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man, when i first read the title of this thread i was hoping for something else. if you ride rwo things will surely happen to you. #1 you will get caught in the rain and #2 you will fall over. bound to happen sooner or later.
I had 2 of my Harleys fall over in the garage due to the earthquake we had in 1989 & I wasn't at home. Got a good sized dent in the tank from the bar end of the bike parked next to it.
Had my new to me 01 Fatboy for a month, and put on an engine guard in the garage. Took it out for fuel I didn't need, just wanted to see the shiny new accessory in the daylight. Came home, rolled into the garage, hit the kill switch, eased it over onto the stand...CRAP, I DIDN'T THROW THE STAND. I can save it, I can save it...nope. Over she goes, onto the nice new engine guard. Felt like it took hours to fall is was so slow-mo. No scratches, just felt like a total idiot. Thank God it was in the garage, lol.
When I was much younger and less experienced I never worried too much about dropping my new FXR. I did drop it. A number of times. Worst damage was bent handle bars. Never scratched the paint or primary. **** happens.
Fast forward 32 years to a test ride of a new Road Glide. I was nervous, hadn't ridden a bike this heavy in a long time. Nice ride, rode it back to the dealership and stopped. While trying to find neutral.....over it went! Damn, right in front of the store!
A few days before that I had seen the skinny girl video. Good thing too!
I had to replace the crash bar and left saddle bag ( almost imperceptible scratches). Made sure that they mailed those parts to me since I paid for them. They are now on my bike (originals in storage in case I need them). Oh yeah, I dropped my new bike too when the side stand did not lock on a downward sloping parking space. You know what? Its gonna happen again. That's why I installed the bag guards (something to lift the bike with!)
WF
[QUOTE=flyboyron;15104444] The first time I dropped a street bike was back in 1983, I bought a brand new Honda 650 Nighthawk. The bike was faster than every 750 except one, I don't remember which one now.
I ride the bike to work, and when I go to park it, for some reason I dropped it....and I panicked. I left the bike and went running into my work yelling for someone to come help me pick it up. We got it up and I don't remember but not much damage, maybe some scratches.
![/l QUOTE]
I had an 84 650 Nighthawk. Loved that bike. Smoked several 750s. Anyway, rode it to FL. Got invited to a beach party. There was quite a bit of sand on the parking lot. Had just acknowledged someone waving at me with a headnod (all cool), and then just as quick turning into a parking spot boom I was laying on the asphalt (not cool anymore). That bike was driveshaft driven and didn't really like loose surfaces. No real damage fortunately other than my pride.
Yep, there are those who have and those who will. I got my experience with a dropped bike about a year ago. I found it much easier to get back up with the Crash Bars and a guy about 6 inches taller and 50 lbs heavier than me.
During my experience, I decided that I did not want to go through that again. A good way to sprain a tendon in my wrist. Painful and almost put me out of the game for about two months. At 72 years of age, I am much more careful now and make sure that I have a fellow rider to help me raise my Sportster back to it's vertical position if necessary. In the meantime...
Ride Safe - Ride Smart, and, FWIW... I am strictly ATGATT. I would rather spend money on Safety Gear than E.R. Docs and Emergency Rooms.
"He Who Lives In Joy Does His Creator's Will"
The Baal Shem Tov Founder of Chasodic Judaism.... ca. 1750's
Last year got gas in my 07 ultra classic. Put kickstand up and not realizing it mybright boot slipped on some spilt gas and did a slow drop to the right side. Pinned my right leg under it. Another guy getting gas came over and got it off of me and helped me get it back up. No damage. Saddle bag guards and crash bar stopped any damage. Just a very slight scratch on crash bar. Needless to say very careful now when getting gas.
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