Dropped Bike - Again....

jerseygeorge

jerseygeorge

Joined
Jul 5, 2008
Messages
16
Location
New Jersey
Every June I ride for a week through the Adirondacks and New England with a group of friends. Basically we are your typical outlaw biker gang, mounted on Gold Wings, BMW's and my Silver ST-1300. You get the picture I am sure.

Last year, my first on the St-1300, I dropped the bike while parked with the kickstand down which earned me quite a rep. This year I did the same thing.

Just wondering is it me, or something peculiar to the design of the kickstand?

Last year we stopped at a construction site, on pavement and downhhill, but not all that downhill. I set the bike on the sidestand, stood up, and the bike rolled forward, up and off the kickstand and on its side. I did the appropriate thing, which was to curse like a drunken sailor, and then have my friends help me stand her back up.

I took full responsibility for setting the bike on the stand downhill. No damage to the bike since I had the tip over bars. Just a scratch on the bar. Good investment.

I changed my technique so that in those situations where I have to park downhill I turn off the motor, make sure the bike is in 1st gear, make sure it will not roll, then set the stand.

This year we had just rolled out of a friends parking lot, which required some pushing and assistance because of where we park. I stopped downhill on an almost totally, but not perfectly flat area to finish putting on my gear. There was only a very slight downhill slope.

Motor running so no put in first gear, set sidestand to finish gearing up, bike makes that sickening lean that you can not recover from. Again, tip over bars prevent even a scratch.

But I am wondering if this is all me, or if there is something of the design of this kickstand that allows the bike to go forward and the kickstand to fold back so easily. I have not experienced this with other bikes.

Comments please!!!
 
The kickstand does not go too much forward of the tip over point. When I stop on a slight downhill slope and have to use the kickstand, I always put it in first gear and then kinda shift the bike forward to get the driveline slack out before putting the stand down. I also try never to park downhill and the guys I ride with constantly rib me about it. I will circle a parking lot looking for the right spot. The rear tip over bars are the best.

I can talk from experience..I dropped mine in the garage with no kickstand involved. Now that my friend is talent:confused:
 
I have found several creative ways to surrender to gravity, but have not experienced this one. Yet.

I don't think it's due to the ST's design, you'd probably have the same problem with any other bike or kickstand, even those shiny chrome ones the Harleys have :D

If I'm on an incline and am going to dismount (or even just lean down to pick up the morning paper) I put it in first, hit the kill switch and then let her roll till engine brakes.
 
Well....as much as hate to admit this :eek:: I too just dropped mine last weekend in the Smokies.
Rented one of those Chalet's in the mountains and because of the angle and slope of the driveway it went over while I was still on it! Could not hold the beaST up, so being the agile fellow I am :p: I promptly jumped/fell away from it, not to be done with me the beaST slid after me for about 6 feet leaving one of its highway wings behind and lots of scratches on mirror housing and right saddlebag, plus scratches on the tailpipe. :(

All of this after having ridden the Dragon and all through the mountains without nary a problem! :eek::
 
Geoff said:
I can talk from experience..I dropped mine in the garage with no kickstand involved. Now that my friend is talent:confused:
Click to expand...

You, are not the only one.

Mine failed to make it the whole way onto the service stand, rolled forward and tipped away from me (to the right) past the point of no return. Rear bars saved its life. Same story couldn't be said for the mirror cap. Bike fell on the sofa in the garage, and busted one of the cap mounts off.

FYI, mirror covers stay on w/ 2 clips just fine :D

Will agree to rolling in 1st then kickstand though.
 
I shut off my bike with the side stand if I'm going to use it... this keeps the bike in 1st gear ( and tests the switch too ) to stop the rolling.

This leads to another story tho... I kicked the side stand down quickly, the engine died like normal, and I started to lean the bike on the stand. You know when you pass the certain angle that you can't hold up the bike and I lowered it gently the rest of the way ( as best I could ).
There was no marks at all, but what I did find is that if you kick the stand quickly, it can pop back up! :(
 
It's funny how SToc'ers always bring up how great a function the tip-over bars are on the ST and will mention their absence on other bikes. The only other bike I know of that NEEDS them, the K1200LT, also has them....... :rolleyes:

Ooops, almost forgot the NT700V, but not sure it really needs them :)
 
ak85lp said:
Can you let me know what tip over bars will fit on a 2001 ST1100? Are they the ones I saw here from a member on the board?
Click to expand...

The only one's I have ever seen on an 1100 were on police bikes. And if I remember correctly they mounted in place of the pillion pegs.
 
I always shut the bike off with the key while still in gear and park it that way. I also always park my bike on the centerstand. I think the sidestand on the 1300 is too short.
 
And now a different sidestand wrinkle. My wife & I pulled off the pavement onto a dirt parking lot in Azuza canyon. Engine off, side stand down, gently ease the bike into the dirt, not knowing how soft it was... no problem with sinking but I found a pair of hills to put the tires and a valley to put the sidestand in (not observable while riding, but clear after I was off the bike).

The bike seemed a lot lower than normal when I lowered it onto the sidestand, but solid. We walked around for a bit, got our gear back on, she got on her bike, I got on the ST. I cautioned her about the dirt-go slow etc, she carefully rode back up to the blacktop and looked back at me.

I couldn't get the bike back upright off the sidestand. She had to ride back to me, dismount, and push on the bigdawg bars to get me vertical again. I can pick the ST back up by myself when I tip her over, but with one leg and one arm, there was no way I could lift it up by myself from that lower angle. Just one more thing to watch out for!;)
 
st11ray said:
I always shut the bike off with the key while still in gear and park it that way. I also always park my bike on the centerstand. I think the sidestand on the 1300 is too short.
Click to expand...

Until you over stuff the left bag and try to close it. Then it's too long:eek:4:
+1 always in gear.
 
I figured out on my first ST that the side stand doesn't work if you don't put it down. :( Backed it out of the garage and got off to close the door and boom. Didn't remember even putting it up. I always check now.
 
Well, I can see that I am in very good company. The advantage's of dropping the bike a second time include:

You recognize the point of no return, and don't fight it.
You know that with the tip over bars there will be no damage.
You know that there is a tip over switch, and you have to turn the bike off and on before it will run again.

JG
 
Don't worry - when you guys tip over, the bike is the correct way up for where I live!:D:D

I had that sinking feeling a month ago whilst waiting behind a fellow STer at the gas pump for my turn. I was off the bike and decided to walk it forward the 8 feet to the pump (leaving the side stand down as a safety). Trouble was that the pumps were on a slightly elevated (1 inch) concrete slab and moving onto it silently kicked the sidestand back past its operating angle. I found this out as I rapidly approached the "angle of no return!" when I went to park again at the pump and she didn't stop where the stand should have made her.

With a hell of a lot of effort, neanderthal like grunts, and all the strength I could muster, I just saved it from going down.

Damn these things are heavy at 40 degrees from upright.
Hence no tipovers on that column over there
<-------------
but is there a column for "bloody close"??? :)

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