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Feelin kinda stoopid

4K views 36 replies 20 participants last post by  Rider2 
#1 ·
I just returned from a long weekend trip from Seattle to San Andreas, CA. Fun trip but I managed to do some damage to my 2018 RT.
While loading the bike for the return ride, I pushed too hard on the left case lid and pushed the bike over. The side stand is a bit too long and there was a slight camber to the pavement so it was a bonehead move. I should have known better. In the process, the windscreen hit some hard landscaping and snapped off the top half. Additionally, the right side rider's foot peg snapped off. It looks like I can count on breaking foot pegs anytime the bike goes over. I do have Ilium tip over bars, but the right case cover was scratched on the concrete curbing.

I moved the passenger peg to the rider's position and rode home without a windscreen. The ringing in my ears abated overnight.
I just ordered a couple foot pegs and case protection guards. I'll see about fixing and painting the case cover and I'll get a windscreen ordered later.

Cutting down and welding the side stand will help, but I guess I'll use the center stand more often and be more picky about where I park the bike.

Less on learned. It's only money.

John Brock
Woodway, Wa
 
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#2 ·
If there is much camber, the center stand can be problematic also. I think the best bet is being more choosy about parking.

My LT leans a lot on the side stand so I often try to find some slope when parking just do it doesn’t lean so far. My KLR is just the opposite. It stands not far off vertical on level ground and any adverse slope and it won’t stand up at all. I have to be very careful when parking it.
 
#3 ·
Cutting down and welding the side stand will help


but I guess I'll use the center stand more often and be more picky about where I park the bike.
Sorry to hear that John.

The trouble with using the centre stand is that the bike is still leaning down the camber. Getting the bike off the centrestand with the bike leaning over is also an invitation to drop the bike!
In the UK of course, the sidestand is better because it 'works with the camber'. In your shoes I would consider some sidestand surgery too.
 
#4 ·
Less on learned. It's only money.

John Brock
Woodway, Wa
Damn John! One false move...! It's stories like yours that gave me the obsession to do absolutely everything I can think of to avoid a low speed drop as I know it's just one false move away! One story I read when I got back into riding at age 61 was a guy who did a x-country trip on his gold wing. Upon arrival into his garage he forgot to put the side stand fully down and proceeded to drop the beast right then and there. That story was the beginning for me of establishing a habit to LOOK at the side stand to be certain it's fully deployed before putting any weight on it. You are very right it's only money and can be restored, and you didn't get pinched under it so lesson learned.
 
#5 ·
I feel for you as well. Years ago I was at a busy gas station and didn't get my side stand down all the way and dropped my Venture Royale at the pump in front of a bunch of people. I was so embarrassed that I wouldn't let anyone help me pick up the heavy beast. Lucky for me only a small scratch on one chrome piece but lesson learned I am much more careful when parking now.
 
#6 ·
I'm way past embarrassment. I've had too many heavy baggers tip over too many times to let that bother me much. This is the first time for the RT so I knew it would be expensive.

If I have an audience around when I tip over (usually a gas station or hotel parking lot), I take a bow then stand the bike back up AFTER checking the side stand is deployed...
 
#7 ·
Hate that you had the accident:frown:...But...THANK YOU for sharing the experience with us here!:wave The more of us that fess up...the easier it is for the rest of us "Droppers" to get lost in the crowd!:wink:
 
#8 ·
I feel sorry for you.

I always park the bike in first gear. It helps preventing it from moving forward and helps keeping the side stand from folding.

YMMV
 
#10 ·
John most of us know how you feel.

We have all had that feeling and we have gotten over it.

Just do what you can to live with it and keep riding the heck out of it.

My 15 RT kissed the ground more then once. My 17.5 GS has kissed the ground a time or two also.
 
#12 ·
Not sure it is a design?

I have BMW lowered pegs on my GS and they are built like a tank and cost like one to.

It just may have been one of those funny hits? You mentioned a curb I think? They will do some damage when a bike falls onto it. The sharp edge and 600 pounds hitting it I have been there and done that. Just did it on my GS and got off lucky as a matter of fact.

I guess it beats the bracket that holds the peg breaking?

Again sorry for your troubles.
 
#13 ·
My topple over story.
I filled up with petrol and went in to pay
The console operator told me my bike had fallen over. I said "No it hadn't". It had.
A combination of the wrong camber on the driveway in front of the pump, a side stand enlarger that sat the bike up a few degrees, a full tank of fuel and a strong side wind. Over she went. Luckily for me on its way down the end of the handlebar caught the petrol hose that had been returned to the bowser and was hanging in a U-shape, and broke its fall. It also separated the hose from the nozzle but not a scratch on the bike!
My time will come though.

Ian
 
#16 ·
I have no ego or shame tied up in this event at all.
It's just another thing to fix and another story to tell.

Here are a couple shots of the pieces.
It clearly snapped at an intentionally designed weak spot.
I haven't modeled it and done any stress analysis on it but to my eye, it looks plenty strong to stand on but designed to break away when hit.

The peg does not pivot up. It pivots at about a 45 degree up and back angle which makes sense if you dragged it in a hard lean angle.
 

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#17 ·
Thanks for the pics. That explains that it was the foot peg and not the mount/attachment point. Without knowing the exact angle of the fall, it is difficult to understand the physics of the impact. I'm thinking it fell awkwardly in a manner that amplified the force of impact on the peg.

Regarding ego or shame...I was talking to my best friend right after my first drop. He expressed his sympathy and then said, "You'll get over it." My response was, "I'm already over it or you still wouldn't know about it!":smile:
 
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#18 ·
Thanks for the pics. That explains that it was the foot peg and not the mount/attachment point. Without knowing the exact angle of the fall, it is difficult to understand the physics of the impact.
I was not on the bike.
The bike was stopped.
It was resting on it's side stand.
The bike went over when I pushed too hard on the side case lid trying to close it.

When I get it up on the lift, I'll use some long straight edges to see if the bike can go over without hitting the pegs. Just eye-balling it says, no, it was designed this way.
fortunately, the mating parts of all 4 foot pegs are the same so in effect, I was carrying two spares.
 
#19 ·
I dropped my 2013 RT at a McDonald's. The side stand retracted since I didn't put it all the way down. I was with a few other riders and one was right next to me so I couldn't fly off the bike. I just sat there in a horizontal position until I could stand. Now I put the stand down and I kick it as a second "check" to make sure it's down.
 
#20 ·
Many moons ago I convert a R11S into a I don't give a S%$# "Dirt bike"

Sure the whole build was full of compromises, but the most present was footpeg breakage..

The issue was that the whole mount was made of a aluminum (cast aluminum like your peg) so installing a stronger foot peg, will only break even more complex/essential things upstream..


So I just carry two of each, plus a rear brake lever and a shifter, no wonder all the "real" dirt bikes use steel for those components, so malleable and easy to fix...


Maybe you can machine a "Fused pin" for the peg if you are to worried about it...

FYI: I have found out from experience that Zero speed crashes usually do more damage to the bike that the ones in motion..

Ps: I know you have a RT, but the kick stand in my LT is really wonky too, it give you the "Signal" that is all the way forward, but half the time is Not, so I double make sure is all the way diploid..

The upper subframes mounts are really weak too, I'm just glad the shock never did a Vlad the Impeller on me..
 
#22 ·
I had a similar issue the day after I bought my 2010 R12RT, I took the case covers to the local LineX shop and had them coated for around $100. They don't look bad and are much more resistant to scratches from swinging my leg over and the occasional stupid rider tricks.
 
#23 ·
Hey John. I had a similar drop with my new-to-me 2016RT. I had stopped for the night at an inn and parked on a very slight slope so that the bike was nearly vertical on the side stand, against the slope. I unloaded the left hand (uphill) side case and as I did it, apparently the weight in the right hand case was enough to pull the bike over on that side. Good news was that I was parked on pea gravel and all I got was very light scratches on the mirror edge, spark plug cover and the side case. (No engine guards.) Bad news was that I couldn't get enough traction on the pea gravel to pick it up myself and had to get help. Very embarrassing because the manager who helped me was a biker too. We had a good laugh and then he helped find a better spot to park. I'm a lot more selective where I park now. Cheers!
 
#24 ·
Had the same experience 2 weeks ago. Stopped at a bakery (lots of people), parked, got bread, took my jacket and helmet off the bike and, my bike (15 RT) tipped and fell. Took off the side cases and stood the bike back up. Embarrassing, yes. The illium guards were scratched (but save the costly stuff), the footpeg snapped and the side case was scratched. Called illium and they explained how to repaint the guards (winter project). Will pay more attention to the strength of any parking position.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
 
#25 ·
Well, now I think this thread has jinxed me! >:) After not having a bike for 26 years my nervous wife took us down twice at stop signs yesterday. Since she hadn't been on the back for so long she was very nervous and couldn't sit still which isn't too much of a problem when moving but standing stopped, not so much. The first time it was the right side case that got the chrome trashed which was perfect to that point and the second time it was the left side which already had some minor scratches in the chrome. She tried to say she didn't move the second time but after I said it must have been a ghost that pulled the bike over she didn't say any more. We used to ride in LA traffic and she wasn't that nervous but now that she is older she has gotten a lot more nervous I guess. I guess I need tranquilizers for her until she gets comfortable riding again. :rotf: I'm loving my LT more every time I ride it and I hope my wife starts to get comfortable and loves it as well soon. The trouble is winter is coming fast and I might have to start the wife break in all over again this spring.:crying:
 
#26 ·
Good on the two of you for getting back on - to start with and after the first drop.The two of you are made of stern stuff. There is a whole set of under-appreciated skills for both the rider & pillion when 2-up on a bike. And on top of those there's the cobwebs. I'd be very interested to hear how you're going in a year's time.

Ian
 
#29 ·
Dropped my new‒to‒me 2011 RT within 1/4 mile of the dealership. My daughter had driven me out to pick it up and so I decided to buy her lunch to repay her. She drove and I rode to a nearby restaurant. I pulled into a parking spot and put the kick stand down. Miracle of miracles, the engine stopped.

Whaaa?! Did BMW put in a switch that would keep me from riding off with the kick stand down? Let me check. Started the bike up and put the kick stand down. Yes, the engine shut off, but there had been a "jiggle" and perhaps I'd hit the kill switch. Let's try it again. Won't start with the kickstand down. Put it up, started the engine and when I put the stand down again the engine stopped. But wait, did I hit the kill switch again? Wasn't sure so I decided to try it one more time. I put the stand up, started the bike. Put it down the engine shut off. EUREKA!

I tried it a couple more times to confirm and then I got out of sequence. I stepped off the bike with the engine running AND THE KICK STAND STILL UP. I watched, as if in slow motion, the RT tipped over, falling on its right side. Some scratches and scrapes on the right side case, but nothing broken.

I felt like that Yosemite Sam cartoon where he shoots his gun and then blows the smoke out of the barrel. After a few shots he gets out of sequence and first‒blows and then‒shoots himself in his cartoon face.
 
#30 ·
My wife loves the outdoors as much if not more than I do but she is a very nervous person when it comes to driving in traffic either in a car or bike. She didn't drive at all when we had the last bike but when we moved back to my home state she had no choice since public transportation was not as good here. She is a much better driver than 80% of the others but there are so many bad drivers out there that she is very nervous and having no protection from them other than my driving skill on the bike makes it worse. If I can get her to sit still long enough to get some miles in I think she will be ok, if not the LT will be up for sale next year. I hope not since I waited a long time to get my dream touring bike because of not having the time or money and now I have limited years left to enjoy.
 
#31 ·
If I can get her to sit still long enough to get some miles in I think she will be ok, if not the LT will be up for sale next year. I hope not since I waited a long time to get my dream touring bike because of not having the time or money and now I have limited years left to enjoy.
Tricky!
Good wives are much harder to replace than m/cycles. If the two of you can't enjoy the bike together you could sell it ........... and get an RT.
Lighter, less of a handful at low/no speed and a very very capable tourer, an RT might work. At 120kg lighter than the LT, the RT is manageable for people like us who are in the twilight of our riding years. And that opens up another topic altogether - What can we old/er guys do to prolong our riding days? And how do we know when our time is up?

Ian
 
#33 ·
I've gotten in the habit of riding to my selected stopping point and putting the sidestand down to shut off the engine, while watching it to be sure it's all the way forward. Then I let go of both the brake and clutch and let the bike roll itself forward or backward to wherever the engine holds it and finally I ease the bike onto the sidestand while I watch. This means I always park in gear with engine compression holding the bike. If the front wheel is uphill, the sidestand supplements compression to keep it in place. If the front wheel is downhill, compression does all the work and minimizes the chance that the sidestand will fold up. I have never understood the reasoning behind parking a motorcycle in neutral. Does anyone park their car in neutral?

It's worth taking the time to pick a place where the bike has enough weight on the sidestand that it won't be easy to push over (me, wind, or a curious 10 year old), but not so much I can't stand it up when it's time to leave. I have spent a ridiculous amount of time riding in circles looking for such a place. Sometimes I have to park crosswise in a parking place instead of lengthwise if it has too much camber (just be sure you can get out if someone parks next to you).
 
#35 ·
I have never understood the reasoning behind parking a motorcycle in neutral. Does anyone park their car in neutral?
I forget where the discussion took place, but I had an exchange with someone who did it because he was afraid that he might start his bike in gear and have it fly across the garage, crashing into the wall. Apparently his bike, a HD I think, did not have a 'kick stand shut off.' He did not have the habit of pulling in the clutch and engaging a brake to prevent that.
 
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