Are GT riders allowed to join the Droppers Anonymous club, or do I have to start my own chapter?
But really, it wasn't my fault. It was a mechanical failure, or a design flaw, or something that I can blame on BMW anyway.
I had pulled in to my Grandma's driveway in Arkansas after CCR and parked. After hugs & kisses and greetings, I opened her garage door, rode the bike inside, and put it on the side stand. I then got off, pulled it upright, put my right foot on the center stand tab, left hand on the grip, right hand on the grab rail, and lifted.
Suddenly, the bike was falling away from me. I vainly tried to stop it, but it had gone too far so I ended up falling flat on top of the bike as it laid down with a very loud and disconcerting crunch.
After picking myself up, I called Dayle out to help me right the bike. After we got the bike upright, I discovered that the center stand tab that you stand on had broken almost all the way through.
Note that there are no crash guards on the GT. Even so, the damage wasn't that bad. There were scrapes on the saddlebag lid and the back edges of the front fairing, but these had been covered with protective film when I first got the bike. It looks like there was no serious paint damage or plastic cracks, so I imagine some new film will hide those warts. There is a small mark on the edge of the mirror (which had bent up out of the way like it was supposed to), but not enough to freak out about. The biggest problems were a busted PHID driving light, and big scratches to a helmet visor and a broken helmet vent tab (helmet was sitting on the bike at the time).
I was just lucky that I was in the center of an empty garage and not a couple of feet closer to the wall. Having to ride 3,500 miles home with a busted windshield would have sucked big time. In fact, the biggest problem I had was trying to change out the rear tire a few days later with a seriously damaged center stand. I took the bags and trunk off to get as much weight off the back of the bike as I could, and asked for help to get it lifted. It was then I realized that the center stand was folding way too far forward.
You can see that the bottom feet should be level to the ground, not lifted up in front. This meant that the rear wheel was just touching the ground when on the stand. I had noticed the bike was getting harder and harder to put on the center stand, but I had just thought it was because the bike was loaded for two-up travel.
I set the ESA to solo to reduce preload (and thus reduce shock extension slightly), and pulled the rim off. I was awfully nervous while the wheel was off the bike and kept checking to see if it was still upright. I also wondered if I could get a new, rounder, taller tire back on without having to lift the rear of the bike further. But I managed to replace the wheel and complete my trip without further problems. I just had to remember to only fuel on the side stand on the way home.
I called my dealer and informed them, who checked my serial number and said that my bike didn't fall under the Service Bulletin for the '06 center stands. But they ordered a new center stand on my word alone. They're replacing it now during the 24K service and in fact had to overnight some more parts when they took it apart and saw that the stop brackets were bent. They're also going to speak with the regional BMW representative about covering the other damages. I wish it hadn't failed in the first place, but I can't fault the dealer's efforts to take care of the problem without hassle.
Now where did I see that post about modifying frame sliders to work on the GT?
But really, it wasn't my fault. It was a mechanical failure, or a design flaw, or something that I can blame on BMW anyway.
I had pulled in to my Grandma's driveway in Arkansas after CCR and parked. After hugs & kisses and greetings, I opened her garage door, rode the bike inside, and put it on the side stand. I then got off, pulled it upright, put my right foot on the center stand tab, left hand on the grip, right hand on the grab rail, and lifted.
Suddenly, the bike was falling away from me. I vainly tried to stop it, but it had gone too far so I ended up falling flat on top of the bike as it laid down with a very loud and disconcerting crunch.
After picking myself up, I called Dayle out to help me right the bike. After we got the bike upright, I discovered that the center stand tab that you stand on had broken almost all the way through.
Note that there are no crash guards on the GT. Even so, the damage wasn't that bad. There were scrapes on the saddlebag lid and the back edges of the front fairing, but these had been covered with protective film when I first got the bike. It looks like there was no serious paint damage or plastic cracks, so I imagine some new film will hide those warts. There is a small mark on the edge of the mirror (which had bent up out of the way like it was supposed to), but not enough to freak out about. The biggest problems were a busted PHID driving light, and big scratches to a helmet visor and a broken helmet vent tab (helmet was sitting on the bike at the time).
I was just lucky that I was in the center of an empty garage and not a couple of feet closer to the wall. Having to ride 3,500 miles home with a busted windshield would have sucked big time. In fact, the biggest problem I had was trying to change out the rear tire a few days later with a seriously damaged center stand. I took the bags and trunk off to get as much weight off the back of the bike as I could, and asked for help to get it lifted. It was then I realized that the center stand was folding way too far forward.
You can see that the bottom feet should be level to the ground, not lifted up in front. This meant that the rear wheel was just touching the ground when on the stand. I had noticed the bike was getting harder and harder to put on the center stand, but I had just thought it was because the bike was loaded for two-up travel.
I set the ESA to solo to reduce preload (and thus reduce shock extension slightly), and pulled the rim off. I was awfully nervous while the wheel was off the bike and kept checking to see if it was still upright. I also wondered if I could get a new, rounder, taller tire back on without having to lift the rear of the bike further. But I managed to replace the wheel and complete my trip without further problems. I just had to remember to only fuel on the side stand on the way home.
I called my dealer and informed them, who checked my serial number and said that my bike didn't fall under the Service Bulletin for the '06 center stands. But they ordered a new center stand on my word alone. They're replacing it now during the 24K service and in fact had to overnight some more parts when they took it apart and saw that the stop brackets were bent. They're also going to speak with the regional BMW representative about covering the other damages. I wish it hadn't failed in the first place, but I can't fault the dealer's efforts to take care of the problem without hassle.
Now where did I see that post about modifying frame sliders to work on the GT?