What's the Most Embarrassing Thing You've Done on Your Bike?

[websterize]

We're friends here in R1150R Land, so I'm comfortable to share what happened today on the return leg of a 75-mile day trip.

I'm slowing to an intersection in downtown Bethesda, Md., about two miles from home, and the light is changing from yellow to red. As in Basic Rider class, clutch is in, downshift is second to first and left foot is down as I roll to stop. It's sunny and 87, and the road slopes rightward more than I realize. The bike lists to the right. I plant my right leg. The R1200R lists more. Too late — no chance I'm holding up a wet, 500 pounder. I dismount, fast, as it lands on its right side.

Seeing what happened next, from inside the surrounding cars, must have been amusing. I looked down at the bike, saw that the engine was on, and hit the kill switch. Then, as I later bragged to my wife, the training took over. I turned around and backed up to the bike. I crouched and grabbed the right handgrip and frame and was about to squat up but forgot to extend the sidestand. Reached back and flicked it out, as demonstrated on YouTube, and up we went. I mounted the bike, kicked up the sidestand, repositioned the mirror and started just before the light turned green.

[vielzebub]

All before the light turned green?!
Well done sir.

With my R1100S something similar happened. Riding with a friend I approached a busy T intersection, clutch in, bike in first. The road sloped quite a bit to the left, I was looking right reading traffic when I came to a stop. I always land on my left foot and I kept leaning further and further and my foot wasn't hitting the ground. Concerned I was falling into a bottomless pit I looked down and to the left, turned my handlebars right and momentum carried me and the bike down.

Unlike you, I wasn't smart.

I still had the clutch depressed and In a fury I grabbed the bike by the throttle and hauled it up. I never killed the engine and when I think about what could have happened if I had twisted the throttle and slipped off the clutch....
I picture the bike launching into traffic.

So, yeah, that mistake is what I'm most embarrassed by. Not dropping the bike in traffic, but being so upset I forgot to be smart.
Good for you doing it right.

[Bheckel169]

When I had my 1200 RT, I had it parked at a diagonal in the center of our small village. As is the case with old towns and old roads, the road has been repaved numerous times until I was basically in a hole with the top of the road significantly higher. As I lifted the stand and started out of my parked position, I didn't realize how steep the road was and didn't give it enough throttle and it stalled on me right in the middle of the road and over she went. Unfortunately, this all took place in front of a coffee hangout for Harley riders. There were about a dozen sitting in sidewalk tables in full view of my misadventure. As I bailed off and turned off the bike, 3 of the Harley guys ran out to the street and held up traffic and a couple of others came over and helped me lift it up. As I thanked them, one of them leaned over to me and said, "don't worry, we won't tell anybody it happened."
Bruce

[ka5ysy]

PUlled up to a stop and put the right foot down not noticing the dusting of fine sand and a 1 inch drop between the pavement sections.

Slow roll right as foot slides slowly sideways, bike doing same.

Wife on back, after becoming horizontal to the roadway says over the intercom " did you miss the part about rubber side DOWN???"

[famousperson]

Did not follow MSF instructions (or common sense) about down shifting when coming to a stop. Light changed and I tried turning left, starting up in 3rd gear. Stalled, dropped the bike at 0 mph in the middle of the intersection during rush hour. Easily picked it back up and merrily went on my way as if nothing had happened. "Useless" OEM cylinder protectors did their job, so I can attest to their efficacy (at 0 mph, that is).

[websterize]

Wife on back, after becoming horizontal to the roadway says over the intercom " did you miss the part about rubber side DOWN???"

Ha-ha. I think my wife would have said something a wee bit more hostile over the intercom.

[thepeacebullgrunt]

Here is an Embarrassing Mechanic 101 !

Are pubic hairs in the gas tank lock can lube it of stuck it ?

[deilenberger]

Are pubic hairs in the gas tank lock can lube it of stuck it ?

I'm not quite certain I want to understand this..

[websterize]

Are pubic hairs in the gas tank lock can lube it of stuck it ?

I'm not quite certain I want to understand this..

Frederic's message has a certain, how you say, je ne sais quoi. Bon courage, mon ami.

[ka5ysy]

Here is an Embarrassing Mechanic 101 !

Are pubic hairs in the gas tank lock can lube it of stuck it ?

Perhaps some photos to assist in a proper answer to the question?

[bobw]

I don't know, photos may limit my way too vivid imagination.

So give us a hint Frede, she was sitting on the gas tank.....................................................................

[LumpyCam]

Looking dashingly cool while sitting on the bike, on centre stand, i hit the start button expecting a symphony of boxer music. Seems the neutral light was incorrect and the bike launched itself out into the road and onto its side. I was thrown from the bike so it took a few seconds for me to scurry over and right the bike and pull it out of traffic. Those were very long seconds.

Always start your bike with the clutch pulled in.

[grapeman!]

If we include other bike’s, I have one..

Years ago I had a Norton 850 Commando with a kick-starter. At the time I was living in North Dakota, care of Uncle Sam. A buddy and I where riding around the back roads looking at interesting items like the geographical center of North America, he was on his dresser Harley and I was on my Norton. We spotted a couple hot air balloons coming out of a small green foliage valley (not at all common in ND). Once we got there, up on what was the ridge to the valley, we discovered a photo shoot. This was a very odd site to see in the land of ten trees.

After we watched for a while, and were convinced they really had no intention to launch the balloons, we got back on our bikes to ride off. At the time, I was much thinner, and needed to kick-start the bike with my left foot off the bike. That way I could put all my weight into the kick.

Well when I went to kick-start the bike, the bike went completely over on its right side (instead of falling back on the left with the kick-stand). This stopped the photo shoot and allowed the participants a good laugh. I got up, righted the bike, kicked it to life on the next try and rode off red faced. No damage done to the bike, just my pride.

[daveyator]

Typical drop in traffic here. A mini van that was already acting funny with an lol at the helm (little ole lady) was turning right and I was behind her at a multilane intersection. She starts to go and I follow. I then catch movement out of my left eye and take a quick glance to check for oncoming traffic. I look back just in time to see her slam on her brakes at 2mph because a left turning car decides to make it a U turn. She would have had plenty of room if she would have just continued but being an lol she does what she did. I'm already in a slight right turn at 2mph and those beemer brakes stop me fast enough that the bike just continues its turn right into the pavement. Intead of the snatch and grab lift I just stand there looking at it! 3 cars have to go around me the last one honking before I decide to pick her up. Fortunately I had JUST put on the cheesy BMW engine guards the day before and they actually worked.

[Mollygrubber]

Back in college I rode Yamaha Maxim 650 and had hair like Robert Plant in his glory days - really long, really curly.

Finished work one Friday evening, had a shower, jumped on the bike and headed up to cottage country for the weekend.

Stopped for gas on the highway and lo and behold, a raven haired temptress was working the pumps. I fell madly in love in an instant...I had to impress this girl! So I'm chatting her up while I fill the tank (wouldn't let her do it of course) and catch my reflection in the mirror. My hair inside the helmet (still wet from the shower) had plastered itself to my head, but the giant puffy afro outside the helmet got a nice air dry from the hot summer wind.

Closest analogy I can think of is Crusty the Clown. Needless to say, didn't make much progress with the girl, and I was so mortified with my deflating ego that I badly overfilled the tank (a real 'gusher'), covered myself in gas, and nearly set fire to my thankless steed. Mr Bean had nothing on me.

Great start to the weekend!

[Bill Stevenson]

Wife on back, came up behind a parade without realizing it. Cops must have thought we were part of the thing. People lining both sides of the street, kids, dogs, the whole thing. So I decide to do a U-turn, something I practice constantly. Naturally on this occasion I dropped the bike. Embarrassing seems like such an inadequate word to describe my feelings at the time.

Bill

[Dan-A]

This was Sunday March 8 2009 . I was on my F800GS on the CA central coast.

The Kickstand must be all the way down before dismounting. Only one witness, damn the luck, he had a camera.

[ShinySideUp]

Well, I thought I could make it all the way through the 2 week tour of the Alps with Rob Beach's Motorcycle Adventures without doing something completely dumb and getting the "Ach Scheiss!" award that was handed out each evening over dinner.

100 degree day in Italy. I park the F800ST on the side of the road in a shallow gutter, so our little group of 4 can rest on the grass in the shade and have some water. I open the side case to get some water and close the case which tips the bike over onto the grass as my buddies laughed, for they then knew without a doubt I would receive my button at dinner. Turns out the road's crown didn't allow the bike to tip onto the side stand quite enough and I was too delirious from the heat to notice. I still love that button!

Moral of story: if you're gonna drop your ride, do so in the grass.

[Graf]

i let my friend, who had a few too many, sit on the bike. as i turned arround he decided to get the side stand up to see how heavy the bike is i guess....down he went on the driveway as i was standing there with my jaw dropped.....i was more pissed off at myself though....should have known better....the result was just a small scratch on the engine cover.....no biggie...

[famousperson]

On my last trip, I was meandering along country roads in NC when I came to a stop sign at a tee. I was already on a small road that looked like it was going nowhere but at least had a number, SR 109, but neither of the the roads to the left or the right looked very promising at all. So I pulled over short of the stop sign to let the good ol' boys in a pickup that had been following me somewhat impatiently for the previous few miles go by while I got my bearings.

My right foot went down, and down, and down into the drainage ditch next to the road. You're never going to go over but that there's someone watching you, and over I went. Well, fortunately, you're never going to go over but someone is watching you and these good ol' boys were good natured, strapping youths who hopped out of their truck looking mighty amused at this Yankee who had just lost it for no reason at all. Even they had their doubts that they could lift it upright with the amount of gear strapped on the back but between the three of us we got it up and out of the ditch.

I was sure I was going to lose it again as I did a u-turn from the bumpy, grassy verge to go back the way I'd came, and almost did but didn't and went on my way, much chastened. It's the only time I dropped it on the whole two week trip, load notwithstanding, for which I was grateful. The bike is amazingly well balanced even with a goodly amount of stuff up on the seat. I don't ride with passangers but from the experience I've had so far can tell it wouldn't be a problem--especially if they were clever enough to plant their feet at stop more solidly than I sometimes do.