Triumphrat

tnsen

Many Many beers ago....in a pub far far away....the conversation went as such.."If you cant pick up that bike by yourself, you shouldent be riding it!"....now at the time ..i agreed, however that was 20 some plus years ago, now bike have all kinds of toys on them and they weigh anywhare from 500 lbs to 800 lbs...the idea was to lay your bike on the grass someplace and to try to upright it by yourself as a "test" ... dont get my wrong i dident try it (nobody wants to see there bike on there side) .. but i can pick up my bonniville fairly easily ,(71 that is)...now my thunderbird is another story ...yes i can upright it... ummmmmm BARELY ... but my 47 year old back pays the price...so just out of curiousity... how many of you can pick up your bike by yourself?? ...and what are you riding.....just curious....Tom

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its not leaking oil!!...its marking its spot!!!

SamaR

It's all in technique - there is a video on internetz that shows a 5' tall 120 lbs woman picking BMW touring bike or something equally heavy.

I was able to pick up my old V-star 1100 when I dropped it in the middle of the busy intersection in rush hour traffic just by grabbing the handles - bicycle style but was never able to reproduce it later. I can pretty much
pick any bike using "back towards bike" way

http://ibmwr.org/otech/pickup.html

TriumphTengu

Been there, done that. 54 years old. I'll take that beer now.

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"Are we having fun yet"?

Old Scratcher

Yeah, I've been practicing back-friendly lifting techniques for years now (by necessity) & I'm a squat, stocky little guy with strong arms & legs. So I can lift both my bikes (one at a time) if I have to. But I'd rather not.
PS In the "old days" the saying used to be "never own a bike you can't kick over", which was a lot more relevant back then, though it still just stated the obvious.

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"They told me I was goin to have to work for my living, & all I wanna do is ride. I don't care where we're goin from here. So Honey you decide" Jackson Browne (the Road & The Sky)

jimballard

The technique is as follows: back up to the bike and grab the handlebar nearest the ground with one hand and a solid part of the bike with the other (upper rear frame member, luggage rack, lifting handle, etc.) Now, walk backwards "into" the bike while pulling the handlebar down tighter and lifting with both arms. It's all about leverage. The bike will come up fairly easily and you have to be careful not to "flip" it onto the other side because of that. NOTE!!!: IF THE BIKE'S ON ITS RIGHT SIDE, PUT DOWN THE SIDESTAND BEFORE YOU START TO LIFT IT UP!!!

Don't ask me how I know all of these things, but let's just say the the big Trophy is no lightweight and I'm not an Olympic weightlifter: Jim

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Jim Ballard

The older I get, the faster I was....until lately!! (Speed IS the fountain of youth)!

MA0458

Hi jimballard! How are things in your neck o the woods?

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Best,
Mare
Trumpet Cottage
In the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mtns

jimballard

MARE!!!!! HOW THE HECK ARE YOU?? Things up here in the People's Republic of MA are about the same; if the world needed an enema, MA is where they'd put it! Anyway, the weather's finally beginning to turn nicer but it was a cool May, so far, for the most part. Not too much rain on the weekends, at least. Still riding my Trophy, but I DIDN'T tip it last year, and that's a record, as I've managed to tip it once every year since I got it. Glad I found out about "Skert's" method of lifting it up. Soo.....what's happening in the foothills, how's the B&B going, getting time to ride, etc? I hope we'll keep hearing from you....keep us posted and make us jealous of the roads down there (they have to be better than what's left up here after a miserable winter).

Keep in touch with us: Jim

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Jim Ballard

The older I get, the faster I was....until lately!! (Speed IS the fountain of youth)!

Sofalofa

Embarrassment is the key to supernatural strength...

Try parking a Tiger on it's side stand downhill, turn away for a second and CRASH... oh no, being in the north of England it's a given that all the neighbours will be peering out from behind their net curtains.. 5 seconds later it's back up again... I am Superman!

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Russ

Old Scratcher

My most emberassing drop was outside the Darwin Hotel (NT's No 1 biker pub) in the late 70's, on a Honda 750/4 F1 (nothing too emberassing about that, lot's of the other bikes there were Jap). But I decided to show off my recently acquired skill, of swinging the bike up unto it's centrestand. Needless to say it all ended badly, with me underneath the bike. The entire front bar emptied, to have a look, & not one of them helped me with the bike. The last thing I remember is getting a slow-clap applause from everyone as I sheepishly rode away. Fortunately the only damage was to my ego, & the bike was unscathed.

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"They told me I was goin to have to work for my living, & all I wanna do is ride. I don't care where we're goin from here. So Honey you decide" Jackson Browne (the Road & The Sky)

danf_florida

I'm old enough to know better, but don't. With a fusion in my back, I can still get a bike back up. (I have not done it to mine, but had to show someone how to do it with their's)

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2005 TBA, AI removed, debaffled pipes, added tach, leather saddle bags, backrest, and luggage rack, K&N Air Filter.