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Any experienced guys out there who had slip-ups when they started riding?

Would you like to share these experiences with us noobs in the hope that we avoid repeat them as we start out?

Any stories and tips would be greatly appreciated

Here's one...

We had the bike delivered because I wasn't licensed. I tooled it around the back yard and got the feel for the clutch and felt comfortable enough to tool around the block. It got good, so I kept going. I rolled up to a stop sign that was on an incline, and needed to make a right turn. Now... I don't really know what I did, but I know the bars were cut to the right, and the bike started to roll backwards when I let off the hand brake. So I grabbed... Down it went. I felt like crap. I rode it home and was all bummed out. I didn't want to end my 1st ride on such a bummer, so I went into the back yard to practice right turns. I had to do the 3 point turn to turn the bike around. I have a short hill on my North side with a row of trees. I was headed for the trees and didn't want to hit em, so I grabbed the front brake... it went down again.


Lessons lerned?

NEVER grab the front brake when moving slower than you can run.

Never cut the bars while stopping or stopped on a hill.

Harley's are HEAVY. Lift with your legs.

Use the foot brake when on a hill... it'll stop you from rolling backwards.

This is what the motor guard is for.

I didn't recognize a bit of dirt on the ground near the curb of a parking space as being slippery. I pulled into a parking space forward and when I got near the curb I planned to turn around and be facing forward in a space next to the one I pulled into. As I was negotiating the turn near that curb I was using my FRONT brakes, and front wheel locked in the dirt and the bike dropped. It was my first time dropping and on a almost brand new bike. I gained a lot of respect for a little bit of dirt after that mistake..

I was practicing in my yard one morning and I went to make a turn. But when I went to make the turn, I was in the shadow of a tree and it was still wet from the morning dew and I lost the front.

Lesson learned: When practicing in your yard, avoid shadows.

OoJRod06oO wrote:I was practicing in my yard one morning and I went to make a turn. But when I went to make the turn, I was in the shadow of a tree and it was still wet from the morning dew and I lost the front.

Lesson learned: When practicing in your yard, avoid shadows.

AND - if you are riding down a road right after a winter thaw watch out for the shadowy road areas. Even just above freezing will still be freezing in the shade. That was a lesson I learned with no accident, but riding partially down the wrong side of curvey shady road at around 40 F. I was lucky to not be a hood orniment.

When you put your side stand down, make sure it is all the way down. That's how I dropped my bike the first time.

And, when backing the bike up, down a hill, make sure you wait until you are on a even surface to turn the front wheel. That is how I dropped my bike the second time.

be careful of decreasing radius turns. if you end up taking them too hot, just believe in the bike push the bars to lean more.

don't underestimate loose gravel. take them really really slow.

Make sure the kickstand is actually down before you let go of the bike.

When I first got my bike, I almost dropped it because I had forgotten to put down the kickstand. I'm stronger than I realized.
Now, I use the kickstand first. It's an automatic shutoff.

Really watch your turns. I was thinking i was hot stuff and blew a turn. That is how my bike went down. I have been back up that road and the trun still gets to me.

Make sure you have either turned the bike off, or the bike is in neutral before you let the clutch out and get on the bike as a mental check. I left the bike in gear and turned the bike off nearly at the same time, but just enough so that the bike bucked forward with me half on it. It threw me to the side and the bike landed a little on me but mostly on loose carboard and bubble packing....I was very lucky.

Also, be careful of putting the kickstand down when the bike is on a decline or small hill. Gravity is working against it, and I had the stand kick out twice on my SV, luckily I caught it and righted it before the lean became too much.