Falling down

[Thorgrim]

I'd bet that most people here have had an embarassing fall-over at least once in their life, let's hear about them. Since it's my idea, I'll list two of my own.

1. 1970, 1,000cc Sportster. Lady in a car sees the amber light and locks up her brakes. I grab a big handful of spongey Harley goodness, and just as I get it stopped the front tire taps her bumper. Splat to the left, thankfully without my leg under it. She drove off, I tapped her so lightly that she didn't even feel it, or at least it didn't register as an impact with her. The pisser? All 125# of me didn't get the bike on its tires the first try, and people drove around me instead of stopping to help. In the U.S. South, where everybody waves and bagboys will carry your groceries to the car unless you insist they not. I wasn't dressed as a pretend 1%'er, either, I was wearing a pair of Bates leathers that matched the bike.

2. 1972 Yamaha 750 twin (traded the Sporty for it). Going through a section of town with really wide streets late at night after a rain, and met the only car on the road that late at a place where water pools. He had a clear way around it within his lane, but the asshat purposefully steers for the water and drenches me in muddy muck. So I stopped because I can't see anything, kicked at the side stand and as I reached up with both hands to pull my goggles off, I kneed the bike onto the side stand. Didn't have it down good, and the bike threw me into the oncoming lane as it went down. Lucky that was the only car in the oncoming lane. Temper, temper!

Now, your embarassing story ...

[tc.young]

in front of walmart, had a backpack full of goodies including 1 gal rotella. Got on, phone rang, leaned to put bike down but forgot i retracted side stand. Ended up on my left side and was stuck like a turtle upside down. Got out, bent a turn signal. no biggie. still sucked.

[Panda]

Trying to bump start the bike in full gear on a 90 degree day and 100% humidity, there are no hills around. I tried 3 or 4 times and wasn't running fast enough. It's hard work running in full gear pushing a 400lb bike. So now I'm sweating and my helmet strap is digging in my throat and I kind of want to puke. I should just give hook up a battery tender, but I'm in my gear, I'm getting impatient, and I really want to ride now.

So I get going again, up to 5 mph, it flickers at 6, I think I should try to get it to 7 but this is hard work, sweat is dripping in my eyes, and when did the inside of my helmet turn into a sauna anyway? I jump on the bike, feeling good about this attempt, milliseconds away from popping the clutch, then I lose my balance, start to fall to the right, hit the brake, stick my leg out and...splat. The bike and I fall over to the right at about 1 MPH.

Skills... I have them.

[LittleRedNinjette]

Well aside from the many times i dropped it in the yard trying to move it around with the neighbors watching. I had maybe been on the bike 2 weeks tops. Went to get gas, the station is at a point and has 5 entrances and is on a bit of a hill. Well i pull in and like magic cars come in from each direction, i go to just stop and BOOM fall to my left.... Bike was ok, i have frame sliders, twisted my knee a bit but my pride was trashed...... Atleast i can lift my bike up....
The best/worst bart was i still had to get gas...

[NevadaWolf]

Oh let's see,

1999 pregen, brand new n00b coming out of an A&W and pull up to the exit to wait on traffic. It's on a slight slight downward hill and I fixated on the sidewalk to not roll out into traffic. Look up, see no one, look down at the pretty sidewalk again, start to roll out and look up to CAR! Panicked, grabbed everything, and TIMBER!

2000 pregen, riding through Reno and get lost. Find a somewhat deserted area to attempt to make a big turn around. Cut the corner of the intersection and discovered the pavement was all cracked and chunky and thunk, down I go. It seriously was like the ghetto side of town and while I was struggling to lift it, some guy came over. I am now freaking out and as he's helping, he calmly says I'm lucky I'm not hurt, asks if I need anything, and mentions this was a terrible part of town to find myself alone and in trouble. I meekly say thanks, get on, and ride away. I went home.

2012 newgen first day, get it home, have a brain fart as to what my driveway looks like and THUNK fall over as I pull up onto the sidewalk. Neighbor rushes over to help but I'm just laughing. At least I got the n00b drop out of the way right from the get go.

[csmith12]

Well here you go, I will admit some of mine on some of the bikes I have owned in the past. lol Pull up a chair.

1984 kawi 440ltd - My first drop was at a stop sign because I had crappy skills with the controls and the bike ran like crap. I had to keep on the throttle or the bike would die. Let off the controls and the bike rode about 10ft without me and fell over in the street. Sure enough, cop was right behind me.

1976 HD Shovelhead - Was my first expensive bike. Dropped while trying to turn around in the camping area of my local lake in front of my whole family reunion. Kicker was I was about to give my little cousin a ride. My aunt was a bit skeptical after that. lol

1992 Ninja 250 - Dropped at the "country store" in the gravel parking lot while getting gas. Lost footing while trying to sit on the bike while filling the tank. Was in a hurry and didn't have side stand down. Went in to pay, and they were reviewing it on the security tape.

2006 Yami R6 - Dropped twice lol
First time at the drug store, I was in such a hurry... I turned it off, grabbed key and simply got off. Didn't even attempt to put the side stand down. Odd thing was, it stood on it's own long enough for me to take a few steps and then I heard BOOM. Little old lady in the car parked in the next space had to remove her O2 mask because she was laughing so hard. She gave me 2 dollars for the good laugh and a "little treat" for me. hahahahhahaha
Second time was in the paddock at the track. Kicker here is.... I was only at the track that day because 3 riders went in together to pay for my time. But I had to give them 1 on 1 help. 4th session of the day, we hop on our bikes... they ride off to hot pit, I fall down trying to kick my rear stand out. lol (Side Note: 2 of the 3 riders dragged knee that day, I am still working with the other rider. He is on his 12th track day and still hasn't got it down but he is very very close. That is determination right there.) Laying it down in the paddock automatically puts the "laugh at me" sign on your back for the day.

[crazymadbastard]

newbie here so far:
was as stop, attempted a left did not realize that I had accelerated enough to lean so I turn bars left I was counterweighting so bike went straight, grabbed mass quantities of front brake while still applying copius amounts of throtle and fell to the side. Slid about a foot and mainly bruised my ego and put another small battle scar on bike. Live and learn...

[Motofool]

Once, I stopped to help a rider with mechanical problems on the side of a narrow road.
I normally use the central stand of my pre-gen.
That time, I parked over grass and used the side stand, because it seemed to be more stable.

Well,....the stand penetrated the dirt little by little and, ...swapppp!, to the ground my beloved 250 went ten minutes later, while I was doing my magic on that guy's bike.

My pre-gen had been naked for a while, so there was no damage to the fairing.
However, the steel support for the left mirror got deformed.

Both bikes were happily vroom-vroom away after that embarrassing incident.

[CC Cowboy]

While leaving Daisey Buchanan's Pub in Boston, after the Boston Marathon, I did a massive burnout smoking up the entire street only to forget to put my feet down at the stop sign on the corner. In my defense, there was alcohol involved.

[250rr]

.

[jackliu239]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Well here you go, I will admit some of mine on some of the bikes I have owned in the past. lol Pull up a chair.

1984 kawi 440ltd - My first drop was at a stop sign because I had crappy skills with the controls and the bike ran like crap. I had to keep on the throttle or the bike would die. Let off the controls and the bike rode about 10ft without me and fell over in the street. Sure enough, cop was right behind me.

1976 HD Shovelhead - Was my first expensive bike. Dropped while trying to turn around in the camping area of my local lake in front of my whole family reunion. Kicker was I was about to give my little cousin a ride. My aunt was a bit skeptical after that. lol

1992 Ninja 250 - Dropped at the "country store" in the gravel parking lot while getting gas. Lost footing while trying to sit on the bike while filling the tank. Was in a hurry and didn't have side stand down. Went in to pay, and they were reviewing it on the security tape.

2006 Yami R6 - Dropped twice lol
First time at the drug store, I was in such a hurry... I turned it off, grabbed key and simply got off. Didn't even attempt to put the side stand down. Odd thing was, it stood on it's own long enough for me to take a few steps and then I heard BOOM. Little old lady in the car parked in the next space had to remove her O2 mask because she was laughing so hard. She gave me 2 dollars for the good laugh and a "little treat" for me. hahahahhahaha
Second time was in the paddock at the track. Kicker here is.... I was only at the track that day because 3 riders went in together to pay for my time. But I had to give them 1 on 1 help. 4th session of the day, we hop on our bikes... they ride off to hot pit, I fall down trying to kick my rear stand out. lol (Side Note: 2 of the 3 riders dragged knee that day, I am still working with the other rider. He is on his 12th track day and still hasn't got it down but he is very very close. That is determination right there.) Laying it down in the paddock automatically puts the "laugh at me" sign on your back for the day.

You and motorcycle stands must have been mortal enemies during your last incarnation.

[csmith12]

Out of all the things I have been taught, one of the things I have never got down is how to kick the stand out, while pushing the bike forward.

[kremtok]

Once I rode from Anchorage, Alaska to Seward, Alaska. It looked exactly the same as the last time I had made the ride, so I gassed up and turned around. About 20 miles outside if town I suddenly have to pee so badly that I'm feeling physical pain from the tire merely rolling over the asphalt.

Luckily, I encounter a trailhead nearby and I also know there are restrooms at each of them. So I stop at the Johnson Pass trailhead, get off my bike, then attempt to put it on the side stand.

Which I had forgotten to extend. Fortunately, my habit of holding a handful of brake and setting her down gently was not broken by my painfully expanded bladder, and I was able to stop it from going down through a sheer, panic-induced burst of strength. I even managed not to piss myself.

To this day I remember that event every single time I get off my bike. Because of it, I always double check that my side stand is down and I haven't made the same embarrassing mistake again.

[Panda]

Because of threads like these I got into the habit of visually conforming my stand is down or back up.

[tcbmellowd]

One year strong and no drops or crashes, thank God

However, I shall share the woes of a friend.

(Story takes place a few months before I purchased my bike. My friend has no experience with a street bike, but some on dirt.)
I went with one of my good friends and his girlfriend to purchase his first bike, a brand new black 2012 Ninja 650, from Chaparral Motorsports. We are all stoked during the purchase process and pick up a helmet and some gloves for the short ride home. After everything is finalized, we go to the back to get the bike. We watch as he gets on the bike and starts it up. After a few stalls, he finally gets moving. His girlfriend and I are following him on foot about 20 yards away as he approaches the stop sign near where our car is parked. We watch from a distance as he gets spooked by an approaching car and in slow-motion, drops his bike on the right side. So funny how things went from pure unadulterated joy and jealousy to oh fuuuuúūûuu!! He is fine with a few scrapes, but the 650 has suffered a broken mirror, broken footpeg, and some battle scars. We try and comfort him as he pits the broken pieces into his gf's car. After the self-defeat subsides, he rides the bike home with only a small <1" piece lf the foot peg bracket left as a footrest.

Moral of the story: Don't drop a brand new bike... You won't sleep sound that night.

[rasta]

After 2 months, and 1100 miles, only my ninjette's two wheels have touched the ground. I've been fortunate so far (knock on woooood). But I came very close the first time I rode around my neighborhood.

Turning right at the stop sign at the end of my street. There's a slight incline, which made it verrrry tough as I was still learning the clutch. I stall the bike and it starts leaning to the right. I don't know how it happened, but I managed to jump off, and use all my strength to keep it from falling over. Then I had to keep it up straight as I wormed around the back so I could put down the side stand

[Finesse]

After riding my bike about 20 feet around my driveway the day that it was dropped off, from the place it was unloaded, I turned it off and was trying to back it up over a speed-bump-like bump in the neighbor's grass to park it where I wanted. Just tipped it over on its right side. What sucks is my dad had just given me a 10-minute near-tears lecture about how dangerous motorcycles are and how upset he is that I bought one. He just said 'yeah, those things are heavy' and helped me pick it up. No damage at all though, it was a slow-motion fall onto some soft lawn.

[rasta]

Originally Posted by Finesse

After riding my bike about 20 feet around my driveway the day that it was dropped off, from the place it was unloaded, I turned it off and was trying to back it up over a speed-bump-like bump in the neighbor's grass to park it where I wanted. Just tipped it over on its right side. What sucks is my dad had just given me a 10-minute near-tears lecture about how dangerous motorcycles are and how upset he is that I bought one. He just said 'yeah, those things are heavy' and helped me pick it up. No damage at all though, it was a slow-motion fall onto some soft lawn.

That sounds like it would have been hilarious to watch

[choneofakind]

On a motorcycle? Nothing embarassing yet.

BUT

2010, Dawes 1000 road bike. I'd just started using those pedals that require you to wear special shoes with cleats so you can lock onto the pedals. This allows you to get power on the upstroke as well as the downstroke. Anyhow, this was my very first ride out on the roads (I'd practiced around the driveway) and I was all excited. I got a mile from my house, and was stopped by one of the main intersections in town. I came to a stop, went to put a foot down, and to my surprise, my foot was stuck! I couldn't let off the pedal without twisting. Silly me had forgotten the most important part of riding while clipped in; how to unclip!! so I came to a stop and just... plonked right over, right there in the middle of my lane. I grabbed and felt and waved around, feeling for anything to break my fall, but there was nothing but asphalt to cushion me.

To make matters more embarrassing, the nice lady behind me (bless her heart) thought she'd hit me with her car. She got in a tizzy, got out of her car, helped me up, made sure I was alright, and simply would not take no for an answer when she asked me if I needed help. I was so embarrassed. But she was very nice and made sure I got a band aid for my knee scrape and I thanked her repeatedly. I only scraped a knee a little bit that day, but I bruised my ego big time!

[Thorgrim]

Just remembered another one, this one's more in line with the "Advice From The Ladies" post on the General Motorcycles forum here.

I was 17-18, did a slow drive-by on a drive-in restaurant on the Sportster. I spotted a car full of [ladies' man voice] LADIES [/ladies' man] and IN A CONVERTIBLE!!! and there's a parking space beside them. So I circle around to pull in beside of them, and since I'd mostly ridden on dirt the only way I was sure I could make the turn as tight as the parking spaces were was to stand on the pegs and counterweight. Forgot the clutch control and just as I was pulling in the big twin coughed and stopped. Splat. Ladies point and giggle. I got it back on the tires, backed out and drove off without lifting my visor. Gee, I feel like such a dork just typing this, but it happened. I'm so glad it was a long, long time ago.

[rasta]

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

Just remembered another one, this one's more in line with the "Advice From The Ladies" post on the General Motorcycles forum here.

I was 17-18, did a slow drive-by on a drive-in restaurant on the Sportster. I spotted a car full of [ladies' man voice] LADIES [/ladies' man] and IN A CONVERTIBLE!!! and there's a parking space beside them. So I circle around to pull in beside of them, and since I'd mostly ridden on dirt the only way I was sure I could make the turn as tight as the parking spaces were was to stand on the pegs and counterweight. Forgot the clutch control and just as I was pulling in the big twin coughed and stopped. Splat. Ladies point and giggle. I got it back on the tires, backed out and drove off without lifting my visor. Gee, I feel like such a dork just typing this, but it happened. I'm so glad it was a long, long time ago.

Did you remember to pickup your balls?

[alex.s]

let me set the scene: so when you have ****** bikes, they tend to break down a lot. or if you dont have gauges you run out of gas a lot. which means you wind up pushing bikes a lot. one of those bikes that i push a lot is a yamaha fzr 600, which is very top-heavy. about 500lbs. after pushing 500 lbs up hills for a few miles you get a little tired.

so there i am pushing this bike, tired as **** when it starts tipping away from me... oh ****. so i'm trying to hold it, keep it from falling away from me... but this ****er is so god damn top heavy, on its way down it simply pulls me with it until its pivoting my feet off the ground and throwing me to the other side of the bike.


yes, i high-sided at 0mph while not even on the bike. i've done this 3 times now.

[Panda]

Bike catapult!

I forgot one of my first low speed drops. I was on a 50cc minibike. I must have been 8 or 9.

I hopped on, gassed it, immediately target fixated on the side of my buddies house, and rammed the house doing about 5mph.

[Kokosun]

Cruising down a narrow street at 5mph in a small village looking for a specific address. I was trying to spot house numbers, but they weren't always obvious. This is often the case in UK villages and sometimes people don't even bother to display a house number at all.

So, I decided to pull off the street onto a driveway and then walk around to find the particular address that I was looking for. I pulled onto a driveway on the left that was steep going from right (low) to left (high). I stopped, put down my left leg, but hadn't appreciated quite how steep the driveway was. So as I put down my left leg I tipped the bike to the right. I then went to put down my right leg but found nothing but air since the ground was probably 12" below my right foot.

The bike kept tipping to the right ... and just went right on tipping to the right. I fell off, and rolled down the driveway into the road. The bike crunched onto it's side and slide a couple of feet down the driveway doing a breathtakingly extensive amount of damage.

The memory continues to be painful to this day, and I still can't believe that I was so stupid.

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by rasta

Did you remember to pickup your balls?

I'd have needed a pair of tongs to pull them out of my ... well, you know.

[crazymadbastard]

you either need to gain some weight or get a trike!

I had to push mine last night, very easy! hope wont have to do it again...

Originally Posted by alex.s

let me set the scene: so when you have ****** bikes, they tend to break down a lot. or if you dont have gauges you run out of gas a lot. which means you wind up pushing bikes a lot. one of those bikes that i push a lot is a yamaha fzr 600, which is very top-heavy. about 500lbs. after pushing 500 lbs up hills for a few miles you get a little tired.

so there i am pushing this bike, tired as **** when it starts tipping away from me... oh ****. so i'm trying to hold it, keep it from falling away from me... but this ****er is so god damn top heavy, on its way down it simply pulls me with it until its pivoting my feet off the ground and throwing me to the other side of the bike.


yes, i high-sided at 0mph while not even on the bike. i've done this 3 times now.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by crazymadbastard

you either need to gain some weight or get a trike!

I had to push mine last night, very easy! hope wont have to do it again...

i weigh around 170. pushing a ninja 250 is easy. ninja 250 is nice and low weighted. very easy to move around. a 20 year old sport touring bike is a different story.

[Jiggles]

Embarrassing fall

<-------

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

Embarrassing fall

<-------

C'mon, Jiggles, at least give us noobs to the forum a link to the story.

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

C'mon, Jiggles, at least give us noobs to the forum a link to the story.

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=123416

[greenaero]

My most embarrassing drop happened while I was moving. I had rented a U-haul truck and had several friends scheduled to come to help with furniture and large appliances. Unfortuantely I got violently ill that day. I had a high fever, chills and was nauseous. But the house was sold and we had to move to our new house so I loaded stuff all day to get'er done. I remember getting so dizzy and nauseous that I had to stop and blow chow. Miserable.
We finally had all the stuff I planned to load in the truck. Then my wife asked me what I planned to do with my motorcycle. I told I planned to ride it the 25 miles to our house. She gave a ration of crap about riding it while I was so sick and why don't we just load it in the truck. Just like most married men, instead of sticking to my guns , I gave in.
About 2/3 of the way up the loading ramp, I lost forward momentum , starting tilting and ended up falling off . The bike wasn't damaged much. I whacked my head plenty good and definitely had my bell rung ( no helmet, riding the bike up the ramp, what could go wrong ). In hindsight one of the stupidest things I've ever done in my life. That which does not destroy us just makes us stronger.