Almost dumped her!!
Road Captain
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 621
Likes: 3
From: N CA
I agree - it's not if it's when it's going to happen it's when! - I had a hell of a time with the side stand - almost dropped it twice & did drop it once - I bought the side stand extension & it took care of the problem - best mod I have made to the bike for me.
Road Master
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 762
Likes: 14
From: Bellevue, NE
As someone said, the good thing about these 'lessons', and hopefully not too painful ones, is that once learned, they're not easily forgotten. Like staying OFF the front brake when turning sharply at low speed. I won't forget that one.
Advanced
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 50
Likes: 0
From: cape coral,florida
Leaves in a parking space = verrrry slick. Also wearing tennis shoes don't help. These bikes get very heavy in a hurry. Lessons learned. Have owned motorcycles since I was 12, but the learning curve never ends..........later.........mark
I have to be honest. I hate, at the moment these things happen, but, in the long run I learn to appreciate them. It's kind of like a permanant wake up call how quickly crap can happen. It never leaves your mind and in my opinion, makes you a better rider, one that anticipates all of the possibilities. I have two that I will share (many more that I keep in my mind). First one is I'm riding my Honda, brand new bike, to get a hair cut. (i'm 20 yrs old I think) Turn into the barbers parking lot, doing all of 10 mph and all of a sudden the bike drops. Come to find out, the just laid new gravel the day before. I knew it was a gravel lot, didn't have any idea how slick new gravel was. The second was my brother and I were driving on back country roads that we weren't familiar with. Came to a 90 degree curve that wasn't marked with a sign. Went straight through the curve and stopped in the grass. If a car had been coming the other direction....well, you get the point. Being 46 yrs old now, I find myself looking at what the drivers around me are doing, anticipating their mistakes. Just tonight, I came up on an on ramp that in often congested. I was in the fast lane and had a cager in the merge lane. He was on his cell phone and new he wasn't ready for the oncoming traffic. I let off and sure enough, he jerked his wheel left at the last minute. You have to be a totally defensive driver on a a bike
Right on Mark, the shoes I had on were very similar to tennis shoes and very low profile.
Tourer
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 334
Likes: 5
From: Central IN
We got to ride about 200 miles yesterday afternoon and stopped after a few hours for a bite to eat. The streetside parking spot had a slight slope to it & there was sand out about 2 ft from the curb, as I soon found out... My left foot slid out about a foot & I was on the very edge of keeping us up and considering the last resort of having to try to lay it down gently.
All of a sudden the bike felt lighter & I was able to right it. Talking to the wife about it, she said her foot wouldn't reach the ground but she did lean as far as she could the opposite way. Her fast thinking kept us upright.
All of a sudden the bike felt lighter & I was able to right it. Talking to the wife about it, she said her foot wouldn't reach the ground but she did lean as far as she could the opposite way. Her fast thinking kept us upright.
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Intermediate
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 27
Likes: 0
From: Eastern, NC
Guilty! I bought an 82 FLH, first day bringing it home, pulled into the driveway, then onto the yard, and went to put my right foot down. The slope of the yard was a lot higher on the left side of the bike. I went over on the right side just as the wife, and in-laws, and friends came out the door. Hurts more when people are watching. Hasn't' happened since.
Tourer
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 349
Likes: 1
From: Poconos, PA
You have to watch stopping at toll booths on parkways. Hot cars on the highway drop tons of oil right where you put your feet down at the tolls. Watched a friend go down that way. This may not be as much of an issue these days with Easypass. Same thing happens at busy intersections, particularly when people are running air conditions in their cages and water collects on the road on top of the slick oil.