To Tips to avoid Tips...of your ST

[KarmaDog]

Hi: I teach Aikido as a hobby...it is an esoteric kind of physical art. Anyway, there is an exercise that I use to help people learn where the edge of their "range of effectiveness is" (that point at which you loose control). In a physical grappling situation, it has to do with balance and control.

Tip One: Find yourself a friend and ask them to stand stock straight on one leg...they will have to let you support them from behind with your two hands, palms completely open and just touching the shoulders of your volunteer. Your friend will have to pretend they are a board (they are NOT correcting their posture by shifting or bending at the waste...absolutely straight no matter what...pick a soft lawn or mat to work on).

Now, you will have your hands on your friends shoulders as they stand there looking silly on one leg. You will find it takes almost no effort to hold them upright (just like a well balanced scoot) but if you get off to the sides just two or three inches...they seem to weigh a ton! Now, try and tip them off their center and move them in a small circle...without going back through the center (where they were stable), or dropping them all together. WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS...because it shows you how little out of center you can get before gravity jumps in, and just how fast a system can go from OK to Disaster, without damaging your bike.

Tip 2: If you do the exercise above with your elbows close to your body and move from your hips or center (rather than pushing your arms away from your body with the elbows up) it is much more secure and easy. That said, when you move a heavy motorcycle without straddling it, be sure to keep your elbows close to your body (if you are on the left side, your left elbow should be against your body). DO NOT TRY AND MOVE THE BIKE WITH YOUR ARMS...Always use your hips to move the machine.

PS: The turning the front wheel will dramatically change the stability of the system...Beware of pushing the bike away from your body while turning it away!

SO: Maybe this makes sense...maybe not, but it helped some friends of mine who were newbies so I thought I would post this.

Dale in Duluth

PSS: I dropped my first ST1100 Twice the first day I got it several years ago...nothing dramatic. Since then, 78,000 and a new ST1300 this summer without a dump....knock on wood!:

 

[Skunkape]

Makes sense. Something I learned while in the mountains recently. Just because the bike is perpendicular with the road does not mean that it is vertical. This isn't a problem in down here in Fl.

Oh yea, make sure the kick stand is down before leaning the bike on it.:

 

[moosulkwanman]

well, aikido is fun..

drop your ST one time and you will KNOW how critical that balance point is and how little of a deviation left or right it takes to be beyond the point of NO RETURN....BANG, she goes down like an avalanche!!!! Best just to let her go, and get your leg out of the way.....

the critical question really is- NOW HOW TO GET HER BACK UP!!! use your adrenaline, back to the seat, squat low, chin/head and shoulders UP (protect your back) I like grabbing the pillion seat grabrail and a handlebar, then it's all legs, don't give up if she slips ......

 

[KarmaDog]

Good points on getting your bike righted again. Same basic principles to be aware of when handling the bike upright. Connect with your "center," move as a unit from your largest muscle groups (your legs and torso...not your arms and shoulders), and keep your elbows close to your body.

One tip I like is "locking your front wheel towards the side that is down." This takes one element of potential slack out of the system. You can hold the system together, but using the lock really makes it much simpler and safer.

Not dropping it in the first place is the goal...but I agree understanding how to right the machine is essential.

PS: I read a book on HOW TO MOVE HEAVY OBJECTS, and on the inside of the first page it said in large letters, ASK FOR HELP...never a bad idea to have a spotter if one is available!

PSS: I agree NEVER BE UNDER YOUR MOTORCYCLE IF IT FALLS. Don't injure yourself. If you get beyond the point of possible corrective action...LET GO AND GET OUT OF THE WAY! New motorcycle parts are cheaper and less painful to deal with than most broken limbs.

 

[maxib]

PSS: I agree NEVER BE UNDER YOUR MOTORCYCLE IF IT FALLS. Don't injure yourself. If you get beyond the point of possible corrective action...LET GO AND GET OUT OF THE WAY! New motorcycle parts are cheaper and less painful to deal with than most broken limbs.

This is wise advise. I had a 500lb. CBR crush my heel. Two plates, twelve screws and two bone anchors, plus a summer spent on my back, and $31K later, I can attest that you should GET OUT OF THE WAY!

 

[bilturner]

Laid my 1300 down while rolling backwards down my driveway (trust me, it's the only way...). Engine was idling, reached the bottom of my drive and exceeded that point beyond my control, and oh...so...slowly... it was like one of those "this can't be happening" moments... over she goes....
I fought it valiantly for about 20 degrees... at about 45 degrees I knew it was hopeless so I hung on just trying to cushion the blow.
luckily my foot was outside when the bike went down (I seriously can't imaging what would have happened to my foot otherwise)(what a bonehead now that I think about it) .
Rolled off, the bike laid down, and the engine cut off on it's own. I freaked out seeing it lay there and the adrenaline kicked in, I lifted that puppy back up via the handlebars...
my body hurt for hours after that......
but not a scratch on the bike!

 

[Nevada]

GROW LONGER LEGS! That's my tip. :