Bike Dropping - Sooner or later...

It has been said there are 2 kinds of riders in the world...Those who have dropped their bike, and those who will. It seems that if you ride enough sooner or later it will happen. One of these days it is almost inevitable that the laws of gravity will supercede the laws of inertia and the bike will suddenly, without warning, be on it's side.

Usually this drop will happen at the worst possible moment. It rarely happens when no one is looking, but rather when there is a group of other riders assembled who will for one reason or another be looking directly at YOU when the big girl decides to lay down for a short rest.  Other riders are the worst and best people to have this happen around...the worst because it is an immediate testament to your lack of proficiency, calling you out for all to witness; and the best because it happens to everyone sooner or later and the empathy and sympathy you receive are real and genuine - as is the help you get picking the bike back upright onto 2 wheels.

Motorcycles can be ponderous beasts ; especially at low speeds, as they are designed to be graceful, sturdy, strong and athletic - while at speed. But take away the gyroscopic effects of high revving engines, spinning wheels, gears and shafts that all combine to keep us upright thanks to the laws of motion and these things can be downright heavy.  The larger touring bikes often tip the scales at an unseemly 800 lbs. while even an average size bike now-a-days is still in excess of 400 lbs. Some of the vintage early small bikes were still 300+ and those seem small and sprightly by today's standards. The cruiser and touring category are dominated by these large, big engined heavy bikes and every rider has to face the truth that is the drop.

I seem to make a habit of dropping my bike once per year. It generally happens when I least expect it, which I suppose is appropriate as if I expected it --I wouldn't let it happen. The process is simple really. A momentary loss of concentration, a small slip of the foot, or an unexpectedly tilted surface can all throw off the equilibrium that is balance. And once the behemoth starts to go over,,,there is little one can do to stop it. I have been effective ins slowing her down a few times; but once it reaches a certain point in the lean over, what I call the "tipping point" ; it is not possible to bring it back upright. The best you can hope for is ti slow it's rate of descent enough that nothing is broken or damaged severely. The crash bars that are typically on these motorcycles are designed to mitigate these slow speed tips and will often act to catch the bike as it goes down , and once the bike is resting on these bars it is already on the way back up as the catch itself keeps it from rolling completely onto its side, laying flat on the hard surface of the drive where the incident took place.

Some of the more memorable tips from my past:
My old GL1200 ( about 750lbs)- I had to pick up a prescription from the local drug store. Once in the  parking lot I kicked down the side stand and hopped off all in one smooth and cool (so I thought) motion. I had managed to get several steps away from the bike before I heard that sickening sound of metal on asphalt and knew the bike had just tipped over. It seems that I hadn't deployed the stand all the way to the locked position and it slowly crumpled as the overbearing weight on the bike pushed down and forward in effect somewhat gently lowering the bike onto the  tip over bars. Of course I sheepishly walked back and stood the bike back up as I looked around for witness'. Gladly there were none.

I did something similar on my GL1500 (800lbs+/-) when I pulled into a filling station somewhere in the Northeast on a trip. I kicked down the sidestand and proceeded to dismount in order to start refilling the fuel tank. As I dug for my credit card I was facing the pump and stood between it and the bike. As the bike decided to tip over it leaned onto my ; effectively squeezing me between the bike and the pump, which made turning around and lifting the bike off my legs a real challenge. Of course there were witness' to this event but it was over so quickly , the  entire dismount, tip over and lift up occurred in just  a few seconds; that almost no one realized what had happened.

Finally there was the time I rode up to wait for my riding buddy as he backed out of his parking stall. I had ridden to an adjacent business to utilize the facilities as the gas station had a line waiting for the one stall room inside. Rather than wait I rode over to the next business in a connecting parking lot, used their restroom, and returned all before he was able to get through the long line waiting for service. Of course I did not notice the gravel; and as I put my foot out to balance the bike while I waited I slipped badly, and I knew in an instant it was going down to the left ; and there was no way to stop it. So rather than fit it, I attempted to just slow the tip over, at the same time stepping off the bike tot he same side.  Once the bike made that familiar sound of crash bar contacting cement I was already standing next to the now sleeping giant and simply bent down and tipped it back upright. The crowd that had gathered on the sidewalk ; and many had witnessed this gaffe , all looked on in amazement with what I will always presume was an appreciation for my grace, style and poise during this stressful and potentially embarrassing occurrence.

Be ready for the tip over...take solace in the fact that it happens to everyone...sooner or later....

New to me motorcycle

As a matter of habit I often surf the internet and especially look at Craigslist for the odd good deal on motorcycles that people want to get oout of their way. One of my hopes, dreams and hobbys is to find and recondition old Japanese motorcycles from the 80's & 90's and after fixing them up, riding them a while , then sell them to finaince my next purchase.

This has ben kinda a "some day" proposition for me for the past few years as money an dtime are always a limiting factor, but this past fall I decided to do something about it and took on a part time job. The job working at a hardware and appliance store pays near minimum wage, but all the wages go directly into my special motorcycle account to help save money for my 'hobby'.

Over the past months I have followed up on a few different UJM (Universal Japanese Motorcycle) that caught my eye.  I even wnet to look at one first hand, and regret that I missed out on a 1984 Goldwing GL1200 Standard in mid summer, however when I found recently on line an advertisement for a Suzuki GS650L in great condition it caught my eye.

I called and spoke to the owner and found he is the second owner of this 1983 motorcycle, He bought it from someone who never rode it and it sat in a garage for years until in 2010 he sold it to his brother. The brother managed to get it running, but not well due to it haveing been in storage and I presume it haas gummed up carbs, but he did ride it a bit and put on some miles over time.

Eventually the brother put the bike back into the rented storage garage wheree I found it, and it sat there for the best part of the past 24 months.

Here is the cool part....759 original miles...!

Yep - all that time the owners who had this bike rarely rode it anywhere...

After some initial bantering on the phone about the price that was listed at $1125 asking price the owner and I decided we were just too far apart with me at about $500 and he at $1000. I said I would sleep on it, and if he reconsidered my offer he should call me. At that point I had no real interest in the bike except to try to buy it right and sell it off ASAP to make some money. But over the weekend I was the one reconsidering and called him back on Monday.


I told him perhaps I should at least come to look at the bike so we made an appointment to meet. We met at the local McDonalds and I followed him to his rented storage facility and was surprised when he opened the door and saw this...

Super clean and complete with all the parts including an extra set of keys and a new side cover for the one with broken tab (battery side). The haggling began in earnest at this point and we finally decided on $800 purchase price, which the experts online saw is a great buy; and the deal was done.

 

 

 

Now this bike sits in my garage, waiting for me to get it running and riding again once spring arrives.