20 years. Record over.

[copeina]

So I finally dropped my bike on the weekend. 20+ years, 4 different bikes, multiple traffic bumps, the usual close calls, all without ever getting horizontal. And then my record ended with a gentle thud.

Stopped for fuel on the way to a ride, was leaving the parking lot and apparently on a funny angle stopping to enter the street. Foot went down, bike suddenly got VERY heavy, and sure enough, over she went.

Had a chuckle flat on my back for a few seconds. Pulled my leg out, shook off the dust, flipped down the kickstand, picked her up, met up with the group and proceeded to go on a 13 hour trip through the mountains.

Managed to crack the right side crashbar cover and my ankle is purple, but I've still had worse days by far. Amazed it never even scratched the saddle bag or mirror cover. Guess those bars do exactly what they're made for.

Play safe & have fun!

 

[ToddC]

Not a bad record...... And an easy tip to boot. Welcome

 

[Upt' North]

Copeina, sorry to hear it happened but glad it turned out only slightly crappy.
Upt'North.

 

[Larry Fine]

It's a very helpless feeling when you put your foot down and there's nothing there.

 

[ST Gui]

 

[Larry Fine]

And it seems to take this long as you're toppling:

 

[red one]

Well you know the old saying. There is 2 types of bikers....those who have dropped their bikes and those who will.

 

[Bikeric]

Glad you got away with minor damage to both you and the bike!

 

[Upt' North]

The look on his face is a perfect representation.

 

[Shroomster]

If you have never dropped a bike, it means you aren't trying hard enough.

Glad the damage to you and the bike was minor.

 

[Mophead]

Welcome to our world. I must say that is a long time before a drop. You have now experienced that millisecond when you know its about to happen, you don't want it to happen, I can catch it, no I can't, and then there you are.

 

[beemerphile]

Well, as Calvinist said when he fell down the stairs one day... "Good to have that out of the way."

 

[the Ferret]

I never dropped my ST 1300 in 11 years, 110,000 miles, but dropped my new Yamaha FJR six weeks after I got it turning around in a gravel parking lot on it's first out of state trip. Got a broken left elbow for my trouble too. You got of easy lol. Sorry for you that it happened though.

 

[Obo]

I never dropped my ST 1300 in 11 years, 110,000 miles, but dropped my new Yamaha FJR six weeks after I got it turning around in a gravel parking lot on it's first out of state trip. Got a broken left elbow for my trouble too. You got of easy lol. Sorry for you that it happened though.

You can twist an old expression and say "stay off the "breaks" when you're in the gravel."

 

[copeina]

If you have never dropped a bike, it means you aren't trying hard enough.

20 years between drops! Last one was a 1979 Yamaha 650 Special that went over sideways as I was riding it up a ramp onto my pickup. Now THAT felt like a long way down!

Thanks to all for your comments. Discovered on the weekend my boots had done their intended job as well. The lace hooks on my right boot were all crushed and had to be re-shaped. Good evidence to support my boots-gloves-bucket rule of riding. My purple ankle could have been so much worse.

2400km ride planned for next week. Live and learn and keep on livin'!

 

[Erdoc48]

Yup, a gentle thud, as much as it sucks, is much better than going down at speed. You weren’t hurt nor was the bike substantially- source a new tip over cover and all is good. I tipped my 2000 once many years ago in a driveway, and on my recent TN trip, the 94- no damage in either case (OK, maybe a scrape to the tip over cover).

Ride on and be safe!

 

[SupraSabre]

That's a pretty good record. But sorry you couldn't keep it up.

I think mine was like 1984 to 2017...

My first drop in years...

At least, you weren't knocked off!

Bam!

 

[the Ferret]

I used to love watching george's tip over count go up.. I was amazed anybody dropped their bike that much lol

 

[red one]

Yup, a gentle thud, as much as it sucks, is much better than going down at speed. You weren’t hurt nor was the bike substantially- source a new tip over cover and all is good. I tipped my 2000 once many years ago in a driveway, and on my recent TN trip, the 94- no damage in either case (OK, maybe a scrape to the tip over cover).

Ride on and be safe!

I got tired of replacing mine when i first got it. So i had an electric grinder with a cloth buffer wheel on one end of it. The cloth buffer worked great at smoothing out the jagged edges of the tip over cover. Way cheaper too.

 

[Chuck Parker]

Happy to hear nothing worse happened. Layed mine down while standing still on gravel. Thanks for a biker buddy to help me get her up. I got over the embarrassment pretty quickly. But realized how easy it is to do. That was nine years ago and only came close a few times since then. You have to really be on it to ride safely as a super senior biker. Scanning the view ahead never stops, and it's so easy to drift off into the beauty of what your viewing. Unless it's a deer, back end of a vehicle or the shoulder of the road. Yikes ! I've told myself the next time I dump it, it will be for sale and I will move down to a lighter ST bike. And as my wife said, never a trike. ( no offense to anyone )