Controlled Lay Down today....
Controlled Lay Down today....
I found myself in a position today where I was forced to lay my bike down. When I say that, I mean that I slowly put her on the ground as she was going down no matter what. Thankfully no damage suffered. You see... What happened is that I was at a stop on a hill and had to take a right and continue up hill. As I have said before on these forums, I am no good with hills. I was going at a very slow speed and before I knew it, she was falling. So I grabbed the handle bars as tight as I could and tried to prevent it from happening, but no luck, so I slowly sat her down. I think the only thing she rested on was the right floor board. Thankfully I was able to stand her back up on my own. However I did learn one lesson. If this ever happens again, drop the kickstand before lifting the bike back up because it is a serious pain in the butt to try and do from the opposite side of the bike. LOL
For those of you have have been to Sicily, I was in Motta S. Augostine when this happened. And you know how the hills are there.
For those of you have have been to Sicily, I was in Motta S. Augostine when this happened. And you know how the hills are there.
Only one way to overcome..... Practice practice practice. May still always be some discomfort in it. But doing it just shows that you can, therefor it will get easier.
Tourer
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 486
Likes: 0
From: Texas!!
Next time, try this, stop before the normal stop point as much as possible, that way you can take off straight, and have some speed ( around 5 MPH ) when you start the turn.
Remember, the rotating wheels and engine act as gyroscopes to help keep you upright, so don't afraid to have some RPMs while clutching it a bit.
Remember, the rotating wheels and engine act as gyroscopes to help keep you upright, so don't afraid to have some RPMs while clutching it a bit.
Tourer
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 350
Likes: 1
From: Floridia
Motta was the first town we stayed in when when we got there. The hills were fun. Ended up moving out to Mineo. Spent more time on the west side of the island exploring. Not many Americans over that way, and the Sicilians were more tolerant and friendly than the ones in Catania and Misterbianco who were used to us.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 12,653
Likes: 18
From: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Yep, best thing to do when a bike is going over (as long as there are no obstacles in your way) is to blip the throttle. The bike will stand right back up.
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Elite HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,733
Likes: 9
From: MA
Had a similar thing happen to me. I was taking a hard left in a parking lot and was going very slow and then had to stop, but my left foot down and there was nothing there. Was on a slope and the bike was leaning left pretty good. Was riding 2-up so that gave it even more momentum. I knew I could not safely save it and didn't want to chance an injury to me while trying so I let it down softly. Only thing that touched the ground was the bag guard and it didn't even get a scratch. Only thing hurt was pride, but I got over that pretty quick 
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Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,476
Likes: 193
From: Las Vegas, NV
That does suck. The first time that happened to me I vowed to not let it happen again. Pick up a copy of Ride Like A Pro V and practice a lot. That video helped me a ton and no more issues with slow speed maneuvers or issue like the one you had.
