What am I doing wrong?

[Stonesie]

My friend uses this trick when he has his Mrs on the back of his S1000XR... When he pulls up to park he uses the preload adjustment and sets it to minimum, the bike lowers and then they flip the stand down and get off.
It's an extra step but it is the difference between tiptoes and a flat foot for him.

 

[Yorkshire Twat]

My friend uses this trick when he has his Mrs on the back of his S1000XR... When he pulls up to park he uses the preload adjustment and sets it to minimum, the bike lowers and then they flip the stand down and get off.
It's an extra step but it is the difference between tiptoes and a flat foot for him.

Also bear in mind 30 litres up top is a lot of extra weight, try keeping 20 litres in it like a GS abd see if that helps. After all if your out with friends unless there all on GSA's they have to stop for fuel

 

[TIJ650]

The GS is tall and heavy (like me!), but becomes incredibly nimble when on the move. Especially when the gyroscopic effect takes hold. A very light pull on the right handlebar on left handers (and vice versa for right handers) makes the bike a joy to ride. Unlike sport bikes, you can apply front brake mid corner without the dive.
Anyway, not really answering your question?! Lol
Like all heavy bikes at low speed (outside gyroscope) avoid touching front brake when turning or you’ll definitely wipe out. Classic example is miss judged u turn.
If practice and balance techniques don’t work - you might be tempted to downgrade to one of the R9T offerings………….and I promise you won’t be disappointed


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[TheDeadPrussian]

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far, I'm feeling less like a failure! I think I just need to recalibrate my thinking and reading of a road surface at a stop - as you say, once it starts to go, you've got little hope of saving it!

I'll give the bars a once over with some scotchbrite and wear the scars as a badge of honour/rite of passage.

One other thing if I may. Once it's been over does the engine bar move at all, on the left (the side I put it down) it looks close to the cylinder head (perhaps 5mm) and is noticeably closer than the right hand side, has it moved or is this my paranoia? I think the left side bar was always closer to the cylinder head than the right side (and pictures off the internet seem to confirm this). Would I be better off replacing the bar?

 

[theoneandonly]

i've only ever dropped 1 GS ....but i've done it on both sides at a standstill ( more than once ) , and twice on an autobahn ( in the snow) .

 

[TIJ650]

PS. I’d advise buying a side stand puck too. If you ever have to park on soft ground - the MF will sink like a German U boat!


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[EVskij]

If you don't need a full tank of fuel don't fill it up as that will help while you get used to your new bike. Good luck

Begs the question, what was the point of buying GSA then?

GSA is also a taller bike over a GS out the crate, so COG is even higher plus the size and weight of the fuel tank when full....
ADV bikes are already tall beast, and if one never had any prior experience with them, then perhaps buying GS would have been a safer option. Having 30L of fuel sloshing about up top, with not experience is a case of waiting for the inevitable to happen.

Don't get me wrong. I am 6'3" with 34" inseam, and have dropped my last GSA once on each side. So yes, they are prone to being dropped, but luckily they do not go down far enough, to lay completely flat.

The bruises upon your ego will heal eventually, so pick the bike and your self up, brush the dust down, and carry on, it is a learning curve. I am sure you have fallen many a time, when learning to walk as a toddler.

 

[EVskij]

Like all heavy bikes at low speed (outside gyroscope) avoid touching front brake when turning or you’ll definitely wipe out. Classic example is miss judged u turn.
If practice and balance techniques don’t work - you might be tempted to downgrade to one of the R9T offerings………….and I promise you won’t be disappointed

U-turns: High revs, feather the clutch, whilst applying rear brake only to stabilise the propulsion, Chin up and look where you want to go... Practice Practice Practice, and you shall be on top of your game.

 

[Barnoe]

I had never dropped a bike until i bought my GS either.
dropped it 4 times now in 3 years

1st time... rolled off the stand on my own drive!

2nd time i came to a stop and put my foot down and slipped (hardcore type loose stone)..... down she went

3rd time i rode over some large loose stones in got into a wobble.... down a small ridge at the side of road, tried to ride out... but erm... fell off
Its on my YouTube channel... yep i was filming lol.
In the video i did give an honest opinion of my feelings and mood as i carry on the ride, i didn't realise right there and then, but i was affected more than i knew.
Which is why 20 mins later i smash my right pannier while crossing a cattle grid, i wasn't thinking straight at all.

4th time i was on tarmac outside a shop.... and you wont believe this, i forgot to put the stand down and walked away.... bang!
ffs that was embarrassing.
i usually put stand down first thing after turning engine off.
this time i stopped, took gloves and helmet off (thinking stand was already down) jumped off and walked away.

So yea.... it happens

 

[TheDeadPrussian]

PS. I’d advise buying a side stand puck too. If you ever have to park on soft ground - the MF will sink like a German U boat!


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Yes, I've got one (Wunderlich), along with the front mudguard extender (Avant Fender Extender), Mud Sling and the Wunderlich frame bungs (thank you for the advice and fitting instructions YouTube)!

 

[TIJ650]

U-turns: High revs, feather the clutch, whilst applying rear brake only to stabilise the propulsion, Chin up and look where you want to go... Practice Practice Practice, and you shall be on top of your game.

Be kind enough to the rest of and wear one of those hi vis polite vests if you want to ride like a cop………..so we can all easily identify you?!


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[Yorkshire Twat]

Re the crash bars, yes it will be closer. I eventually bought the wunderluch crash bars that give 4 point fixing The bmw ones if you lay a straight edge across the top and bottom bar the cylinder head will project out and most likely hit the ground unless you are lucky

 

[Engineer]

Maybe you just need to practice picking it up? The more you do it, the easier it’ll become and the less you’ll worry about it!

The more times you have to pick it up the more you will try to not drop it in the first place

Engine protection bars are well worth having, I know that for a fact.

 

[SBD]

First thing I fitted to my GS was a pair of engine bars. Very glad I did. Once pratfall at a road junction, once whilst doing those slow figures of eight in a car park. At least both sides…

what is not helpful in these cases is Doris asking if you’re in need of Thunderbirds, and not knowing how to stop all four emergency services being immediately diverted from whatever they’re doing to your location, to add to your embarrassment.

RTFM. You can cancel an auto SOS call by pressing the SOS button, apparently.

and I found the “arse on the seat, push with your legs” method the easiest. Almost no strain on your back.

 

[EVskij]

Some do go to town with the whole engine bar thing... FFS 260KG bike without the fuel, let's add another 10+kg in scaffolding.

 

[ilkleymoron]

OP that's nowt lad

fell off the gsa three times, set air bag jacket of twice all due to uneven road surfaces and cambers, once after filtering to the front of the traffic queue

now sorted with a lower seat - just need to sort lower pegs now due to knee angle

no one knows who you are in your helmet so fuckem

 

[10tenmen]

I dropped a Police RT in the car park on gravel whilst pushing it back into its parking space and squashed the two tone air horn lol oh how we laughed

 

[Buttertub]

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far, I'm feeling less like a failure! I think I just need to recalibrate my thinking and reading of a road surface at a stop - as you say, once it starts to go, you've got little hope of saving it!

I'll give the bars a once over with some scotchbrite and wear the scars as a badge of honour/rite of passage.

One other thing if I may. Once it's been over does the engine bar move at all, on the left (the side I put it down) it looks close to the cylinder head (perhaps 5mm) and is noticeably closer than the right hand side, has it moved or is this my paranoia? I think the left side bar was always closer to the cylinder head than the right side (and pictures off the internet seem to confirm this). Would I be better off replacing the bar?

I laid my GSA down gently on the right side but the left side bar is closer to the head so its difficult to say. If its got clearance on the side that went down i'd leave it personally. Unless it was hard drop it probably hasn't moved at all or not worth bothering with. I'd leave it a while and then you'll stop even thinking about it. Its a bit like when you get the dreaded stone chip that nags for while and then you just get used to it and move onto enjoy your biking.

 

[Hann]

It`s not just the bulk and weight of the things, although i`m not a typical tosser-sized GS pilot at just 70Kg i find the weight to be quite manageable.
When i started riding GS`s it became apparant that coming to a halt - for example at a T-junction - felt quite different than other bikes.
The lack of dive from the front end seems to make coming to a halt an abrupt affair without any fork dive offering a cushioning effect and you can`t place your legs/feet very far forward to feel the road as the pots get in the way.
Doesn`t help if you only have short legs.
As a result of a few `moments` i make sure i scan the road surface and conditions carefully beforehand to avoid any potential droppage scenarios..

 

[TIJ650]

I’d echo theoneandonly’s comments earlier about treaded boots. Smooth soles on loose gravel feels like marbles when you lean the bike over just before heeling the side stand!!
Mind you, just the joys of motorcycling. My feet comically blow off my forward pegs on Harley anything over a ton