh their socks off whenever you mention my old Suzuki 500. Both of them on the drive waiting to see me off for a night shift.
Sits on and you know how you put your right foot down on the floor as you kick the side stand up, well imagine a nice neat garden and a thin garden path with your bike parked on it.
As I put my right foot down, missed the path and as the garden boarder was about six inches lower than the path over we went. Now 15 years ago I was quite athletic (ok, I wasnt as fat as I am now) any how I rolled off and out of the way. My wife described it like an SAS style roll. I turned to face them and was greeted with them both killing themselves laughing.
Went to work that night and funnily enough I never mentioned it to anybody.

[costablancabika]

Another "episode a few years earlier from when I dropped the FJ1200. Midsummer and of course a lovely country pub (Boxley, nr Maidstone) with my almost new, shiny Kawa Z750. Into the pub car park, which is right next to the crowded outside seating, with all eyes on this motorbike that had just entered. I do a full lock turn in front of my audience, cocky in my ability, with both feet on the pegs. I then, easily and efficiently, stall the engine with the immediate result of me, closely followed by bike, hitting the carpark floor in a heap. Wing mirror shattered in middle of car park with me trying to clean it up. I cannot describe the humiliation I felt right then....

[phineasdorchester]

Riding my trail bike on Tuesday. Flat grassy track in Norfolk with a gravelly strip up the middle. Pace really quite moderate - 20 to 25 mph.

Standing up, the back end starts to waggle about. Before I had fully realised something was up, I knew we were going down. I don't remember anything else, until my wife and son who were with me started asking me silly questions. Apparently my head bounced on the ground, I'd been knocked out for for a bit and was not making much sense (although I'm not sure how they could tell the difference from my normal state of mind).

Anyway after what seemed to me like 10 minutes but I'm told was actually an hour, I felt pretty much OK. the bike was fine of course, so I rode it home, covering a few easy lanes on the way too! Dead tired on arival home and felt pretty groggy in the head yesterday. Today I've just a sore left side - luckily I was wearing body armour and motoX boots. Have been out on road bike and bought a new hat.

[CD]

I had a triton back in the 70's. Souped up T100 engine & wideline featherbed frame etc etc. Cool but un reliable. even the side stand was s**t so I should have known better.

Pulled up outside m-bike shop sounding great kicked sidestand down and leaned over. Bang!. The stand had vibrated along the frame and was not sat against an engine plate so it swivelled around. If that wasn't enough when I rode off the exhaust stub fell out of the engine. Vibration again had worked it loose.

Numerous other stand/foot/floor interface related events; all annoying, some embarrassing and I think many would never happen if side stands worked on both sides at same time. But as I said before that's lateral thinking the bike makes seem to find so hard to do.