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Dropped it today!

4K views 18 replies 12 participants last post by  Kirkemon 
#1 ·
Yes, got home and had just positioned it on my hardstanding. I kicked the side stand down and somehow didn't push it far enough and it folded as I let the stand take the weight :surprise:

An element of panic set in. I grabbed the bar nearest the ground, bent my knees and put my back against the seat and pulled up and tried to stand. Remarkably the bike came up and I managed to get my back properly against the bike and pushed it back a little further so I could get the side stand down.

A broken clutch lever (still usable but the ball end is broken off) and amazingly enough that's about the only damage I can see.

A sobering experience (what if I'd been at the end of a line of bikes or whatever :eek: )

Lesson for the future. Concentrate on getting that side stand down :nerd:
 
#5 · (Edited)
I nearly dropped my t-bird just the other day. same deal.. didn't push the kickstand out far enough, bike leaned forward and went left. I was still sitting on it so I used all my powers to keep her from touching down.. held on for dear life.. used everything i had to kept her from going passed the point of no return. There's a certain lean angle that if you pass it, you're done. Even though it lasted about 20 seconds, it felt like I was holding on for 20 minutes. managed to stand her up finally but it was a good fight! not fun at all.

speaking of broken levers.. i changed to the chrome levers but kept the stock ones. I plan on adding them to my tool bag for my upcoming Americade trip. You never know when you just might need a replacement set. :)
 
#7 ·
Dropped mine or rather laid it down on its right hand side. Came into to a cobblestone carpark and tried a tight right hand turn and lost momentum. Was loaded down with luggage and just too heavy to hold up. Only marks I got was a bit of paint off the underside of the riders floorboard and some tiny scrapes under the muffler which you have to look for. I was lucky the footboard took most of the weight. I have the red haze paint job so was relieved that escaped contact


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#9 ·
So I'm not alone!

I never switch the engine off using the key. I've always used the side stand to cut the engine and leave the bike in gear.

What happened this time was that I kicked the side stand down and just over-balanced.

I'm thinking it's because the side stand is quite a stretch with short legs and I'm always on the verge of being slightly over-balanced each time I kick the stand down.

I've always found it to be so but somehow I've managed to avoid any problems in my year of ownership. I wonder if it's possible to have some sort of extension on the stand to reduce the stretch?

In the end I was lucky it happened off road and with no damage to any other bikes or cars! Also no-one saw it :embarrassed

A lesson learnt and more care to be taken in future.
 
#10 ·
Lube the damn stand often!!! They get sticky and you can't tell so they often don't open all the way. I dropped mine trying to move it slightly from the right side of the bike. I was in the garage and only wanted to move it about a foot for better clearance. I learned - NEVER try to move the bike, even slightly from the right side!!! I rocked it down, not a big crash and managed to get it up by myself. The back will never be the same!
 
#11 · (Edited)
I've just been out to check on it and the stand is fine it's the position that's not! The problem is that I've got short legs and it's a bit of a reach to the stand which means I'm always leaning slightly to the left and this particular occasion I was not concentrating...

Mind you, it's also important to keep it lubed as you say.

After a near miss with trying to push the bike I now only move it by sitting on it. That thing is way too heavy to just push around (unless you're Big Arnie of course ;) )

One thing I will say though is that a replacement lever was only £16.50 (including postage) and fits perfectly.
 
#16 ·
I appreciated hearing these stories of how easy it is to drop the bike. This is a heavy bike, and it took me about a year to learn how to comfortably handle the weight and turn sharply. I dropped mine after about 3 months when I was going up a steep hill and made a left had turn while not going fast enough. The bike was laying on its left side, angled down the hill. It was UGLY! Someone saw me and two people ran over and we lifted it up and I slowly backed the bike up perpendicular to the hill. If those two people hadn't pushed and held the bike up, I'd probably have fallen again. The street angle was just too steep. Finally I got the bike pointed downward and made my escape.

Damage: Left clutch handle bent and needing replacement; left spot unit broken and needing replacement. It could have been worse. Fortunately, the floor board and front engine guard protected the paint and pipes. So long as no-one is hurt--just our pride--it's not the worst thing to happen. And it's a lesson learned that can help to keep that shiny side up!
 
#17 ·
I dropped mine doing a U turn too slowly the first weekend I had it, and again in the driveway somehow. Fortunately it just set down on the skid plate of the foot board with no injury. Unfortunately, a few weeks ago I was carelessly changing the oil without a wheel chock. I just lifted the rear using a jack on each side. When I started to let the bike down, the right side came down faster than the left, and the whole bike tipped onto it's right side pretty hard. It broke the turn signal lens off, the right foot board broke, and bent the muffler about a 1/2" closer to the bike.
 
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