Wife drops bike on ride

[TheRepairMan]

Hey Scott,

Tell your wife it will be okay. Follow the advise above especially about getting more riding time in. Stop and go and slow manuvering excercises in an empty lot can improve skills. Drops can still happen!

I too, dropped my bike at a gas station just two months after I bought it because I didn't make sure the kick stand locked in place, ...and I've been riding for three decades now! It's going to happen to the best of us.

I've ridden bikes almost twice as heavy and not dropped them. It's all about practiceing your balance and concentration, not so much about pure strength. Practice, practice, practice!

Roger

 

[wfooshee]

Don't know if the clutch lever on her bike is adjustable but if it is, bring it as close into the bar as you can without the clutch slipping when it's released.

Just a quick correction on this: adjusting the lever does not adjst the clutch, just the lever's rest position. Moving it closer to the bar can't make the clutch slip, but it might make it where it can't release completely. (Shouldn't, but could.)

I agree, though, that it's a good thing to try. I've got big hands, big enough it's hard to find gloves, and I like it on 2 or 3 out of 5, with 5 being furthest away.

 

[Scab]

Anybody else had this feeling or have tips for a concerned husband?
Thanks Mates.



Scott

Yeah. My tip? Don't stop in front of her.

Click-if-you-dare

 

[fjrchik]

3.) Until she has mastered the starting and stopping, you might want to keep her on "flat ground". Sometimes the things WE do automatically aren't so "simple" for new riders.
An uphill start on sloped roadway is a handful for a new rider. A lot of mental input and physical technique to master.

As an encouragement, it isn't HER, it is the technique and habit she hasn't yet learned and absorbed.

I'm with Mikey on this one. If she's only done 20 miles, its definitely too early for this kind of maneuver. Let her get to the point where she can shift and go and stop without thinking about it first. then she'll be ready to tackle various road conditions. Uphill starts was a tough one for me that I struggled with for a long time because I hadn't mastered the clutch yet. I was incredibly anal about the routes I road the first few years because I didn't want to tackle anything too difficult until I ready for it. You have to think like a beginner and not just take her anywhere right off the bat. They don't teach everything in MSF course.

 

[Auburn]

As a former MSF instructor, maybe she could take the course again just to refresh the skills and it will help her confidence. Many experienced riders take the basic rider course each year as a tune up for the riding season.

Another option is to plan a route where it is flat and ride the same route a few times. It gives her a chance to practice on a road she knows - from a motorcycle riding prospective to gain confidence. Try to find roads where she can ride some distance without having to stop so she can get a feel for the bike and relax.

Another option, if you have a dirt bike that fits her, is to get her out riding on that. Let's her concentrate on operating the motorcycle without worrying about cages.

 

[Old Michael]

3.) Until she has mastered the starting and stopping, you might want to keep her on "flat ground". Sometimes the things WE do automatically aren't so "simple" for new riders.
An uphill start on sloped roadway is a handful for a new rider. A lot of mental input and physical technique to master.

As an encouragement, it isn't HER, it is the technique and habit she hasn't yet learned and absorbed.

I'm with Mikey on this one. If she's only done 20 miles, its definitely too early for this kind of maneuver. Let her get to the point where she can shift and go and stop without thinking about it first. then she'll be ready to tackle various road conditions. Uphill starts was a tough one for me that I struggled with for a long time because I hadn't mastered the clutch yet. I was incredibly anal about the routes I road the first few years because I didn't want to tackle anything too difficult until I ready for it. You have to think like a beginner and not just take her anywhere right off the bat. They don't teach everything in MSF course.

Yes. Put succinctly by Mike and chik.

Huge responsibility taking someone you love out and mentoring them as new riders.

Take care zenwhipper.

 

[MsLilly]

My first bike was a GPZ550. I threw that thing down so many times I can't even remember. BUT, I kept going and my husband never gave up on me. I WANTED it so bad. Rode it for 8 months and moved up to a 750 Honda Sabre. That was 27 years ago. Two years ago we bought our daugher a Ninja 500 for her 21st birthday. She just couldn't get it. My husband was freaked out! Every time she dropped the bike she would get upset and felt like she was just not meant to ride. I would calm her down (and my husband) and tell her, "If I can do it you can!" She struggled with that bike for a few months and one day it just clicked. She rode the wheels off that bike and all our riding friends couldn't get over how great she was riding. She sold the Ninja that next year and bought a Ducati 749 Dark. Now I'm freaked cause she rides like the wind and doesn't have the years of experience to go with the wind!! When we ride together it's my daughter that is waiting on the side of the road for Mom and Dad to catch up to her. I'm so proud that my girl rides with us. Your wife can do itif she doesn't give up. I don't know about how she feels about you giving her advise but I appreciated all the things my husband would tell me..and he still helps me. However, he gave me advice in a positive manner. Good luck to both of you.

 

[FJRChick]

I'd say give her this link

https://www.cycleforums.com/forums/forumdis...&forumid=51

Have her set up an account and let her work through it

 

[zenwhipper]

Wow... lots of great replies and some really entertaining :clapping: stories. Me an the wife feel much better after a few days after the 'drop'. She is still gung-ho and I am too about her riding. She was more pissed than anything else when it happened. I do remember when I started riding and the coordination took a while and I had my routes well planned for quite some time (no freeways, minimal traffic).

Thanks Mates! B)

Scott

 

[krashdragon]

Wow... lots of great replies and some really entertaining :clapping: stories. Me an the wife feel much better after a few days after the 'drop'. She is still gung-ho and I am too about her riding. She was more pissed than anything else when it happened. I do remember when I started riding and the coordination took a while and I had my routes well planned for quite some time (no freeways, minimal traffic).
Thanks Mates! B)

Scott

Good... just tell her everyone drops their bike eventually....

My first bike was an RD350... I'd keep forgetting to turn on the gas. It took me a couple of times running out of gas at the corner red light to

1. learn to turn on the gas

2. NOT to try to kick start it without putting the sidestand down FIRST! oster_oops:

3. took me 3 years to drop my Harley for the first time... forgot to put the sidestand down..

and then there was this gravel driveway in Virginia... I think it went straight up... and of course it wasn't even the right driveway...<G>

Oh well... **** happens...

give her some time....

She might practice in the driveway or a parking lot... stopping with both feet down,

Then leaning the bike to the left a tiny bit making sure to keep the front wheel pointed straight ahead,and putting her right foot on the rear brake to hold the bike.

Then starting, and as the bike moves forward taking her foot off the brake. Takes some practice tho.

they taught us that in the MSF class.... but I had already been using the clutch and throttle on hills, so the instructor just said do what was comfortable for me.

Break stuff down to simple steps and let her mentally practice.

women tend to overthink things.

GENTLY remind her to look UP where she is going.

Mary

 

[Silver Penguin]

I can just FEEL the evil looks from all the wives who read that. :tomato2:

Do you feel sharp knives sticking into your nether regions yet? If not, the voodoo doll is broken. For a millisecond, I thought of gearing up and heading over to Georgia to 'educate' you, but then I figured it's been a long day and I have to get up early in the morning.

My suggestion is to be very gentle with the good lady. Give her a warm hug and a smile. She's perhaps feeling a bit shaky and needs her husband's love and support right now. I can clearly remember the first (and only) time I dumped my VStar 650. I managed to hold back the tears long enough to get to a place where I could call my DH. He was wonderful and got me all calmed down. I did ride another day, and another. What's more, although I didn't dump the next bike, the FJR has been attacked by gravity a couple of times. I'm still riding. I'm still learning. The day I stop learning is the day I should quit riding.

Jill

 

[Tyler]

Wow... lots of great replies and some really entertaining :clapping: stories. Me an the wife feel much better after a few days after the 'drop'. She is still gung-ho and I am too about her riding. She was more pissed than anything else when it happened.

Scott, please tell your lovely wife that it happens often and she is not alone... in the first 6 months that I had the Trophy (700+ lbs... now deemed "The Pig") I dropped my bike twice just due to the lean and weight of the bike (pretty much standing still)... it happens to pretty much everyone I've ever ridden with, whether they admit it or not. It's a learning experience and she will grow from it so tell her not to be too hard on herself.

 

[FJRChick]

The first thing I had to do before my friend would teach me to ride is pick it up off the ground.

He said because EVERYONE drops the bike, and if you are going to ride you have to get it back up.

I was around 120lb vs. a Honda Shadow 1100.

He laid it down on the grass and showed me how to pick it up.

Laid it down again and said your turn.

I don't know if he thought a couldn't pick it up and that I would give up on learning to ride, but I managed it and have been riding since.

I have not picked up the FJR, yet.