laid it down already

[sailorstarrr]

Yesterday after I was done practicing riding, my phone started vibrating in my pocket as I was sitting on my bike. I thought it was the insurance guy I'd tried to get ahold of all day so I tried to answer it but couldn't 'cause I had my helmet on. So I pressed talk and told the person to hang on and I put down my kickstand. I don't know what happened after that... I guess when I was leaning the bike to the left I thought I hadn't put my kickstand down all the way so I thought it was gonna fall over and I shifted my weight to the right. Stupid idea, since it fell over that way instead.



Then I couldn't get it back up... Had to knock on a bunch of doors at my complex but no one would come out. I finally found a guy who was working there and he helped me get it back up. Luckily the top part of the bike didn't get hurt, but along the very bottom there are some scrapes on the black paint, and the exhause pipe got scuffed up. Also, the right blinker in the front is loose now. Any recommendations on how to fix these?

-Diana

[CNF2002]

Stupid idea, since it fell over that way instead.

No, answering your phone while you're on the motorcycle is a stupid idea. Turn off the cellphone, its not the end of the world.

Sorry I only have preventative fix advice

[m4lu6]

Get yourself a jacket. They've got pockets all over them. Something with armor. As for answering the phone? BAH. Let it go to voicemail.

[Kal]

Its a learning experience and could of have been worse.

Depending on how bad the paint damage is it might be possible to T-cut it, or you could just leave it as Buzz or Sev said, it gives a bike character!

[Sev]

Hey, it happened at a stop, it could have been worse... I've seen some nut jobs talking on the phone at speed. Now that scared the hell out of me.

As far as the damage goes, you can buy touchup paint at your local hardware store. Fixing the turn signal might be as simple as bending it back into shape, or you might need to get it replaced. Take it back to the store and ask for suggestions.

My memory kind of sucks, have you taken the MSF yet? If not I'd advise taking that first.

[macktruckturner]

phone + motorcycle = bad, mkayy

Really though, all in all it's not that bad. Many a bike have fallen over while standing still. Mine included (though I wasn't any part of the reason, as I was/am 7000 miles away from it right now..) Parts are cheap, and often not even required.

Get yourself some riding-related reading material, and/or hit up an MSF course. Whatever you do, make sure when you're on the bike - the bike and all things related to the bike are what has your attention. Failure to do so could result in BadThings(tm).

Regards,
Anthony

[flynrider]

I would highly recommend that you learn the technique for picking up a bike. It may come in handy some day. The technique at the site below works even for small people / big bikes. I first saw it demonstrated a few decades ago by a 70+ year old lady on a Goldwing. Check it out :

http://www.motorbyte.com/mmm/pages/safety/safety47.htm