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Having a bad day- PC

4K views 31 replies 27 participants last post by  trapperdick 
#1 ·
Dropped my new 650 today. Have put nearly 1000 miles on it in a few months and laid it down because I got careless and rushed and forgot to put side stand down. Got up early after only a few hours sleep (first mistake) because I was really excited about my first proper road trip and my wife was going to be my pillion. Had just returned from the service station filling the tank and adding air to rear tire. I was wired and raring to get on the road so I parked the bike and hopped off liked I'd done 100 times already ... Next thing I know I'm under the bike... Forgot to lower the side stand! I felt like crying and somehow hoped for it to be some sort of bad dream, but it was all too real... Clutch handle snapped, mirror casing, footpegs, turn signal casing, and fork plate all scratched and scuffed. I pray there is no unseen mechanical damage and everything is only cosmetic. Literally feel sick to my stomach. Any words of consolation, encouragement or amusing anecdotes would be greatly appreciated... I will never fail to make sure the stand is properly positioned again.


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#4 ·
Welcome to the club. Now do the other side.
Never underestimate the dangers of the driveway.
 
#5 ·
Yeah, I've done mine on both sides. Just broke the signals off though so not too serious. The second time was a kick stand job. My buddy and I had stopped to take some pics and I gave the stand a boot but it flipped back up. I stepped off and the next thing I know I was rolling on the pavement next to my prone bike. A young lady on a bicycle had to detour around me and said something which I didn't hear. I hope it was a sarcastic comment. We righted the Wee and continued on our way with a pit stop to find some tape to repair the signal light. The brunt of both my drops appears to have been taken by the signal lights and crash bars. You can bet I'm more careful when putting the side stand down.

Earl
 
#9 ·
Cant tell you how many right mirror assemblies I replaced on the ST1100. I always dropped it on the right side for some reason. Dropped on the right side in 2000 when I first got it and broke my left leg bone. Go figure. Dropped it on the Keweenaw Penninsula when I popped the clutch and dropped it with my friend Joan on the back. Foot pinned under the bike so I could not get the leverage to lift 700+ pounds. Thank goodness Joan was there. The ST has a built in saftey bar for the eng.

Definatly going to put teflon tape under the clutch and brake mounts.
 
#10 ·
I did about the same damage you did and immediately bought SW Motech crash bars. (Like an idiot I tried holding the bike up because it was only two weeks old and no way in hell was I going to let it hit the ground. But it did, and I tried so hard to save it I pulled all the tendons and muscles in the back of my left leg so I could barely walk for a week and the back of my leg turned black and blue.) Since having the bars I've laid the bike down twice with zero damage except the bars were scratched a bit. BOTH times I was standing next to the bike pushing it forward in the drive way and the kick stand got pushed back a bit (from scraping the ground) so it wasn't locked in place. So fix er up, get the crash bars IMMEDIATELY and think about it no more.
 
#12 ·
Don't worry, putting down the stand will be second nature to you (and your left leg). You won't be able to dismount without your left leg doing the routine motion. Experience comes with time.

That being said, I never dropped my vStrom that way. I dropped it a lot other ways :), Going up hill in dirt and running out of juice, stalling cold engine in a corner, so yeah, crash guard is for that, protection. And also get a good hand protector, it will save your levers.
 
#13 ·
as a noob

I have also dropped my bike a couple of times. The first time was in my garage. I am always ragging on my SO because she buys these giant bags of toilet paper from Costco and they are always getting in the way in the garage. Well luck will have it, I pushed the bike off the center stand and it fell away from me on to a bag of toilet paper! No damage at all. I am also in the habit of never moving the bike unless the kick stand is up. This way it will always be completely down when I put the weight back on it.
 
#14 ·
Ok so my dad and I took a ride to AK on KLRs. His bike fell over several times. I got lucky and mine didn't the whole trip. Second trip up he dropped it less. He always hated that it fell over. I told him everyone drops there bike sometime. So on the way back I drop mine. It just tipped over and I couldn't stop it. It broke my clutch lever and hand guard. He never broke anything on his. I dropped mine once and do damage. I have a pic he took of me standing over it with my foot on it. Its always a matter of time... Fortunatly our V-Stroms have not been down YET.

Congrats on getting it out of the way. :thumbup: :headbang:
 
#15 ·
My went over in my work parking lot. First thing I did was look around to see if anybody was watching me. Luckily, no one was around. Crash bars and my leg took the fall, so no damage to the bike. I wasn't a kickstand issue either. I put my foot down in a low spot in the pavement. The bike leaned a lot further than I'd expected and away we went!
 
#17 ·
" I will never fail to make sure the stand is properly positioned again."

Don't bet your life on it. First time I rode cross country for a long trip, years ago, bags and trunk loaded and my guitar strapped across the seat I pulled up to a gas station and the side stand kicked back up on me and I was under the bike real fast. While trying to crawl out from under the bike the a lady's voice came over the PA system..."Could you please pull to the forward pump?"
Happens to all of us. When I first got the Wee I was putting the bike on the center stand at the gas station and threw it over on the right side.
Actually, after a while you can get quite good at dumping the bike.
 
#19 ·
After an 110 mile ride today my father-in-law dropped his bike right in front of his garage door. I heard the engine revving so I turned to see what was going on and I saw his bike hit the ground as he went tumbling off. If you ride long enough it will happen.
 
#22 · (Edited)
http://www.stromtrooper.com/dl650-2004-2011-%5B-wee-strom-%5D/87082-1-week-old-dropped.html
I already forgot about the dropped bike. Got an ATV handle bar, put on some old blinkers from a Victory, buffed out the road rash as much as possible, still haven't changed the clutch handle, went to bike week going to leesburg and enjoying every passing mile with this awesome bike. I know it's hard not to think about the drop but hey join our club.
The dropstrommers !
Good luck with the process of putting new and different farkles(that you might not wanted to do right now)
B.T.W. i do have a front OEM left blinker for sale (i know -shameless plug)
 
#23 ·
I had a total hip replacement in 2009. 10 days later, I was rushed to the ER with a burst appendix. I had a bunch of anesthesia left in my system from the surgeries, plus a nightly dose of Ambien to help me sleep:bom_freak:. I probably had no business on a motorcycle, but 3 weeks later I was out on my brand new Wee. I dropped it 3 times in 1 day! Pretty much wiped out the levers and front turn indicators. I was heartbroken. I parked the bike for a month until I recovered fully. You'll get over it. It's just part of the learning curve.

By the way...I've sworn off of the Ambien. That's some hardcore stuff.:bom_sleeping2:
 
#24 ·
Been there, done that. The first time it happened that I really cared was years ago but I remember it like it was yesterday. My son and I were heading out on a multi-week 2-up trip on my old GS. I decided to roll the fully loaded bike down the driveway to get her on the street for a few pictures and to make it easier for him to mount. I left the side stand down as I was moving it. Everything was fine until I turned the bike left at the bottom of the driveway. As I was turning it the side stand made contact with the ground and over to the right she went. I felt like an idiot but my wife, boys and I got it back up in a snap. My son and I got on it and off we went.

It would not have helped in the above example but my technique to mitigate this from happening is to shut the engine off with the side stand. My procedure is to deploy the side stand down, the engine turning off confirms the side stand has been moved from the stowed position, I look down and left to confirm the side stand is in fact fully deployed, and finally I leave my foot bracing the side stand while I get off the bike. I also never get off the bike unless it is in gear and as an added precaution I always keep the front brake engaged with my right hand until completely off. I do this as a matter of routine on my DL without thinking about it. I don't chance it on my K1600GTL, I think about it and check off the steps every single time...it only takes a few seconds to do it right. It would take hours and/or days to get over the fretting from being careless just once. :)


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#25 ·
I have dropped mine twice. The first time I was riding along and had a nagging feeling I hadn't latched my left side case. I stopped and without putting the side stand down for safety, I turned to reach the latch and that turning movement with my hands off the bars was just enough to get it falling and down it went pitching me into the street. Good thing there wasn't a car coming. The second time was in the garage. Once it starts to go the point of no return happens pretty quickly and gravity and mass take their toll. Every time I stop for any reason that will require me to take both hands off the bars, like getting gas, I always put the side stand down just in case. It may not catch it but may help, at least on the left side. Also, when I need to move the bike in the garage I always get on it and walk it around. I figure that moving it around with a leg on both sides of the bike and my hands on the bars will give me the best control over the bike. If you are pushing it from the right side and it starts to tip to the left side you are out of luck.
 
#28 ·
some of those are pretty funny! some not so much....

i'm guilty of #5 and have witnessed #21 at a very busy intersection...
 
#30 ·
some of those are pretty funny! some not so much....
Dropped my bike while pushing it backward while trying to avoid dog sh@t in my backward. I didn't want a collection of dog excrement on my new, deep tread K60 scouts.

The last laugh was on my dog. I later discovered that I had stepped it it and it was all over my right foot peg and rear brake lever. :jawdrop:
 
#29 ·
4 hours after I got my bike I stalled it going up a curb into my alley, got the tip of my front brake lever. Then a week later I parked in a buddies driveway and forgot to put the stand down, luckily I caught it on the way down and just scuffed some stuff. Oh well first bike for me, stuff happens.

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#32 ·
I did the same thing in the mid seventies....Pulled into the Donut Shop looking real cool...I waved to a friend inside then stepped off. Opps, the kickstand. Here we are 35 years later and I never did it again,,,,,,until last year.:headbang:
 
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