Confessions of a born again noob

[Pterodactyl_imp]

Good yarn. Now that you have seen how easy it is (to drop) there is nothing to worry about.

Cheers

[Blockhead_imp]

A few weeks ago I attempted to park the CB in my garage without the side stand or the center stand down....it didn't stay upright very long. It fell onto the backs of my legs as I was removing my gloves, which sent me tumbling into the wall storage unit face first while the bike rested against my backside. I was able to crawl out from under the bike while it leaned unharmed against a case of Pepsi that was being stored.

I was able to laugh at my stupidity, while grateful that the only damage was two destroyed cans of soda....and a nasty welt on my back.

[Pterodactyl_imp]

^^^^^. And my Dad used to say "It can't fall over, there's nothing to stop it".

Cheers

[Novice_imp]

I feel your pain. I dropped a KLR650 on a small hill (more like a low mound) trying to do a U-turn. It was not one of my finer moments.

[ClassicVW_imp]

I dropped my Harley police bike twice when I was just starting as a motor cop. (Part time riding with my other duties) but thankfully no one saw! First time I foolishly tried to do a quick u-turn on an uphill portion of road. Second time was a cold December at our local Christmas tree lighting ceremony. A crowd of about 400 were facing the trees and after I was done with my traffic control, I pulled into a dirt parking lot behind the crowd and put the side stand down. The lot had recently been made, a temporary lot, and it was sand and pebbles. The side stand kept disappearing into the loose sand I and the bike just kept going down, down, down. In an effort to avoid being spotted, adrenaline kicked in and I lift the bike upright in only 3/4 of a second. No lie.

[Ack-CB11_imp]

It happens....... 1 month so far, dropped mine on both sides.
My cylinders keep the bike from going all the way down, so a bar grab dead-lift upright isn't that hard.

[Guth_imp]

I can relate. When I bought my Hawk GT, it looked good cosmetically, but was in need of some work. After I got the carbs cleaned up and working, I could finally get it on the road for some short test rides. I would notice that sometimes the brake lever would get very stiff and on one ride in particular it became practically rock hard (I later discovered that the tiny return orifice had become clogged with old brake fluid at some point, preventing the system from allowing for expansion due to heat.) Fortunately, or unfortunately as the case may be, I was just around the block from my house and I could tell that things were not right. I cruised very slowly near the curb in an attempt to get the bike home without having to push it. However, as the master cylinder wasn't allowing for expansion of the brake fluid, that expansion was transferred to the front disc calipers. Finally the front brake completely locked up, only I didn't notice it right away as the tires were old enough to be quite hard — and as it turned out rather slick.

Fortunately I wasn't tossed over the handlebars. But at that point with the front tire sliding along the road the bike began what seemed like a super slo-mo descent for the pavement and there wasn't much that I could do. I did try my best to prevent the bike from being damaged, wrestling to keep it upright and from hitting the ground too hard. in the end this resulted in a rather awkward, yet somewhat bizarrely graceful sliding dismount starting with my shoulder and rolling completely over on my back and then sitting upright (picture a cowboy at the rodeo trying to wrestle a calf to the ground without the use of a rope an you might get the idea). I sat there briefly in disbelief at what had just happened. Then I realized that this had all played out in front of my neighbors but I looked around and didn't see so much as a single person outside. Getting the bike upright was easy enough as the Hawk is light as a feather (relatively speaking), but moving the bike was next to impossible with the front wheel locked up. Still I managed to drag the bike as close to the curb as possible as I was not going to be able to get it home. Another scan of the neighborhood indicated that still no one was outside. By now I was convinced that everyone on the block was watching from inside of their housed, peeping out from behind their curtains, fixated on my misadventure. Fortunately, the bike suffered minimal damage — a bent shift lever and a scraped bar end. I suffered nothing more than a damaged ego which worsened as I made the walk home carrying my helmet to get some tools. Even my leather jacket looked untouched.

To this day, I've yet to have any of my neighbors mention to this to me, but I remain convinced that they swap stories of my saga at their yearly block party or other gatherings. And if they don't, they should because I had to have been incredibly entertaining during my total lapse of grace and dignity. On the bright side, I did learn how to rebuild the Hawk's master cylinder, and I can now utter the phrase "I've taken the bike to the outer limits of it's handling capabilities (and beyond)".

[The Spaceman_imp]

Heck, I rode over 1,500 miles FL to NC in 2 days without incident, got home and pulled into my garage, and stepped off the bike without putting the kickstand down. Luckily the saddlebags (VStrom) took the hit, but damn did I feel stupid.

Maybe we should start a "cuss Stunts" thread and see what else we've got to share.

[grover_imp]

Dear reader,

Some of you, I know followed my exploits in the run up to CB ownership.

You may recall my narrow escape from the Kawasaki sales babe, the Clearing Of The Garage, my traumatic test ride, the total failure of my negotiating skills with the Honda salesman, and the warm glow of ownership mirroring the little red glow in the centre of the Honda badge.

So, you may ask, how's the squid getting on?; has he, as Cager would say, been giving the beans to it?, are there scuffed patches on his leathers at knee and elbow?, has the Institute of Advanced Motorists been clamouring for his advice in a consultancy role? Do police motorcyclists bow down and proclaim "we're not worthy" as he glides past?

No, gentle reader, let me tell you what the squid did on his second day of ownership.

He dropped it.

Surely, you proclaim, he must have been on the very edge of the envelope, gonads dangling in the slipstream, steely eyes fixed on the vanishing point, rear end squirming and juddering under power.....

No.

Sadly, he was pulling out of a junction onto a completely empty road when, at walking pace, he stalled it, and failed to pull the clutch in.

The bike which was practically stationary by then, did a passable imitation of a felled redwood tree, with pretty much the same terrible unstoppable momentum.

That didn't stop the squid from trying to stop it though, oh no, never let it be said that the squid was ever put off by trifles such as the laws of physics.

The bike suffered a few, barely noticeable scratches on the mirror, brake handle, engine cover, and exhaust (and I'm sure the brake pedal was always at that angle).

Sadly, all that energy had to go somewhere, and the squid suffered a torn hamstring, and pulled muscles in his arm.

(Not too painful, but the bruising that came out a week later was biblically spectacular in colour and extent)

Needless to say, there were bystanders who saw the whole sorry incident and rushed over to help.

None of the inconsiderate so and sos had the grace to turn away and let me die of embarrassment in peace.

On the plus side, I can report that the 'bum against the seat, back to the bike, hold grip and pillion handle, and walk backward' method of lifting the bike works a treat, as does the 'engine cutout on falling over'.

Ho Hum.

Marvelous. Simply marvelous.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CA200_imp]

Great thread and Insolentsquid you sure can write well .
But I just have to throw one of my falls in.
By the time we had moved our store 3 times we had moved into
a building where we could sell bikes. I tried to sell a lot consignment
bikes to start. We had very nice Honda XR50 for sale and a customer
wanted to hear it run. I pushed it out side with customer in tow on
to the cement right in front the door. I kicked the little thing a couple
of times and then just as it caught I sort of slipped and I had my
hand on the throttle so the darn bike jump forward and I did not
let go - Yes it pulled me right down - face down on the cement .
Glad they didn't have smart phones back then