It finally Happened - the tip over

[txdon2006]

I have been so proud of myself having never tipped the ST1300 and now I am eating humble pie. I was at a Honda dealer in Denton Tx checking out an ST they had there for my son that lives in Kansas and upon leaving the lot on a downhill slope I had to stop for a speeding car coming down the access road on I-35. Well having applied the front and rear brakes evenly, I lowered my left foot for the ground and guess what? Having only a 28 inch inseam there was no ground within reach. There was a gap as the front and rear wheel were both on higher ground than where my foot was and I began to feel that awful sinking feeling of that uncontrolable side tilt. Yep, I dropped it right in front of the Honda dealership and in front of about 30 people. Graciously, I had immediate assistance from the crowd to lift the bike and not a word from anyone except to inquire if I was OK. Well I felt like a jerk, but then again I felt sort of like I had joined a club of those that have had that unique experience. Well now that I'm a member, I really don't want to pay any more dues. Am I our of line with this thinking?

[l3194ff]

I have tipped my ST twice. Once in the garage and once in front of a group of people. I knew it would happen sooner or later so my biggest worry when tipping over the bike is how am I going to upright the bike and is there any damage.

[txdon2006]

Forgot to say that there was no damage done except for a little scuffing on the wing. A little sandpaper touch and some armor all took care of that.

[l3194ff]

both tip over experiences the first I did not have the tip over bars so I had very minor damage to the tip over wing. The second time I was still rolling trying to park and scuffed the tip over bar.

[UNTMatt]

It's a 720 lb bike. The only way you will never drop it is if you leave it parked in the dealership showroom.

There's a reason there are tip over wings. Now go ride. :)

[alphafang]

Glad you and the bike are OK txdon2006.
It's not the falling over it's the crowd watching that gives you the sick feeling in your gut. I pressume they were all bikers, that will help. Now school kids on a lunch break....thats a different kettle of fish...DAMHIK
Paul

[mikew1231]

My tip over of memory was stopping for gas, getting off of the bike and walking away...without the kickstand down. I was several steps away before hearing the crash.

I'm sharing so that you may not do the same thing, and yes the worse part is the spectators. Glad you didn't get hurt, trying to catch that much weight can body slam you on the concrete too!

Mike

[txdon2006]

It's a 720 lb bike. The only way you will never drop it is if you leave it parked in the dealership showroom.

There's a reason there are tip over wings. Now go ride. :)


Yeah, you're right. I'm gonna go get on it and ride before that stupid game today.

[txdon2006]

My tip over of memory was stopping for gas, getting off of the bike and walking away...without the kickstand down. I was several steps away before hearing the crash.

I'm sharing so that you may not do the same thing, and yes the worse part is the spectators. Glad you didn't get hurt, trying to catch that much weight can body slam you on the concrete too!

Mike

Well I think that's the first time I've heard that, but good food for thought.

[AgSTreak]

I tried to put my foot down in a 6 inch deep pothole. Curse my 28" inseam and my poor reading vision. There were a few others:o:

[jdaniels]

My tip over of memory was stopping for gas, getting off of the bike and walking away...without the kickstand down. I was several steps away before hearing the crash.

I'm sharing so that you may not do the same thing, and yes the worse part is the spectators. Glad you didn't get hurt, trying to catch that much weight can body slam you on the concrete too!

Mike

I did same thing one time.Had a low rider,parked it under boat shed which back then was not walled in so I kept a cover over the bike.Instead of cinching the bottom of the cover I just placed bricks around to keep it from blowing up.Anyway I parked the bike,got off,thinking the kick stand was down.It wasn't.Bike fell to port side,tank landing on brick making big bad ugly dent in tank.Cost a fortune for repair/repainting/decals etc.All because of my mistake. :o:

[sandy]

Hey guys...my worST fear as a "girl" is having the bike tip over with the kick STand sliding down hill towards my car and then getting trapped between the car and bike......happened at leaST 3+ times in 7 years now.
Even fell over in the bike yard !

[STeve1300]

Ah..... rookie!!!! Now that you have that little experience.... try it w/ your SO on board..... (like I did) ...... now that's embarrassing!!!

[Herleman]

I got to believing that the wings were actually alternate kickstands.

But I got really good at picking it up -- practice, lotsa practice.

[txdon2006]

I tried to put my foot down in a 6 inch deep pothole. Curse my 28" inseam and my poor reading vision. There were a few others:o:


Speaking from personal experience, It's hell to be short and wear bifocals too.

[txdon2006]

Ah..... rookie!!!! Now that you have that little experience.... try it w/ your SO on board..... (like I did) ...... now that's embarrassing!!!


Well I believe there is not a chance of that happening seeing as how she will not get on. She's terrify of riding.

[S2000-Dave]

Mikew1231,,that actually happened to my daughter too. We were riding togther, she stopped and got off. Forgot to put the kickstand down. BAM! down it goes. She was on a Ninja 650. The left side got a few scratches.

[DeanR]

My tip over was right in front of a whole bunch of folks from this group at my first ST Owners gathering last summer at Bully Hill Winery. It was a "hi, so nice to meet everyone" kind of thing..

[Don B]

My tip over of memory was stopping for gas, getting off of the bike and walking away...without the kickstand down. I was several steps away before hearing the crash.

I'm sharing so that you may not do the same thing, and yes the worse part is the spectators. Glad you didn't get hurt, trying to catch that much weight can body slam you on the concrete too!

Mike

One of my most embarrassing moments was many years ago when I pulled my GS850G into the service bay at a service station for a safety inspection sticker - got off the bike & walked away without putting the side stand down - I guess it must have been the adrenalin rush that made it easy (at the time) to pick it back up & put the side stand down muy pronto :o: I saw a guy many years ago pull up to a stop on his CB750 at the right edge of a narrow street with a fairly deep ditch next to him - guess he was looking left up the feeder road when he stopped - anyway, there wasn't any ground under his right foot - think you can picture what happened next - guy & bike suddenly disappeared from view.

I haven't dropped my ST yet (haven't had it long enough), but just ordered a set of bygdawg's tip-over bars. If Murphy's law works and I don't drop it before I get the bars installed, then I'll probably never drop it :D

Don B.
'03 ST

[Trekker]

Mine was during a ride around Chatanooga during CampSTOC last April. The gang pulled out and headed down hill, I dropped the clutch (in 2nd gear :rolleyes:) and stalled! Halfway out in the lane with traffic coming, over it goes towards the downhill slope. Gah! Think the bike is heavy sitting on just the wing? Try that on a downward slope! Once I caught up with the guys, they were cool about it. Thanks guys.

I will NEVER own another bike without tipover protection. And this season I plan to practice the pick up technique... with friends to help "lay her down".

[maxib]

You are very much not alone. Welcome to the club! My ST has been down twice. Once practicing panic stops in a deserted area when I locked the front wheel, recovered and locked it again at about 3mph when it went down. Damage: tipover wing cover scratches...no biggy. Pride...bankrupt. My wife was practicing on the SilverWing behind me and saw it all.


The second time was when she was on the pillion seat and I came to a stop and found no ground under my foot (a big dip between front and rear tire elevation as others have mentioned). Wifey was an unwilling participant in a tipover and won't ride with me again all because I have a 29" inseam. :rolleyes:


The worst tipover had nothing to do with the ST. I had a 0mph tipover that crushed my left calcaneus (heel bone) requiring two plates, 12 screws and two anchors to repair. This from the 500 pound bike in my avatar when I pitted and it fell over on me. The foot peg speared my boot 1mm. just above the heel cup armor. Resulted in loss of an entire riding season and several months out of work.

So even though we are embarrassed and really hate when it happens, Honda really designed the ST to come away with minimal damage and maximum safety to the rider. Good job Honda :yes: I have not checked recently, but I don't recall any other bike with this type of feature. BMW boxers don't count because replacement parts are much more cost than tipover wing covers!

If only Honda had included an option to grow 32" inseams...;)

[stovepipe]

The bottom line is:
It has happened to all who ride. You are I'm sure a much wiser rider going through that experience.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! :D

[toolman]

Haven't dropped my ST, yet - just got it recently. I did drop my Concours once. I was riding in cold weather, stopped to get some relief, grabbed a bit much front brake while turning - voila. My leg was numb from the cold and just didn't want to play. So I went to the dealership, bought a new mirror and a pair of pants to stay warm!

[dduelin]

I dropped mine in a Chik Fil A parking lot. In Daytona. During bike week. Front and center of the long plate glass windows. There must have been 50 Harleys in the parking lot and my supine ST. A few moments after I fell over there were about 10 guys outside offering to help me pick it up though and some of those with their own "when I dropped my bike" story. That was embarrassing but many of us have done it.

[docjacobi]

Boy howdy that laughing you might hear if you go out side right now would be me ! I[we] just got our initiation a few weeks ago. Rounding a curve on a particularly curvey section of ruarl hi way we came up on a schoolbus in the opposite lane stopped to let off the kids. Stopping was not even the issue, it was putting the left foot down on the tilt of the banked roadway , just a few inches lower than I was ready for. It felt like an audition for the old comedy shows, very slow motion and I barely got out " we're going down'' .Oh well we're now members in another club.

[Gator]

txdon2006:

Stopped at a stoplight, slight left hand curve that is uphill. Left my right foot on the brake pedal, put the left foot down (about 3 inches lower than normal) and had that sliding, sinking feeling.

But what did you think of the bike you were looking at?

Gator

[PizzaHog]

2x in the garage, fer goodness' sakes!

Then there are the non-tip-overs, when I get too close to cars, vertical cinderblock supports...

All in the last 4 months. :eek:

In all cases, my tip-over wings and BigDawg bars saved my bike's butt w/o damage to the bike.

Good to know I'm not alone!

PH

[txdon2006]

txdon2006:

Stopped at a stoplight, slight left hand curve that is uphill. Left my right foot on the brake pedal, put the left foot down (about 3 inches lower than normal) and had that sliding, sinking feeling.

But what did you think of the bike you were looking at?

Gator

It was a nice 03 model but he wanted way too much for it. 10,900.00 with 36K miles. Don't you just hate that sinking feeling?

[BridgeMan]

If anyone wants to minimize most of the scuffing on their tipover wing covers, just try a little concentrated heat from a heat gun. It smoothes things out, almost as good as new. Don't think it will mend cracks, though.

[ShinySideUpAZ]

If your under 5'6" your going to drop more than others. If your 6'+ and can't believe people tip over their STs, get over yourself that 4 to 5 inches means everthing. Lot's more leverage, lot more tilt before you are at the point of no return.

That being said every one of you will have at least one tip over. If you don't think you ever could, walk naked into your dark garage and chant this phrase three times while holding a lighter in your left had and some sandpaper in your right.

"Murphy you king of all gremlins, faires, orgs, gnomes, trolls and sprites. I challenge your pee weak irish beer, and I challenge you to wait no longer, Send all your Menions I will prevail, I will stand tall and defend. Your filth shall never lay with my STEED. She is mine to ride, and you only to watch , and sometimes take pictures. If they're tastfull.

Then jump on your mount and circle the town. if you are truely brave, and not just some middle aged yuppie burnout looking for his lost youth. I dare ya. NO I Double Dog Dare YOU!

[st1300honda]

I'm glad we can share these hishaps in our life. My tip over was at 0/mph in the garage. I had finished mowing the lawn, moved the bike into the garage, turned the ignition off, proceeded to get off of the bike before I realized that I never put the sidestand down. It started to go to the right and I pulled it back and on top of me. No marks on the bike but I landed on my wifes 07 Ninja and knocked it over. A couple of light scuffs on her fairing so I spent the $900 to get her new fairing (it was a new bike after all and it was my fault). Will never forget the sidestand ever again. Pretty absent minded, I was.

[ShinySideUpAZ]

I'm glad we can share these hishaps in our life. My tip over was at 0/mph in the garage. I had finished mowing the lawn, moved the bike into the garage, turned the ignition off, proceeded to get off of the bike before I realized that I never put the sidestand down. It started to go to the right and I pulled it back and on top of me. No marks on the bike but I landed on my wifes 07 Ninja and knocked it over. A couple of light scuffs on her fairing so I spent the $900 to get her new fairing (it was a new bike after all and it was my fault). Will never forget the sidestand ever again. Pretty absent minded, I was.


For years I've have had a habit my wife thought was OCD. Everytime right before I lift my leg up to dismount the bike I tap the sidestand with my toe. This is a great habit to get into. Even if you stop the bike and talk with someone for 50 minutes sitting on the bike, you try to get off without the stand down. More then once I have tried to tap the stand and found I hadn't put it down.

[Eclipse327]

I'm running for president of this club.
1. Leaving the inlaws house on an upward slope and stopping to quickly at the stop sign.
2. Daughter getting on the school bus and riding up the dirt yard and hit a soft spot as I stopped.
3 and 4. Daughter riding with me and stopped quickly on another uphill grade and over it went. Then after I got on she tries to climb on, the right side, and over it goes again.
5. Parked in the yard on a downward slope this time, and come back out and she is on her side.

All this in the first 2 years of ownership. Talk about hard lessons. Thru all this have only had to replace the left mirror and housing once and the wing cover once. I have learned that if I leave the wing scuffed then I won't go over again. That and being extra careful to avoid stopping quickly on uphill grades. (30 inch inseam)
Haven't gone over in 6 months. Yipppeeeee!!!!!

:04biker: :04biker: :04biker:

[ShinySideUpAZ]

I'm running for president of this club.

Haven't gone over in 6 months. Yipppeeeee!!!!!

:04biker: :04biker: :04biker:


There you go attracting the wrath of the gremiln gods. You know your going to tip over the next time you ride.

[helicopper]

Back in the 80's I was leaving a biker bar with a few of my sport bike friends and my squeeze was on the back. There was a crowd of Harley guys out front (back when Harley guys were long haired "bikers" and not bankers). Like the guy that started this post, I had the high front and rear tire thing with the deep gap in the middle, and over she went, bike, squeeze, and me. The "biker's" laughed at the dorky sport bike rider. My friends about pissed themselves laughing. For some reason, my girlfriend saw zero humor in it.

You guys just had to pick the scab from that sore memory!8-)

[christo]

Tipped at a Suzuki dealer:eek: Parking lot slope:o:

Saved by wings - no cover damage - don't use 'em.

[roadriderg]

I was riding tailgunner in our group. As we were leaving the parking lot in nice neat order mine stalled just as I was going down the driveway curb. I let out the clutch in first gear and the bike just stopped with me halfway on street and half on driveway about 3" shy of foothold, the bike just fell over, no stopping it.

Most in our club are on radios so the rider by me called out rider down!! rider down!! Our group of 15 stopped to look back at the carnage. As well as the group in front and behind us stopped to look at the carnage.

Fortunatly no damage except my red face. With some help we got the bike up and on our way.

Gary
:04biker:

[SupraSabre]

I haven't seen Fred by, to give you your reward!

Sorry to hear that you are no longer a member of the "I Couldn't Keep It Up Club". :o:

I have come very close to dropping mine once, But having a 32" inseam and a strong back saved it....just inches from touching...

My brother, Dave on the other hand, has tested those tip over wings a couple of times now. Once with a lady on the back. No harm to either, but he was a bit embarrassed! :(

[txdon2006]

Thanks to all for lending me moral support in my moment of embarasment. There is comfort in numbers.

[Tom B.]

Unbelievable!:hat1:

Haven't dropped my ST1100 yet but dropped my 98 Nighthawk on my...er...um...oh, the shame of it...helmet:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: . Long story and I'll regale you if you like but you'll have to ask...:oops:

A while back I bought a 1984 Nighthawk 700S with a smashed bikini fairing and instrument cluster. Owner, glowing red, said he'd arrived home in a rain storm, parked it in the yard under an apple tree while he ran through his house to open the garage door from inside where it was padlocked. Came back to the bike to find it leaning against the tree! Kickstand was down but the ground was too soft. Why he didn't just park it in the drive, Ill never know...:doh1:

Anyhoo, not such a bad thing!!!

[Finewest]

I slacked again! Sorry... Here's your TOA!

http://www.st-owners.com/pp_gallery/data/500/toa.jpg