Harley Davidson Forums - I tipped the bike and I'm not sure why?

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I tipped the bike and I'm not sure why?

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.hdf...2b7bf91433.jpg

I have a question:

I tipped the Streetglide yesterday. I was doing a 180 in my narrow and uneven concrete driveway with the front wheel locked right and caught a 3/4 inch seam between two slabs of crete. I had knee replacement surgery six weeks ago and my right leg just wasn’t strong enough to keep the bike from gently laying on its side.

I did nearly the same thing a year ago turning right from the driveway onto the sidewalk. There is a depression in the corner there, the front wheel caught and down went the bike.

Here’s the thing: both times I had a full tank of gas = 48lbs. of extra weight up high. Plus, there are 10,000 miles on the tires and they are a bit squared off. Both times the bike tipped it came with no warning. I was moving the bike slowly and blamo, down it went. Could it be because of the high center of gravity and the squared-off tires? I’ve never tipped a bike over before and I’ve ridden since 1966 and have owned nothing but Harleys since 1968 (as well as a couple of rice rockets for the hell of it).

I know I’m old but I take care of my stuff and am pretty heads-up. But this has got me spooked cause when it went down it came out of the blue.

Any thoughts appreciated. Maybe it’s time to sell the SG and just ride my daily driver WG. But I love that bike and hate the fact I scratched up the bags. Twice…

6 weeks may just be too soon after surgery, wound heals, but takes a while to bring the muscles back.

You could make a real nice trike out of it with some of the independent suspension kits out there, ride better than a stock trike. Kind of expensive, of course. At 68, I wonder if that's my Tour Glide's future. Or hang a sidecar on it, they're not too bad, either, but the handling's atrocious, never keep up wit a trike.

Front brakes at the speeds you're talking about, especially while in a turn, can lead to the tip over.

At parking lot speeds, use the rear brake exclusively. In the even that you must use the front brake, do so with caution.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redbeard719 (Post 14184833)

I thought the same thing BUT that thought would never be expressed to someone who's ridden since the 60's...
Btw, to the player who said give it up and make a trike: don't ever say that again lol

If you turn with the wheel at the stop point, at slow speed it can cause the wheel to stutter, on an uneven surface or in a slight depression. Your 'squared off' tires may have played a part as well. It's happened to me a couple of times but I was lucky enough to keep her up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjewell (Post 14184803)

Im sure you probably know this as long as you been ridding but when turning and moving slow like you were absolutely no front braking. I done that twice while ridding with the wife other day and couldn't figure out what I was doing. I was grabbing the front brake while turning to park. Didn't drop bike but had to put the foot down really hard. Made me feel like a armature.

Higher rpms, more rear brake, friction zone. You'll stay upright.

tight turns at low speed I never use the front brake, don't know if you did that?? but if so, Stop it":icon_eek:---

Baggage guards are a good idea. I put them on mine while I lived in Florida. My feet had slipped a few too many times in sandy parking lots.

It sounds like a few things came into play:
1) Weak leg
2) gripped the front brake too hard and stopped movement which caused the bike to tip
3) the gas being full may have added to the issue.

Make sure to follow the rehab folks advice on strengthening that leg, heck both legs so you can hold that bike up. I had my left ACL replaced 2 years ago. They did exercises that tested my balance. That took me quite awhile to recover.

saddlebag guards

It's impressive to me that you've ridden so many years without a tip. I'm a new rider (Road Glide Special) and have tipped a few times already, always in slow turns similar to yours.

I would recommend saddlebag guards in addition to engine guards. They've mostly spared my bike from damage. Only once did I get a scrape on my fairings, and that was because I tipped on an incline that made the bike roll past where the guards normally stop it. Even then, the saddlebags were saved.