Dropped my bike today

[blowndodge]

I dropped my Vic twice now. No damage but really pissed I didn't follow my instincts. Last one was on the way to Orofino. I was parked on a driveway leading into a parking lot. Low side was on the shift side. Without checking over my left shoulder to check for traffic I started to take off. I got that feeling a car might be coming down the street and tapped the brakes before being completely off the left sloping driveway. Bong!!! Tipped over! Total lack of focus on my part.

[Kawhead]

I'm about due for a bike dropping it's been so long . I think the last time was on some crush run in an intersection when I stopped.
The centrifugal force body slammed me into the rough asphalt so HARD, I thought I broke my assbone!

[ringadingh]

Three times in a day is certainly having a bad day. At least there is no damage or injury.
And you have to look at the brighter side, you will be a pro at getting the bike back up.

[rickyboy]

Always sad to hear someone has dropped their [ no doubt! ] "pride and joy".
I've been there done that too. ....not since taking an advanced riding class though, thank God.

At the school they taught us to always keep slight pressure on the rear brake and RPM's up in a slow riding situation. .......Doing the figure eight, uphill and down hill, fully cranked, looking where you want to go, turns engrained it into my brain. .......until I have that 2 or 3 second laps in judgement or second guessing of myself. .......
With the gravel driveway I have I always run the risk of dropping the bike.

[The Black Knight]

Gravel is always a serious danger. I dropped my bike for it.

[blatherbeard]

Thankfully ive only dropped one bike so far and it was my brothers intruder.

Just dont tell him ;)

[MiVaquero]

Dropped my bike today as well. Complete rookie mistake and I have been riding for almost 30 years. Pulled into the driveway and down the back to the pole barn and swung the bike to the right at a walking speed and what do I do but grab the brake, to which the bike immediately dropped on it's right side. Thank god for the front and rear crash bars. I knew it was going down so I tried my best to ease it down. I shut it off, stood up off of it, put the kickstand out, grabbed the front brake with my left hand and the rear mount for the backrest and with my back down low I walked it backwards up onto its tires. Nothing damaged so I guess I got pretty lucky on that one.

[Snake Ranch]

Originally Posted by BigRed

Ever have one of those days where you think that perhaps riding your bike might not be the best idea? Well, today I had one of those days and ended up dropping my bike…not once…not twice…but three times. Yes, I dropped my bike three times in a span of 20 minutes.

Here is the rest of the story…

I was on the fence whether I should go riding today but since the weather was nice and wife wanted to go to a local shrine to pray for her recently deceased dad, I figured why the heck not. I rode my bike and she drove the car. She had to stop by the bank so I went ahead of her.

I've only been to this place once before and drove a car. I forgot that the shrine was located on a very steep hill and to get to the parking lot one has to go up a steep narrow driveway, which curves to the left. What I had also forgotten is that the main parking lot is also on a steep incline and there is a rather deep dip that runs the length of the lot from bottom to top. In order to get into the lot I had to cut through the dip diagonally but first I had to go over a big hump. I made up the curved driveway fine but must have been going too slowly because when I got over the hump and down into the dip the bike stopped suddenly. When it stopped it immediately started leaning to the left, downhill. There was nothing I could have done to stop it from going down. I am so happy this bike has crash bars in front and back. That saved it from any damage. I tried to pick the bike up myself but trying to lift an 800lb bike up hill is almost impossible, at least for me after 2 back surgeries. I tried every technique I could think of but the bike wouldn't' budge. Lucky, there were a couple of guys doing some maintenance in the area and they helped me lift it. So that was #1.

Once I got myself all squared away I decided to ride the bike straight up the hill, gently turn around and come down to an area that wasn't as steep as the original spot and park there. I pulled into a parking spot and...dropped the bike again but this time on its right side, again facing downhill and barely missing a parked car. At that point my wife had shown up and with her help I was able to pick up the bike by placing my butt on the seat and walking into it backwards. That was #2. At that point I had decided that I needed to park the bike down in a different lot, farther away.

Wife did her thing at the shrine and it was time for us to go home. At that point I was in a lot that was completely flat. I got on my bike and noticed that it didn't want to start right away. This was probably related to it being on its side twice already. The bike eventually fired up and I started to move out. I was going slowly and making a left turn when the bike stalled out. I had my wheel turned to the left so when the bike stopped, it immediately leaned to the left. I was not prepared for it so it went down again on its side. Again, I was able to pick it up by slowly walking into it backwards. This was #3.

The ride back home after that was uneventful. Things tend to happen in 3’s so hopefully I am done for a while.

This wasn't fun but at least now I know that I can pick up my bike, providing that it is not laying down on the side of a hill.

I don't know what the heck today was all about.

In the airplane arena, there are tail draggers and tricycle type landing gear type planes. The tail draggers are famous for ground looping. There is a saying for the pilots who fly them "Those who have, and those who have not". You have joined the club. Just be thankful with no injury or damage, and just a ruffled pride. I have twice run out of forward motion and found myself standing over or on my pride. Once on a steep, paved, rough approach with a sharp right hand turn starting before the top, and once in a flat parking lot. Both times I should have had more ground speed for the amount of lean I was holding. Being tired and late can have an influence on our focus.

[jesse d]

live.... love... and learn thats part of riding. ive dropped alot of bikes.......keep riding brother......you will be cool......

[wolfman46]

Originally Posted by HwyRider

I ride the rear brake in 2nd when making a tight turn.

I have been doing the same thing and I thought maybe I was wrong but it
seems to allow me to control the bike better. Glad to hear others are using 2nd gear and light brake instead of first.

[glwilson]

Youtube... "Ride Like A Pro" videos. Watch a few of them, and then practice like your life depended on it... because it does.

You'll be better for it.

[vulcanguy]

Been there, done that...the only thing that was hurt was my pride, for about 10 minutes.

Ride on & ride safe!

[BigRed]

I just got the RLAP video. I plan to watch it, re-watch, watch it again and then find an empty parking lot to practice. I will also need to buy small traffic cones, something I can fit in my bags.

[glwilson]

Originally Posted by BigRed

I just got the RLAP video. I plan to watch it, re-watch, watch it again and then find an empty parking lot to practice. I will also need to buy small traffic cones, something I can fit in my bags.

Get some tennis balls and cut them in half. Easy to see and carry with you -- and also less intimidating than cones when starting out. If you hit one, it will not tip you over, or scratch the bike.

Glad to hear you bought the video. Practice, practice, and then practice. You will simply be amazed at how much better you will become. Safer too.

[John C Boots]

Two cases of inattention on my part in the past few months. Almost home after a nearly 7000Km trip, stopped in a perking lot to send my wife a text, backing into a parking space and didn't notice the HUGE light standard behind me, thunk, tip, fall. Next time was touring with my wife, we stopped, and I was not ready for her to get off, tip, thunk. No damage either time, except maybe a bit a pride.