Whats the procedure after tip over?

[RichDoyle]

The GEN III FJR, more than any other bike I've owned, needs protection from minor tip overs. There are stories galore of a tip over resulting in damage that costs multiple thousands of dollars to fix. I have Canyon Cages on the front as well as their pannier protectors on the rear. The front Canyon Cages are augmented with sliders affixed to them. I have dropped the bike only once when a sudden blackhole in the surface of the earth gave me no place to put my foot at a stop. I was on a steeply cambered road and the bike went well beyond 90 degrees. There are minor scuffs on the bottom of one slider and a pannier protector. I am pretty certain that had the bike been unprotected I would have broken the stay in the nacelle, lost a mirror, badly damaged a pannier and been stranded in a small town in southwest Kansas.

__________________

I dropped mine in exactly this scenario, also going beyond 90 degrees. I did slow it down somewhat on the way down once my foot reached the bottom of the pothole. No canyon cages or sliders. Result? Mirror folded back, scratches on various fairing parts and the bags. No internal damage.

Years ago I went down hard on a ST1300. You may recall the ST's have built-in protectors sticking out like wings from the sides. Under the plastic wing is a pretty robust steel-tube structure to protect the bike (and give you room for your leg to avoid being trapped). But there is a vulnerability and this caused the bike to be totaled. The vulnerability? Those protective structures are mounted to the engine. Going down hard like that actually fractured the crankcase.

 

[Uncle Hud]

RichDoyle posted: I dropped mine in exactly this scenario, also going beyond 90 degrees. I did slow it down somewhat on the way down once my foot reached the bottom of the pothole. No canyon cages or sliders. Result? Mirror folded back, scratches on various fairing parts and the bags. No internal damage.

I'm with Mr. Doyle on this point. I've dropped mine at parking lot speed a dozen times including (damnation!) yesterday evening*. No damage ever to either mirror stay; no damage to anything other than scrapes and gouges.

I think there are new scrapes from last evening's incident. Kinda hard to tell, what with all the existing scrapes. Positive there's no damage to the left mirror stay or fairing supports.

What are you guys doing to cause such damage to your bikes when they fall over?

* Frustrated with idiots at a traffic light and impatient to get home, my FJR decided to U-turn on a two-lane street like she's done a hundred (or a thousand) times before. Yesterday, a lump in the pavement mid-turn tipped the front tire to the left, and she went down in front of a string of drivers waiting at the same traffic light. As mentioned above, I performed the required pounding on the helmet and swearing, accompanied by lots of arm waving for effect. Grabbed where Fred W has described, grunted a few times and got her standing. Cycled the ignition switch, started her up and drove away -- still frustrated and impatient, but now also sweating and embarrassed.

Got up this morning and rode her to work again. She's forgiven me, after my appropriate apology.

 

[RichDoyle]

Then there was the time I was fording a stream with a Bultaco Matador. Only the stream was running higher and faster than I'd perceived. And of course the bike gets lighter when it's under water, and there's the moss-covered rocks. The engine intake goes under water, the engine stops dead and the bike and I go completely under.

Hey, it's a two-stroke. Pull the bike out of the water. Remove the plug. Kick the starter until water quits coming out. Dry off the plug. Kick ~150 more times and the bike starts. Continue on my way. Still rode the bike for years thereafter until I sold it.

 

[Fred W]

If you want to get some street cred, you need a few scars on your bike to prove its been around the block. SkooterG type mileage is also good in that regard. But to get those coveted scars, its best to zone out a little, or maybe over estimate your FJR trials riding capabilities.

My oh five went down thrice. First time was a zone out where I thought I still had the kickstand down until the bike was too far from vertical to make reparations.

Second time I was grabbing a photo tag that required parking on a steep uphill driveway to get the money shot. Rather than backing down the steep hill (like any normal person would) I figured Id just bang a U-turn on the steep hill. Umm, yeah, no. Dont try that one.

The third time was completely ********. We were coming back from the CFR in Fredricton, NB. Had spent a couple of days in Nova Scotia riding great scenic roads on Cape Betton, and some unpaved roads in the southeast of the main island. We had blasted south in a total deluge through New Brunswick and stopped in Brewer Maine at a motel. I figured I would ride the bike up on the sidewalk under the overhang at the hotel, because, you know, the wet bike should be under an overhang. But my sidewalk jumping trials skills failed me and I dabbed (the entire left side of the bike). I parked it out in the parking lot after that escapade.

Part of the second two gaffs was attributable to my complacency with a well used high mile bike, so when I moved up to my still shiny new fourteen I vowed to keep her scratch free for as long as possible. I put the T-Rex engine and luggage guards on it, and they seem to have prevented any damage at all when I tucked the front wheel on some soft sand in front of another photo tag at a covered bridge. Plus, the bike didnt tip over as far, so it was easier to pick back up by myself. Win win!

These are heavy bikes. When they want to take a nap theres not much any normal human can do to stop them. And just when you think your mad slow speed skills are invincible she will show you who is boss.

 

[Uncle Hud]

^^^

+1

 

[dcumpian]

During EOM, I laid mine over doing a u-turn on a fairly steep hill. It landed on the sliders I had installed and there was absolutely no other scrape or mark. The very next day, I was pulling out of an overlook on the BRP between Cherokee and Asheville and had to stop for traffic. The bike started tipping and there was no way I was going to stop it. It again landed on the sliders, then proceeded to tip over further and scratched a bag, mirror and bent the subframe just enough so that the cockpit is just slightly off. I guess it wasn't good enough to drop it and get no damage, so I had to do it again.

Regards,

Dan

 

[Bounce]

People usually drop there bikes when there are people nearby to see. A pretty girl waiting for the crosswalk. A gathering of riders who look your way just at the right time. That sort of thing.

I drop mine all the time. To claim otherwise is to ensure I would the next time I got near it.