How many times have you dropped your bike?

[LennyB]

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?

[TechTMW]

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.

[Gadjet]

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.

[Keyoke]

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!

[Mag7C]

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...

[flynrider]

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.

[ZooTech]

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

[ronboskz650sr]

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.

[Ninja Geoff]

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.

[Sculelos]

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.