Dropped my bike today

[Harald]

Dropped my previous bike (Triumph Tiger 1050) twice. Hope I don't continue my evil ways with the FJ. :lol:

The FJR is rather top heavy, as I'm sure you've noticed already. I HIGHLY suggest adding some sliders to your bike because they will protect that expensive plastic from hitting the ground in a tip over. Mirrors, mufflers and bags will still hit, but at least the big fairing pieces will get saved.

 

[Jeremy]

I joined the club yesterday... stopped at stop sign for a right turn & suddenly I felt the weight shift right - uh oh! I had a passenger on and I'm not sure if she was shifting around, leaned to look at something, or if the stop just shifted her weight forward and right, but the end result was that there was waaaaayyy too much weight on my right leg w/ it too close to the motorcycle and we were tipping on over. I now know how much of a great investment frame sliders are. There's very little cosmetic damage on the exhaust and a little on the bottom of the side bag, but I know it could have been much worse. We both hopped out of the way once I couldn't slow it down any further and weren't hurt. She was pretty shaken up though, which is the worst part for me. How do you explain to someone that is new to motorcycles that this kind of thing happens sometimes? I fear that I've soured her on the motorcycle riding experience, which up until then she had been really enjoying. Not a great end to what had been a great day!

 

[Spook]

Well today I had my first ever and hopefully my last drop. I went home for lunch and pulled into the garage just like always. I have the same shutdown rutine that I do everytime. first put bike in neutral, lower the kickstand and turn off the key. Today I had the grip warmers on so when I put it in neutral I reached up and turned off the grip warmers instead of putting down the stand. The next thing I new I was almost trapped under the bike and between it and the wall. fortunately I have a small little table next to the bike for my battery charger so when I went down the left mirror caught on the table preventing the bike from going all the way down. My left foot was also caught under the bike and there was gas coming out from underneath. I was finally abel to get my foot out and found there was about half an inch of space between the left bag and the floor. The only thing holding the bike up at all was the mirror. I have watched videos of people picking bikes up and thought I could do it but I just don't have enough leg strength. My legs eventually turned into rubber so I gave up. I saw a guy mowing a lawn down the street and asked him to help and the two of us got it up. The only damage was that the left mirror bracket was bent right where in attaches to the fairing and the fairing was cracked there. I took a pipe wrench and used it as a lever to bend the mirror back. It looks like it never went down. Lesson learned.

Don

why don't you just put the side stand down while in gear, that will kill the engine and it can not roll forward. You then turn off the key and turn off the heat control. You will not get in trouble again.

 

[liljohn]

I did exactly the same thing just a few months ago, also my first after 40 years of riding.

My outcome was a little different. My left mirror broke cleanly off, but the fairing didn't crack. Also, I seriously burned my leg on the muffler.

Even though I'm a 240-pound weightlifter, I needed help too. Don't feel bad.

I made one useful discovery, though: When I went to repair the scuffed fairing, I found that the spray paint sold cheaply in auto parts stores for Kia cars exactly matches silver FJR's. With a sanding block, some elbow grease, Kia paint and a new mirror, you can't tell she was ever down.

 

[garyahouse]

I'm gonna learn my lesson the easy way. I don't EVEN want to earn the right to chime in with everyone else on this thread. Thanks for the heads up. Sliders are on order.

Gary

darksider #44

 

[Mogambo]

I joined the club yesterday... stopped at stop sign for a right turn & suddenly I felt the weight shift right - uh oh! I had a passenger on and I'm not sure if she was shifting around, leaned to look at something, or if the stop just shifted her weight forward and right, but the end result was that there was waaaaayyy too much weight on my right leg w/ it too close to the motorcycle and we were tipping on over. I now know how much of a great investment frame sliders are. There's very little cosmetic damage on the exhaust and a little on the bottom of the side bag, but I know it could have been much worse. We both hopped out of the way once I couldn't slow it down any further and weren't hurt. She was pretty shaken up though, which is the worst part for me. How do you explain to someone that is new to motorcycles that this kind of thing happens sometimes? I fear that I've soured her on the motorcycle riding experience, which up until then she had been really enjoying. Not a great end to what had been a great day!

I had the same thing happen last year on my Goldwing. Pulled into a parking lot that had a slant to it and my lady friend (sort of like my wife without the official papers) didn't wait till I gave her the go ahead to dismount AND she dismounted on the wrong side and facing the downward slant. When 900lbs starts to go it goes. She fell the rest of the way off the bike landing on her shoulder. Fortunately she was wearing armor and was unhurt. It demonstrated to her how important it is to wear protective gear, cause you just never know. I was so pissed that it happened that I think I stood the bike back up with one hand. The amazing thing was that the bike didn't have a scratch on it. None. Still can't figure that one out.