Everyone has some embarassing story that they don't like to talk about when it comes to their first times dropping a bike!
So, my first I felt I knew how to ride pretty well and was fairly comfortable and confident in my riding skills... So anyways, time comes to go get licensed... Alright let's take the drivin test right now, I don't need to wait! So we go out back and she shows me what to do and I'm like peice of cake alright here we go... weee... Ran over two cones and when I came in for my U turn park I was trying not to put my foot down and was watching the gravel instead of the road and was going too slow....and before you could blink an eye I was on the ground cussing and swearing... I've rode dirt bikes for quite a few years and here I thought I had what it took... Anyways, needless to say I failed that day... The second time I dropped is only relevant because it happened back at the DMV again in the same spot doing the same thing! Luckily though I just happened to be smart enough that day to go practice some more and make sure I was fluent in all of my skills... Anyways, that day there were 4 other guys on sport bikes there to test with me this time and I was the only one that passed. Everyone else that called me a rookie (which I am, so what) and made belittled me for being one had to be pretty embarassed when I was the only one standing in line to get my new class-M license. Perfect score. :flipoff:
I was riding two up with my wife we had just gone grocery shopping so the tank bag was full of groceries and my wife had a back pack full too. to park I have to go up a steep 4 ft incline to the level parking space. I guess I was going to slow so the bike stalled, we tripped over, and soon groceries, the two of us, and the bike were sprawled out on the pavement. to make matters worse I think some people in a neighboring apartment saw our fall because we heard chuckling from a balcony above.
Quote from: phire on January 12, 2006, 12:57:55 PMAnyways, that day there were 4 other guys on sport bikes there to test with me this time and I was the only one that passed. Everyone else that called me a rookie (which I am, so what) and made belittled me for being one
But who's still riding? My guess would be that three of them have probably crashed out by now. The fourth one probably still doesn't have his license and has less than 2k miles on his CBR/GSXR/R6/etc. :laugh:
No drops yet... (Would be nice to touch the ground with both feet though.) :mad:
First drop I can remember by stupidity was trying to bump start my GSXR600. It only had about 500 miles on it. I almost cried.
When I had the '92, the first day I had it I was going to take it out on a ride around the neighborhood with my dad, and as I wheeled it out of the garage I didn't have it balanced very well and it tipped over. The case guards prevented damage though. First day, first ride, first drop.
The first day I had the '04 I rode it from my house to my friends place and was going to show it to him. I was trying to put it on the centerstand, but didn't anticipate the extra weight of the F model compared to my old E (with the V&H exhaust, so it was even lighter). It didn't go up on the centerstand all the way, came down and tipped over because I couldn't lean it towards me. Tank dent and some scratches.
Droped mine out of stupidity. I was parking on the side of a street and the paved road surface was higher (1-2 inches) than the concrete curb (flat concrete area). As I kicked the kickstand down and started to get off the tire slid off the asphalt and onto the concrete causing the bike to begin falling to the right, as I am sitting on the bike. Me and the bike went down. Scrape on the fairing, no cracks YAY, and my pride. There was also an entire family getting into the van in front of me that witnessed everything. I got up cracked a joke and we all laughed. At least I could brighten somebodies day with my newbiness. (bike had 1500 miles on her)
OMG. :lol: Bluebellylint, that's horrible! Was the wifey pissed off? What'd she say?
I think the wost part of dropping a bike aside from cosmetic damage if it's new, is when people see it happen.
We were both laughing about it while we picked up the groceries and bike. I can still get a good laugh looking back on it. It must have been the funniest thing those people ever saw. :laugh:
P.S. the bike wasn't new and suffered no cosmetic damage it didn't already have because we were hardly moving and it partially landed in a bush
Quote from: Bluebellylint on January 12, 2006, 01:31:27 PM
I was riding two up with my wife
Same here... :oops:
I have a post about it somewhere, but I can't find it.
First drop was nothing. Bike slid out from uder me pulling out of a drive and I just planted my feet down. I was left standing there like nothing happened...
First real lay down was memorable...highsided a little 250 ninja. Dislocated the 4 joints I have left that'd never been dislocated...
It was emotionally painful -- and still is when I think about how stupid I was.
Backed into a parking spot at work that had a 1-2 degree downslope, so the bike was parked downhill. (I think you can see where this is going, n'est pas?) I got on the bike, started it up, put'er in neutral, side stand down and let it idle to warm up while I got off to put my helmet and gloves on.
I inadvertently nudged the bike with my butt, and that's all the momentum it needed to start rolling forward. Cost me a clutch lever and a lot of pride as two guys from work were just passing by to witness it. Cost me $16 and a tonne of pride.
Your first scratch is the deepest...
Riding my '97 to a friend's house the day I bought it. My friend was following me in his truck, since it was technically my first time riding on the streets with a motorcycle. I got to the destination just fine, even 1/4 mile down the sandy dirt road that leads to his house with no issues. But then I got to his driveway, which is concrete, and 5 inches above the level of the dirt road. I made the approach very slowly, since I knew the front of the bike would "buck" back when I went up on the concrete, which it did. What I did *not* anticipate was the :o :o TESTICLE PAIN :o :o that would momentarily blind me when the bike bucked back. Even though it was relatively minor testicle pain, it was testicle pain just the same, and it was enough to completely break my concentration. I did get the bike up on the concrete, but it went down immediately. I tried to save it, but knew I better get my leg out of the way because it was too late to keep the bike upright. WHAM! I was embarrassed, but since the bike had obviously been dropped a bunch of times before I bought it, I didn't feel so bad.
And if anyone cares, my cojones are just fine (and apparently still functioning). :laugh:
^thinking of embarassing ways to drop a bike, imagine pulling onto the side of the road and stopping and trying to put your feet down but you can because your laces are caught on the pegs. So you just fall over.
Best way to learn to tuck your laces.
Quote from: makenzie71 on January 12, 2006, 06:32:29 PM
^thinking of embarassing ways to drop a bike, imagine pulling onto the side of the road and stopping and trying to put your feet down but you can because your laces are caught on the pegs. So you just fall over.
Best way to learn to tuck your laces.
after reading all responses, this is the one that made me think 'Oh Crap!...' while I imagined it happening to me. :o
oh, no drops so far, but I will make darn sure I tuck my laces all the way (I've been doing that since I started riding, but thanks for the reminder).
I dropped my bike with 5k on the clock in the dealership parking lot the SAME DAY I BOUGHT IT! :oops: :cookoo: ARGH! I get so angry at myself when I think about it. I was making a right turn out of the dealership with my girlfriend and her brother in the car behind me when all of a sudden I stalled mid way through the turn and on gravel ... I put my foot down only to have it slide out to the right and the bike made a somewhat controlled fall. Even though it was a slow drop, I still managed to scuff up the right handlebar and mirror. :cry:
my first one was rather funny actually.
I had just got done painting my 72 cb350 (at the very end of its rebuild) and i was putting in on its center stand at the top of the drive where it was level. well the bike is fairly unbalanced on its centerstand (design flaw... thats honda for ya) and i didnt quite get the stand down all the way when it pulled me (standing on the left) over the bike and both down hard on the driveway. i just laughed because i had just decided two seconds ago that i hated the red paint i had chosen but was too lazy to repaint it.
needless to say i had to repaint it. this time satin black. the DAY i finished that and put the petcock and everything back on i rode it to work and got taken out by a 2005 mustang that ran a red light in a cobblestone intersection... 8 months of work... gone in 2 seconds. it didnt even scratch my paint job but it did dent the tank halfway in and cracked the frame. :cry:
all will be well though... the bike was paid out and i got a sh*tload of tools for it to rebuild my gs500e i had just gotten for free ;) :thumb:
Quote from: subc on January 12, 2006, 07:23:35 PM
Quote from: makenzie71 on January 12, 2006, 06:32:29 PM
^thinking of embarassing ways to drop a bike, imagine pulling onto the side of the road and stopping and trying to put your feet down but you can because your laces are caught on the pegs. So you just fall over.
Best way to learn to tuck your laces.
after reading all responses, this is the one that made me think 'Oh Crap!...' while I imagined it happening to me. :o
oh, no drops so far, but I will make darn sure I tuck my laces all the way (I've been doing that since I started riding, but thanks for the reminder).
This has happened to me as well, but luckily I haven't dropped her yet... :)
Quote from: Caffeine on January 12, 2006, 06:25:12 PMAnd if anyone cares, my cojones are just fine (and apparently still functioning). :laugh:
That's the best news of all I think! :icon_lol:
Quote from: makenzie71 on January 12, 2006, 06:32:29 PM
^thinking of embarassing ways to drop a bike, imagine pulling onto the side of the road and stopping and trying to put your feet down but you can because your laces are caught on the pegs. So you just fall over.
Best way to learn to tuck your laces.
You know, that's _ALMOST_ happened to me before but luckily I was still moving and had an extra second or two to kick them free.
Quote from: RedShift on January 12, 2006, 05:41:55 PMYour first scratch is the deepest...
That couldn't be more true... :cheers:
Quote from: RedShift on January 12, 2006, 05:41:55 PMYour first scratch is the deepest...
It's also the most noticable too.
I've never dropped a motorcycle. *knock on wood .. I've had mine for about 9 months, and put over 4,000 miles on it, and have come close a few times, but never dropped it.
I did, however, total a 2005 cbr600rr :cry: back in october..
1968: Riding a 55cc Honda to high school in Tucson. Saw a fat friend walking to school. Gave him a ride. In the middle of Broadway Blvd., he leaned back and said "Where do I put my books?" The front wheel immediately leaped up to the point where the bike was almost vertical. I let it go, and it went bouncing about 50 yards down Broadway while we sat on our asses in the middle of the street. Fortunately, there was little traffic. My friend started crying and whining that he had torn his pants. Amazingly, the bike sustained very little damage. My second was on a 350cc Honda in 1970. My girlfriend had picked up a new guitar and I had strapped it over my shoulder between us, failing to realize that this would make it almost impossible to turn the bike. On the first hard curve on a gravel road, we went down like a rock. But my most memorable was on a 125cc Yamaha in Tucson during a heavy rain. Two kids waved me across an intersection, telling me there was no problem. It was actually about a 5-foot hole, and I found myself under water. I got out, but my brother-in-law had to come help pull the bike out. Or there was the time ... oh, never mind -- I've had about 20 drops in silly circumstances.
my first was trying to put the bike on the center stand. I tried to do it while straddling the bike (big mistake). I got both sides of the stand down, but couldn't get the bike up on it. When it started to fall, my foot was on the stand, not on the ground. I got my foot out, but it was too heavy and too late. I basically set my bike down on it's side.
The worst was the time I pulled to the shoulder, put the bike in neutral (left it running), stepped off, took two steps, and the bike just fell over on it's own. I figure the kickstand wasn't out all the way and it just rolled off on it's own.
I've had about 8 near drops after pulling the front brake while in full lock in a parking lot. Last time I did that I pulled so hard on the lever to get the bike back up that the bolt holding the lever tight loosened and the lever went spinning around the bike. Saved it though.
The first drop was just stupid... I was turning around in someone's driveway because I wasn't confident enough to do a U-turn within 2 narrow lanes and I let the clutch go when I was backing myself up. I was new so I grabbed the front brake before the clutch, stalling myself and jerking the bike to a halt and I tipped over. Luckily no one was home at that house and I don't think anyone else saw... The second time was arguably just as stupid. I tried to do a radial burnout while standing beside my bike and it started to turn too fast and I had to let it down or else she woulda gotten away from me.
I didn't even start mine up for the first time before dropping it.
Just bought a 2005 GS500F (blue/white) last weekend. Due to incompetence by Chaparral (San Bernardino) I had to wait a week to get a helmet in the mail.
I took it off the center stand in preparation for its maiden voyage and...it just tipped over away from me. Fortunately, the fairing didn't crack. There's a small scratch on the right side of the engine cover, and another on the end of the right handlebar.
I consider myself lucky. And wiser. I will now always keep my cycle leaning *towards* me as I manoeuvre it while not astride it.
OMG. Before you even saddled up for the first time! Yeah, my wife dropped my 2005 trying to walk it around... She's never handled a bike before, either.I assume she didn't lean it towards her but I wasn't watching so I dunno... But luckily she dropped it on the side that I already dropped it on so it didn't really do anything that wasn't already there... Oh well, it was bound to happen sometime... Can't keep it new forever...
I'm happy to see that I'm not alone on the stupidity drop. I was trying to bump start my 05 F about a month after I got it, I guess I didn't get a fast enough run the rear locked up when I dumped the clutch and I lost my balance. Put a small crack in the upper part of the right fairing, and a few barely noticable scratches elsewhere, also broke my short stalk signal which was only about a week old :mad:. lesson learned make sure you don't turn the to the parking lights when you lock the bars, and don't try to bump start without help.
So, I was out of the country for the a couple of weeks ago for a few weeks and didn't ride at all during that time. I came back and went out for a spin (mind you I am a newbie with MSF+ 3 months and ~1500 miles of experience). Things were fine for the first hour or so of errands but then whilst in the parking lot of an apartment complex looking for a friend's place i did a U-Turn to the right instead of to the left (which I have practiced before) and over i went. I was able to jump off the bike at the last second and I was moving at a really slow speed so there wasn't much damage to the bike if any at all (maybe an extra scratch). I am nonetheless pissed at myself. There goes my perfect record (at least in my mind).
I know its not a big deal. I guess I just grew too complacent and cocky trying to do a more "difficult" maneuver while I was out of practice. Mind you I was in full gear and I have a super clean 2002 GS500E that I bought used, and I was super careful and aware while riding in the actual streets during the afternoon.
Luckily nobody saw, but it still left a scar in my mind.
has not happened yet