Dumb/rookie mistakes...not while riding
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Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2023
Posts: 211
Likes: 76
From: Michigan
Dumb/rookie mistakes...not while riding
We're all proud motorcycle owners/riders. Most of us with a decent mechanical knowledge, that you dont find in your typical cager nowadays. But we've all made at least one dumb mistake when working on our bikes. Whether it was forgetting a drain pan, or plug, or gasket, or the like we're not proud to admit. Figured this would make a funny topic, so heres my latest lol
I have my heritage still in the garage, yet to change out the rear shock and front bar swap that I planned before this season. While its parked, I wanted to swap out my front signals with a different setup. After I swapped them, I had to run the 4ways to re-learn the leds. Welp, I got about a minute or two in, and putting stuff away I realized they stopped. I didnt have the tender on it, and its been sitting since November. Needless to say, I pulled a muscle in my leg trying to kick my own ***.
Whatre some of yours?
I have my heritage still in the garage, yet to change out the rear shock and front bar swap that I planned before this season. While its parked, I wanted to swap out my front signals with a different setup. After I swapped them, I had to run the 4ways to re-learn the leds. Welp, I got about a minute or two in, and putting stuff away I realized they stopped. I didnt have the tender on it, and its been sitting since November. Needless to say, I pulled a muscle in my leg trying to kick my own ***.
Whatre some of yours?
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2021
Posts: 18,139
Likes: 3,640
From: backwoods
I like the topic, but think you could do better, lost track of what you were bothered by.
Late night wrenching before vacation went wrong way with drain plug. Luck all it did was tweak magnetic plug.not strip threads
Working with Buddy rushing, went left on clutch. Nothing bad happened. Had clutches off hundred times
Didn't check arrow, dealer installed wrong. Tire was backwards for 20k+ miles
Disconnect stator to test. Didn't hook back up. Multiple starts and 12 miles before I realized. Still started
None of those bad, ended ok. Just dumb I am sure I had many forget to put part on and had to take apart to start over
Late night wrenching before vacation went wrong way with drain plug. Luck all it did was tweak magnetic plug.not strip threads
Working with Buddy rushing, went left on clutch. Nothing bad happened. Had clutches off hundred times
Didn't check arrow, dealer installed wrong. Tire was backwards for 20k+ miles
Disconnect stator to test. Didn't hook back up. Multiple starts and 12 miles before I realized. Still started
None of those bad, ended ok. Just dumb I am sure I had many forget to put part on and had to take apart to start over
Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 1,975
Likes: 1,425
From: Black Hills of SD
Bought China 99% perfect copies of OEM fuel injectors [ cheap ] - the 1% missing was that one failed after about 4-500 miles. Sometimes I'm too damn tight for my own good.
Put a tire on in a hurry on one of my bikes - 3 times from pinched tubes. Slow down dumbass.
Painting an aluminum tube crash bar that was warm, on a chilly morning outside - Paint wrinkled in every single inch of it. Damn.
Tried to put a bulb in the instrument cluster on mt CBR1000RR from the rear underside and some the damn thing shorted. Knew I was in trouble when I saw smoke. The good thing is the module was to fix was only $35 and the mileage started over.
Went to a friend house and was doing a clutch lever mod to his lever to lighten pull. Looked great - Then I realized I drilled and bottomed the wrong lever. The w ere both sitting on the bench waiting for me when i got there - I and grabbed one- Wrong one....dumb azz.
One time at the sand dunes - I need to do some carb work and change the needle clip position. I dropped it in the sand. If you have ever been to the Yuma sand dunes - If it hits the sand, its gone.
One time while on the Tracer - I stopped on an off camber spot, and my left leg just would not get full stretched out - The bike was a slow motion drop over - I seen the bar end getting closer to the ground I was so worried about it getting rashed, I put my hand under it as it touched down - OUCH !!!! Dumb azz.... laugh now, crying then.
Put a tire on in a hurry on one of my bikes - 3 times from pinched tubes. Slow down dumbass.
Painting an aluminum tube crash bar that was warm, on a chilly morning outside - Paint wrinkled in every single inch of it. Damn.
Tried to put a bulb in the instrument cluster on mt CBR1000RR from the rear underside and some the damn thing shorted. Knew I was in trouble when I saw smoke. The good thing is the module was to fix was only $35 and the mileage started over.
Went to a friend house and was doing a clutch lever mod to his lever to lighten pull. Looked great - Then I realized I drilled and bottomed the wrong lever. The w ere both sitting on the bench waiting for me when i got there - I and grabbed one- Wrong one....dumb azz.
One time at the sand dunes - I need to do some carb work and change the needle clip position. I dropped it in the sand. If you have ever been to the Yuma sand dunes - If it hits the sand, its gone.
One time while on the Tracer - I stopped on an off camber spot, and my left leg just would not get full stretched out - The bike was a slow motion drop over - I seen the bar end getting closer to the ground I was so worried about it getting rashed, I put my hand under it as it touched down - OUCH !!!! Dumb azz.... laugh now, crying then.
Club Member
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 4,534
Likes: 5,856
From: Syracuse NY
Of the thousands of my mistakes, I am reminded of the one on my first trip up the California coast. Made it from San Fran to Eureka. My tooling around Eureka someone told me you could drive on the beach.
Well, not with a Harley tourer you can’t! Do’h!
Buried the rear axle. If not for a passing stranger, I’da ended up a fossil.
EDIT: OP specifically said not while riding. Another of my mistakes.
Well, not with a Harley tourer you can’t! Do’h!
Buried the rear axle. If not for a passing stranger, I’da ended up a fossil.
EDIT: OP specifically said not while riding. Another of my mistakes.
Last edited by Oko; May 11, 2026 at 05:47 PM.
Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 1,975
Likes: 1,425
From: Black Hills of SD
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Tourer
Joined: Feb 2022
Posts: 286
Likes: 202
From: California
I bought OEM saddle bag guards & brackets off ebay. The ad said one is lightly scuffed. When I received them it looked like the bike was completely on it's side & it was scuffed a little more than I could see in the picture. Took them in to have them powder coated black. Bolted the right side up, perfect fit. Bolted the left side up, and it was a little tight going on. I left all the bolts loose until threads were started then tightened it down. Put my saddle bags on. Right side was perfect. Left side kind of twisted my saddle bag so the lid doesn't close right and the bar is almost touching the lid. So I have one freshly powder coated bent saddle bag guard. I should have bolted them up to test fit when I got them since they were used and scuffed. Wasted $80 on the guards & $100 for powder coat.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 21,017
Likes: 19,126
From: The Wasteland
I swapped out the fuel line inside the tank of an 03 Road King. Put everything back together, went to start the bike and it would crank and crank but would not start. I fiddled around with it for much longer than I'm going to admit to on a public forum before I figured out that I had forgot to push the fuel line back into the quick connect fitting on the bottom of the gas tank.
Popped it back together, thumbed the starter and she fired up without missing a beat.
Popped it back together, thumbed the starter and she fired up without missing a beat.