Is it easy to drop a motorcycle?

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Locut0s

Locut0s

Lifer
Nov 28, 2001
22,205
44
91
I don't get it. My father has had a motorcycle for about 3 or 4 years now and rides it every summer. He only insures it during the summer months and even then doesn't ride it all that often. He also has a friend with a bike who does the same and they go riding together sometimes in the summer. Well the other day his friend took out a BMW for a test ride and ended up dropping the bike on its side when trying to get off, cost him a thousand dollars!! But the thing is my father has dropped his bike when parking it something like 2 or 3 times as well (broke the tip of the break leaver off twice but no other damage). WTF, is it easy to "drop" motorcycles when getting off/parking them?

Don't think he has any issues riding it and he has a stellar driving record, for cars anyway.
 
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911paramedic

911paramedic

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2002
9,448
1
76
I dropped one of mine once while trying to back it into my garage, or some damn thing like that. Once you lose the center of gravity with a bike that weighs a lot, and is wide so you lose some of your leg strength, it's really not too hard.

Riding them is easy, it's the slow stuff that's a bitch.
 
A

Alone

Diamond Member
Nov 19, 2006
7,490
0
0
If you drop it that often just parking the thing, you're probably not safe to be riding. The bike is either not set up for the height of the rider, or the operator just plainly sucks when it comes to balance.

No, it's not easy to drop a bike if you're paying attention. Yes, it happens. Most common thing, I suppose, would be if you put one foot down and you stepped on loose rocks or sand/crap on the ground. It's also common to loose the rear end and put it down when making a turn on roads with the same conditions (usually in construction areas or dirt roads) if you brake hard during a turn or use too much throttle.
 
twinrider1

twinrider1

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2003
4,096
64
91
lol, yep. I dropped my, new-to-me, R100CS once. Combination of a sloped parking lot and dismounting with my foot too close to the bike. Tried to save it, but once it got over center it was all over.
 
Scotteq

Scotteq

Diamond Member
Apr 10, 2008
5,276
5
0
Locut0s said:
I don't get it. My father has had a motorcycle for about 3 or 4 years now and rides it every summer. He only insures it during the summer months and even then doesn't ride it all that often. He also has a friend with a bike who does the same and they go riding together sometimes in the summer. Well the other day his friend took out a BMW for a test ride and ended up dropping the bike on its side when trying to get off, cost him a thousand dollars!! But the thing is my father has dropped his bike when parking it something like 2 or 3 times as well. WTF, is it easy to "drop" motorcycles when getting off/parking them?

Don't think he has any issues riding it and he has a stellar driving record, for cars anyway.
Click to expand...


You're fine, as long as you keep it balanced and vertical (relative to Gravity, not the driveway).

But it's still a 450 lb (sportbike) to 750+lb (HD or a Tourer) weight, and once it starts to tip, it's hard to get back.
 
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waggy

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
81
Locut0s said:
I don't get it. My father has had a motorcycle for about 3 or 4 years now and rides it every summer. He only insures it during the summer months and even then doesn't ride it all that often. He also has a friend with a bike who does the same and they go riding together sometimes in the summer. Well the other day his friend took out a BMW for a test ride and ended up dropping the bike on its side when trying to get off, cost him a thousand dollars!! But the thing is my father has dropped his bike when parking it something like 2 or 3 times as well. WTF, is it easy to "drop" motorcycles when getting off/parking them?

Don't think he has any issues riding it and he has a stellar driving record, for cars anyway.
Click to expand...

yeah it happens. Every rider have dropped the bike at least once.
 
SpatiallyAware

SpatiallyAware

Lifer
Sep 7, 2009
12,960
3
0
A motorcycle naturally lays on it's side at rest.



The real trick is making sure it only happens if you're stopped.
 
JulesMaximus

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,581
982
126
Scotteq said:
You're fine, as long as you keep it balanced and vertical (relative to Gravity, not the driveway).

But it's still a 450 lb (sportbike) to 750+lb (HD or a Tourer) weight, and once it starts to tip, it's hard to get back.
Click to expand...

This. Once it starts to tip you quickly reach a point where you can no longer hold it up. I did this once in my garage years ago. I was moving my bike around and forgot that I had raised the kickstand, I started to lean it over to the left side and by the time I realized I had put the kickstand up it was too late. I had leaned it over too far and I couldn't catch it.

When you're moving it is much easier to keep it upright but slow speed maneuvers are the hardest to master on a bike. You can really tell a person who has been riding and has a lot of experience by how he/she handles the bike in slow turns like in a parking lot.

I'm putting frame sliders on my Ducati just in case. I had them on my SV and never used them in 3 years and almost 17,000 miles but it's better to have them IMO than risk doing thousands of dollars in damage from a minor tip over or even a lowside.
 
Pliablemoose

Pliablemoose

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
25,195
0
56
Try having a liter size bike fall on you while you're trying to secure it in a van.

LOL, didn't think I'd ever get out from under the damn thing.

Bikes fall over, shit happens. :D
 
olds

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
50,124
778
126
Yes it's easy, especially if you are short. They are heavy, mine weighs 671 pounds. If they start to topple and you aren't ready/in position to stop it, it's going down.
Haven't dropped mine yet but I have been close a couple of times.

They are much easier to keep upright when moving at speed.
 
olds

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
50,124
778
126
JulesMaximus said:
...

I'm putting frame sliders on my Ducati just in case. I had them on my SV and never used them in 3 years and almost 17,000 miles but it's better to have them IMO than risk doing thousands of dollars in damage from a minor tip over or even a lowside.
Click to expand...
The same argument can be made for carrying a gun.
 
Kroze

Kroze

Diamond Member
Apr 9, 2001
4,052
1
0
Haha yea it is so easy to tip over a bike, but I don't count the the time I was learning how to ride.
 
OILFIELDTRASH

OILFIELDTRASH

Lifer
May 13, 2009
12,333
612
126
I only dropped a bike once on the street. Well actually the bike dumped me as the tires came loose coming around a corner. Not fun sliding on the pavement watching your bike slide in front of you while pieces of the bike go flying in all directions.

I've never just let a bike fall over though but have come close probably over a dozen times. Just lucky for me I was in a position to stop it.

On the dirt it's pretty much a given your going to wreck.
 
GagHalfrunt

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,284
1,998
126
It's very easy to do it once. A bike is heavier than you think and when you don't know where the tipping point is you'll surely go past it and when you do the bike will fall. You can't muscle it back up, once it's halfway down it's going the rest of the way and there's nothing you can do to save it. But if you keep doing the same thing and drop it multiple times you're an idiot.
 
Arkaign

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
1,379
126
It's super easy to do. I dropped my Magna VF750C literally the day I got it when I was 19. As you get more experience you're less likely to do so, but as another poster eloquently put it : shit happens. Bikes are heavy, and if the COG shifts too far, and you're on any kind of incline, things can go south in a flash. It'll just twist out of your hands and flop over. I don't think I know any long-term riders who won't admit to droppign a bike at least once, and for that matter, pretty much every long-term rider on earth has laid a bike down while riding before, either due to hotdogging it too much or just unexpected happenstance (other driver, sudden animal in front of them, sudden road debris/etc).
 
pontifex

pontifex

Lifer
Dec 5, 2000
43,804
46
91
I've never owned one and only rode on the back of one once when i was in elementary school, but those things are big and heavy. If you lose balance, I can see it being easy to drop it.
 
Locut0s

Locut0s

Lifer
Nov 28, 2001
22,205
44
91
oldsmoboat said:
Yes it's easy, especially if you are short. They are heavy, mine weighs 671 pounds. If they start to topple and you aren't ready/in position to stop it, it's going down.
Haven't dropped mine yet but I have been close a couple of times.

They are much easier to keep upright when moving at speed.
Click to expand...

Yeah his friend is short. And when taking the BMW out he didn't have the height adjusted correctly (this bike's height could be adjusted hydraulically adjusted) my father even warned him that it looked unstable when he left the dealership. lol
 
Imp

Imp

Lifer
Feb 8, 2000
18,828
184
106
When I went to learn, I hadn't ridden a bike in like 10 years (ya, I know, dumb), so it was extra easy to drop. Couple that with the fact that I'm only 5'4", and I thought working out was for losers at the time. My bike was only about 300-400lb, and it tipped over a lot...

Helps to be tall and heavy as you can bear your weight on the handle bars more easily to counter-balance the moment. Regardless, the thing has 2 wheels and when it weighs at least 300lb, shit happens.
 
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