Dropped this top-heavy PITA today

[Fred W]

There was some guy on here a few months ago talking about making custom tip-over bars, front and back, for all you guys with the dropsies.

Here' a hot tip for you. Don't park your bike on a side slope. EVER! If you have to park the bike on any kind of slope, make sure that you get her oriented with the front wheel pointing uphill.

Old COG guys don't drop their FJRs 'cause we have experience with truly top-heavy beasts. You think the FJR sustains a lot of damage? When you dropped a copnnie you got an opportunity to buy a new footpeg and bracket every time. It was keeping Murph in business I think.

Furthermore, what kind of a shitty gas station has a slope at the pump? What happens in the event of the inevitable gas spill?

 

[old&slow]

Sorry about the drop...

Make sure to check out the foot peg mount,,, Dropped my Concours once , broke the foot peg off.. So , I replaced the peg and forgot about it..

the following year I was half way across Kansas , heading back to Ohio ,,, and the foot peg falls off as I'm riding on I-70 at about 80 mph..

Mount must have been cracked and I never noticed it,,, when I got back home ,, had to replace the mount and the peg ...

I've noticed the side stand on the FJR DOESN'T seem to lock very positively in the down position,,, kind of scary...

I'm getting older and even with the FJR being lighter than the Concours , I don't think I pick it up by myself ,,,

Hope I never have to try,,,,

 

[radman]

You all complain about

when the secret is to cherish and worship him. Bad hoojoo goes away quickly. As for Frank, closest he's come to the ground sideways has been at speed. Perhaps this training bike

will better prepare you for real world biking.........

 

[Wicked Webby]

I will say that I am sorry to hear about your streak of bad luck :dribble: .

Though, I can tell you that it isn't your bike. The FJR is certainly not a light bike but it sure isn't top heavy. Nor does it just have the tendency to fall over...

The tendancy to fall over is all the rider (four times this year..yikes!!!). I think you might consider a bike that will not get damaged as easily by these multiple tip-overs. Maybe a cruiser with engine guards would be a good idea.

WW

 

[02zx9r]

I usually just stay on the bike to get gas.
Look Ma, no stands!

same here, have always done it regardless of the bike

 

[Draggon Rider]

"If this bike wasn't so top heavy, I don't think I would have had a problem,"

I agree the thing is tOOOOOOOO damn top heavy.

Thanks, Now I don't feel so bad about droping my bike.

Once the dead cow starts to drop just get the Hell out of the way.

I'm fine on the twisties, and open road, but stop and go traffic and these uneven driveways scare the hell out of me.

 

[Fred W]

"If this bike wasn't so top heavy, I don't think I would have had a problem,"
I agree the thing is tOOOOOOOO damn top heavy.

Thanks, Now I don't feel so bad about droping my bike.

Once the dead cow starts to drop just get the Hell out of the way.

I'm fine on the twisties, and open road, but stop and go traffic and these uneven driveways scare the hell out of me.

You guys must be little fellers... :blink:

 

[Elderberry]

Sorry about your bike, man...

I'll bet most of the time you got bit by the high side. I think I've only dropped one bike from the low side. That was a Sporty that I was apparently in too big a hurry to bother putting the kickstand down. I think I made it ten feet down the sidewalk before I heard the big crunch.

Now I work hard to stay out of high side positions.

I haven't dropped my Feej yet but all this talk has me so worried I think I'll just go home and kick the sonofabitch over so I can quit worring about it and just go ride it....

 

[zip]

I must have hit (the mirror) just right, cuz it immediately went back into adjustment. Well, after looking it over, I think I actually fixed it, cuz now it seems fine. I know I bent the sub-frame underneath the mount and probably just bent it back to near pre-drop.

Don't want to be a smart-ass, and you probably know this, but were you aware that the mirrors actually fold up/in? I wasn't. Just wanted to save you some concern in case you didn't know. I would've never guessed until reading it on another posting on this site. I hope your mirror isn't broken.

Thanks for the warning, though. As a relatively new rider, I'd love to avoid dropping my bike.

Good luck.

 

[Keyzcat]

I'm 5'7" and never had that problem in 36000 miles-sounds like you need to get out from behind the desk and work out a little!

 

[Harald]

If it makes you feel any better, I once dropped a bike twice in less time than you dropped yours.

Standing next to my GS1100 on a grass field, it got leaned too far over away from me and hit the ground. Not wanting anyone to notice my stupidity, I quickly ran around to pick it back up. My pick up was a little too quick and it flopped over onto the other side. Needless to say, I was really pissed. The saving graces were that nothing got damaged and no one noticed me being an idiot.

I have to agree that this bike is very heavy / top heavy. I had over 150,000 miles on bikes before buying the FJR, including relatively heavy bikes like the GS1100 and CBR1100XX, and nothing felt as top heavy as the FJR. I guess that makes sense because the FJR is 100 lbs heavier than anything else I've ever ridden (except a 1800 Gold Wing which didn't seem to feel that heavy). My FJR has already had the ceremonial tip over, so now I can stop worrying and just ride.

 

[Sherman]

Try This

 

[Fred W]

Try This

OMG!! Training wheels. Unbaleebable

Notice they make them for Hondas, but not FJRs.

whew!

 

[bandit]

Sorry guys, But its not near as top heavy as my old connie 1000 was.

Either bad technique or you need to find a gym. Not saying tip oves dont happen, but I find the FJR to have a nice CG and be a very nimble machine, Even at slow speeds.

Dont know why it happend to you twice in a day. Sorry to hear about it though.

Ever consider the ninja 250 for your next bike? Very nimble and lightweight.

 

[fjrchooser]

I've had three zero - near zero tipoverson my '05, All on the right side. The first 2 were thanks to the TPS before I realized it had an issue. Got that replaced a year ago and all was well until I tarded out on takeoff a week ago.

Stalled with the bars turned tight right on a hill and did number 3 in front of my son-in-law who in turn almost dropped his brand new 76 mile '08 FJR avoiding me.

I didn't even blink this time. Though I did think about and dismiss trying to save it instead of my back three times before it slo-moed onto the asphalt.

My son-in law thought I was having the big one as I stepped off it, took forever to get across that I was ok and just stalled it. It was back on its feet in 20 seconds with just a mirror adjust and one more rash mark to the bags so far unrepaired clearcoat. From the look on my son-in-laws face it'll be a while before he offers to let me check out his bike !

Meantime, TOGs are worth twice their weight in gold - which is about what Yamaha wants for the plastic if you run too long without them. Son-in law just popped for a pair after seeing them in action. :clapping:

 

[Netstarrider]

Sorry to hear that you dropped your bike. I dropped mine in the dark, no one to see. Other than being flipped over the bike when it hit the ground, (still holding onto the handlebars), the bike suffered no damage. My ego was bruised though. I landed flat on my back on the other side of the bike, was able to pick the bike back up, (gas tank was almost empty). Pushed driver's mirror back in place, and restarted and drove to work. My co-workers had a good laugh, although some had to admit to some stupid drops also.

 

[daveski]

It's not whether you drop the bike, its if anyone see's you.

And then your not supposed to tell anyone, unless in the super secret confidence or on the internet.

Had a buddy in work buy a brand new truimph and after 99 miles had a low speed get off at his house. He had to tell because of the damage. Over 5000.00 for a 5mph crash.

Maybe he didnt have to tell

 

[Hotboot]

Why not just stay in the saddle, swipe a card and fill 'er up. 2 feet on the ground is good although there is some slime around most pumps.

 

[petercwelch]

Once that sucker gets a little sideways it sure as hell lets you know how heavy it is. I have dropped mine twice. Second time my frame sliders saved the day. Now I am just so damned careful everytime I stop or am about to stop anywhere that I hope it will never go down again. I'm 5'7" and one sixty. Tough to get that sucker back up too. Sorry about it but you have to check the environment every single time you come to a stop. Love it once it starts to move though.

 

[HartClimbs]

Why not just stay in the saddle, swipe a card and fill 'er up. 2 feet on the ground is good although there is some slime around most pumps.

Hasn't happened to me, but I saw an asshat on a chopper fill the bike whilst astride it. Unfortunately, something went wrong with the shutoff...and he overfilled the tank - spilled gas on himself and all over the bike, then dropped the bike hard as he hopped off it. It was all I could do to avoid laughing out loud.

Would NEVER happen to anyone here - but I fill the bike while it's on it's sidestand.