...except it was really no big deal.

I'm a new rider, I bought a new Fat Boy Lo in April of this year. I've never ridden before, and in an effort to improve my riding skill (in addition to the MSF course) I purchased the "Ride Like a Pro" DVD. As an aside, that product is REALLY great at teaching you techniques and parking lot exercises to improve your riding skills, I recommend it strongly.

So, I was doing the "Offset Cone Weave" exercise. The pattern specified in the DVD is to have the two lines of cones 24' apart, and at this point I can do that pattern pretty much 100% of the time with no issues. I had read that the motorcycle officer course actually has the cones only 12' apart, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Welllllll, turns out that is pretty exciting, heh, you have to transition very quickly from lefty to righty turns, and vice versa, if you only have 12' between the cone lines. And somehow, as I was tossing the bike from a left turn into a right one (well, as much as anyone can "toss" a 750 lb bike), I must have lifted my toe, popped it out of 1st and into neutral, and boom, this ride is now OVER, hahaha. Having engine power to the rear wheel while the bike is leaned is really really important as it turns out, heh. Bike was down on its right side before I even realized what was going on. I was actually really confused, I thought things were completely under control and I couldn't initially understand why I found myself standing over a downed bike - then I saw the glowing green "N" on the console. Incidentally, the bike turned itself off, and the word "tip" was displayed in the console window.

HOWEVER - that engine guard I put on when I bought the bike, just in case, turned out to be a really good move. The bike was lying on the engine guard bar, at about a 45 degree angle, and I actually was able just to heave it back up while still straddled over it, it was literally no big deal. There is a slight scuff mark on the bottom of the guard bar, and that's the end of any damage.

Just a little excitement in an empty parking lot....

 

good thing you had the guards on. Next time you want to practice, cut up some
garden hose, and zip tie them to the lower guards. No more scrapes that way.

 

Practice makes perfect. Wonder if they sell anything you can mount to ensure your pipes won't make contact when you fall in practice? I've seen these plastic plugs on the crotch rockets to minimize damage to their plastic fairings.

Remember there are only two kinds of bikes. The one you dropped and the one you are going to drop.

 

Welcome to the club!

 

Engine guards have saved many a paint job. A scratch on the guard means you have taken the bike out of the garage.

Congrats on the new Fat Boy and your continuing learning.

 

You'll need to contact the moderator and surrender your screenname. No one on this forum has ever dropped a bike.........when there wasn't someone around to see us and make us feel embarassed.

Good for you for practicing your skills. The RLAP videos are well worth the money and the "tricks" they teach are great for slow speed handling. As they said on the RLAP videos and as a previous poster said, put rubber hose over the engine guards and you will avoid even the minimal damage you had this time. It will also give you the freedom to push the lean angles.

 

Actually They do. They have Training wheels, Probobaly good for that and people with physical limitations...

http://www.landingear.com/faq.php

 

I went down last week too under similar circumstances. Took a left turn and scraped really hard, like frame, not just floorboards. Well, turns out I scraped the kickstand spring right off. When I went to make the next sharp right, the kickstand dropped down and killed the engine, promptly putting me on the ground. I couldn't figure out why the engine died on me until I saw the spring laying on the ground. Damn kickstand safety switches!

 

I dunno; training courses, DVDs, Ride Like a Pro,etc..we never had any of that stuff back in the day when I learned to ride, and we could ride circles around anyone..including the cops, who we used to outrun regularly.

 

What model bike? My kickstand doesn't kill the engine. I may have read that Euro versions of Harley's have that feature though, are you a Euro-Harley rider?