Has your bike ever hit the ground?

[Partsguy19]

On the center stand two weeks after I got it.. Was standing to the left, pushing it off the center stand, bike went to the right on a grass/gravel driveway.

I will never take my bike off the center stand unless I am sitting on it now!!

 

[Less]

Rode the FZ to work Friday. Beautiful ride in no issues. As I was approaching the house on the way home I did a number of very stupid things in succession that ended with me face down in the driveway and my bike on it's side.

Coming down my street I have to make a 90* left turn into the driveway which is a fairly steep but short down hill. At the bottom of the hill I take a 90* right turn into the garage.

So I take the left in first gear, hand on the front brake, foot on the rear brake and then I make mistake #1. I take my left hand off the grip to reach into my pocket to push the electric garage door button.

Now I do mistake #2. I try to start the 90* right turn toward the garage with one hand that is already trying to modulate the throttle and the front brake.

Mistake #3 is not pushing the button completely so the garage doesn't go up, so now I'm 1/2 way into a right turn one handed and the door isn't open.

Mistake #4, I panic and grab a fist full of front brake and go from 5mph to 0mph in< 1 sec. So I'm 1/2 way through a 90* right turn with my left hand buried in my coat pocket, my feet still on the pegs and the bike is stopped......I'm going over to my right.

Luckily I get my right foot down fast, get my hand out of the pocket,and grab the left grip just in time to let go with my right hand and brace myself before I hit the driveway. With my right foot I hopped out to the point that my body was away from the bike far enough that I could just flatten out on my belly as my left hand dropped the bike on it's side as gently as possible. Of course all of this happened in a split second.
The bike stalled when it went on it's side so it was not running. I think it has a tipover switch to shut it down so it doesn't run without oil being pumped through it properly.

I jumped,up, turned the key off and immediately grabbed the handlebars and lifted the bike up, (amazing what adrenaline can do). Then I proceeded to check myself. The gear did exactly what it was suppose to do. Not even a scuff on the gloves or jacket. The helmet never hit the ground. I was only wearing a pair of heavy (but not MC) jeans and they showed no scuff or wear.

Now I walked all around the bike and the only damage I can find is the right frame slider looks a bit scuffed and the end is crushed down a bit so the hole where the bolt goes in is oval shaped instead of round. When I first tried to restart the bike it cranked but didn't start, so I turned it off again, waited a minute and then turned it back on. I figured all of the electronics may need to reset them self after the the tipover switch had cut the engine off. Sure enough it then restarted. I opened the garage and rode in. I guess I was lucky and laid it down softly enough that neither the bar end or right foot peg didn't get scuffed. I would have been really upset with myself if I had put scratches on it before it even has it's 600 mile service.

Next time I come to a complete stop in front of the garage. Put the bike in neutral with both feet on the ground and then pull out the door opener. Lesson learned!! OH, probably should get back on Ebay and order another set of frame sliders. Since buying the bike I've probably spent over $500 on gear and acessories, but the $20 frames sliders were the best money I've sepnt so far.

 

[skyjake]

I've owned 3 bikes in about 3 years. It hasn't happened yet, knock on wood. I almost dropped my Fazer shortly after getting it. I was taking the bike off the center stand and thought the kick stand was down. The bike pushed me up against some cabinets in my garage put managed to save it. My back screamed!!!!!! I have recently installed sliders, my only mod thus far. Hope I never do. It would be a sad day....

 

[Less]

The morning after and the mind had an opportunity to think it through again and I just can't beleive how fast you can make a series of stupid mistakes and find yourself down. It was a real eye opener about getting complacent. And, the body has had a chnace to assess the damage and I find the left wrist (the one that had to be pulled out of the pocket, grab the bars and lay it down softly) is a bit sore and swollen this AM. Nothing major, just enough to remind me to not be stupid for a day or two.

I also jwent down to the garage to make sure I hadn't missed anything on the bike. Sure enough only the frame slider got dinged. I'm dam lucky.

 

[sm00thpapa]

I layed it down on the left side the first day I got it with no knowledge on how to ride it. Broke off the left front turn signal but popped it back into place .

 

[FZ6biker]

This is or should be a 'Hall of Shame post' I have dropped the bike once but in the silliest of moments. I have this really bad habit of kicking down the side stand before I come to a full stop and then hopping of the bike. Guess what it doesn't work all the time.

Few months ago I was pulling into the local Chili's parking lot and I did my routine got off the bike and the next I knew I was flat on the floor with the bike on top of me.And yes this was with an audience watching on too
The side stand did not go down all the way

Thank God for the extra long frame sliders I managed to get away with a few scratches on the left mirror and bar end.

One of the embarrassing moments of my life

 

[cbzdel]

My FZ6R was on the ground within an hour of owning it.. I was used to alot lighter of a bike and this one ended up falling on me haha! I wish I had a video of it..

Damage is not visable though unless I point it out, just an imperfection on the engine cover..

(I dropped it in the garage)

 

[Adamfz6]

Dirt bikes, 100's of times. I rode every day from the time I was 9 or 10 until I was 18.

FZ6, once. 0 MPH making a U turn in my work parking lot, cut it too sharp and just fell over slowly. Just a scratched frame slider.

 

[Oscar54]

Yes. After successfully avoiding the ass end of a stopped car.

My fault, not theirs. Lesson learned, always keep your head in the game, and never assume anything.

 

[joe1971]

Me thinks I have a need for another old dirt bike

 

[stevesnj]

Hit a road snake (those slippery tar road crack repair things) on a cold night with cold tires in October in front of my friends. OUCH!!!

 

[Zealadin]

Wow that looks PAINFUL!
I dropped my new FZ6 the other day trying to move it into the garage, is a slight drop between the actual concrete slab and the brick path and hit a lose brick on the edge of the path at an angle, had my bad to another parked bike behind me and nowhere to go.... /sigh

Also managed to totally embarras myself on my last bike about 150k's after getting a new front tyre, was out in an industrial area where they have some huge roundabouts without good through vision, I scanned didn't see anyone with a blinker or that would be in my path and only slightly slowed down, anyway a lady came around suddenly and I locked up the front wheel, but the back wheel was slowing me down and I stopped probably 20cm from the side of her car (she slammed on her brakes too)
Was entirely my fault as she had right of way and the worst thing was, that after stopping fine the bike just SLOWLY leaned over and went down.

Anyway she jumped out of the car and was worried if I was alright, while I was trying to apologise like crazy for being such a dumb ass, apparently her husband rode as well!

A guy with a ute helped me get it up and off to the edge of the roundabout, and having learnt a VERY good lesson (on so many levels) I rode home very carefully.

 

[AcesLA07]

I've had mine for 2 months and laid it down in a wreck sliding it into a cop car.

 

[mercm3]

I’m a complete noob just about 100 miles on the bike making a complete noob mistake. I'm a short guy(5'6") with the a 28" inseam so I can only flat foot the bike with 1 foot while other is on peg. My second time out on the bike at a stop sign I was about to go(my moto jeans were folded about 3 times at the bottom), as I went started to release clutch and roll on throttle my left foot coming up got caught on peg with folds, as soon as that started noob panic kicked in I pulled the clutch in and I tried to rip my foot outwards instead of up or down. My leg finally got free but by that time I realized all my weight pretty much on left side of bike which was going down on the right side then my baby fall down. Thank goodness for frame sliders no damage except my ego. Luckily I was able to get the bike up and rode home. Got those jeans fixed ASAP. Darn evening reading this post I’m embarrassed.

 

[effingham brian]

yes, in fact it's almost always touching the ground...unless I just jumped it off a ramp..ha. O.k. I know what you mean. The FIRST day I had her. I had just gotten my class "m" license earlier that day by riding a 151 cc automatic scooter at the DMV courtesy of my local yamaha dealer. the owner of the Yamaha shop encouraged me afterward to take my FZ6 out for a ride despite my reservations. Mind you, I had NEVER ridden a motorcycle before. I was signed up for the basic rider course in 2 days. I had vowed that i would wait until after I completed the class to ride her. Lo and behold I felt the call of the siren. I couldn't leave her alone. I did a couple laps in the yamaha dealer's parking lot. I came to a stop with my handlebars not square. I'm sure you can see what's coming next. I dropped her to the left, scraping my mirror, curling the clutch lever, and scraping part of the engine. At that point I picked her up and let her sit at the dealer until after I had completed the class. And that was only the first time....About a week later I was moving her from the garage to the driveway while sitting on her. I thought the kickstand was down...I was wrong. Once again, exit stage left. Once again, a curled clutch lever, a bruised ego. The mirror was scraped even more. I've had her for 2wks and have had 3 clutch levers ! Oh, by the way you don't have to take off the whole inside panel of the faring to change the mirror. By loosening the 4 "interior" allen key bolts, it will become loosened enough to allow access to the mirror mount. I saw in another thread someone had asked this question. Trust me, I speak from experience..
Well, those are my 2 "dropped bike" scenarios. I've had her for just over 3 weeks and have over 1500 miles ! I love riding her. As in the immortal words of Monty Python..."I'm getting better"

 

[effingham brian]

in a follow up to my post, I would share that the first accesories that I bought for my bike were....frame sliders...which I learned about courtesy of this forum !

 

[effingham brian]

yes, in fact it's almost always touching the ground...unless I just jumped it off a ramp..ha. O.k. I know what you mean. The FIRST day I had her. I had just gotten my class "m" license earlier that day by riding a 151 cc automatic scooter at the DMV courtesy of my local yamaha dealer. the owner of the Yamaha shop encouraged me afterward to take my FZ6 out for a ride despite my reservations. Mind you, I had NEVER ridden a motorcycle before. I was signed up for the basic rider course in 2 days. I had vowed that i would wait until after I completed the class to ride her. Lo and behold I felt the call of the siren. I couldn't leave her alone. I did a couple laps in the yamaha dealer's parking lot. I came to a stop with my handlebars not square. I'm sure you can see what's coming next. I dropped her to the left, scraping my mirror, curling the clutch lever, and scraping part of the engine. At that point I picked her up and let her sit at the dealer until after I had completed the class. And that was only the first time....About a week later I was moving her from the garage to the driveway while sitting on her. I thought the kickstand was down...I was wrong. Once again, exit stage left. Once again, a curled clutch lever, a bruised ego. The mirror was scraped even more. I've had her for 2wks and have had 3 clutch levers ! Oh, by the way you don't have to take off the whole inside panel of the faring to change the mirror. By loosening the 4 "interior" allen key bolts, it will become loosened enough to allow access to the mirror mount. I saw in another thread someone had asked this question. Trust me, I speak from experience..
Well, those are my 2 "dropped bike" scenarios. I've had her for just over 3 weeks and have over 1500 miles ! I love riding her. As in the immortal words of Monty Python..."I'm getting better"

 

[moopie]

Unfortunately yes! (at least twice) The original owner dropped it on the left side barely scratching the fairing and the crank case cover (i think that's what it's called). It was traded in and custom modded before I then bought it. I very embarrassingly dropped it on my first ride home from the dealership. Our street dips into a drainage area at the end of our steep up hill driveway. The rear tire caught a pile of loose leaves in the drainage area and just started spinning. With my short stature (5'4) and newness to the bike I didn't know what was really happening and just ended up falling over on the right side. Luckily, the only damage was a bit of scuff marks on the brake lever and bar end. Frame sliders were immediately installed after this incident!

 

[Bill3508]

No incidents so far.

 

[Spideyrex]

I guess I have the most so far : 4 times.

#1 On a very hot day, 109 degrees, I parked the bike on the side of the road to take a picture of the scenery. Then the soft asphalt gave way and down she went. No damage thanks to the frame sliders.

#2 Moving the bike in my garage to fix a flat rear tire (just a plug to get me to
the shop) and the flat rear just slid out underneath me and down she went, nicking my freshly painted car (just back from the body shop after a tree fell onto it!), No damage but a sprained ankle.

#3 Riding the bike to the moving company( in my move to Seattle), I was groggy and at a red light, as it turned green, I stalled since I was in second! Idiot! Down she went snapping off the right peg. No other damage and in interesting ride to the movers.

#4 During my first real ride in the rain, I went way too fast and too leaned over through an oily, pot-holed intersection and down she went. I rolled in full gear and watched my FZ6 spin through the intersection. The frame slider gave its life and I only lightly scraped the fairing and engine case. No injuries but took me a while to get over my stupidity.

Each tumble was a leaning experience and I am a better rider for it. At least I hope!