there aren't too many bikers that can't say honestly, they haven't dropped a bike... I dropped my first one, trying to take a 90 degree turn on gravel, at about 30 miles per hour.... it's all learning lessons!

 

Left work last Wed night in the rain.&nbsp\\; To make a long story short hit a set of RR tarcks that run diagonal across the road (basically make a V shape) at about 35MPH and the bike slid out from under me.&nbsp\\; Need new handle bars and some odds and ends.&nbsp\\; Luckily only a little road rash on the right forearm (good thing I had the denim jacket on!!) basically came out unscathed.&nbsp\\; The thing that hurt the most was my pride and still having to ride home 40 miles in bad weather,&nbsp\\; not fun when you are angry about the situation.&nbsp\\; Could have been worse!

 

yup. Making a slow u turn in the bosses driveway after a BBQ last year on the Dyna. Driveway was sloped and bike did the slooow fall to the right. Musta looked great to all watching. Nicked the brake lever and pride.

 

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better at 10mph than say 50 - 75 mph!!!&nbsp\\; I dropped my RK making a U-turn right in front of my house.&nbsp\\;&nbsp\\; - Stuff happens.&nbsp\\; Parts can be replaced.&nbsp\\; Legs/arms/hands/fingers/ can't.&nbsp\\; I was lucky as well. The only mark I got was at the bottom of the crash bar.&nbsp\\; Oh well!&nbsp\\; Pick that bad boy up and move on.

 

I lived in the avenues in SLC going to school.&nbsp\\; I rode a much smaller bike, but early in the spring took it out, the hills were steep and a little icy.&nbsp\\; I laid it down under a cement truck.&nbsp\\; It scared me enough that I didn't ride for a few years.&nbsp\\; So far the Haryleys have been OK, the only thing I've dumped lately is the boyfriend.&nbsp\\; Harder to replace than a Harley but not as much fun [sm=boohoo.gif]
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Lisa

 

First two times I dumped a bike was over thirty years ago. Wanted to impress some people with my Honda. It was on a ball field and the grass was covered with dew. I was intoxicated, so that didn't help much.&nbsp\\;\\\\\\; I hit the throttle and the bike was on its side in a second. Picked it up, got back on, and to save face, I hit the throttle again...and the bike was on its side again. That's twice in one minute.
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The third time I did a little more than dump the bike. I wasn't intoxicated but I did have a severe hangover, so my motor skills were a bit dull that day. Tried to pass a car on the right just as it turned right, hit it in the front wheel, and flew over the hood onto the pavement. That was the same Honda from the ball field incident...which never rode the same after that with a buckled frame.
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The most recent&nbsp\\;\\\\\\;mishap was a week and a half ago and I discovered a bad habit I have that I wasn't even aware of. Where I live there's a steep dirt driveway about 1000 feet in length. It's got bumps and ruts and I usually go down in second gear while applying the front brake(bad habit)&nbsp\\;\\\\\\;now and then to keep the speed down. so, a couple of Saturdays ago, a rabbit flashes across the driveway in front of me, and my reflex was to jam the brake. The bike went down and I got thrown to the ground. No damage other than a scratched crash bar, bent mirror, and I can't find the cap to my water bottle. I did remember something helpful that I read awhile back on how to pick up a heavy bike. I turned around with my back facing the bike, grabbed hold of the front brake and the crash bar in front of the saddle bag, bent the knees, and lifted it right back up again.
The rabbit made it across okay.
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Other than that, had a close call a few years ago after backing the bike against a curb. I waited for my wife to get off the back before putting the kickstand down, but she started talking about something...and she talked and talked. When&nbsp\\;\\\\\\;I went to get off, I'd forgotten the kickstand was still up and the bike went over to the point where it was teetering on the crash bar with me doing all I could to keep it from going the rest of the way with one leg still over the seat and the other extended out as far as it would go. That one I can blame on her!

 

be carefull on pea gravel I learned the hard way

 

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Wow, this sounds eerily familiar.&nbsp\\;My first day (on my previous bike) the same left hand turn, thought I was in first gear but wasn't, engine lugged so I gassed it &nbsp\\;then I went wide and ended up hitting a curb on the other side of the road. I got knocked off the bike&nbsp\\;but&nbsp\\;my hand was still on the throttle for a few seconds until my brain could register wtf was happening and told my hand to LET GO OF THE THROTTLE!&nbsp\\;Knocked my right footpeg loose and scraped up my pipes.&nbsp\\;Thank god I still had the stock pipes on.&nbsp\\;Banged up my right ankle pretty good too.

 

I got my bike - my first bike - in early June, on a Saturday. The following weekend I left on a 500-mile round-trip road trip to meet my brother and ride with him. I had fastened an overnight bag to the sissy bar with a remarkable array of bungee cords. I had no idea at that point how many&nbsp\\;bungee cords might be too many and the last thing I wanted was the bag departing the bike on the highway. I get, oh, about six blocks from the house and come to a stop light. Because I'm so paranoid about the bag staying secure, I stick it in neutral and turn around to the left to take a look at the bag and make sure all the cords are still attached. As I'm studying the cords, I feel the bike start to tip over to the left. I try to stop it, but I'm half turned around and there's just no way. So the thing falls over on its side and dies. Adrenaline rushing, I get it back up (it's a 1200 Custom, so not as heavy as a big bike). Now my light is green, and there are cars behind me. People in the convenience store parking lot on the corner are watching me, cars waiting to make a left turn on the cross street are watching me. My mother, 2,400 miles away in Oregon, is watching me and, I can feel it, shaking her head. Panicked and flushed with embarrassment, I hit the start button. Nothing. Again, nothing. Then I realize I have to turn the run switch off and the key off and both back on to get it to start. I do this, the bike starts and I ride off, people still staring. No damage to me, however later I realized that the orange cover for the left-side rear turn signal had popped off. I replaced it for $5 while on the trip, but did stop briefly at that intersection on the way home a few days later to see if maybe it was in the gutter. No&nbsp\\;luck.
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I didn't drop&nbsp\\;the bike again on that trip, and that bag didn't go anyplace. It took me 15 minutes to undo the bungee cords when I stopped for the day.
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As an aside, I had four fears as a new rider starting out&nbsp\\;on that trip: dropping the bike, riding on the expressway, encountering loose gravel and riding in the rain. Within four hours of leaving my house, I'd encountered each of those scenarios.
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2008 XL 1200 Custom
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"The Edge. . . . There is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over. The others - the living - are those who pushed their control as far as they felt they could handle it, and then pulled back, or slowed down, or did whatever they had to when it came time to chose between Now or Later."
- Hunter S.&nbsp\\;Thompson, from "Midnight on the Coast Highway"