Dropped her on the garage floor...

[kazam58]

So I did the stupidest thing possible today. I had the bike up on the rear stand and come time to put it down (I do this alone, it's really quite simple) I forgot I hadn't put the kickstand down...
Needless to say, as I was letting the bike lean over I kept thinking I should have hit solid ground by now, and then I just hit the crucial point where the bike started to fall, no matter how hard I tried to keep it up. At that instant I had realized what was happening. Well, the rear of bike fell on me and I picked it up with no issues after I slid out from under it. I'm fine, just a few red marks on my left foot. The bike is fine as well, I can definitely say I was lucky. The turn signal lens came off and some of the plastic in that housing snapped off, but I took the screw out, put it back on, and absolutely no issues, looks like nothing happened and the fairing isn't even scratched. I bent the shifter ever so slightly, but I actually like it more like this. I have pretty big feet and now it's easier to fit my boot under there
So no big issue, just thought I'd share my story involving a little bit of stupidity. Moral: check to make sure your kickstand is down! I can truthfully say that'll never happen to me again.

[kkim]

lol... I had the exact thing happen to me early on. Thankfully, I was able to catch the bike before it fell over.

Now I always make it a habit of checking that the side stand is down before lowering the bike back down. I also turn the handlebars full to the left before lowering, so the bike drops to the left onto the side stand once the bike has been lowered.

[Racer x]

I bought an 11000 dollar 2006 VFR 800 ABS Honda Interceptor . second day i had it I was taking it off the center stand I still had the kick stand down . I let it land to much to the right and it started to go .I tried to catch it but it leveraged my feet off the ground .I flipped over the top and landed next to it between the bike and the wall . I was pissed .no real damage but my new baby was scratched.

[BlueTyke]

Wow glad your okay! Lesson learned though!

[OldGuy]

Andy that just plan sucks on so many levels. Glad you are OK though.

[kazam58]

Originally Posted by kkim

I also turn the handlebars full to the left before lowering, so the bike drops to the left onto the side stand once the bike has been lowered.

Yep, I've done that since the beginning, which is why it fell towards (and on) me
It's no big deal. Nothing got hurt except my pride. I was originally worried I busted the turn signal bulb, which was almost a good excuse to buy protons, but not even that.
This may have convinced me to grab a set of frame sliders. After all, this is my first bike and I do a lot of around town riding, I figure they really can't hurt because I know they'll protect pretty much everything in slow fall. We'll see...I'm waiting for a few spare hours so I can throw a jet kit in there, sync the carbs, and maybe drill the slides.

[kazam58]

Originally Posted by Racer x

I bought an 11000 dollar 2006 VFR 800 ABS Honda Interceptor . second day i had it I was taking it off the center stand I still had the kick stand down . I let it land to much to the right and it started to go .I tried to catch it but it leveraged my feet off the ground .I flipped over the top and landed next to it between the bike and the wall . I was pissed .no real damage but my new baby was scratched.

Man, that really does suck, I'm sorry to hear that. That was really learning the hard way...

[Bsmith]

Originally Posted by Racer x

I bought an 11000 dollar 2006 VFR 800 ABS Honda Interceptor . second day i had it I was taking it off the center stand I still had the kick stand down . I let it land to much to the right and it started to go .I tried to catch it but it leveraged my feet off the ground .I flipped over the top and landed next to it between the bike and the wall . I was pissed .no real damage but my new baby was scratched.

I'm just envisioning a garage high side.

[thsadmin]

Been there also, close on several occasions, I always need to wheel my bike backwards and over several bumps to get it out of the garage - I always get closer to dropping it in the shed than what I do on the road.

Isn't it stupid how the majority of damage is done while walking and handling the bike - than actually riding it.

[kazam58]

Originally Posted by thsadmin

Isn't it stupid how the majority of damage is done while walking and handling the bike - than actually riding it.

Yeah, it does seem like it. But I'm sure that when a bike gets crashed while moving then it gets a whole lot uglier...

[Snake]

Glad to hear that you and the bike are ok.

[CodE-E]

When my Ninja fell over for the first time, it fell on its right side, on a sidewalk, so that it didn't land on the handlebars, but only on the body. Since that's only made of plastic, it ended up with quite a big crack.

I'm still waiting for it to get fixed. Damn insurance took 1.5 weeks to approve the damage, last week my Kawa dealer ordered the parts, and hopefully he'll have it repaired early coming week. So yeah, my first bike drop will probably end up costing me 3 weeks without a bike.

[komohana]

Originally Posted by Racer x

....I tried to catch it but it leveraged my feet off the ground .I flipped over the top and landed next to it between the bike and the wall ....

damm eric i got the full visual of yer incident!

do you folks put the bike in gear or in neutral on its side or center stand?
i have these small, light weight plastic chocks that i put in front of the front tire when i have it on the center stand. the unit i rent has my neighbor and i splitting a covered area between the homes for garage space. he has 3 kids and am paranoid they'll knock over the bike off its center stand and end up under that sucker.

when ever i put the bike on its side stand i have it in first gear and roll it as forward as it'll go, then lean her over and not unstraddle the bike till its on its side stand...( or try to anyway..)

[lockie]

I got caught last night. I have no garage and keep the bike under wraps on the kickstand in the driveway next to the house. While we were away last night the wind picked up and actually blew the Ninja over onto its right side. It was on the ground when we got home. In the dark I picked it up and inspected with a light. Nothing seriously damaged but I need to check for scratchs this morning. My guess it that the new cover I put on yesterday dramatically increased the bike's lateral wind resistance and over she went. I guess I'll need some tie downs or a bigger anchor

[Elfling]

D'oh! I'm dreading the first time I drop a bike, especially considering there are 3 bikes in my garage and 2 of them are a) new and b) not mine.

[Ramen]

Originally Posted by lockie

I got caught last night. I have no garage and keep the bike under wraps on the kickstand in the driveway next to the house. While we were away last night the wind picked up and actually blew the Ninja over onto its right side. It was on the ground when we got home. In the dark I picked it up and inspected with a light. Nothing seriously damaged but I need to check for scratchs this morning. My guess it that the new cover I put on yesterday dramatically increased the bike's lateral wind resistance and over she went. I guess I'll need some tie downs or a bigger anchor

Yikes! Do you turn the handlebars all the way to the left when you leave the bike parked? That's the best way to ensure the bike doesn't take a tumble.

[Strider]

Originally Posted by Elfling

D'oh! I'm dreading the first time I drop a bike, especially considering there are 3 bikes in my garage and 2 of them are a) new and b) not mine.

Everyone drops sooner or later ... it's a fact of life.
I remember when I dropped mine, about 2 weeks after I bought it. I used to park it in the living room (yeah, I know...) and had to roll out the front door and down a short ramp. Well, I hit the ramp wrong and DOWN we went. dented up the throttle side exhaust and scuffed the paint on the rear fairing a tiny bit. Damn near made me cry ...
The main thing being, don't let it stop you or slow you down ... keep on riding regardless of dropsees

[ARF07]

Glad to hear you and the bike are ok Andy! I'll make a mental note to be careful next time mine is up on the rear stand

[Purspeed]

Don't worry. Everyone does it. It's how you learn. But, the secret is this: when you drop your bike, don't tell anyone.

[CC Cowboy]

I dropped my son's 1000 the second day he had it. I was checking the tire pressure and as I moved the bike forward I didn't check to make sure the kickstand was still all the way down (it wasn't). All I can say is that it was good I did it instead of him.

[kazam58]

Ah, and all the stories come out, lol. Dropping a bike does seem like an eventuality. The eventuality we all try to avoid is crashing the bike.

Originally Posted by CodE-E

When my Ninja fell over for the first time, it fell on its right side, on a sidewalk, so that it didn't land on the handlebars, but only on the body. Since that's only made of plastic, it ended up with quite a big crack.

I'm still waiting for it to get fixed. Damn insurance took 1.5 weeks to approve the damage, last week my Kawa dealer ordered the parts, and hopefully he'll have it repaired early coming week. So yeah, my first bike drop will probably end up costing me 3 weeks without a bike.

Damn, I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully you'll get her fixed up and running soon enough, it'll be worth it

Originally Posted by Strider

Everyone drops sooner or later ... it's a fact of life.
I remember when I dropped mine, about 2 weeks after I bought it. I used to park it in the living room (yeah, I know...) and had to roll out the front door and down a short ramp. Well, I hit the ramp wrong and DOWN we went. dented up the throttle side exhaust and scuffed the paint on the rear fairing a tiny bit. Damn near made me cry ...

lol, I know how that feels. Since the bike actually fell on me I had a bit more of a panic/racing heartbeat reaction because what I think was the swingarm trapped my foot pretty good at first. After I slid out I wanted to cry...till I saw there was no damage

Originally Posted by Purspeed

Don't worry. Everyone does it. It's how you learn. But, the secret is this: when you drop your bike, don't tell anyone.

I figure I can trust you guys...

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

I dropped my son's 1000 the second day he had it. I was checking the tire pressure and as I moved the bike forward I didn't check to make sure the kickstand was still all the way down (it wasn't). All I can say is that it was good I did it instead of him.

Why's that? Did you buy it for him? If my dad dropped my bike I'd be fuming.

Originally Posted by lockie

I got caught last night. I have no garage and keep the bike under wraps on the kickstand in the driveway next to the house. While we were away last night the wind picked up and actually blew the Ninja over onto its right side. It was on the ground when we got home. In the dark I picked it up and inspected with a light. Nothing seriously damaged but I need to check for scratchs this morning. My guess it that the new cover I put on yesterday dramatically increased the bike's lateral wind resistance and over she went. I guess I'll need some tie downs or a bigger anchor

That's an interesting point which I'm glad you brought up. I'm planning on bringing my bike to school in the fall and it'll be parked outside all the time, and I wanted to cover it up. I'll have to figure out something extra secure now...

[SpyderGirl]

I laid my brand new baby down twice at the MSF class, once on a slow sharp right turn and once making a tight U-turn to the right. How I managed to finish at the top of my class I'll never know.

I also broke and cracked my rear fairing while installing my fender eliminator and the bike only had 4 miles on the ODO. GRR!!

[Racer x]

I was fooling around in the garage last night . I was fixing a lawn mower . I had to straighten the deck on the mower with a hammer.My big hammer was in the house so I was trying to bend steel with a little hammer .It slipped and skipped across the floor and hit my bike . Put a small ding in my Yoshi muffler. I am so pissed . That is more damage than my VFR took falling over.

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by kazam58

Why's that? Did you buy it for him? If my dad dropped my bike I'd be fuming.

Yes I bought it for him, he's only 16. When I drop it, I fix it, if he drops it I scream at him ( I have NEVER screamed at myself, even if I deserved it).

[djindia23]

oscar thats hilarious.... if my dad dropped my bike i think id be pissed but i wouldnt be able to yell at him either since he is my father but he hasnt rode a bike since he was young soo he stays away from it... but i have dropped my bike in my drive way... i have a downward slanting hill driveway soo as i was coming out the garage and turning the bike around, i ended up a little off balance... tried to get my footing down right but just lost it... but dropped the bike really slowly... just a few minor scratches nothing major... just hopin not to crash the bike ya know??? everyone be safe out there...

[kazam58]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

Yes I bought it for him, he's only 16. When I drop it, I fix it, if he drops it I scream at him ( I have NEVER screamed at myself, even if I deserved it).

Dads...they're all the same.
I'm impressed, 16 and he's on a liter bike. That's a lotta faith you've got in him I wish my dad was actually into motorcycles and got me into the hobby at an early age. The only thing I've never forgiven my parents for is living in a state without any damn racetracks nearby, not even for go-karts, while much of our lives revolve around cars and going fast. I'm looking forward to getting out of here and getting in some track days with all sorts of machines. The few times I've been on go-karts it seemed promising...hopefully it's not too late to learn how to race something well.

[OldGuy]

Originally Posted by kazam58

Dads...they're all the same.
I'm impressed, 16 and he's on a liter bike. That's a lotta faith you've got in him I wish my dad was actually into motorcycles and got me into the hobby at an early age. The only thing I've never forgiven my parents for is living in a state without any damn racetracks nearby, not even for go-karts, while much of our lives revolve around cars and going fast. I'm looking forward to getting out of here and getting in some track days with all sorts of machines. The few times I've been on go-karts it seemed promising...hopefully it's not too late to learn how to race something well.

Andy - you will have to excuse the OldGuy for responding but last October my Mom died and that left me the elder of the family. There are a lot of things we did/didn't do as a family and I thought my world had ended.

But I remember my dad telling me many years ago that he may not leave us a lot of money put he would leave us his good name, the ability to tell right from wrong, and to value the friendships and relations you make with people. Never ever miss the chance to tell your parents that you love them - all too soon you wont be able to do it other than in a prayer.

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by kazam58

Dads...they're all the same.
I'm impressed, 16 and he's on a liter bike. That's a lotta faith you've got in him

The kid has been riding for 13 years. He is pretty good in a go-cart too.

[kazam58]

^Lucky kid

Oldguy, I think you read too far into what I was saying. I meant what I said in a much more humorous fashion than I think you interpreted it. However, thanks for the lesson, and I'm sorry for your loss. I actually get along with my parents really well and I do let them know they're appreciated from time to time. My parents have been through a lot and sacrificed a lot to let me and my brother be where we are now. They escaped as political refugees about 20 years ago from the Czech Republic and moved to the US with absolutely nothing and knowing only a little bit of English. I have great respect for them.
Even if I had grown up by a track, I'm sure it wouldn't have gotten me anywhere, as very few people race cars/bikes for a living, and chances are, I wouldn't have the talent, lol. This fall I'll actually be relatively close to Watkins Glen, I plan on getting a few track days in then to see how I'll do.