[flyingjib]

Well, I,ve had the Wee four days and finally managed to lay it down coming down my buddy's driveway at the transition to pavement. It is a short and fairly steep drive and I just had her going too slow. The bike keeled over on the right side and flipped me off doing a somersault into the ditch. No harm to me and minimal damage to the bike namely a broken turn signal and a slightly scuffed up decal. Thankfully the engine guard did its job. After a bit of a laugh my buddy and I righted the bike and off I went. Jeesh! Any suggestions for where to pick up a right side turn signal assembly for a 2006 Wee?
On another note I absolutely love this bike! It handles like a bicycle with a motor, goes where you want it too and balances easily. I rarely have to put a foot down at STOP signs in this rural area. This is a keeper.

Earl

 

[BobA]

Welcome to the "dropped my Wee" club. The important question is were you able to pick her up without assistance?

I actually practiced gently laying the bike down and picking it up to make sure I could do it. Bit of a struggle, but possible, at least with 1/2 tank of gas and no luggage. Might be a bit harder with a full tank though.

I'd say it handles more like a loaded wheelbarrow when it's not moving, except it's a lot less stable. One it's under way it's pretty effortless and handles great, but at low to no speed I find it a bit of a pig.

 

[happypuppy]

I think the stem mounted ones are made to break and replace I picked up some flush mounts off eBay. The bikes are top heavy if your are coming from a lower cg bike it is really noticeable. It is one of those live and learn things

 

[George Johnson]

Yep. Been there, done that.

You'll probably choke at the price of a stock replacement signal. Much cheaper is to buy a pair of Buell signals from your friendly local Harley shop. They're virtual plug ins, though you do need to change the bulbs to orange tinted ones of the appropriate wattage. Supposedly the Buells won't break the next time your bike gets dropped, but I haven't tried that myself, yet.

 

[chicago]

Sounds like you stalled the engine and over she went because it happened so fast. If you find yourself doing a lot of low speed chugging on the trail or where ever you might consider a 14 tooth sprocket. Can make those low speed maneuvers a bit more forgiving and I find it makes the bike more fun to ride if you spend much time on the back roads as opposed to the slab.

 

[Ridgerunner78]

Crash Bars

No need to be ashamed. There are two kinds of bike riders. The ones that admit they have dropped their bike before and the ones that lie about it.

 

[SittingDuck]

[...]No harm to me and minimal damage to the bike namely a broken turn signal and a slightly scuffed up decal. Thankfully the engine guard did its job. [...]

Just out of curiosity, what engine guards are you using?
I ask because I too have dropped my strom (no engine guards), and the only thing that got damaged was my left turn signal (bike fell off the #@! stand).

"The engine guard did it's job" wonderfully, as long as its job description is "costing you money and making you feel good".

I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but there's a huge amount of posts out there that say something like "thank god for the engine guard", yet no-one is willing to droip the bike with and without to compare damage.

It seems that your with-guard and my without-guard drops amounted to the exact same damage, so I must respectfully ask that people stop saying how great the engine guard is and how much it saved their bike from damage when they have NO idea what would have gotten damaged differently had they not had the guards (probably nothing).

You may now resume your display of sympathy for the n00b who dropped his strom (oh, by the way, welcome to the family; you're now officially a veteran rider).

 

[flyingjib]

No worries, I figured I would drop it at some point. There was no way I was picking it up on my own the way she was laying, sort of down hill near the ditch. The bike definitely didn't stall as I had to shut it off after I scrambled out of the ditch. I may be able to tape the broken signal lens back together for the time being, didn't break the stalk off. Have to check on a replacement. I'm definitely feeling the affects of it tonight, pulled my right bicep and a muscle in me leg. Ow, ow, ow.... At least I'm in good company. Thanks for the replies.

Earl

Ps Ice and ibuprofen are my friends

 

[flyingjib]

Just out of curiosity, what engine guards are you using?
I ask because I too have dropped my strom (no engine guards), and the only thing that got damaged was my left turn signal (bike fell off the #@! stand).

"The engine guard did it's job" wonderfully, as long as its job description is "costing you money and making you feel good".

I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but there's a huge amount of posts out there that say something like "thank god for the engine guard", yet no-one is willing to droip the bike with and without to compare damage.

It seems that your with-guard and my without-guard drops amounted to the exact same damage, so I must respectfully ask that people stop saying how great the engine guard is and how much it saved their bike from damage when they have NO idea what would have gotten damaged differently had they not had the guards (probably nothing).

You may now resume your display of sympathy for the n00b who dropped his strom (oh, by the way, welcome to the family; you're now officially a veteran rider).

Hey man how's it going? The guards came on the bike which is new to me and have Suzuki stamped on them so I am assuming they are factory issue. The reason I said they did their job is that there is an obvious scuff on the guard which probably would have been on the plastic shroud below the tank. I figure it protected this area but can't be 100% positive without a similar drop without the guard. No problems SD and thanks for the welcome to the club. The signal lights seem like the first to go regardless.

Earl

 

[nhbubba]

OP, I know just how you feel.

...yet no-one is willing to droip the bike with and without to compare damage.

You are correct. I am entirely unwilling to unbolt my guards and drop the bike just to prove that plastic scratches when smeared across pavement.

I've seen enough used V-Stroms with scratched, cracked, screwed up plastics to know that they aren't pavement proof.

 

[BillZ]

Yup, welcome to the club. I have just about 4000 miles and I've managed to dropped my on both sides already. Just trying to keep things balanced, I guess. Great bike! Ride on! :beatnik:

 

[flyingjib]

Yup, welcome to the club. I have just about 4000 miles and I've managed to dropped my on both sides already. Just trying to keep things balanced, I guess. Great bike! Ride on! :beatnik:

Hi Bill, I'm going to try and keep mine on one side although the balanced method would look better. My buddy and I had a good chuckle this morning as he related the story: Came down the driveway and saw the bike laying on its side but no Earl. Where the heck did he get to? Then he saw me scrambling out of the ditch....:mod2_stuart:

Earl

 

[BillZ]

Gotta love them crash bars! :beatnik:

 

[leygan]

Dropped my Vee for 1st time this past Friday...slow, tight turn over obstacle and down I went. Crash bars and luggage took the brunt of it but I was able to right it alone so I feel good about that. I'm actually kind of glad getting the 1st drop out-of-the-way is over with. If I use the bike for what it was designed to do...I'll be down again at some point...maybe many points.

Ride On...

 

[flyingjib]

Dropped my Vee for 1st time this past Friday...slow, tight turn over obstacle and down I went. Crash bars and luggage took the brunt of it but I was able to right it alone so I feel good about that. I'm actually kind of glad getting the 1st drop out-of-the-way is over with. If I use the bike for what it was designed to do...I'll be down again at some point...maybe many points.

Ride On...

Yeah, like Rod Stewart said, ...."The first drop is the hardest..." or something like that. I have a new turn signal on order from the dealer. About $50, ouch!

Earl

 

[Stixx]

FWIW department you can pick up almost any bike by yourself if you make sure it is in gear then sit down on the seat perpindicular to the bike and pull the handlebar to your hip with your hand closest to the bar and take hold of the passenger handle with your free hand. Then just bend your legs and push the bike up with your legs. No hernia this way and it works from either side though I prefer falling on the left side as it is easier to get the kick stand back down from that side. We beemer riders have to perfect this art cuz our bikes are so dang topheavy they drop all the time and being they are so heavy they are really hard to right any other way .

it works with a load or not because you are not really lifting anything just pushing with the legs. Try it next time but dont forget to put it in gear or you can chase the thing in a circle till you remember. Yes I did that too once. LOL :headbang:

 

[BobA]

it works with a load or not because you are not really lifting anything just pushing with the legs. Try it next time but dont forget to put it in gear or you can chase the thing in a circle till you remember. Yes I did that too once. LOL :headbang:

That's the technique I use, but a load does make a difference. You are lifting because you are raising the weight of the bike (which is pretty much the definition of lifting!). However you are doing most of the lifting with your legs rather than your back and/or arms. More weight means you need more leg strength to push harder to get the bike back upright.

You do need to be in gear or tie your brake lever to the bars to keep the bike stable.

If you ever ride solo it might be a good idea to practice getting it back on its feet a few times so you can perfect your technique before you need it.

By the way, the OP said:

The bike definitely didn't stall as I had to shut it off after I scrambled out of the ditch.

I thought the Wee (at least the current model) has a tipover switch that turns the power to the fuel pump off if you lay it down. I don't know when they added it. Maybe you didn't get to the required angle to trigger it or maybe yours isn't working. I think there's supposed to be a short delay before the engine actually stops, but I'd have though that would be less time than it takes to crawl out of a ditch!

 

[flyingjib]

Great advice. I could have been wrong about the bike running 'cause I switched off the ignition key but didn't try the throttle. It is a quiet runner and I sure ain't that fast getting out of ditches. I could have tried lifting the bike alone but my buddy was there and we work well together. God forbid I have to help him lift his Harley one day :mrgreen:! By the way he really likes the Wee also. So much that he is thinking of getting one.

Earl

 

[jva118]

I dropped mine a few days in as well. Twice in the same day. I was crossing creeks with rocks the size of baby heads though. My tires are in need of replacement as well. Isnt that the fun of adventure riding. If you know what is going to happen its not really an adventure.

 

[leygan]

my 2008 Vee was still running when I hit the ground 'till I hit the Kill switch. If in fact a bike has a 'tip-over' switch, how do you reset and where would I find it? My luggage may have kept it from reaching the required angle of tip-overness