Dropped this top-heavy PITA today

[johnny80s]

This is getting stranger than normal around here.

 

[krashdragon]

Hey guys, 6 pages and no one has yet suggested grinding or filing the notch on the sidestand a bit so it leans more.....

Yeah, you could do that. It has been discussed here on the forum before, as you know, by some other guy named Fred. And if you do that it will make the bike better for parking on a surface that slants away to the right, like on the side of a crowned road (in any of the right side driving world).

But riddle me this... What then happens should you ever decide to park it on a surface that runs away to the left? All that top-heavy, heavy PITA bitchiness of bike weight will be loading up that sidestand like the mamma yamma engineers never intended.

When the welded steel pivot snaps off and the bike lands on it's side, you'll be sorry!!!

To me, it's a whole lot easier just finding a relatively level (at least side to side) place to park.

Uhhh..nothing. I had my FJR lowered so much I had to have the sidestand rebent so it would lean to the left and not stand straight up.

Only problem I had in the short time I owned it was the sidestand sinking into the nice fresh blacktop in a motel parking lot in Utah in July.

But only up to the little bit that is to get your toe on. Nice it didn't fall down all the way...<G>

mary

 

[RAVENRIDER]

With the battery way up high in the fairing and 6.6 gallon tank atop an in-line 4, you bet the FJR has a high COG, and is top heavy relative to most other bikes. How could it not be?

It's just the nature of the beast.

 

[cctxfjr]

With the battery way up high in the fairing and 6.6 gallon tank atop an in-line 4, you bet the FJR has a high COG, and is top heavy relative to most other bikes. How could it not be?
It's just the nature of the beast.

The bike is all the above-I would suspect the stronger one is the lesser chance of dropping the bike. I never dropped mine (FJR) however consider myself only average strength for my age group-come close many times but always very very careful when riding it. I have dropped my BMW 3 times-twice slow speed parking and once pushing the bike from the side on gravel and high sided it. The beemer is much lighter and much less top heavy than the FJR but I am more careless with it for that reason and I have excellent fall over protection with zero damage all three times. I think if you ride long enough on any heavy bike and some unexpected event(s) happens the bike is going to the ground. MY sportster has a low CC,low seat height and has the best balance and sense of security at crawl speed and unexpected events and I am pretty careless with it but have never dropped it or even come close that I recall (ride it the least though)

 

[Fred W]

Hey guys, 6 pages and no one has yet suggested grinding or filing the notch on the sidestand a bit so it leans more.....

Yeah, you could do that. It has been discussed here on the forum before, as you know, by some other guy named Fred. And if you do that it will make the bike better for parking on a surface that slants away to the right, like on the side of a crowned road (in any of the right side driving world).

But riddle me this... What then happens should you ever decide to park it on a surface that runs away to the left? All that top-heavy, heavy PITA bitchiness of bike weight will be loading up that sidestand like the mamma yamma engineers never intended.

When the welded steel pivot snaps off and the bike lands on it's side, you'll be sorry!!!

To me, it's a whole lot easier just finding a relatively level (at least side to side) place to park.

Uhhh..nothing. I had my FJR lowered so much I had to have the sidestand rebent so it would lean to the left and not stand straight up.

Only problem I had in the short time I owned it was the sidestand sinking into the nice fresh blacktop in a motel parking lot in Utah in July.

But only up to the little bit that is to get your toe on. Nice it didn't fall down all the way...<G>

mary

Yes, good point that nobody else has touched on. If any of you vertically challenged folks do anything to lower the stance of the bike (beyond a thinner seat) the angle of the kickstand would make it unusable without some kind of modification. Either bending the arm, or filing away the "notch" (aka stop) so the stand extends further forward would work. The idea is to return the bike to a normal side angle when on the sidestand on flat ground.

 

[bob-st]

This happened to me last Spring on my ST1100 but it still relates (I think).

Riding to work yesterday morning around 5:30. It was a beautiful morning, we have had a lot of rain during the past few days but this morning it is dry and a cool (for South Florida) 68 degrees. I am on a two lane road (US441) that hugs the east side of Lake Okeechobee. The ST is running great (as always). I approach a car and a truck that are going a little slower than I would like, so with about a mile of visibility and no traffic coming the other way I gently roll on the throttle and start to pass both vehicles.

Now I am going south in the north bound lane at about 85 mph when suddenly the bike starts to get loose. I quickly go into denial. My first thought is that the truck is throwing off some turbulence but as I pass the truck the wobble doesn’t go away. Okay, now I am back to reality and know that I am quickly losing air in one of my tires. Good news, there is a street light (very unusual on this part of 441) about half a mile ahead. So I bleed off speed as I approach the light. Bad news, there isn’t any flat area around the light, but then I see another street light about a quarter mile ahead. I decide to go for it. By the time I get to the light the rear tire is flat. Good news, I have light, bad news still no level area to park. So I try to make the best of the situation and pull off of the road onto the shoulder (the shoulder slopes off from the road at about 15 degrees). There is no way I can get the bike up on the center stand so I lower the side stand. Because of the slope, I have to dig the side stand into the dirt a little to balance the bike. But, all is well, I have stopped the bike in a safe place with light.

Thanks to the internet, I am prepared for repairing my flat tire. I’ve got my stripped down Walmart $12 air compressor and gummy-worms for a patch. As I am inflating the rear tire the bike starts to fall to the left (up hill), I notice this in time and I am able to save it from falling over by repositioning the side stand. I quickly get the tire inflated and turn off the compressor. Now I hear a loud hiss as air is escaping from the tire. More good news, I see a nail in the tire where is easy to get to. I yank out the nail and clean out the nail hole and start to insert a gummy-worm. The gummy worm didn’t want to easily go into the hole so air is still hissing out of the hole. The result is that the tire is going flat and suddenly the bike starts to go over on the right side. There ain’t nothing that I can do except watch it go. The bike ends up with both tires in the air (remember I’m on a 15 degree slope). I finish the patch and inflate the tire. But there ain’t no way I am going to be able to pick up the bike by myself.

More good news, the people in the farm house (it was their street light) are now up and starting to leave for work. I go up to the house and ask for help. TJ comes out and together we get the bike upright (TJ says, damn this is a heavy bike).

Now I need replacement glass for my right mirror and also the amber lens is cracked, but no other damage.

 

[FJR-Voltron]

I dropped my bike the first day I got it (bought it used private-party)

1. I was parked in my driveway, prepping to push the bike into the garage.

2. My stupid ass put my helmet on top of my Givi rack (rookie mistake).

3. As I started to push the bike in, my helmet fell off the bike.

4. My reaction was to try and catch the helmet, and as I did that I lost a hold of the bike.

5. The bike began to fall down to the left side and I just had to let it go.

Surprisingly, the only damage was the stator cover got marred up.

 

[El Toro Joe]

I dropped my bike the first day I got it (bought it used private-party)1. I was parked in my driveway, prepping to push the bike into the garage.

2. My stupid ass put my helmet on top of my Givi rack (rookie mistake).

3. As I started to push the bike in, my helmet fell off the bike.

4. My reaction was to try and catch the helmet, and as I did that I lost a hold of the bike.

5. The bike began to fall down to the left side and I just had to let it go.

Surprisingly, the only damage was the stator cover got marred up.

Did anybody else see this? :good: :haha: :headbonk: :lol2: :yahoo:

 

[rushes]

I dropped my bike the first day I got it (bought it used private-party)1. I was parked in my driveway, prepping to push the bike into the garage.

2. My stupid ass put my helmet on top of my Givi rack (rookie mistake).

3. As I started to push the bike in, my helmet fell off the bike.

4. My reaction was to try and catch the helmet, and as I did that I lost a hold of the bike.

5. The bike began to fall down to the left side and I just had to let it go.

Surprisingly, the only damage was the stator cover got marred up.

Did anybody else see this? :good: :haha: :headbonk: :lol2: :yahoo:

And did you catch the helmet? :dntknw:

 

[Potential]

I've dropped the bike twice in my garage in the space of one minute. I was trying to get it on the centerstand (something I still have never successfully done) when it fell away from me (onto its right side) and of course I couldn't stop it. So I made sure the sidestand was still extended and lifted it back up, then checked again to make sure the side stand hadn't folded up, then slowly leaned it away from me onto its left side. Only the side stand folded up as soon as it touched the ground and the bike fell onto its left side! Stupid side stand. Luckily the only damage from both crashes was a heavily scratched windshield (which I'd replace with an aftermarket anyway), a scratch on the right-side mirror, and one or two very small scratches/scuffs on the lower part of the fairing on the right.

 

[EXPDSGT]

Something I found out (the hard way) is that in Calif. they have red signal lights at the end of curved on-ramps to pace the traffic coming onto the freeway (to keep the main freeway going smooth). Some of these on-ramps are curved and sloped for a speedy entrance onto the freeway. Well when you stop at the red light to wait for your green light, the right side pavement is a LONG way down, and it can really throw you off when you put your foot down on that side.

However, when you are very upset you can lift very heavy objects. Also don't forget to turn off the ignition and then turn it back on 'cause it won't run unless you do. Luckily the traffic behind you may not run you over as you block the entire ramp while you figure all of this out --- maybe --- I think they were entertained just enough to not even honk at me. (No no one got out and helped)

 

[Potential]

Something I found out (the hard way) is that in Calif. they have red signal lights at the end of curved on-ramps to pace the traffic coming onto the freeway (to keep the main freeway going smooth). Some of these on-ramps are curved and sloped for a speedy entrance onto the freeway. Well when you stop at the red light to wait for your green light, the right side pavement is a LONG way down, and it can really throw you off when you put your foot down on that side.

Whenever I stop on a sloped or unfamiliar road, I always cautiously put both feet down as 'feelers' and which ever one touches ground first is the direction I lean the bike in. You never want to make an assumption about which direction to lean the bike.

 

[RichardS]

I only read the first 2 pages of this topic, but all the stuff I did read is going in the wrong direction!! Think about this: are you right handed??.. and standing on the left side of the bike?? Are you a short person??

What is happening is you are pushing the bike off the stand with your left hand, which is pushing the bike to the right. One top of that, your right arm is pulling the right bar to the right because it is effectivly 'shorter' that the left due to the streching over the bike. We ALL do it!!

My '04 BMW R1150RT has a much lower center of gravity that the FJR, both weigh the same. Both pull to the right off the center stand.

So either: 1) sit on the bike and use a rocking back & forth momentum to push it off the center stand, 2) don't use the center stand, or 3) consciously pull on the left bar while tilting the bike slightly to the left during this manuever. I use #1 all the time at the gas station. Just park downhill if there is a hill or you will regret it.

 

[user 6393]

I just lean it towards me when I push it off the centerstand, with the kickstand in place and, voila

:coolsmiley:

I have an oil change to do here shortly. I'll let ya'll know if I just jinxed myself...*L*

 

[FJR-Voltron]

Did anybody else see this? :good: :haha: :headbonk: :lol2: :yahoo:

Thankfully no :yahoo:

I dropped my bike the first day I got it (bought it used private-party)1. I was parked in my driveway, prepping to push the bike into the garage.

2. My stupid ass put my helmet on top of my Givi rack (rookie mistake).

3. As I started to push the bike in, my helmet fell off the bike.

4. My reaction was to try and catch the helmet, and as I did that I lost a hold of the bike.

5. The bike began to fall down to the left side and I just had to let it go.

Surprisingly, the only damage was the stator cover got marred up.

Did anybody else see this? :good: :haha: :headbonk: :lol2: :yahoo:

And did you catch the helmet? :dntknw:

And, no I didn't catch the helmet either :angry:

 

[Silver Penguin]

Something I found out (the hard way) is that in Calif. they have red signal lights at the end of curved on-ramps

Ouch! I remember the feeling of fear, when stopped on the ramp. I was behind Fairlaner, who was watching in his mirrors (probably expecting to be helping to pick up my bike shortly). What a novelty it was, to be able to touch the ground, with a flat foot AND a bent knee. Yet, on the other side of the bike, I was well over a foot shy of reaching the ground.

Jill

 

[bikemiser]

You think the fjr is top heavy, ride a Concours C10 :yahoo:

 

[Rolavine]

Get some outriggers..... What a farkle that'd be!

Or a segue style gyro that keeps the bike upright.

Early on I checked if the bike held more gas when fueled on the centerstand. It didn't so I just leave in on the sidestand.

I leave it in first gear, and if a slope set it to the side where it is going up hill.

My fueling issues involve my mag tank bag that seems intent on sliding and scratching the tank no matter how I try to manipulate its 8 magnets (Nice work OGIO!), and some gas pumps that are set to deliver more than 5 gallons per minute at the lowest setting, or have that damn epa mandated forskin on them.

The last bike I dropped while moving it engine off was a Yamaha Majesty Scooter, that thing has a terrible side stand that folded up at the worst possible times given only the tinest bit of influence.

My Bandit 1200 had worse stability when sitting on it moving it backwards (how I get out of my driveway) than the FJR even though it weighed less because the seat height was higher when partially loaded.

My Sidi Touring boots have saved me a lot of stopping, and backing up, spills as they grip well while not having a pronounced heel with ankle support. One day when I had a front tire blowout on my old GS850 in the left land of I5 at about 75mph, the boots allowed me to quickly kick the ground on the side of the bike that was trying to fall over, to push it back up. Having no training for such a thing this was invented on the spot and it worked as I got stopped without dumping. I did dump the scooter once while backing it out of the driveway once but I was wearing a pair of normal low shoes that just slid out on a puddle.

As silly as this seems maybe your problem is footwear?

 

[FJR@DTS]

I've ALMOST dropped my bike twice, the first time was when I drove down a ramp in a parking lot to the automatic gate, which would not %%&*($#% open for a motorcycle. I had to get off the bike and push it back up hill and then get back on still at a significant slant and get her turned around. The second time there was some construction at a corner and the ground was covered by one of those big steel plates. Well, I was not paying attention and the front wheel slipped off this plate, turned to the right and the bike started going down. It was about half way over before I lifted her back up right. Thanks to a workout routine which includes a lot of dead lifts, I was able to do this, but it was still too much weight. I hurt a tendon in my right leg and major muscles in my left leg and glut were sore for two weeks. Then my shin muscle/bone hurt for a week, now I'm finally better, buy hey, the bike did not go down!!

 

[Bustanut joker]

Still going.... I was gonna ignore this as the guy that started this is a wanker...

Well hell I can't add anything further. :yahoo:

:jester: