[krukster86]

(Preface: I am 5'-10" on a Wee with a touring gel seat).

Work has me temporarily relocated from Chicago to Chattanooga, TN and now I have elevation changes, mountains and twisty roads! :thumbup:
However this also caused me to let my Wee take some naps on the road:

Nap #1: I am hitting up the twisty mountain roads with a riding buddy. He takes a turn too fast and dumps his bike in a downhill hairpin. He was down in the roadway so I came to a stop in the middle of the curved, banked road and tried to put my feet down, lost balance and fell over.

Nap #2: A bunch of us rented a chalet in the Smoky Mountains one weekend and to get from there to anywhere, you have to navigate a maze of twisty roads with large downhill sections. I came to one intersection that had a stop sign at the steep downhill part that also had a curve to it. Once again, came to a stop and felt the unbalanced weight of the bike and let it fall over.

What am I doing wrong?

 

[Yak]

Hard to tell, but it sounds like you are stopping in places where the roadway is lower where your foot is going than where the wheels are, or, in banked corners where the road slopes away from you. Unless you are 5' 10" with stumpy legs, you have enough reach, you need to pay more attention to WHERE you are stopping. Sometimes you have no choice, but you can change the angle of the bike on the roadway to help, you can also put the other foot down instead (if it is just a momentary stop). I am 5' 10", with a 32" inseam. The bike isn't unbalanced - it is the rider. Just need more practice and better awareness of your situations. good luck.

 

[PTRider]

Are you thinking of anything else or looking elsewhere as you come to a stop? Think of just the stop and getting one or both feet down as you come to the stop. You can use the front brake for the last few inches of travel, get off the rear brake, and get your feet down and the bike held straight. Yak has a very good point about stopping on a side-sloped piece of road--be sure you are supporting the bike's weight on the foot on the high side. Practice. Find a very minor grade and practice. Then practice on a bit more grade, then even more.

 

[dhally]

I just got a Wee too. My latest bike was a KTM 640 Adventure, which is a lot taller, so I didn't think the Wee would be a problem for me. I almost dumped it in my driveway (gravel driveway on a steep hill). I think what got me was the LENGTH of the Wee. The front and back tires were at one level, but the ground was lower under my feet (I was in a dip). The wheelbase is long enough that this can be a problem on uneven ground.

The best way I have found to keep upright is to make my butt mobile. Instead of sitting on the seat and putting one or both feet down, on uneven ground I scoot sideways so one foot can reach lower down. Worst case, hop off the bike before it's stopped and hold it up.

 

[honest bob]

Have you done the usual front & rear lowering? This can make the difference.:yesnod:

 

[Dino M]

I'm not the person to ask about this since I just dropped (first time) my Wee this weekend. Riding second in line with some friends, the leader abruptly hit his brakes and pulled over at a dirt/ gravel road. Unfortunately there was a slope to the right and my foot slipped on the loose gravel when I came to a stop. :bom_stupid: Over I went and ended up rolling down the hill about eight feet. I'm responsible for all actions on the bike so ultimately it was my fault. :headbang:I could have chosen to ride past and stop at a safer area. This is what I observed when the dump happened. The slope was to the right like most roads but since this was an intersection, there was actually two slopes. Each road had a slope and when, at a slow speed, my front tire tried to climb the the embankment on the intersecting street, it slowed me quicker than expected and forced the wheel slightly to the right which placed me farther off the road than intended. As a result, when I went to put my foot down the road surface was much further down hill than expected and being gravel my foot slipped.

 

[MrZappo]

Yup. I just discovered this same set of circumstances myself ... Just a few days ago, I had to do a quick stop on a (ever so slightly angled street). Normally my left foot goes down first when stopping but this time I was a bit off balance and came down on my right foot.

It was just a slight incline but it did make maybe a 2 or 3 inch difference in the distance to the street. Just enough. I was not even in gravel. I had good boots on with good tread and it was dry pavement.

I am about a 250 pound person and am fairly strong (At least I tell myself that I am), and I had no chance of holding it up. It is a heavy bike and coupled with the extra couple of inches, it was going down. Nothing I could do.

So, I have a new scuff on my crash bar (better have these on this bike). And I am no worse off except for my Ego.

Welcome to the club. From the look of things this forum has had a record number of recruits to the wall of shame just over the past several days ...

Forget about it. Ride some more and watch out for those inclined stops ...

 

[tmcgee]

You just have to pay more attention to where you stop.

 

[toxster]

My only (unprovoked) Wee drop was downhill in queueing traffic. Cause was simply a front brake touch - keep away from it.

Nb - You don't have to stop the bike in a straight line - if you're used to ski-ing then it'll come natural to stop parallel to the slope if you can get into that mindset.

When you start-off, the Wee will squirrel itself straight if you use high revs and drag the back brake.

 

[EC90T]

You may want to start practicing a one foot stop. Do this so your left foot is the one supporting the bike. You support the bike with the left foot so your right foot can be on the brake lever to keep the bike from rolling. A little practice in a parking lot will alow you to do this at will. Just make sure to look at the pavement where your foot will touch down for any loose debris.

I can't flat foot my Vee with the RDL seat on, but have no issues coming to a stop in a less than flat place fully loaded with a passenger.

It's just another tool to learn and keep in your bag of tricks.

 

[krukster86]

Sounds good 'gents. I will have to practice uneven road and downhill stops some more. If anything, these two incidents made me learn how to pick up a bike by myself!

 

[krukster86]

Hard to tell, but it sounds like you are stopping in places where the roadway is lower where your foot is going than where the wheels are, or, in banked corners where the road slopes away from you.

THIS

I believe what you state here is contributor to nap #1 and possibly #2, I know I fell over on the right side of the bike (both falls happened on downhill, right hand banked turns).

 

[on_the_edge]

Whatever the exact issue is, it sounds like it can be overcome with a bit of practice. I think I would find an empty parking lot and put in a few hours practicing coming to a full stop and placing only your left foot on the ground, and then starting up and going in a straight line rather than side to side in your lane. It may be nothing more than a balance issue, and balance can be greatly improved with practice. Hopefully it will never happen, but I could see the bike going over at a stop and you getting thrown into the path of another vehicle. You certainly don't want to go there!!!

 

[eye.surgeon]

Consider taking/retaking the MSF course. Low-speed bike control is a basic, and particularly important riding big adventure bikes. It's not normal to drop your bike except in very unusual circumstances. I haven't dropped a bike in 20 years and I've never dropped my Wee. I have however done a lot of other stupid things.

 

[Ditmo]

I dropped my Wee a couple of times the first two months I owned it. I'm a short guy with a 28" inseam. I always pay attention to where I'm stopping now. I keep my right foot on the brake, slide my butt over to the left and put my left foot down. If I'm centered on the bike I can barely touch the tip of my toes to the ground. I now stop the same way on all my bikes, just don't have to shift my butt over.

 

[Stromburger]

Did the same thing a while back and I'm 6'4" and 250 lb. I stopped on a slope and put the foot down on the downhill side. I only had time to jump away from the beast. I've learned whenever on a slope, either aim the bike uphill or be ready to lean the bike on the uphill side and support with the uphill leg. If you support it on the downhill side it's a high probability of going over.

 

[tmcgee]

I haven't dropped a bike in 20 years and I've never dropped my Wee.

You're not riding enough. :biggrinjester:

 

[Jjgres]

Get the Pat Walsh bars, they make falling over a pleasure.

 

[bigboy292000]

A few more thoughts:

- When stopping, make sure you are not looking down at the road! It sounds weird but I had a problem with "wobbly" stops and a member here asked me if I was looking down on the ground when stopping, and I was. You know what they say - you will go where you look. It did make a difference for me!

- When coming to a stop and road incline is iffy, brake with rear only if you can the very end of the stop. It will disturb the bike much less (less weight transfer and suspension bounce).

 

[DSCR]

I am not a good rider. I dont ride enough. As a result, I ride cautiously and I practice quite a bit when I dont have time for a proper ride. 3 or 4 times a month I go to the local high school parking lot after hours and practice slow, even crawling maneuvers. 180's, 360's, seeing how slow I can go for how long, standing/sitting, etc. I have to really work at looking where I want to go. Especially when dragging the rear brake, and balancing a tight figure eight.

This is how I learned to balance and ride a tall KLR in slow tight places. Compared to a KLR, the Wee is like sliding my butt on the ground. I think I might have shrunk to 5'9" and maybe 1/2. I buy 32 inch inseam pants, and cannot flat foot the Wee either. Like others have said, on the KLR I developed the habit of keeping my right foot on the peg for rear brake control and exclusively use the left when stopped, except on a steep slope to the left. Then I use the right foot down, but it is the exception and I have to think about it every time.

Without much practice on slow handling in that parking lot, I never would have been able to ride that KLR. And it has helped me with the Wee, a totally different animal.

I know what you mean, though. I had a honda valkyrie is. No problem flat footing it. I would sit on it and back it out of the garage and onto the walkway in front of the house, which is on a hill down to the street. One time, I backed too close to the edge of the concrete and put my right foot down to find that my foot was off the concrete and landed a few inches down in the adjacent grass. That extra few inches of movement to the right set the 800 lb valk on an unstoppable trip to the grass, basically upside down on a down hill slope. I had to get a neighbor to help me pick it up, that time.

I have dropped every bike I have ever owned....more than once. I have had the wee since may and havent dropped it yet...knock on wood. I will. Hopefully it will be while stopping. But the parking lot practice has helped avoid it so far.