Uneffingbelievable!

Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum

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Perhaps your fairing damage happened after your slider broke. I guess I was more, shall we say, fortunate(?).
The insurance company is Progressive. They issued me a check on the spot for the estimate less the deductible. Perhaps the level of service I enjoyed may be predicated on the fact I have had them for nine years as well as coverage for my boat, autos, and RV. But I would be quick to point out that the transaction is yet to be completed.
I have Prgressive as well, but just for the bike. I think the faring damage would not have happened if the slider had not broken. Probably would have still got the mirror, though.

 
Went to small carry out shop yesterday to pick up a sandwich. Parked the FJR on what appeared to be a small incline forward. Went in, ordered the sandwich and was in the store about 5 minutes. Walked out toward my bike and as I was reaching for the rear bag to put my sandwich in, the bike fell over. Two seconds sooner and I would have been able to prevent it from falling. Broke off the left mirror and slightly scuffed the case cover and left muffler. Looks like the slider took most of the brunt. Hopefully the front cowl wasn't displaced.
Lesson learned. Always park with bike in gear. I've been riding for fifty years and never dropped one while parked.
Gunny! I always park my bike in gear on any incline. Learned that one in my drive way that has a slight incline, almost lost it. Also make sure that kick stand is all the way out. SOP for me too. ;)
Yep, exact same thing happened to me first time parking on the slightly inclined driveway.....Saw it moving forward out of the corner of my eye......saved it ...barely.........always in first gear if aimed down hill. Up hill, no problem...........least not on my driveway..............

 
Park with the nose uphill and you will never have a problem with the bike rolling off the side stand. I is also a lot easier to ride your FJR uphill as opposed to PUSHING your FJR backwards up an incline.

 
yup - day four with the new bike back in 2004 I learned the same lesson... never want that to happen EVER again

 
Just to make youse FJR owners feel better about this. I've had 3 instances where a BMW LT on a side stand fell over and came close to crashing into my bike. The LT side stand in nuetral cannot tolerate the slightest forward incline. Parking in gear solves these problems. But hey I can't get my FJR off the centerstand while sitting on it. I stand on the left side and slowly rock it foreward while pointing straight. Works on my other heavy bikes and so far for the FJR. But I'll have to say the FJR takes more attention than any centerstand bike I've owned.

Bill

 
Same way I dropped mine. Stopped to check my directions and get something to drink, put the kick stand down and as I was swinging my leg over to dismount, it rolled an inch or so and came over on me. You don't realize how heavy the FJR is until it starts to fall on you and you try your best to catch it. Once it goes a few degrees, it's gone! My Yamaha shop gave me an estimate, including parts & labor of $1850.00. This included replacing left saddlebag, cowling, mirror, stater cover w/gasket.
Did almost the same exact thing a few weeks ago when I stopped while on my way home from North Lake Tahoe. Pulled over near the intersection of 28/50 on Spooner Summit to check the gear tie-downs. Left the bike running in neutral, put the kickstand down, dismounted, and caught the bike as it fell into me. That damn pig is one heavy sonuvabitch!! Thankfully no damage to me or the Feej.

Lesson learned....check yer surface before dismounting.

 
I always park the FJR nose up the incline no matter how slight. If I use the center stand, I take it off the same way I put it up, standing beside it and on the little lever of the center stand. Oh, and I never use the center stand on black top on hot sunny days.

 
Had a close call woth the kickstand on my 03. Nothing bad but almost. The kickstand on FJR's rotate very far past vertical. I was about to get off my baby one time when I happened to look down and noticed the kickstand wasnt all the way against the tab stop. The bike was leaning on the kickstand at this point but I've always wondered how long it would have stayed up. From then on when I park her I do three things every time. 1. I check to make sure the kickstand is fully extended. 2. I turn the handle bars all the way to the right, let the clutch out, and push her forward until she stops rolling. 3. Kick the kickstand one extra time to make it fully extended and look at it to make sure my foot is not telling me a lie. And I never leave a bike in neutral when I park it. Why would someone do that?

Another piece of advice. When you leave your FJR on the side stand, point the front end uphill. when you put your FJR on the center stand, never point the front end uphill. Learnded this one the hard way when I washing her. I have a gravel driveway and washing the motorcycle makes a mud puddle. I use a piece of plywood to keep the center stand from sinking in the mud but it still sucks standing in the mud puddle. Once I thought I was going to be smart and wash the bike on a spot in the yard that has about a 10 degree slope. Didn't want it falling forward off the center stand (I have a suzuki that will do that in a second) so I point the nose uphill and put it on the center stand. Went on the center stand so easy. I'm 6 foot tall and 145 pounds so guess what. Could not rock the forward hard enough to quite make it off the center stand. Each time I tried, it slid on the piece of plywood a little until one side of the center stand sliped off and started sink in the mud. At this point the bike started leaning and I started getting real scared for my skinny self. Thankfully, the other side of the center stand slipped off the plywood and sank in the mud before my leg gave out from trying to hold up a leaning bike that weighs 4 times as much as me. That experience whore me out! I was panting, sweating, shaking, and scared as hell when it was all over with. Ohh I almost forgot, I was home all alone when it happened. Nobody to yell to for help.

 
Sorry to hear of your misfortune Yooper :(

When I park anywhere that might even look a little like an incline down I use the kickstand to stop the bike while in gear. When I let the clutch out I know its in gear and one less headache to worry about.

 
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