Picking Up a Dropped Bike Alone
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Picking Up a Dropped Bike Alone
May come in handy someday....hope not though.....Interesting concept
Also check here for pics... http://www.pinkribbonrides.com/dropped.html
OK, so most motorcyclists go to a parking lot to practice riding skills, not to dump their bikes so they can have the pleasure of picking them up again. I guess Elaine and I are not exactly 'normal' - we like to think of ourselves as 'odd ducks' - because a few weeks ago we did just that.
After Elaine practiced driving the Wing by herself I had her dump it on its left side for me. Though she was not going to try to pick it up herself, since she had never dumped the Wing before I wanted her to learn how to do it without ending up under the thing.
She dumped it on grass covered firm ground and then I approached the bike and considered all I had heard about how to pick up 900 pounds of bike by myself. I weigh in at only about 160 lbs. and am only 5'8" high. Frankly, I wasn't at all sure I could do it and had studied the advice of others to try to avoid doing something that could hurt me.
Virtually everything I had read in the past on the subject argued that you are not to try to lift the bike with your arms or back - that you should use the largest muscles in your body instead - your legs. So that is exactly what I intended to do - and this practice event would be more learning than practice for me as I had never before tried to pick up a down Wing by myself.
Let me tell you that a dumped bike on grass is harder to pick up than one on the street for two reasons:
The case guard and rear guard dig into the ground just a little, but that makes the lean angle of the down bike significantly more than it would be if it were lying on pavement.
Getting good traction with your feet on grass can be iffy at best.
The significance of the fact that the bike rests lower when on ground versus pavement is that you are often unable to get a low enough purchase on it to bring it up without lifting. That is, the secret to 'picking up' a big bike by yourself is that you PUSH it up rather than LIFT it up, and if it is laying over at more than a 45 degree angle you will have to do some lifting!
The smaller the angle of lean (relative to vertical), the easier it is to make that angle still smaller. In other words, it is the first inch or so of movement that is the hardest. So, the very first thing you should do is try to get the lean angle to be as small as possible. If you are on an incline, for example, twist the bike until its tires are facing downhill.
The next thing you do is to turn the front wheel as far as possible TOWARDS the ground. If possible, turn it to its stop and lock it in place. (I found that on the ground I could not get mine turned all the way - perhaps I am not strong enough, or the bike was leaned too far over.) You may have to jerk hard on the handlebar to get the wheel turned, but this is a very important step. Why? Because by turning the wheel towards the ground the frame of the motorcycle is lifted off the ground. This means you are reducing the lean angle before you even begin to try to pick up the machine.
If the bike happens to be on its left side, you should check that the side stand is up, if possible. If it is on its right side, you MUST make sure the side stand is down (before you pick up the bike!.)
If possible, insure that the bike is in a low gear or, in the case of some GoldWings, in reverse, so that there is minimal chance of the bike rolling when you get it back on its wheels.
Next, you are going to plant your butt (not your hip) on the seat. So, face away from the motorcycle and lean against the seat such that the top half of your cheeks are above your contact with the seat and the bottom half are pressed solidly against the seat. Your feet should be spread no wider than your shoulder width and planted FIRMLY (you are wearing RUBBER SOLED boots, right?) on the ground away from the bike by about
Also check here for pics... http://www.pinkribbonrides.com/dropped.html
OK, so most motorcyclists go to a parking lot to practice riding skills, not to dump their bikes so they can have the pleasure of picking them up again. I guess Elaine and I are not exactly 'normal' - we like to think of ourselves as 'odd ducks' - because a few weeks ago we did just that.
After Elaine practiced driving the Wing by herself I had her dump it on its left side for me. Though she was not going to try to pick it up herself, since she had never dumped the Wing before I wanted her to learn how to do it without ending up under the thing.
She dumped it on grass covered firm ground and then I approached the bike and considered all I had heard about how to pick up 900 pounds of bike by myself. I weigh in at only about 160 lbs. and am only 5'8" high. Frankly, I wasn't at all sure I could do it and had studied the advice of others to try to avoid doing something that could hurt me.
Virtually everything I had read in the past on the subject argued that you are not to try to lift the bike with your arms or back - that you should use the largest muscles in your body instead - your legs. So that is exactly what I intended to do - and this practice event would be more learning than practice for me as I had never before tried to pick up a down Wing by myself.
Let me tell you that a dumped bike on grass is harder to pick up than one on the street for two reasons:
The case guard and rear guard dig into the ground just a little, but that makes the lean angle of the down bike significantly more than it would be if it were lying on pavement.
Getting good traction with your feet on grass can be iffy at best.
The significance of the fact that the bike rests lower when on ground versus pavement is that you are often unable to get a low enough purchase on it to bring it up without lifting. That is, the secret to 'picking up' a big bike by yourself is that you PUSH it up rather than LIFT it up, and if it is laying over at more than a 45 degree angle you will have to do some lifting!
The smaller the angle of lean (relative to vertical), the easier it is to make that angle still smaller. In other words, it is the first inch or so of movement that is the hardest. So, the very first thing you should do is try to get the lean angle to be as small as possible. If you are on an incline, for example, twist the bike until its tires are facing downhill.
The next thing you do is to turn the front wheel as far as possible TOWARDS the ground. If possible, turn it to its stop and lock it in place. (I found that on the ground I could not get mine turned all the way - perhaps I am not strong enough, or the bike was leaned too far over.) You may have to jerk hard on the handlebar to get the wheel turned, but this is a very important step. Why? Because by turning the wheel towards the ground the frame of the motorcycle is lifted off the ground. This means you are reducing the lean angle before you even begin to try to pick up the machine.
If the bike happens to be on its left side, you should check that the side stand is up, if possible. If it is on its right side, you MUST make sure the side stand is down (before you pick up the bike!.)
If possible, insure that the bike is in a low gear or, in the case of some GoldWings, in reverse, so that there is minimal chance of the bike rolling when you get it back on its wheels.
Next, you are going to plant your butt (not your hip) on the seat. So, face away from the motorcycle and lean against the seat such that the top half of your cheeks are above your contact with the seat and the bottom half are pressed solidly against the seat. Your feet should be spread no wider than your shoulder width and planted FIRMLY (you are wearing RUBBER SOLED boots, right?) on the ground away from the bike by about
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