Dropping your bike.
Discussion
Inspired by the new rider who was upset he’d dropped his bike I’m pretty certain almost all riders have done so. Often with embarrassing consequences.
So here’s one of mine.
I used to live over a pub so the bike went up an alley and round the back. Outside the pub the pavement was lowered as a kind of crossing with granite pillars at either side of the lowered part. Very convenient as I could just ride the bike straight up onto the pavement and down the alley.
I was on my ZZR 1100 one evening after coming back from a weekend at the BMF rally at Peterborough. I rode up onto the pavement completely forgetting I had a top box and panniers on. Of course one of the panniers clipped one of the pillars and down I went right in front of a crowd standing outside the pub.
So here’s one of mine.
I used to live over a pub so the bike went up an alley and round the back. Outside the pub the pavement was lowered as a kind of crossing with granite pillars at either side of the lowered part. Very convenient as I could just ride the bike straight up onto the pavement and down the alley.
I was on my ZZR 1100 one evening after coming back from a weekend at the BMF rally at Peterborough. I rode up onto the pavement completely forgetting I had a top box and panniers on. Of course one of the panniers clipped one of the pillars and down I went right in front of a crowd standing outside the pub.
Only been riding since March and so far no drops.
It's going to happen though, I have no doubt at all. Just hope no one is around to witness my shame!
I keep looking at a small scuff on the fairing on my Bandit 1200S and thinking I'll get it painted... Then think why bother! When I drop it I'll be more annoyed than if I just leave it.
It's going to happen though, I have no doubt at all. Just hope no one is around to witness my shame!
I keep looking at a small scuff on the fairing on my Bandit 1200S and thinking I'll get it painted... Then think why bother! When I drop it I'll be more annoyed than if I just leave it.
I managed to drop my very new (at the time) R6 whilst pushing it. I was off the bike and wheeled it down a short steep concrete ramp and somehow it kind of went over centre, got away from me and I couldn't pull it back. It landed with the front nose cone smashed and resting on an 18" high wall.
A few days after passing my test I dropped my new to me ZXR 400.
Due to the layout of my drive and entrance to my garage you had to pull in to the left, go backwards then ride up the way you came to turn the bike round then backwards into the garage. I didn’t know this at the time so I decided to turn round at pretty much the narrowest part of the drive. The bike had a massive turning circle which made matters worse.
After a 50 point turn I got the bike lined up to go into the garage and promptly proceeded to drop it with a loud bang. It was then quite a struggle to get it back up due to the effort required for the aforementioned 50 point turn having already worn me out.
Luckily there was only a bit of damage due to crash bungs and I learnt not to do it again!
Due to the layout of my drive and entrance to my garage you had to pull in to the left, go backwards then ride up the way you came to turn the bike round then backwards into the garage. I didn’t know this at the time so I decided to turn round at pretty much the narrowest part of the drive. The bike had a massive turning circle which made matters worse.
After a 50 point turn I got the bike lined up to go into the garage and promptly proceeded to drop it with a loud bang. It was then quite a struggle to get it back up due to the effort required for the aforementioned 50 point turn having already worn me out.
Luckily there was only a bit of damage due to crash bungs and I learnt not to do it again!
Gsx750f 1996 had it 2 weeks then I did the Welsh National Rally on it, think it was 1998.
After 16 hours and about 500 miles, chapel curig at about 2am. Pulled to a stop put my left foot down and the ground wasn't where I was expecting. The levels of fatigue were such that while I could have normally put it upright it took 3 of us!
Also first off road day on my CRM250, came off on first corner and broke clutch lever, luckily the guys running it had a spare that fitted. Also took a table top a bit fast and at wrong angle and landed on the edge on the other side, how I stayed on I will never know, but I felt the aches in arms and back for about a week.
That's about it though. I did about 50,000 miles over 3 years before young family made me rethink it.
After 16 hours and about 500 miles, chapel curig at about 2am. Pulled to a stop put my left foot down and the ground wasn't where I was expecting. The levels of fatigue were such that while I could have normally put it upright it took 3 of us!
Also first off road day on my CRM250, came off on first corner and broke clutch lever, luckily the guys running it had a spare that fitted. Also took a table top a bit fast and at wrong angle and landed on the edge on the other side, how I stayed on I will never know, but I felt the aches in arms and back for about a week.
That's about it though. I did about 50,000 miles over 3 years before young family made me rethink it.
Long ride from parents to my home, around 4 hours on the bike '97 900 Tiger,
stopped in front of garage, swung my leg over and got off thinking about immediate mug of tea, stood bike up, turned around and walked away, knew something was not right, couple of steps turned back to watch my bike slowly fall over..
Yup, never put stand down.....
stopped in front of garage, swung my leg over and got off thinking about immediate mug of tea, stood bike up, turned around and walked away, knew something was not right, couple of steps turned back to watch my bike slowly fall over..
Yup, never put stand down.....
I slid over on both sides of my Speed Four at different times: flat-soled boots and greasy surfaces both times.
Dropped the Tiger Sport in an Asda car park trying to turn too tightly at low speed.
Then there was this: https://youtu.be/1oHdympPD2I My foot still hurts sometimes.
Dropped the Tiger Sport in an Asda car park trying to turn too tightly at low speed.
Then there was this: https://youtu.be/1oHdympPD2I My foot still hurts sometimes.
Dropped my ZX6R inside my garage taking it off an Abba stand. It fell on some other stuff which smashed the bottom fairing and water pump housing. I remember watching it fall away from me in horror followed by lots of swearing.
Still don't know how I managed it.
Tried to ride my SH125 with the disc lock on in front of some work colleagues. Also crashed it in Reading Station car park (lost the back end coming off a ramp and high sided it!). Fortunately no one witnessed that. In my defense it was wet/cold and I was tired/grumpy.
Still don't know how I managed it.
Tried to ride my SH125 with the disc lock on in front of some work colleagues. Also crashed it in Reading Station car park (lost the back end coming off a ramp and high sided it!). Fortunately no one witnessed that. In my defense it was wet/cold and I was tired/grumpy.
Dropped my monster twice now -
First time it was a roasting hot day, I was testing taking the baffles out of the exhaust and it was embarrassingly loud. Stopped and had a total brain fart and tried to get off without putting the side stand down. No damage to the bike as I was under it, just a twisted knee and wounded pride!
Second time I was doing an i2i course, the stand didn't latch down properly, got off the bike and watched as the stand folded up and it fell, just about slowed it and let it sit down gently. Crash bungs saved it.
First time it was a roasting hot day, I was testing taking the baffles out of the exhaust and it was embarrassingly loud. Stopped and had a total brain fart and tried to get off without putting the side stand down. No damage to the bike as I was under it, just a twisted knee and wounded pride!
Second time I was doing an i2i course, the stand didn't latch down properly, got off the bike and watched as the stand folded up and it fell, just about slowed it and let it sit down gently. Crash bungs saved it.
I did it on the second day of ownership of my current z900rs, it had 50 miles on it, it scuffed the engine case a bit and put a scratch on the fork bottoms, I've not washed it since and it's now a year old on 3000 miles, I have managed to mark or damage every bike I have owned in one way or another, I dropped a screwdriver on the tank of the pristine R1 I bought off BN and chipped the paint 2 days after buying it, I also dinged the tank on my new MT09 when I was getting something off the shelf behind it in the first week, I now have a big microfibre towel I put on the tank as soon as I put it in the garage and it its covered in paint protection film 
Many years ago I had a Kawasaki Z650 and used to park it at the bottom of the office car park near the cycle sheds.
Unfortunately the tarmac there was a bit gravelly and I gave it too much front brake when the bars weren't straight as I was tryng to turn it around ready for going home. Sure enough down it went!
Luckily there weren't too many work colleagues around, but thinking that there might be gave me the strength to pick it up. Luckily there was no real damage.
Unfortunately the tarmac there was a bit gravelly and I gave it too much front brake when the bars weren't straight as I was tryng to turn it around ready for going home. Sure enough down it went!
Luckily there weren't too many work colleagues around, but thinking that there might be gave me the strength to pick it up. Luckily there was no real damage.
On the IOM TT ferry takes some beating for embarrassment!!
Disc lock left on, done that, forgetting to put the side stand down, yep, done that, stalling from a junction on full lock, yep.
Providing you can always slow the fall most bikes drop pretty well in my experience in terms of damage.
Disc lock left on, done that, forgetting to put the side stand down, yep, done that, stalling from a junction on full lock, yep.
Providing you can always slow the fall most bikes drop pretty well in my experience in terms of damage.
Years ago, Rushing out onto one of THE busiest roads in Edinburgh one afternoon mid summer, excited that i’d just passed my Theory Test for getting my HGV Class 1 license…….
Jacket on, helmet on, gloves on, jumped on bike, clucth out BANG!!!!
Yup……i’d left the disc lock on!
There were road works going on at the time and the big guy in the JCB was laughing that hard he was close to spewing!
Jacket on, helmet on, gloves on, jumped on bike, clucth out BANG!!!!
Yup……i’d left the disc lock on!
There were road works going on at the time and the big guy in the JCB was laughing that hard he was close to spewing!
Dropped my monster in the garage - fell against the wall so had to pull it up not pick it up...felt like I tore every muscle in my back doing that.
Dropped an R1 squeezing between my two cars....cracked the fairing and scratched my car at the same time. Think I just put it back in the garage instead of riding it as I was so pissed off.
Most embarrassing was a pistonheads ride out. Left our lunch stop and promptly low sided on mud / wet. Wrote the bike off and had to be taken to hospital in a police car as the ambulances were 4 hours wait. Only dislocated my shoulder but watching the rest of the pistonheads mob drive past was embarrassing.
Dropped an R1 squeezing between my two cars....cracked the fairing and scratched my car at the same time. Think I just put it back in the garage instead of riding it as I was so pissed off.
Most embarrassing was a pistonheads ride out. Left our lunch stop and promptly low sided on mud / wet. Wrote the bike off and had to be taken to hospital in a police car as the ambulances were 4 hours wait. Only dislocated my shoulder but watching the rest of the pistonheads mob drive past was embarrassing.
Dropped the training schools Gladius 650 during my Mod2 last January, s
tty pot holed, creep and peek junction due to parked cars and hedges, bars turned right, decided to go, clutch out, stalled and down it went, i was so mad i not only picked it up myself (the examiner offered to help), i could have tossed the whole bike into a garden, test was terminated and the examiner f*cked off in his car leaving me freezing for 40 minutes till the instructor came for me, bike was fine just the ball end on the brake lever broke off.
Went on to drop my mint 2004 GSXR 600 attemting a stupid full lock turn in the work car park, 5.30 in the morning, not enough momentum, revs, commitment or working brain cells, had just rode past a work mate at the gate, he said one minute he was thinking "that's a lovely bike" next he looked me and it were on the ground, no damage, luckily a drop to the left and it laid down on the crash bung.
GSXR again, uphill to a junction approaching, stop start traffic going through a green light, was so preoccupied with the lights, traffic, being in the correct gear, car stopped in front of me i coasted to a stop in the clutch biting point, hadn't realised i didn't have my foot on the brake, pulled the clutch in, bike rolled down hill and down it went, nice woman in a Mercedes asked if i was ok, again crash bung did it's job.
A mate got a new to him GSX1400, delivered on the Saturday, he was out first thing Sunday morning to polish it on his narrow driveway, went to move it, it lost balance and pinned him against the wall, he had to shout on his wife for help and she came running out in her dressing gown to pull it off him, he sold it and got a smaller, lighter Fazer.
tty pot holed, creep and peek junction due to parked cars and hedges, bars turned right, decided to go, clutch out, stalled and down it went, i was so mad i not only picked it up myself (the examiner offered to help), i could have tossed the whole bike into a garden, test was terminated and the examiner f*cked off in his car leaving me freezing for 40 minutes till the instructor came for me, bike was fine just the ball end on the brake lever broke off.Went on to drop my mint 2004 GSXR 600 attemting a stupid full lock turn in the work car park, 5.30 in the morning, not enough momentum, revs, commitment or working brain cells, had just rode past a work mate at the gate, he said one minute he was thinking "that's a lovely bike" next he looked me and it were on the ground, no damage, luckily a drop to the left and it laid down on the crash bung.
GSXR again, uphill to a junction approaching, stop start traffic going through a green light, was so preoccupied with the lights, traffic, being in the correct gear, car stopped in front of me i coasted to a stop in the clutch biting point, hadn't realised i didn't have my foot on the brake, pulled the clutch in, bike rolled down hill and down it went, nice woman in a Mercedes asked if i was ok, again crash bung did it's job.
A mate got a new to him GSX1400, delivered on the Saturday, he was out first thing Sunday morning to polish it on his narrow driveway, went to move it, it lost balance and pinned him against the wall, he had to shout on his wife for help and she came running out in her dressing gown to pull it off him, he sold it and got a smaller, lighter Fazer.
In addition to my hatred of goats mentioned in the other 'I dropped my bike' thread I also have an extreme hatred of Gary Glitter that was far earlier that most people's.
It was summer in the early 80s I was on my 'looks like a motor bike but goes like a snail' MB50 out on a trip out with my moped chums.
Being Cornwall what better plan than a trip to the beach, we had a few choice but back then Carlyon Bay wasn't a bad choice relatively local (for a moped...), steep beach so not much walking required before swimming and The Cornwall Coliseum.
The Coliseum which for an out in the sticks location had quite a draw - per Wikipedia Thin Lizzy, The Ramones, The Clash, The Jam, The Police, Marillion, The Cure, Status Quo, The Who, Eric Clapton, Black Sabbath, Cliff Richard, Iron Maiden, Rainbow, Slade, Bon Jovi, Simple Minds, Deborah Harry, T'Pau, Wham! and Glen Campbell.
The access road is quite steep so great for hitting the rarely seen heady heights of 35 mph. As I got to the bottom of the hill I spotted many people in a queue and then the posters for Glitter.
I was so busy giving my best look of disdain I didn't spot the tons of sand that had been blown all over the car park. Inevitably as I turned, the front wheel slipped out and down I went.
Little damage to bike but a few hundred fans of Gary laughing at me certainly damaged my pride, what a Glitter.
Still at least I'm not the one who probably wants to dip themselves in bleach at the thought of attending a paedo's concert...
It was summer in the early 80s I was on my 'looks like a motor bike but goes like a snail' MB50 out on a trip out with my moped chums.
Being Cornwall what better plan than a trip to the beach, we had a few choice but back then Carlyon Bay wasn't a bad choice relatively local (for a moped...), steep beach so not much walking required before swimming and The Cornwall Coliseum.
The Coliseum which for an out in the sticks location had quite a draw - per Wikipedia Thin Lizzy, The Ramones, The Clash, The Jam, The Police, Marillion, The Cure, Status Quo, The Who, Eric Clapton, Black Sabbath, Cliff Richard, Iron Maiden, Rainbow, Slade, Bon Jovi, Simple Minds, Deborah Harry, T'Pau, Wham! and Glen Campbell.
The access road is quite steep so great for hitting the rarely seen heady heights of 35 mph. As I got to the bottom of the hill I spotted many people in a queue and then the posters for Glitter.
I was so busy giving my best look of disdain I didn't spot the tons of sand that had been blown all over the car park. Inevitably as I turned, the front wheel slipped out and down I went.
Little damage to bike but a few hundred fans of Gary laughing at me certainly damaged my pride, what a Glitter.
Still at least I'm not the one who probably wants to dip themselves in bleach at the thought of attending a paedo's concert...
I did this to my immaculate Ducati Monster last Thursday, except lady luck was not on my side.
Avoided a puddle of diesel which a courteous car driver left for me! After filling up, got back to my bike, put my helmet on, sat down, and started up. Kicked the kickstand off, and grabbed my gloves from the dash. Dropped one to the right, and completely stupidly, stood up to get off the bike without kicking the stand down. Bike falls over, and petrol starts seeping from the tank. Lady from the pump to the right kindly helped me pick it up as I was freaking out whilst slipping on the petrol puddle I'd created - An absolute angel and also a fellow rider! Bent my gear shifter and dented my fuel tank. All after 6 years of riding.
Also been reversed into by my younger brother on my very first Monster outside a busy pub, and dropped my new Panigale days after collecting it, doing a u-turn on an uneven road and losing my balance.
A bike is never yours till you've dropped it, and you're probably very lucky if you never have! I blame it on being a 5 ft 7 shortarse but then I've seen 6 ft 4 riders topple over at a standstill!
Avoided a puddle of diesel which a courteous car driver left for me! After filling up, got back to my bike, put my helmet on, sat down, and started up. Kicked the kickstand off, and grabbed my gloves from the dash. Dropped one to the right, and completely stupidly, stood up to get off the bike without kicking the stand down. Bike falls over, and petrol starts seeping from the tank. Lady from the pump to the right kindly helped me pick it up as I was freaking out whilst slipping on the petrol puddle I'd created - An absolute angel and also a fellow rider! Bent my gear shifter and dented my fuel tank. All after 6 years of riding.
Also been reversed into by my younger brother on my very first Monster outside a busy pub, and dropped my new Panigale days after collecting it, doing a u-turn on an uneven road and losing my balance.
A bike is never yours till you've dropped it, and you're probably very lucky if you never have! I blame it on being a 5 ft 7 shortarse but then I've seen 6 ft 4 riders topple over at a standstill!
ReverendCounter said:
I stopped for fuel once and forgot to put the side stand down when I got off the bike. Luckily it only went over to about 45deg before the it collapsed against the pump.
Dropped my Harley Springer inside my own garage.
Been out for a ride & some leaves had blown in the door.
Pulled in, foot down & the combination of leaves, 800lb bike plus shiny concrete floor left me doing the splits James Brown stylee.
Owww - I didn't feel good
Couldn't even pick it up. Had to get a mate round to give me a hand.
Been out for a ride & some leaves had blown in the door.
Pulled in, foot down & the combination of leaves, 800lb bike plus shiny concrete floor left me doing the splits James Brown stylee.
Owww - I didn't feel good
Couldn't even pick it up. Had to get a mate round to give me a hand.
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