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?
It finally Happened - the tip over
- Thread starter txdon2006
- Start date
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.
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
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
Mike W.
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'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
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.
Well I think that's the first time I've heard that, but good food for thought.
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:
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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.
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Ah..... rookie!!!! Now that you have that little experience.... try it w/ your SO on board..... (like I did) ...... now that's embarrassing!!!
I got to believing that the wings were actually alternate kickstands.
But I got really good at picking it up -- practice, lotsa practice.
But I got really good at picking it up -- practice, lotsa practice.
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
Speaking from personal experience, It's hell to be short and wear bifocals too.
Well I believe there is not a chance of that happening seeing as how she will not get on. She's terrify of riding.
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.
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..
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
: 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
Don B.
'03 ST
maxib
I'm working on it...ok?
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.
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...
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.
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...
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!!!
It has happened to all who ride. You are I'm sure a much wiser rider going through that experience.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
toolman
Smiling Every Day
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!