well i did it. i must have looked like a fool

[socalrob]

Talk about embarrasing.

I was in Big Bend Texas on a group ride. I had flown in from LA & rented a HD in San Antonio. Allan Pagan (you may remember him as Dallera) loaned me his R1150R (of course non ABS vs. my R1150R ABS bike back in LA) to ride on one of the days, as he had trailered up 2 bikes (including his new FJR) and party supplies from Corpus Christi, & the HD was not the best bike in the twisties.

Allan's R1150R is a sweet bike, a nice performance exhaust with a good growl, free reving, driving lights, & a tank bag for my day stuff.

We were running on some very small farm roads, the type with no centerline, cattle guards, twists & turns, and occassional gravel.

There must have been 10 or 15 of us. I was running in the mid to slow group, as, afterall, I was on another guy's bike. I was riding spirited enough to feel the rear slip now & then on the aforesaid gravel.

After being out for maybe an hour & a half, I see the front half of the group stopped at a cross roads. I recall there also being a mail carrier in a small car there. More riders are coming up behind me.

Now I come riding up, and am keeping to the right side of the road just before the cross road. The road surface looks like whitish asphalt, and just about the time I am taping the front brake at maybe 5mph or less, I realize that the road surface is really a bit less than 2 inches of round gravel. In Cali, especially around LA, just about all roads have enough traffic to polish off any gravel. & where we do have gravel, Cali uses crushed/cracked rock, which compacts, unlike the cheap round Texas gravel that slips & slides like ball bearings. This gravel just faked me out, as it looked just like the road surface. The front end slides out really before I can even think (I doubt, BTW, that even ABS would have worked in that thick ball bearing gravel, but it might have, OTOH, having my partially linked brakes has made me forget to think too much about using the rear brake, which would have been better, so arguably my ABS contributed to the drop), crap, I'm going down. When the bike goes down the front forks crank over so that the tank bag is on the horn paddle. The net effect is that I find myself sitting in the gravel, the horn is braring (was it aftermarket?), and I notice that everyone (including Allan & the mail carrier) is staring at me really, really, trying their best not to break out laughing, which I believe was pretty much put off until I stood up (and picked the bike up to find, unbelievably, that all the damage was limited to the plastic head guard & valve cover, had the parts & a bottle of 25yo single malt fed-exed to Allan within the week, he graciously installed them (hence the scotch to help the install).

I later found out that most guys do not honk the horn to attract attention when they spill.

[texbid]

It seems that the higher the speed the less likey one is to fall off their bike.

How many think this will work

"Honest officer, I was making sure I dont fall off."

[Samiam]

The day I brought my R home, the very first time I put the kick stand down in the garage and dismounted left, it fell over on the right. No damage except to my ego. To this day, I believe my Miata gave it a shove out of jealousy.

[jrh1230]

I have never dropped a street bike. Dang, I must not be riding enough! (I HAVE had some close calls though).

I'm sure my time will come.

[jfslater98]

In my garage, I still had my 94 KLR650, a 91 MR2 Turbo, the Rustor, all in a 1940's one-car garage. I hadn't put the stand down properly. That's when you're happy you paid for those frail plastic BMW "engine guards", as they took the brunt. Not sure they could handle much more speed.

[The Velvet Monkey]

Oh, it so painful when it happens standing still. You at least have a slip to blame. I once just forgot I hadn't put down my kickstand and let mine go horizontal. Sure, there were tears but I healed and I still have the scratches on my valve cover as a reminder. I'm sure it'll happen again.

BTW, it takes a really big douche (I mean the "Jabba the Hut" of ashhats) to laugh like the guy behind you. I'd drop him from your approved riding list although you'd miss out on the opportunity to dance like a fool around his splayed bike when he drops his (and it WILL happen).

[yjleesvrr]

Oh, it so painful when it happens standing still.

It's a LOT more painful at 50 mph.

[jfslater98]

I once just forgot I hadn't put down my kickstand and let mine go horizontal.

My kickstand now gets at least 3 good whacks every time it's parked.

And yes, I agree with you on the "ashhat". I hope that something very expensive happens to Jabba's cycle for that transgression. Maybe text will be lucky enough to see something on the Tree of Shame.

[leoquattro]

With one of my previous bikes riding in Rome on a rainy day, going very slowly (slowly as an Italian standard means about 20 mph!) my front wheel slipped on a tramline. Not much damage, just scratches on the turning light. Another minor accident, when I was much younger, turning to look at a nice looking girl, I didn't brake in time at a traffic light so I bumped into a car, some scratches on the tank and nasty looks from passerbys.
Leoquattro

[Jonny_L]

I dropped my CBR once, sidestand down, got on from the left side, my right foot caught some gravel on the road and just slipped. It went down in slow motion because I really tried to pull it up, but got to a point and just thought "sod it, I'll just put it down gently".

1 indicator lens broke, 1 R&G crash protector got scuffed, and I got a 1/2 inch scratch on the fairing. Not bad considering all the gravel on the road.
Wasn't funny then, is now though Ever since I've been overly cautious getting on my bike! Glad I'm not the only one to have this happen!

I also dropped my first bike without even touching it! I parked up and started walking off, and it obviously wasn't on the stand properly and just dropped. It was at my mates house, luckily only landed on grass so was fine, but it happened in front of a load of my friends Still, funny thinking back.

[bgardner74]

At a stopsign, at the bottom of a hill, last spring. My left foot failed me. The R slowly leaned too far, gravity took over the and the R rested on its left side. The head is scuffed.

Unlike my previous R90, I could not get it back up. A driver came by, looked at me standing next to the reclining bike. Not a native American, he asked, very earnestly, but in broken English if I needed a foot. I said yes. He helped me get it vertical, I got on and drove home.

[NoRRmad]

http://www.pinkribbonrides.com/Videos/drop05.mpg

[NachtRitter]

My very first bike, an '84 Honda Magna VF700c, purchased brand new, I dropped in my driveway the day I drove it home... got off fine, then tried to move it off to the side, lost balance, dropped the bike... dented the tank

That was not a good omen... I think I dropped that 'bike at least twice a year, putting me in the "All of the above" category. I learned: 1) Stay off the painted arrows when charging a traffic light in the rain, 2) keep an eye out for oil when at the front of the line at an intersection (especially when giving girlfriend a ride), 3) It's not wise to charge the cloverleaf freeway exit at 3x the recommended speed and then panic when it's way too late. Thankfully, the Magna was a very robust bike and I had the foresight to install crash bars.

I was off bikes about 15 years after I sold the Magna, and then purchased my '02 RT... not brand new, but pretty nice. Something has happened in those 15 years because I've only driveway dropped the RT in the 40K miles I've driven her. Either I've gotten significantly more conservative, or the equipment has gotten significantly better. I'm leaning toward less of the former and more of the latter... I no longer charge traffic lights while it's raining, but I do still charge cloverleaf exits at well over the recommended speeds.

Both the R-R and the R-RT really handle nicely and are confidence inspiring for an amateur like me. I tried riding a K-GT (similar to a K-RS), and though it had awesome acceleration, it just seemed like a pig in the twisties.

[texbid]

http://www.pinkribbonrides.com/Videos/drop05.mpg

I like the video. Unfortuantley i was a little less collected. I had soo much adrenaline pumping that I basically picked it up off the grounda ad put it back down..... At least that is what it felt like.

[Ian]

after 6 years of accident free riding - ealier this month i had my first off (bike has fallen over twice by itself so they dont count).

After anjoying a quiet midweek ride along the escarpment behind my town (Wollongong, NSW for the Aussies) - returned home, took of my gloves, pressed up on my garage door pager, watched it roll all the way up to the top and proceded to slowly ride down the hill into my garage (at walking pace as my "dearest" had her car in the driveway. So i glanced down to my right to ensure that i had a enough clearance to ride past, my "dearest" decided to open the roller door for me (can you see where this is going) where as the door came down it hooked under my helmet and reefed it backwards (my doctor told me i had hyperextended it which i thought was cool till i googled it) , the next 10 seconds where a blur and well black, but needless to say i found myself lying under my R, wedged up against the left and back walls of my garage - feeling rather unhappy.

Damage to my bike - small scratched on rocker, indicators, the platic protectors on the headers and i loosen the left mirror.....to me concrete scuffs on my brand new jacket and a large dimple in the aero hump on the back. and a sea of bruises and burn to me..............

[OU812]

I was trying to pushstart my bike with a dead battery. Not too smart. Ended up on top of it with a contusion on my lower leg that hurt like ?*#! Well, needles to say, a new battery and always on a charger, no problems since. That is only the BMW down. My racing career is another story that I would have to write a book about. Lots of broken bones and hospital visits!

[SSGMike]

Last Fall, shortly after buying my '99 R1100R, I rode it to work and parked it in the cycle spaces, next to all the Harleys. I got off and promptly pushed it over as I tried to put it on the center stand. Embarassed? Slightly.

[vexlak]

First time I got down was quite scary. Just got my baby (used but in great condition '02 r1150r 15k), I enjoyed every minute of it. While waiting on a red light behind two cars in one of the towns on Long Island (NY), I noticed a young kid on a black bullet bike really cutting the curve on my street. I though that I should learn how to do it that way and I have to admit I was looking back over my shoulder to see what bike it was. Never had a change to notice - he was in a hurry... What I noticed when I looked back at the front of me was a airborne Chevy Impala police cruiser hitting the two cars ahead of me, pinballing them aside and flying directly onto my bike. I have no idea how I jumped off the bike, but the next thing I remember was looking at the cap in pain through a broken passenger window. We both asked each other: Are you OK? My bike was hit on the front wheel, while still “self” standing in neutral. I found it still running lying on the left side. $1000 worth of damage. It turned out that the cap was chasing the biker and got too fast down the hill making the right turn following the kid (see above) and overshot the curve. In process, the car hit the divider, got airborne and hit the two cars ahead of me. What saved the bike were the black head protectors mounted on the heads lower part. Everything else was bolt on replacement parts. I was shaking for few minutes (shock) and was pretty thirsty. Someone gave me a bottle of water and I could not hold it to my mouth. Other then few scratches, blue spots and a great story to tell was all what I got.

[DJ Downunder]

vexlak...wowzzer!.. ..I would have been so pissed off and asked for a 'get off free' pass for my next speeding ticket..

DJ

[bransan]

Luckily Mine 2 lay downs were in secluded areas. First was in beach sand, I pulled into a boat launch to turn around and laid it over in the sand. Second lay down was in a parking garage, cement was like glass with a little sand on it, front brake locked up at like 2mph while turning sharply. Good thing nobody saw either.