Hello All,
Had my 2010 Fat Boy for a month now. Took a ride with my wife Easter Sunday up by Tombstone. When turning around in a parking lot (Doing a slow turn) the bike fell over on us. I was able to lift the bike up and get it off of us and my wife hurt her elbow. I have no idea how this happened, not sure if the wife moved while we were doing the slow turn or what, but if felt like someone just pushed the bike over.
Has this ever happened to anyone else? Not sure what happened but was wondering if this has happened to anyone else and if so what the cause might have been so I do not do this again. I know I have not been riding for a long time and have very little experience riding 2 Up but nothing like this has ever happened before. I have taken the MSF class and have practiced the slow turns before.
Thanks for the replies.

 

Never dropped my Harley, but did drop my BMW K1200LT (very top heavy bike). The most common mistakes are (or at least the ones I can remember)

Tapping front brake while in a tight slow turn,
Are you looking where you want to go, not straight ahead?
Are you feathering the clutch while applying slight pressure to the rear brake?

And here's a good one - are you practicing the correct method, or just reinforcing bad habits? What might help you out is the video called Ride Like a Pro. I bought it, and have loaned it out to a lot of riders. Good stuff in there.

Hope that helps a little. Be safe.

 

Sorry to hear about that

 

What he said and get the Ride Like A Pro DVD, well worth it. Might wanna consider the Ride Like a Pro course, too.

 

I would get some more experience riding solo before you put a passenger on the back. But that's your call...

 

It's been said before that there are two kinds of riders: those who have already dropped a bike, and those who will eventually drop a bike. I'm in the former group - welcome! LOL!

Most important thing: you and your wife are ok. As to the rest? Paint can be repainted. Bent steel can be replaced. It's just a bike.

Are you a member of a local HOG chapter? I know that our local chapter (Gate City, Nashua, NH) owns the "Ride Like a Pro" videos and plays them at open houses and other gatherings. These are VERY GOOD videos, as at least one other poster has observed.

If you can't borrow them from someone, buy them and view them several times. Practice what you see in the videos by sitting on your bike and visualizing the techniques. Take the bike out and make the slow turns and maneuvers by yourself. Then add some weight to the passenger seat (maybe a piece of luggage with some weight in it, SECURELY tied down to the seat). Then, if your wife still tolerates your riding style (!), do a few slow turns with her on the back.

And, again, don't worry 'bout putting the bike down. There are worse things in life...

... but, offhand, I can't think of many.... LOL!!!

 

I tend to think that you are correct when you say you think your wife made a sudden shift in the seat and through you off guard. My wife used to do that years ago when she started to ride with me. Furtunately it never caused me to drop it but it sure wakes you up. Another thing my wife used to do is jump up on the left foot peg to get on the bike while I was putting my helmet on with the bike vertical and off the stand and not holding the bikes handlebars. I straightened her out on both of those issues and told her to sit straight and still when in those situations or let me know if she has a bee in her helmet before she knocks us both off.

 

Thanks all for the advise. I did practice the slow turns for about 30 minutes today. I know not very long but did nothing but make slow figure 8's for the 30 minutes and had no problems. It does suck that I dropped my bike, but like bj03064 said it is only a piece of equipment. I am just glad that my wife was not hurt, myself included. I will continue to practice the slow turns because that is what gives me the most problems with her on the bike, everything else is pretty much effortless. I will purchase those Ride like a Pro DVD's and practice what is in them. BJ I am not a member of any HOG club besides the Nation HOG since I get a free membership with the purchase of the bike. Not sure if I want to ride with anyone as of yet.
Thank you all for the advise.

 

ride like a pro will help

ride the rear break / feather clutch and throttle...
stay away from front brake,,,

and if your wife is inexperienced on the back, and feels like she needs to lean opposite, to stay upright, explain she needs to keep her chest glued to your back

 

an ex ol' lady of mine did that to me once, she thought the bike was going down and jumped off, causing it to go down. passengers can affect you a lot, its not like a cage. i was new to riding at the time and would recommend that you get a few thousand miles under your belt before riding a passenger. the more comfortable you are and in control you are the better for everyone in the immediate area. good luck, and definitely don't let it discourage you, we all have to learn somehow.