The Idiot's Guide To Dropping A Bike

[NorthernPete]

each year I just about do a stop light/sign tumble due to the cuff of my riding jeans hooking onto my kick stand when I stop, they're a bit too long and hook onto the little peg you use to put the stand down....came real close once and every so often it gives me a bit of a heart jump when I cant put my foot down *lol* anyone near me able to hem pants?

[JC Viper]

each year I just about do a stop light/sign tumble due to the cuff of my riding jeans hooking onto my kick stand when I stop, they're a bit too long and hook onto the little peg you use to put the stand down....came real close once and every so often it gives me a bit of a heart jump when I cant put my foot down *lol* anyone near me able to hem pants?

After all the laydowns I've had on the Vulcan the kickstand became flush mounted with the exhaust (yet still accessible). The metal ring on the other side holding down the tubes on the other hand...

All my 'idiot' drops happened on the Vulcan 500. Like pulling over on a road with a slight incline, turning off the engine and putting the kickstand down, then feeling the bike slide forward because it was in Neutral kicking the kickstand back up and then spending about 5 min. struggling to keep the bike from tipping. Then the time when I was checking the oil level through the sight window while seated so that the bike would be level. Ended up with the bike falling over to the right side pretty much pinning me to the ground.

[NorthernPete]

glad to see I wasnt the only one with this issue.....

[Flesher]

glad to see I wasnt the only one with this issue.....

No, it appears to be common among Vulcan 500 owners

[sapaul]

and SV 650's. We note lots of female riders who are a little short tend to pick sv's (go figure) and drop them when they stop.

[Nalian]

I still only have the extremely slow drop in the driveway from taking the bike off of rear tire stand. My wife was standing on the right side and I was on the left. She was supposed to be helping hold the bike up as I took it off the rear stand, however to her "help hold the bike" apparently meant hold on to the handlebars but put no effort into actually holding it up. When it started tipping to the right i was holding it but expecting her to push back at any moment..instead she leapt away. I continued to let it go but slowed it down a bunch so there was no damage. It still makes me laugh now.

With that being said, I still have to resist that childhood urge to just lay the bike down like a bmx bike when I arrive at my destination. Dunno what that is all about.

[JC Viper]

I just did a nice drop today when getting out of a parking spot, or rather getting the bike off the sidewalk. The front wheel failed to clear a grade/ crack in the pavement and the bike began to fall over and when I lost my grip on the bike it took a lighter drop than it would have not holding it. Since my riding buddies were around I became embarrassed and also needed help lifting the bike off the ground (heavy sports bike) quickly which made me feel even worse. The bike wasn't damaged aside from some scratches and it started up right away anyhow.

Though I lost some face it made me realize how dangerous it could have been while riding and hitting a graded road at the wrong angle.

[jstark47]

Though I lost some face...............

No need to lose face. Drops can happen to the most experienced riders at any time. All it takes is a tiny bit of inattention. I've had my V-strom for 3 1/2 years, and came very close to dropping it Thursday morning.

Backed it onto the sidewalk that runs perpendicular to the driveway to park it for a moment to close the garage door. Got a little off-center on the sidewalk, bike started to tilt to the left (downhill) side, put my left foot down, missed the sidewalk and hit wet grass. Foot slips out from under me....... you can imagine what almost happened.