Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hello out there. I'm new to these forums and it looks like a great place to ask questions and share knowledge. A little about myself: I'm taking the MSF beginners course in a couple weeks and will likely purchase a kawasaki vulca n 500 afterwards.

My question is a bit odd, so bear with me. I live in a townhouse community with no garage and decided that if I purchased a bike the safest place to store it would be locked down in the very small back yard I have. To do that I'd have to push it over grass for about 10 yards, turn it 90 degrees and push it another 30 yards over another grassy area that is inclined (20 degrees or so) perpendicular to the direction I'd be pushing a bike. Now this particular bike weighs about 450 lbs wet, so I was wondering how difficult would it be to push it over the grass in terms of effort? I'd consider myself to be of at least average strength for an adult male.

Weird question, but I don't have a bike to test it for myself presently. Thanks for answering.

well, first off its gonna be as difficult as you are weak. if your super strong it wont be that hard, if your kinda strong it will be a struggle. Heres a thought though, unless you really value your back yard, tear out the grass, and pave a little strip of cement for you to ride it to your lock spot.



JWF

JWF505 wrote:well, first off its gonna be as difficult as you are weak. if your super strong it wont be that hard, if your kinda strong it will be a struggle. Heres a thought though, unless you really value your back yard, tear out the grass, and pave a little strip of cement for you to ride it to your lock spot.

JWF

why tear it when he can smoke it!









is it 4:20 already?

VermilionX wrote:
is it 4:20 already?

46 days till 4/20



JWF

You can just drive on the grass real slow (do a power walk type thing).... Ive done that before. Pushing will be a bit harder... and when I say a bit, I mean a lot.

if the grass is wet, it's going to be a real, hazardous, pain in the butt. It will be very easy for you to drop your bike on wet grass. I know, I've almost done it a couple times with my KLR, which is only slightly lighter than the Vulcan. The KLR is a bit more top heavy though.

The real effort is going to be pushing it up/across the sloped area. If you have a paved parking spot, I would suggest that you instead purchase a good, heavy duty chain and padlock, as well as a disc lock and cover. Park your bike in your parking spot, lock the chain through the wheels and frame, put the disc lock on the front wheel and put the cover over the whole thing.

I'm guessing you rent or you have community property so tearing it up and paving it isnt an option. You might be able to put some rubber/plastic strips down leading to your parking space, so you can roll the bike over those instead of directly on the grass. Black or clear strips may not get any complaints. Once you park it be sure to have a big, thick plate to put the kickstand down on or your bike will sink into the ground and fall over.

grassy area that is inclined (20 degrees or so) perpendicular to the direction I'd be pushing a bike.

I think this is x2 for putting some kind of path or stripping down run the bike on, because if the grass is wet it would be easy for it to slip down.

I agree with Divide, instead of pushing it, I'd paddlewalk it under power, i.e. sit on the bike with your feet down on the ground, and use the clutch to modulate your speed. But wet grass will be very hazardous either pushing or paddlewalking. The 20 degree perpendicular incline is an open invitation to dropping the bike, I wouldn't push or ride a bike across an incline like that unless it was paved and dry. Going up or down the incline is different, of course.

Last year my wife and I invested some major dollars into installing hard surface walk ways to avoid this very problem.

Unfortunately I think it's time for you to move.

This isn't so bad. I'm in a townhouse too, with a walkout basement; which makes it easy to store the bike indoors. But you can imagine that there's a steep hill going to the back of the units.

The Vstar (over 600lbs) was delivered in early February, with a couple inches of snow on the ground. I had 2 other guys help me push it around the back of the house. Hardest part was going down the hill. I had my hands on the bars controlling the brake, one was pushing from the back and the other was pretty much holding on to the frame to keep it upright. On the level surfaces, it did take a lot of effort to move it, but it can be done. We were never in any danger of dumping it. Just be careful, get some friends and feed them beer after.

I currently ride my bike across 30 yards of grass after riding it up three steps on a 2x4, its only a 250, but i think it is very easy to walk it across the grass. at first i walked it across the grass, but now i just ride it. the motor is powerful enough to move at a walking pace while idling in first, so if its rainy or the grass is wet ill just put her in first and keep the feet down otherwise i just ride her. i think after a bit of practice you will learn how to do it best. i already have worn down a path through the grass and now i dont even think twice because its such a habit.