Posted by Joe on September 12, 2006, 7:34 pm
About two months ago, I was taking the bike out of the garage and getting
ready for a ride. I backed it out of the garage and down the slight hill
that makes up my driveway. The front wheel was pointed uphill and so I felt
safe putting kickstand down and getting off the bike while it warmed up.
Care to guess what I forgot to do before I got off the bike?
Ready for this...
It's unbelievable...
I forgot to lean the bike over onto the kickstand BEFORE getting off! I
stood next to the bike, which somehow is now perfectly balanced on both
tires but not the kickstand and I start to walk away... Then it hits me...
The bike is rolling backwards.
I BARELY catch it before it falls over on the non-kickstand side and
basically wonder how the heck I managed to do that...
Well... On my way out to work today, I did the same exact thing. 7 AM.
Cold outside compared to normal temps here these days - around 45 degrees if
my thermometers are correct - and WeatherBug says they are...
So I'm really geared up for my 35 mile, all highway commute and here I am,
with a Valkyrie rolling backwards down my driveway and all !@#$%^ lbs. of it
falling towards me as I try to steady the bike.
What makes it worse is that while the bike is "falling" and rolling, your
instinct is to grab a hold of that front brake... Which makes the "falling"
worse...
Neither time have I dropped the bike... But if I were a bit weaker, just a
fraction of a second slower, or if I didn't have a sure footing, I'd have
laid it down both times.
I've NEVER dropped my own bike and have never dropped one on the street at
all... Hopefully, my first drop (if it ever happens) is as harmless as
this, but it sure will be embarrassing...
Has anyone else ever made this obviously stupid mistake???
Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R
Currently Riding The "Mother Ship"
Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
http://tinyurl.com/5apkg
http://www.youthelate.com
Help Cure Cancer: http://yunx.com/UDvroc.htm
Posted by Gary Walker on September 12, 2006, 7:56 pm
Those ole' Valkyries are bulletproof.
I've never pulled your stunt(s), but I've done the de-bike
thing with the stand still up. AaaaaRrrrGggHh !!
> About two months ago, I was taking the bike out of the garage and getting
> ready for a ride. I backed it out of the garage and down the slight hill
> that makes up my driveway. The front wheel was pointed uphill and so I
> felt safe putting kickstand down and getting off the bike while it warmed
> up.
> Care to guess what I forgot to do before I got off the bike?
> Ready for this...
> It's unbelievable...
> I forgot to lean the bike over onto the kickstand BEFORE getting off! I
> stood next to the bike, which somehow is now perfectly balanced on both
> tires but not the kickstand and I start to walk away... Then it hits
> me... The bike is rolling backwards.
> I BARELY catch it before it falls over on the non-kickstand side and
> basically wonder how the heck I managed to do that...
> Well... On my way out to work today, I did the same exact thing. 7 AM.
> Cold outside compared to normal temps here these days - around 45 degrees
> if my thermometers are correct - and WeatherBug says they are...
> So I'm really geared up for my 35 mile, all highway commute and here I am,
> with a Valkyrie rolling backwards down my driveway and all !@#$%^ lbs. of
> it falling towards me as I try to steady the bike.
> What makes it worse is that while the bike is "falling" and rolling, your
> instinct is to grab a hold of that front brake... Which makes the
> "falling" worse...
> Neither time have I dropped the bike... But if I were a bit weaker, just
> a fraction of a second slower, or if I didn't have a sure footing, I'd
> have laid it down both times.
> I've NEVER dropped my own bike and have never dropped one on the street at
> all... Hopefully, my first drop (if it ever happens) is as harmless as
> this, but it sure will be embarrassing...
> Has anyone else ever made this obviously stupid mistake???
> Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R
> Currently Riding The "Mother Ship"
> Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
> http://tinyurl.com/5apkg
> http://www.youthelate.com
> Help Cure Cancer: http://yunx.com/UDvroc.htm
Posted by mad scientist on September 12, 2006, 8:16 pm
Joe wrote:
> About two months ago, I was taking the bike out of the garage and getting
> ready for a ride. I backed it out of the garage and down the slight hill
> that makes up my driveway. The front wheel was pointed uphill and so I felt
> safe putting kickstand down and getting off the bike while it warmed up.
>
> Care to guess what I forgot to do before I got off the bike?
>
> Ready for this...
>
> It's unbelievable...
>
> I forgot to lean the bike over onto the kickstand BEFORE getting off! I
> stood next to the bike, which somehow is now perfectly balanced on both
> tires but not the kickstand and I start to walk away... Then it hits me...
> The bike is rolling backwards.
>
> I BARELY catch it before it falls over on the non-kickstand side and
> basically wonder how the heck I managed to do that...
>
> Well... On my way out to work today, I did the same exact thing. 7 AM.
> Cold outside compared to normal temps here these days - around 45 degrees if
> my thermometers are correct - and WeatherBug says they are...
>
> So I'm really geared up for my 35 mile, all highway commute and here I am,
> with a Valkyrie rolling backwards down my driveway and all !@#$%^ lbs. of it
> falling towards me as I try to steady the bike.
>
> What makes it worse is that while the bike is "falling" and rolling, your
> instinct is to grab a hold of that front brake... Which makes the "falling"
> worse...
>
> Neither time have I dropped the bike... But if I were a bit weaker, just a
> fraction of a second slower, or if I didn't have a sure footing, I'd have
> laid it down both times.
>
> I've NEVER dropped my own bike and have never dropped one on the street at
> all... Hopefully, my first drop (if it ever happens) is as harmless as
> this, but it sure will be embarrassing...
>
> Has anyone else ever made this obviously stupid mistake???
>
> Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R
>
> Currently Riding The "Mother Ship"
>
> Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
> http://tinyurl.com/5apkg
> http://www.youthelate.com
>
> Help Cure Cancer: http://yunx.com/UDvroc.htm
>
>
I once put down the bike's kickstand with the bike parked in the grass.
It didn't occur to me that the rain from the night before could create
a problem.
One other thing...if you've never dropped your own bike AND you've never
dropped a bike on the street at all, does that mean you've dropped your
buddy's bike in the garage? ;)
charles
Posted by Joe on September 12, 2006, 9:07 pm
> One other thing...if you've never dropped your own bike AND you've never
> dropped a bike on the street at all, does that mean you've dropped your
> buddy's bike in the garage? ;)
Not in the garage... But I dropped my very first bike when I was a kid -
Suzuki RM80 in the dirt. Then a Hodaka 100 in the dirt. Then a Yamaha 750
street bike on the front porch of my parents house... Then my buddy's
KLR650 two years ago in the dirt, and it had less than 2000 miles on it.
But... I've been on the road legally for a few years now - first with a
Vulcan 750 which I almost dropped in sand - nothing like dragging the pegs
at zero MPH - and now the Valkyrie... Which I hope to never have to pick up
regardless of proper technique.
20,000+ miles of legal road riding and not a single scratch associated with
my stupidity yet.
On another note, had FOUR left turners almost take me out on the way home
today... All four turned out from side streets on the right and made it
half-way into my lane before deciding that they would notice me. Then a guy
cuts across two lanes of traffic going the other way to turn onto my side of
the road and basically darts out from what looked like a solid wall of
traffic... That makes a total of six close calls - five of which would have
been bad - in less than 12 hours... And the last four within 15 minutes of
each other on relatively docile and empty roadways except for the very last
traffic-guy one.
I'm about due I guess.
Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R
Currently Riding The "Mother Ship"
Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
http://tinyurl.com/5apkg
http://www.youthelate.com
Help Cure Cancer: http://yunx.com/UDvroc.htm
Posted by Just Me on September 12, 2006, 9:40 pm
wrote:
>> One other thing...if you've never dropped your own bike AND you've never
>> dropped a bike on the street at all, does that mean you've dropped your
>> buddy's bike in the garage? ;)
>Not in the garage... But I dropped my very first bike when I was a kid -
>Suzuki RM80 in the dirt. Then a Hodaka 100 in the dirt. Then a Yamaha 750
>street bike on the front porch of my parents house... Then my buddy's
>KLR650 two years ago in the dirt, and it had less than 2000 miles on it.
>But... I've been on the road legally for a few years now - first with a
>Vulcan 750 which I almost dropped in sand - nothing like dragging the pegs
>at zero MPH - and now the Valkyrie... Which I hope to never have to pick up
>regardless of proper technique.
>20,000+ miles of legal road riding and not a single scratch associated with
>my stupidity yet.
>On another note, had FOUR left turners almost take me out on the way home
>today... All four turned out from side streets on the right and made it
>half-way into my lane before deciding that they would notice me. Then a guy
>cuts across two lanes of traffic going the other way to turn onto my side of
>the road and basically darts out from what looked like a solid wall of
>traffic... That makes a total of six close calls - five of which would have
>been bad - in less than 12 hours... And the last four within 15 minutes of
>each other on relatively docile and empty roadways except for the very last
>traffic-guy one.
>I'm about due I guess.
>Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R
>Currently Riding The "Mother Ship"
>Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
>http://tinyurl.com/5apkg
>http://www.youthelate.com
>Help Cure Cancer: http://yunx.com/UDvroc.htm
I think that if I were you, I would quit riding and stay away from
motorcycles. Otherwise it sounds like you're living on borrowed time!
And the other person you take with you might be me!!!!
Stay Safe!!!!!
Thought for the day:
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
http://gizmo2.com
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> ready for a ride. I backed it out of the garage and down the slight hill
> that makes up my driveway. The front wheel was pointed uphill and so I
> felt safe putting kickstand down and getting off the bike while it warmed
> up.
> Care to guess what I forgot to do before I got off the bike?
> Ready for this...
> It's unbelievable...
> I forgot to lean the bike over onto the kickstand BEFORE getting off! I
> stood next to the bike, which somehow is now perfectly balanced on both
> tires but not the kickstand and I start to walk away... Then it hits
> me... The bike is rolling backwards.
> I BARELY catch it before it falls over on the non-kickstand side and
> basically wonder how the heck I managed to do that...
> Well... On my way out to work today, I did the same exact thing. 7 AM.
> Cold outside compared to normal temps here these days - around 45 degrees
> if my thermometers are correct - and WeatherBug says they are...
> So I'm really geared up for my 35 mile, all highway commute and here I am,
> with a Valkyrie rolling backwards down my driveway and all !@#$%^ lbs. of
> it falling towards me as I try to steady the bike.
> What makes it worse is that while the bike is "falling" and rolling, your
> instinct is to grab a hold of that front brake... Which makes the
> "falling" worse...
> Neither time have I dropped the bike... But if I were a bit weaker, just
> a fraction of a second slower, or if I didn't have a sure footing, I'd
> have laid it down both times.
> I've NEVER dropped my own bike and have never dropped one on the street at
> all... Hopefully, my first drop (if it ever happens) is as harmless as
> this, but it sure will be embarrassing...
> Has anyone else ever made this obviously stupid mistake???
> Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R
> Currently Riding The "Mother Ship"
> Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
> http://tinyurl.com/5apkg
> http://www.youthelate.com
> Help Cure Cancer: http://yunx.com/UDvroc.htm