Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I'm just starting out, and after a response to my last posting (re: buying Monster S2R), I thought it'd be interesting to get a sense of how common it is for noobs to drop their bikes. What was YOUR first year of riding like?

I dropped it twice in the first year - But neither time on the road.

The first time I was practicing riding in a sandy lot (Just to get a feel for different conditions) and the bike slid out and tipped over. But it was sand, so no damage.

The second time, I parked the bike in the Yard on the centerstand. It rained overnight, and the centerstand had sunk into the mud and the bike fell over. Mildly bent handlebar.

Three times for me, all within the first month. Thanks to the engine guards on my bike at the time, there was no damage from any of the drops.

Hmmm... current and previous bike - nil. Before that, well, it depends if you mean just dropped, or crashed. i've only "properly" crashed the twice. However, i have dropped a bike, and thrown tem to floor more times tan i care to count in the past!

Well let's see if I can remember... I ran into the back of my neighbor's parked truck... went over the bars at the bottom of the hill by my house... crashed into my brother during a group ride... and many many others.

So I don't ride a bicycle anymore. On the motorcycle I tipped 3 times, all in the first few months. Once at a stopsign because of gravel. Once making a u-turn. Also because of gravel. And once trying to stop with a nonworking rear brake in a lane covered with gravel. That last one hurt. Stay away from gravel! Inexperience was a factor too. Haven't dropped my current bike at all though, and I've done 8,000 miles on it so far.

My advice is buy a cheap beater, ride it for 6 months every chance you get in any weather (barring iced roads), and then buy your dream machine. Make sure you buy one with working brakes though...

It was 26 yrs. ago, but I seem to remember about 4 drops in the 1st year. That was pretty common for noobs back then. We didn't have MSF courses and had to learn from our mistakes.

None. But you can keep the "lucky" part.

Once at 0 mph, on grass...hit a tree root in a figure eight in the back yard. No big woop. Once I walked away from my parked bike and heard it tip as the side stand sunk in to the gras in the front yard...missed the little rock I thought I put it over (duh!). Both in the first two weeks after I returned from a 30 year break. Never dropped as a teen, but hit a tree once on a trail at a pretty low speed...two up.

Been down many many times. Good thing rocks don't hurt as much as pavement... Oh wait, yes, they do . At least they slow you down quick. Most of the time though it's on real tricky parts of a trail and i goose the throttle too much when navigating tree roots and such.

2 Times.

First Time was at a stoplight and I applied my front brake and throttle at same time, I slid over, broke a turn signal and got very minor scraps.

Second time was going 45MPH and saw a green light go to red, grabbed my breaks, wheels locked up and I hit the pavement, my right leg got bruised a decent amount, all of this happened in mid Augest-Early September, fortinitly I am fully recovered and still riding, alough more skilled and carefull now, I still am only on my 2nd month of riding.