mcatrophy
Privileged to ride a 2018 FJR1300AS
There's a shopping precinct near where I live. It's a half mile walk, about a mile's ride each way, so it's normally about a 10 to 60 mile round trip.
It has a car park that's usually pretty full. So I've found my own personal parking space for my bike, it's on the end of a row where they've planted a tree in the middle of what might have been another car space.
There's a car space behind it, usually filled, so I pull in across the front of that car, judging to just miss it with my left pannier, then straighten the bike, just missing the tree with my left mirror, ending up with my tank beside the tree. I have to judge it just right, it's on a slight slope, I can't back the bike up at all. Been parking there for years.
(Click on image for larger view)
Yesterday, instead of a car in the space behind "mine", there was a fairly large van, parked well forwards, its front a couple of feet over "my" parking place.
Ok, no problem, I've just got a bit less space, but still sufficient.
I pull in, but a bit further forward, it's my saddle that's beside the tree, but there's just room for me to dismount.
So, engine off (needed to relax the clutch so the gear will stop the bike moving), side-stand down ready to lean the bike, let the bike roll the couple of inches forward, then lower the bike.
But the bike leans much further than it should. Huh? Ok, I'm still holding it from falling, but it's HEAVY. Hmm. Thinks: Probably the side-stand isn't fully forward. Ok, I can lift the bike up, and ... it won't lift! WTF?
I look down
.
When they planted this tree, they wanted earth round it presumably so rain can water it. To keep it all in trim, they'd put a heavy metal grid over the top of the earth, level with the surrounding hard surface. For years I've been leaning my side-stand on this grid, never a problem. They laid this grid in sections around the tree. Unfortunately for me the part where the side-stand's foot has ended up has a larger mesh than where I normally have it. Just big enough for the foot of the stand to go through, into the soft ground beneath (it's been raining on and off for days).
So why won't the bike lift up, just sliding the foot out? Because the heal of the foot has caught the underside of the grid. The bike won't come up.
Now what? This thing's not getting any lighter. I can't get off the bike, the tree is in the way. There's no-one around who could help, they're all oldies and young mums with toddlers.
Ok. Pull it up a bit harder. Ah, it's coming up ... but it's not getting any easier. I look down again to find the front section of grid is lifting, caught on the heal.
Perhaps if I roll it a little I can free it, so I get it into neutral and try to rock it a bit. No good. I can't rock it back; can't get any purchase on the (rear, unlifted and wet) grid. Rocking forward: all it does is move the (lifted) grid. And I can't get it back into gear with the side-stand down.
This is getting silly. My foot is occupied holding up the bike, I can't use it to push the grid down.
Or can I?
Yes. I can free up my foot by pushing on the tree with my hand.
Ok, the plan is to lower the bike and the grid until the grid is back down, then hold the grid down and lift the bike up. Good plan. Except the grid, now moved forward a bit by my attempted rocking, won't go down
.
Take a deep breath. Ok, hold the bike up with your hand, now wriggle the bike with your foot holding the grid to try to stop it moving.
Finally I feel the bike move forwards, free of the grid
! I manage to stop it rolling and to keep it upright, then put the side-stand up so I can get it into gear.
Another deep - and very thankful - breath.
Now side-stand down, turn on the ignition to free the clutch, let it roll forward just enough so the side-stand is over the narrower meshed part of the grid, ignition off, let it roll against the transmission, lean it onto the side-stand (a little wriggle puts the grid back into place), and relax. A few more deep breaths
, then I can get off the bike and go do my errand.
For some reason my left leg aches
.
(Pictures taken the next day).
It has a car park that's usually pretty full. So I've found my own personal parking space for my bike, it's on the end of a row where they've planted a tree in the middle of what might have been another car space.
There's a car space behind it, usually filled, so I pull in across the front of that car, judging to just miss it with my left pannier, then straighten the bike, just missing the tree with my left mirror, ending up with my tank beside the tree. I have to judge it just right, it's on a slight slope, I can't back the bike up at all. Been parking there for years.
(Click on image for larger view)
Yesterday, instead of a car in the space behind "mine", there was a fairly large van, parked well forwards, its front a couple of feet over "my" parking place.
Ok, no problem, I've just got a bit less space, but still sufficient.
I pull in, but a bit further forward, it's my saddle that's beside the tree, but there's just room for me to dismount.
So, engine off (needed to relax the clutch so the gear will stop the bike moving), side-stand down ready to lean the bike, let the bike roll the couple of inches forward, then lower the bike.
But the bike leans much further than it should. Huh? Ok, I'm still holding it from falling, but it's HEAVY. Hmm. Thinks: Probably the side-stand isn't fully forward. Ok, I can lift the bike up, and ... it won't lift! WTF?
I look down
When they planted this tree, they wanted earth round it presumably so rain can water it. To keep it all in trim, they'd put a heavy metal grid over the top of the earth, level with the surrounding hard surface. For years I've been leaning my side-stand on this grid, never a problem. They laid this grid in sections around the tree. Unfortunately for me the part where the side-stand's foot has ended up has a larger mesh than where I normally have it. Just big enough for the foot of the stand to go through, into the soft ground beneath (it's been raining on and off for days).
So why won't the bike lift up, just sliding the foot out? Because the heal of the foot has caught the underside of the grid. The bike won't come up.
Now what? This thing's not getting any lighter. I can't get off the bike, the tree is in the way. There's no-one around who could help, they're all oldies and young mums with toddlers.
Ok. Pull it up a bit harder. Ah, it's coming up ... but it's not getting any easier. I look down again to find the front section of grid is lifting, caught on the heal.
Perhaps if I roll it a little I can free it, so I get it into neutral and try to rock it a bit. No good. I can't rock it back; can't get any purchase on the (rear, unlifted and wet) grid. Rocking forward: all it does is move the (lifted) grid. And I can't get it back into gear with the side-stand down.
This is getting silly. My foot is occupied holding up the bike, I can't use it to push the grid down.
Or can I?
Yes. I can free up my foot by pushing on the tree with my hand.
Ok, the plan is to lower the bike and the grid until the grid is back down, then hold the grid down and lift the bike up. Good plan. Except the grid, now moved forward a bit by my attempted rocking, won't go down
Take a deep breath. Ok, hold the bike up with your hand, now wriggle the bike with your foot holding the grid to try to stop it moving.
Finally I feel the bike move forwards, free of the grid
Another deep - and very thankful - breath.
Now side-stand down, turn on the ignition to free the clutch, let it roll forward just enough so the side-stand is over the narrower meshed part of the grid, ignition off, let it roll against the transmission, lean it onto the side-stand (a little wriggle puts the grid back into place), and relax. A few more deep breaths
For some reason my left leg aches
(Pictures taken the next day).
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