mistakes and unfortunate mishaps
- Thread starter Stu-13
- Start date
After reading all the above I don't feel such a divvy any more 
Other than a few 'incidents' in the sand & snow
in Morocco I've had 3 'fall overs' 
First weekend I had the 1200 I cable tied my old Givi topbox on the rack & went for a test spin with my oldest son. Stopped in a petrol station to top up, put bike on sidestand, everything went well until I came back from paying to find some twat on a Pan had parked at an angle real close to the back of my bike. Tried gently to get mine upright without touching his but over balanced & bike went down on his with a crash . Managed to get it upright with his help, tiny mark on his pannier didn't seem to bother him but..my cable ties had snapped & topbox was rolling around forecourt. Eldest son left wondering 'whats the old man up to now ?' 
Then I brought the bike to work & parked it in the secure service yard at the rear. When I was leaving I wanted to put something in the (same) topbox but couldn't open it due to close proximity of wall. Decided I'd move the bike forward, while standing to the right of the bike, moved it & let go..only to realise the sidestand had retracted
& bike fell against wall. No major damage but have you ever tried to PULL a 1200 upright ?? - no room between bike & wall you see 
Finally, and most embarrasingly, I was on a recent GSer run in Donegal, with 12 other tossers, when we stopped to discuss the merits of taking tea in the place we had just passed or carry on to the next. As I turned sideways to discuss the options with Aidan1150 I felt the bike start to unbalance. I couldn't hold it & thought I'd better get out of the way. The force of the bike falling plus my movement to dismount sent me rapidly towards a lamp post which I managed to avoid but it looked to all as if I had jumped off the bike in an effort to head butt the pole Mind you they were all very understanding & it wasn't mentioned again (yeah, right )
Confession over, suitably but thank you for listening 
Other than a few 'incidents' in the sand & snow
in Morocco I've had 3 'fall overs' First weekend I had the 1200 I cable tied my old Givi topbox on the rack & went for a test spin with my oldest son. Stopped in a petrol station to top up, put bike on sidestand, everything went well until I came back from paying to find some twat on a Pan had parked at an angle real close to the back of my bike. Tried gently to get mine upright without touching his but over balanced & bike went down on his with a crash
. Managed to get it upright with his help, tiny mark on his pannier didn't seem to bother him but..my cable ties had snapped & topbox was rolling around forecourt. Eldest son left wondering 'whats the old man up to now ?' Then I brought the bike to work & parked it in the secure service yard at the rear. When I was leaving I wanted to put something in the (same) topbox but couldn't open it due to close proximity of wall. Decided I'd move the bike forward, while standing to the right of the bike, moved it & let go..only to realise the sidestand had retracted
& bike fell against wall. No major damage but have you ever tried to PULL a 1200 upright ?? - no room between bike & wall you see Finally, and most embarrasingly, I was on a recent GSer run in Donegal, with 12 other tossers, when we stopped to discuss the merits of taking tea in the place we had just passed or carry on to the next. As I turned sideways to discuss the options with Aidan1150 I felt the bike start to unbalance. I couldn't hold it & thought I'd better get out of the way. The force of the bike falling plus my movement to dismount sent me rapidly towards a lamp post which I managed to avoid but it looked to all as if I had jumped off the bike in an effort to head butt the pole
Mind you they were all very understanding & it wasn't mentioned again (yeah, right )Confession over, suitably
but thank you for listening ALEXG
Guest
1976 - T500 Suzuki - Flared jeans - Afghan coat. On my way to a party in Notting Hill Gate with a cheap bottle of Vino Collapso stuffed into said coat. Red light at Kensington Church St . Stalled . Went for left sided kickstart- foot slipped off it and kickstart went up the aforementioned flared trouser leg. Went to put left foot down - toppled gracefully . Much mirth from bystanders which soon turned to horror as they saw the claret flowing from my coat . Picked the bike up - rode off to their amazement - found an offy -decided 6x Fosters was a shrewder bet .
erm,
I managed to drop the GS off the side stand when I'd first got it...
I was trying to park it in front of the garages that have a sideslope... which was obviously too much for the GS....
The only damage was a scuff to the handguard (and the confusion of trying to work out how I'd 'damaged' the ABS) and a few scuffs on the plastic cylinder guards.... which I've replaced with the alloy ones... one of which I dropped on the floor trying whilst trying to get all the bolts to line up....
I've now put a small hole into the drive to take the GS safely
Is it ok to talk cars? I started off road driving a good few years ago... and whilst out laning with an old school mate, I was struggling to reverse off a lane, I couldn't get lined up over this rock outcrop.... so I opened the door to get a better look, and as I dropped off the rocks, the bottom of the door made contact with the banking at the side and propmtly bent in half!
Given I haven't ridden that much, I do have more 4x4 related mishaps... lots more...
I managed to drop the GS off the side stand when I'd first got it...
I was trying to park it in front of the garages that have a sideslope... which was obviously too much for the GS....
The only damage was a scuff to the handguard (and the confusion of trying to work out how I'd 'damaged' the ABS) and a few scuffs on the plastic cylinder guards.... which I've replaced with the alloy ones... one of which I dropped on the floor trying whilst trying to get all the bolts to line up....
I've now put a small hole into the drive to take the GS safely
Is it ok to talk cars? I started off road driving a good few years ago... and whilst out laning with an old school mate, I was struggling to reverse off a lane, I couldn't get lined up over this rock outcrop.... so I opened the door to get a better look, and as I dropped off the rocks, the bottom of the door made contact with the banking at the side and propmtly bent in half!
Given I haven't ridden that much, I do have more 4x4 related mishaps... lots more...
tod
Registered user
Not a GS but an R80
In the early '80s a Police motorcyclist was riding through the city centre, lovely sunny day, BMW R80 gleaming, officer resplendant in shiny knee length boots and breeches, police tunic with chrome buttons and a flourescent bandolier, sun glasses and an open face helmet, posing as he passes the young ladies out shopping on a Saturday afternoon.
The traffic lights ahead turn to red and he comes to a halt, glancing in a shop window to admire his reflection he fails to notice that he has stopped in a pool of diesel oil.
Traffic lights turn to green for the left turn lane, off he sets, turns left and the bike gracefully slides away onto its side, he's so cool he just steps off the bike without falling and infront of dozens of onlookers manages to pick the bike up without assistance and ride off with a red face.
This story is true, I know for I was the officer.
In the early '80s a Police motorcyclist was riding through the city centre, lovely sunny day, BMW R80 gleaming, officer resplendant in shiny knee length boots and breeches, police tunic with chrome buttons and a flourescent bandolier, sun glasses and an open face helmet, posing as he passes the young ladies out shopping on a Saturday afternoon.
The traffic lights ahead turn to red and he comes to a halt, glancing in a shop window to admire his reflection he fails to notice that he has stopped in a pool of diesel oil.
Traffic lights turn to green for the left turn lane, off he sets, turns left and the bike gracefully slides away onto its side, he's so cool he just steps off the bike without falling and infront of dozens of onlookers manages to pick the bike up without assistance and ride off with a red face.
This story is true, I know for I was the officer.
araspitfire
Registered user
Speaking of "time slow"...
My first bike, a Honda CB450 twin, of unrembered vintage, but no disks, so old... (bought it used)... this is in Canada BTW, so image the correct side of the road...
Took the basic skills course, so managed to make it quite a ways into my career before having an adventure on it... but what an adventure..
Classic mistake, half hour to ride home, looks like rain coming... solution... ride like hell to beat the rain...
The four lane road I was on made a sharpish LH 90 degree curve, before continuing on a hundred yards or so to a light, and my intended RH turn...
I was in the fast lane (one lane from the Right), and decided (while moving too fast) to switch over to the RH lane to prepare for the upcoming turn... while negotiating the curve.... suddenly to discover a half-inch thick coating of gravel all over both lanes...
Time slowed down...
In the next few microseconds of eternity I decided to try to ride it out against the curb... there was other traffic on this road, and I didn't much feel like getting my head rolled over after an intentional low-side...
So there I was... locked into the V between road and curb... still moving too fast... bike high-sides me....
As I sailed through the air (with my feet sticking straight up facing the way I had come), I remember thinking... I hope I miss all of those signs that I remember seeing (in my eternity of microseconds) along the outside of the curve... watched two go past like goal posts... whew!.... remember thinking... it's going to be ok.. I have a huge amount of space in which to come down in... (empty railyard)
In fact I did come down, head first, but rolled backwards onto my feet, ended up running to a stop facing the way I had left the bike... not a scratch on me... no sore muscles... nothing...
I distinctly remember walking up to my bike (still in a wierd "state")... thinking about my twisted forks and broken headlight... when some kind motorist grabbed me on the shoulders and yelled "ARE YOU OK!!!!"... scared the shit out of me and caused me to slip back into real-time...
Don't change lanes to the outside moving too fast through a curve... watch for stuff on the road...
Al...
My first bike, a Honda CB450 twin, of unrembered vintage, but no disks, so old... (bought it used)... this is in Canada BTW, so image the correct side of the road...
Took the basic skills course, so managed to make it quite a ways into my career before having an adventure on it... but what an adventure..
Classic mistake, half hour to ride home, looks like rain coming... solution... ride like hell to beat the rain...
The four lane road I was on made a sharpish LH 90 degree curve, before continuing on a hundred yards or so to a light, and my intended RH turn...
I was in the fast lane (one lane from the Right), and decided (while moving too fast) to switch over to the RH lane to prepare for the upcoming turn... while negotiating the curve.... suddenly to discover a half-inch thick coating of gravel all over both lanes...
Time slowed down...
In the next few microseconds of eternity I decided to try to ride it out against the curb... there was other traffic on this road, and I didn't much feel like getting my head rolled over after an intentional low-side...
So there I was... locked into the V between road and curb... still moving too fast... bike high-sides me....
As I sailed through the air (with my feet sticking straight up facing the way I had come), I remember thinking... I hope I miss all of those signs that I remember seeing (in my eternity of microseconds) along the outside of the curve... watched two go past like goal posts... whew!.... remember thinking... it's going to be ok.. I have a huge amount of space in which to come down in... (empty railyard)
In fact I did come down, head first, but rolled backwards onto my feet, ended up running to a stop facing the way I had left the bike... not a scratch on me... no sore muscles... nothing...
I distinctly remember walking up to my bike (still in a wierd "state")... thinking about my twisted forks and broken headlight... when some kind motorist grabbed me on the shoulders and yelled "ARE YOU OK!!!!"... scared the shit out of me and caused me to slip back into real-time...
Don't change lanes to the outside moving too fast through a curve... watch for stuff on the road...
Al...
dickie
Guest
Love the tale Al. My gravel and petrol station is the one that keeps me awake - the near miss that made me think about giving up was much like yours.
Box Hill twisties - summer evening. Coming home after a blast on my old, slow (80hp) Duke engined bimota. A ZZR1100 and GSX flash past. And my IQ drops 80 points. Seeing them slow up for a bend i (think) I know, I hoon it. They seem to be standing still as i get to the turn in point and I need to use every inch to get around - looking through that very top bit of the visor...pulling hard in fifth so going...reasonably quickly officer (ahem). Make that too bloody fast. See car ahead and realise I'm going to have to change line - countersteer and clip cats eye whilst fully over. Front wheel kicks up - bars slap - feels like i've hit a brick. All goes calm and slow and i think -" bugger..its been such a nice day so far...i guess this is the big crash...what a silly way to go..." then the front wheel chirps - rubber hitting tarmac, like an aircraft landing...and the corner is past. All over in a second. A long second. On the last stretch home on the M25, I start thinking about getting something without a fairing, upright, fun to ride at speeds other than warp factor 9...
Box Hill twisties - summer evening. Coming home after a blast on my old, slow (80hp) Duke engined bimota. A ZZR1100 and GSX flash past. And my IQ drops 80 points. Seeing them slow up for a bend i (think) I know, I hoon it. They seem to be standing still as i get to the turn in point and I need to use every inch to get around - looking through that very top bit of the visor...pulling hard in fifth so going...reasonably quickly officer (ahem). Make that too bloody fast. See car ahead and realise I'm going to have to change line - countersteer and clip cats eye whilst fully over. Front wheel kicks up - bars slap - feels like i've hit a brick. All goes calm and slow and i think -" bugger..its been such a nice day so far...i guess this is the big crash...what a silly way to go..." then the front wheel chirps - rubber hitting tarmac, like an aircraft landing...and the corner is past. All over in a second. A long second. On the last stretch home on the M25, I start thinking about getting something without a fairing, upright, fun to ride at speeds other than warp factor 9...
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