YOU IDIOT!!! (Pointing to self...)

Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Messages
91
Location
Encino, CA
I'm posting this in Motorcycle Safety, but please move, or delete, if it should be posted elsewhere, or not at all.

So, I did something stupid recently… You know one of those things you maybe laugh about. Afterwards. Maybe others can learn from my stupidity. Maybe you want to share something stupid you did. I call this… YOU IDIOT!!!


Anyway, I was riding along recently. Not some long distant stupid past, but just two weeks ago. And I look down at my handlebars and notice that my low beam switch is set, so I flick it up to high beam. Only it wasn’t my light switch. It was the red kill switch. I was going 75 mph on the 405 freeway when I got this bright idea. Nothing like a sudden loss of power to wake up the driver behind me, eh? Fortunately, I was able to restart and continue. I call this… YOU IDIOT!!! Or Motorcycle Dyslexia.


One more, because I have a million of ‘em I’m afraid, but am I the only one to ever pull into a gas station, real cool like, and get off my bike, real cool like, and step to the pump only to feel 800 pounds of ST hitting me across the back of the knees because I forgot to put the kick stand down? Should I admit I’ve done this twice?? YOU IDIOT!!!


Some of you might say I shouldn’t be riding, but it’s been 40 years and so far, so good!!


Share if you’ve ever been an IDIOT!!! In a good way!


-)))))))))
 
Joined
May 8, 2008
Messages
174
Location
Munich, Germany
Bike
'03 ST1300 ABS
Does fuelling up with diesel count ? Guilty!

Ooh and forgetting to close the latch on the left pannier and loosing it at 100mph on the autobahn ? Guilty!
 
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STooRay

Site Supporter
Joined
Apr 23, 2015
Messages
278
Location
Norway
Bike
ST1300
Forgot to close my modular helmet properly after refuelling.
Back on the road in heavy traffic I could not quite understand what happened to my field of view.....am I going to be seriously ill? :22yikes:
Pulled over to catch my breath, and finally discovered my mischief......:banghead:

Usually I like to think what happens on the bike stays on the bike, but since nobody here knows me...
Stu
 
Joined
Oct 17, 2015
Messages
1,957
Location
near Harrow, Ontario, Canada
Bike
'83 BMW R100RS
STOC #
8870
Yup - did the kill switch thing one time in traffic. That was a pucker-up moment.

My great crime is forgetting to cancel the turn signals - that is why I bought one of those STS magic boxes. Now...to find the time to install it....

I've never actually done it - but my "ST nightmare" is to stop and lean the bike over to the left without first putting down the sidestand - and not realizing it until it is too late to prevent a (hopefully) soft set-down. I have taken to parking in first gear and then using the sidestand as a kill switch - just to confirm to my little 1HP brain - that it is down before dismounting.
 
Joined
Jul 6, 2017
Messages
135
Location
Surf City NJ
Bike
2007 ST 1300
When I bought my ST brand new and picked it up at the dealer they brought it out to me from the shop and put it on the center stand - said good luck and left me alone with it . I had never handled or ridden a heavy motorcycle and so instead of straddling it I stood alongside of it on the left and proceeded to rock it off the stand . Of course it started to high side and get away from me to the right in slow motion . Frozen in time with a brand new motorcycle leaning away from me and not wanting to set it down but unable to pull it back up . Fortunately the mechanic came out and rushed over to save the day. I'm sure I provided them with much fuel for stupidity conversation.
Another time that I still beat myself up over and could have had serious consequences was this - coming home after a long stint on a high speed limited access super slab I exited on to my local state highway and then decided at the last moment to take a decreasing radius jug handle to the bank. Speed Desensitized from the trip and unfocused I drifted into the opposite lane at the end of the jug handle- fortunately no one was coming the other way or I may not have been around to share this.
 
Joined
Feb 23, 2012
Messages
64
Location
NW Mississippi
Bike
2002 ST1100
I have long noted how dealership employees make themselves scarce when you are preparing to ride off on the new bike. Ring the bell, throw a party, then turn and walk away. They don't want to be a witness. :)
 
Joined
Apr 24, 2011
Messages
255
Location
Yorkville, Illinois
Bike
2010 ST/2002 GL1800
It has been a while! BUT, way back when I bought my first bike, ( I was 21 I think) a 1979 Yamaha XS750, I rode to the bike shop to buy a face shield for the helmet I had and failed to wear or bring it with me. So there I am ready to leave and realized I had no where to put my new face shield. It would have been too easy to snap it on the helmet. Oh yeah! I left that at home.
So I got on the bike while on the center stand and tucked the shield under my left leg thinking I could hold it like that while pushing off the center stand while sitting on the bike.

Pushed myself right over on the right side and ended up walking back in to purchase a right side turn indicator assembly. :confused:
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2015
Messages
2,029
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
Bike
91 ST1100/06 ST1300
Way back machine stuff:

Back in Feb 1970, I bought a Honda CB750 after waiting for months for deliver to my dealership. Coolest tech bike I have ever owned.

Anyway...the story.

I rode it to the local Pizza Hut after a late afternoon class and stopped in front of the big picture window all Pizza Huts had back then. Full of dressed out cheerleaders, it was. Everyone noticed the bike. Soooooo....I got off and reached up to unfasten my helmet. While my arms were raised, with no chance of a cool save, the bike's sidestand sank into the hot asphalt and the left grip snagged my jeans pocket on the way by. I ended up under the bike, mostly...good thing I hadn't removed my hat as I got a nasty crack on the back of it when I hit the drive. After the laughter inside the pizza shop died down, two guys ran out and untangled me and my bike. Soft asphalt caused no damage to the bike, but my dignity was ruined for some time afterward.

We all have one of these moments...at least one.
 
Joined
Oct 15, 2007
Messages
1,650
Age
82
Location
Alief, TX, USA
Bike
ST1300
STOC #
7461
I hate to admit it, but one day not that long ago (within the past month or so) I pulled the ST into my garage, left side of the GT, between the GT and built-in cabinets and workbench. Right where I always park it at home. After shutting it off, went to lean it over onto the side stand and, OOPS - I had neglected to put the stand down! Unfortunately, it had tipped too far to save it, but luckily the cabinets and workbench caught it, only minimal damage done to the bike that I fixed with a little bit of Scratch Out after I got the bike onto the side stand with a little help from a neighbor. I had enough room to get over the seat and onto the floor between the bike and the car so I could walk across the street to ask for help.

The windshield was leaning against the workbench and I was almost certain that would be bad news, but neither the shield nor the raise/lower mechanism (nor the workbench) suffered any damage. Apparently, the GIVI top case leaning against the cabinet was supporting most of the load.
 
OP
OP
Old Ninja
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Messages
91
Location
Encino, CA
I love the stories and thanks for sharing! It's good to know I'm not the only one who has these brain farts. I know it's not good on two wheels, but it does happen to us and as long as it has a good ending, it's great to have some company in stupidity. If you don't already know, if your bike does tip over at low speed or while stopped those big crash bars up front keep the bike at an almost 45 degree angle and the saddlebags don't touch. For that reason, it's also easier to pick back up. If there's a curb next to you, the saddlebags will hit there, but if it's open asphalt or concrete, the crash bars keep the mirrors and saddlebags off the ground. At higher speed, she's gonna rock, so your mileage may vary. But stopped, we're usually just fine.

Thanks again everyone! I had a good laugh at all of your expense. YOU IDIOTS!!! :)))))))))
 

ibike2havefun

Still above the sod
Site Supporter
Joined
Jan 8, 2015
Messages
2,762
Location
Rockville, MD, USA
Bike
Bikeless (9/29/2019)
STOC #
8824
Dropped my ST twice in as many minutes before realizing I had forgotten to undo the cable and padlock through the wheels before attempting to ride away... doh!

After that I decided I was too distracted to ride safely so shut down the bike and took the cage to my destination.
 
Joined
Jul 12, 2011
Messages
183
Location
Canton, Mississippi
Bike
1990 Yamaha XTZ750
In the morning, remove the lock from the front rotor, get the bike off the center stand, put it in gear and realize I forgot to take the chain from the rear wheel as it reaches the end of the chain that was anchored to the floor...
Bike started tipping over and I could not stop it going down, pinning me between the bike and a raised flower bed.
Luckily a neighbor saw me go down and managed to lift the bike off me.
 

EASt

Streuselkuchen
Joined
Feb 19, 2006
Messages
2,060
Location
Minnesota
Bike
S1000XR
A recent forehead slap for me was riding for hours, reaching up to loosen my chinstrap to remove my helmet ... to find my chinstrap had never been tightened. :doh1:
Been there... more times than I can count.

I've also managed to fill up my gas tank without opening the tank lid first.

Oh! And, the time I was riding through a beautiful small town in Washington and looked at the wonderful blue sky in my rearview... wait... there shouldn't be that much road in my rear view. Wait... Where's my saddle bag??? Yup, I forgot to latch it when I put it back on and it fell off in a nice series of curvy roads. That one was expensive.
 
OP
OP
Old Ninja
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Messages
91
Location
Encino, CA
Oh! And, the time I was riding through a beautiful small town in Washington and looked at the wonderful blue sky in my rearview... wait... there shouldn't be that much road in my rear view. Wait... Where's my saddle bag??? Yup, I forgot to latch it when I put it back on and it fell off in a nice series of curvy roads. That one was expensive.
Sorry about that one! I had a Ninja ZX1100 for a long time and I fitted it with saddlebags and a trunk (see, I always wanted an ST...). The trunk was attached to an aftermarket rack from the UK. One day, I was riding to court to fight a traffic citation. Had all my paperwork in the trunk. Got to the courthouse, stepped off my bike, and no trunk. The tubular rack had snapped going over a bump and the whole thing fell away like a booster rocket. I had no idea! I backtracked, but no sign of it. So, I can relate to the expensive loss. Luckily, my laptop wasn't in there...
 
OP
OP
Old Ninja
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Messages
91
Location
Encino, CA
A recent forehead slap for me was riding for hours, reaching up to loosen my chinstrap to remove my helmet ... to find my chinstrap had never been tightened. :doh1:
And the irony here is that you were reaching to loosen an already loosened chin strap! YOU IDIOT!!! :)
 
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OP
OP
Old Ninja
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Messages
91
Location
Encino, CA
My great crime is forgetting to cancel the turn signals - that is why I bought one of those STS magic boxes. Now...to find the time to install it....
i always forget. (Can't we have self canceling signals on all bikes please?) And I thought they were calling me "Flashy" because of my riding style. Ha!
 
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