So we're out on our ride yesterday and stopped in a little town just off the highway. Beacuse of the way we turned in and the set up of the lot, if you didn't pull into a pump, you pretty much had to park your bike with your front tire on a slight down hill. There was a drain grate there that sloped steep inward and the area around it was graded to to the drain.

So my brother in law parked his Shovel there and just left it in gear to be sure his bike wouldn't move. A group of Gold Winger's (even a trike/trailer) pulled in. The youngest rider amoung them was probably 65. A passel of 'em parked all around my brother in law's bike, tire forward into the slope.

I come out of the store just in time to watch an old guy and his behemouth GW hit the ground. He was laying there and my brother in law (20+ yrs as an EMT) runs right over to him. The old guy had his helmet on and didn't land that hard but he was not moving at all. I thought he had a frickin heart attack.

He just looks up at everyone, finally, after being asked about ten dozen times if he was okay and says, "I don't know what happened. It just fell over."

Well, what happened was, He put his front tire real near the edge of that drain grate and left that big monster in neutral. So as he went to step off, gravity took over, it rolled forward and then fell over.

It was raining real bad and pretty damned cold, so it could be that the old guy was just not thinking straight or it could be that it just didn't don on him how he was parking. But just another thing to keep in mind. He got real lucky that bike didn't come all the way over on top of him.

Oh and if you do fall down and are okay and there are a bunch of people gathered around you, and one guy starts checking your pulse, at least wave or mumble something about being okay. The guy was fine and started smiling. He was just embarrassed so he just layed there. Scared the crap out of us!

He laid there motionless hoping no one would notice... :shhhh

I thought G/W's had anti tip options that would make the bike hover off the ground if it tipped over

;););););););););););)

I thought G/W's had anti tip options that would make the bike hover off the ground if it tipped over

;););););););););););)


Lol..left in manual mode,oldtimer forgot to set the auto pilot :laugh

I thought G/W's had anti tip options that would make the bike hover off the ground if it tipped over
Now that is funny!

I thought G/W's had anti tip options that would make the bike hover off the ground if it tipped over

;););););););););););)

You know what he was most pissed about? That he bent his big chrome air horn mounted under his saddle box. :frownthre

So we're out on our ride yesterday and stopped in a little town just off the highway. Beacuse of the way we turned in and the set up of the lot, if you didn't pull into a pump, you pretty much had to park your bike with your front tire on a slight down hill. There was a drain grate there that sloped steep inward and the area around it was graded to to the drain.

So my brother in law parked his Shovel there and just left it in gear to be sure his bike wouldn't move. A group of Gold Winger's (even a trike/trailer) pulled in. The youngest rider amoung them was probably 65. A passel of 'em parked all around my brother in law's bike, tire forward into the slope.

I come out of the store just in time to watch an old guy and his behemouth GW hit the ground. He was laying there and my brother in law (20+ yrs as an EMT) runs right over to him. The old guy had his helmet on and didn't land that hard but he was not moving at all. I thought he had a frickin heart attack.

He just looks up at everyone, finally, after being asked about ten dozen times if he was okay and says, "I don't know what happened. It just fell over."

Well, what happened was, He put his front tire real near the edge of that drain grate and left that big monster in neutral. So as he went to step off, gravity took over, it rolled forward and then fell over.

It was raining real bad and pretty damned cold, so it could be that the old guy was just not thinking straight or it could be that it just didn't don on him how he was parking. But just another thing to keep in mind. He got real lucky that bike didn't come all the way over on top of him.

Oh and if you do fall down and are okay and there are a bunch of people gathered around you, and one guy starts checking your pulse, at least wave or mumble something about being okay. The guy was fine and started smiling. He was just embarrassed so he just layed there. Scared the crap out of us!

All of this because of one simple, but important HABIT that he either never learned, or let himself get out of...

ALWAYS GRAB YOUR FRONT BAKE WHEN MOUNTING...

Gear or no gear, its the best way to keep her there while you're getting on....

How many tow trucks did it take to
get it upright :p :p :p :p :p :p :p

Saw a same incident happen with a brand new Beemer GS1200 .... this man parks his bike downhill (on mountain pass) in neutral ... ask me if I can take a picture of him and his wife ... I take the pic and at the same moment the bike falls. Ever seen a beemer fall? It just rolls over the cylinder and more damage is done than it would be with a 4cyl. inline bike! :frownthre

"Randy layed there like a Slug..... it was his only defense." :laugh :laugh

So we're out on our ride yesterday and stopped in a little town just off the highway. Beacuse of the way we turned in and the set up of the lot, if you didn't pull into a pump, you pretty much had to park your bike with your front tire on a slight down hill. There was a drain grate there that sloped steep inward and the area around it was graded to to the drain.

So my brother in law parked his Shovel there and just left it in gear to be sure his bike wouldn't move. A group of Gold Winger's (even a trike/trailer) pulled in. The youngest rider amoung them was probably 65. A passel of 'em parked all around my brother in law's bike, tire forward into the slope.

I come out of the store just in time to watch an old guy and his behemouth GW hit the ground. He was laying there and my brother in law (20+ yrs as an EMT) runs right over to him. The old guy had his helmet on and didn't land that hard but he was not moving at all. I thought he had a frickin heart attack.

He just looks up at everyone, finally, after being asked about ten dozen times if he was okay and says, "I don't know what happened. It just fell over."

Well, what happened was, He put his front tire real near the edge of that drain grate and left that big monster in neutral. So as he went to step off, gravity took over, it rolled forward and then fell over.

It was raining real bad and pretty damned cold, so it could be that the old guy was just not thinking straight or it could be that it just didn't don on him how he was parking. But just another thing to keep in mind. He got real lucky that bike didn't come all the way over on top of him.

Oh and if you do fall down and are okay and there are a bunch of people gathered around you, and one guy starts checking your pulse, at least wave or mumble something about being okay. The guy was fine and started smiling. He was just embarrassed so he just layed there. Scared the crap out of us!

Honestly, the only time my bike is in neutral is when the starter is in operation....I can't think of another time I need that non-gear...lol

Someone asked in my MSF class why neutral was positioned where it was in the shift pattern....NO ONE had the answer...but now I see it...

Very true Chuck. It is in that location for the same reason why it is the second position on an automatic transmission. So that when you park, the vehicle will NOT be in neutral.

How many here park their standard transmission car without the parking brake on?? I sure hope no one does!!!

Very true Chuck. It is in that location for the same reason why it is the second position on an automatic transmission. So that when you park, the vehicle will NOT be in neutral.

How many here park their standard transmission car without the parking brake on?? I sure hope no one does!!!

As a matter of fact, I saw my wife's ex park on our sloped driveway, pointed uphill, engine RUNNING, and the kids are getting their bikes out of the back of the Subaru...

My stomach was in KNOTS!!!! Shut it off! Put it in gear!!! What the hell are you thinking?!?!?!?!

And this guy wants a bike real bad, because my wife would never let him get one when they were married.........

I think he knows she bought me mine.... :yikes

How many tow trucks did it take to
get it upright :p :p :p :p :p :p :p

It took three guys (one really big one) using the proper "butt to bike" lifting method. And they all groaned!

Talked to my brother in law last night and he said, "I wonder how long it will take that old guy's seat to dry out?" I didn't get what he meant. Turns out what I didn't notice was that it had a tucked and rolled red crushed velvet seat! :yikes

Next time you see the old guy tell him to get some of these...

http://www.winglandinggear.com/images/Landinggear-down.jpg

:tour :tour :tour :tour :tour :tour :tour :tour

Next time you see the old guy tell him to get some of these...

http://www.winglandinggear.com/images/Landinggear-down.jpg

:tour :tour :tour :tour :tour :tour :tour :tour

Ya know Bert, that's the exact color of his bike too. :laugh

"Randy layed there like a Slug..... it was his only defense." :laugh :laugh
i love that movie! :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh

Several of us were our riding yesterday, really great day for riding. We stopped for lunch and then we were talking over where we were going from there. One of my friends was setting on his bike with the kick stand up, one of the other guys ask to see his road map. Without thinking he just stepped off his bike, about eight pair of hands went for the bike but it was to late, down on the ground it went. Nothing was damaged, it was so funny because it took a few second for my friend to realize what had happened. He just stood there wide eyed as we picked up his bike, you would have thought he had been shot. That would have made a great funnest home movie sense no one was hurt and his bike didn't get a scratch.

Reminds me of a time when I was stationed in Germany...I had been riding on a beautiful day, a glorious warm summer day with the sun shining down. I was taking it all in, just enjoying being on the road. I had been riding for quite some time that day through some beautiful scenic countryside when I finally come to a traffic light. So what do I do? I stop at the red light like any good citizen, and forget to put my damn feet down!!! :yikes I had been riding for so long, and just got so caught up in everything, that I completely forgot about the trivial things, you know, like gravity! :laugh You should have seen it, came to a smooth straight as an arrow stop, and just slowly fell over to the side. I just lay there with my both my feet on the pegs, just like nothing had happened! A couple of motorists came to my aid and helped right both me and my bike. Man, that was embarrassing! :D

Very true Chuck. It is in that location for the same reason why it is the second position on an automatic transmission. So that when you park, the vehicle will NOT be in neutral.

How many here park their standard transmission car without the parking brake on?? I sure hope no one does!!!I did that once a long time ago :frownone

Went into a gas station to grab some smokes, some guy comes in and asks if that's my Grey Chevette rolling across the road. I looked out the window to see my car back over the sidewalk and take the turn signal lens out of someones car in the parking lot across the street. I was lucky that the guy I hit had a beater and didn't give a hoot about the light... "Don't worry about it I can get a new one for a few bucks at the junkyard" was all he said. I guess I was even luckier that no one was driving down the road at the time.

Gazza

So we're out on our ride yesterday and stopped in a little town just off the highway. Beacuse of the way we turned in and the set up of the lot, if you didn't pull into a pump, you pretty much had to park your bike with your front tire on a slight down hill. There was a drain grate there that sloped steep inward and the area around it was graded to to the drain.

So my brother in law parked his Shovel there and just left it in gear to be sure his bike wouldn't move. A group of Gold Winger's (even a trike/trailer) pulled in. The youngest rider amoung them was probably 65. A passel of 'em parked all around my brother in law's bike, tire forward into the slope.

I come out of the store just in time to watch an old guy and his behemouth GW hit the ground. He was laying there and my brother in law (20+ yrs as an EMT) runs right over to him. The old guy had his helmet on and didn't land that hard but he was not moving at all. I thought he had a frickin heart attack.

He just looks up at everyone, finally, after being asked about ten dozen times if he was okay and says, "I don't know what happened. It just fell over."

Well, what happened was, He put his front tire real near the edge of that drain grate and left that big monster in neutral. So as he went to step off, gravity took over, it rolled forward and then fell over.

It was raining real bad and pretty damned cold, so it could be that the old guy was just not thinking straight or it could be that it just didn't don on him how he was parking. But just another thing to keep in mind. He got real lucky that bike didn't come all the way over on top of him.

Oh and if you do fall down and are okay and there are a bunch of people gathered around you, and one guy starts checking your pulse, at least wave or mumble something about being okay. The guy was fine and started smiling. He was just embarrassed so he just layed there. Scared the crap out of us!

I was pulling into parking area with dirt and gravel patches with the new 1200 custom and the dude in front of me riding an old Honda 750 decides to turn in front of me on a slow curve (turn in) in the dirt/gravel impeding my right of way. I could either throttle it and hit him or drop the bike (it was a tight turn in and it takes uniformity and this asshole decided he didn't want to go in and park. Well I was able to stay upright and save from dropping the bike (turned into hercules in the gravel). The asshole looks at me with a dumbshit grin on his grill and as he slowly moved out of my way I eased in and parked. I was pissed off but glad he had some sense and moved out of my way since he then realized he turned infront of me. A cager is one thing but another rider is another.

I was going to have a conversation with him but he bugged ou8t of there. Basically Harley's parked and I guess he didn't want to park that 80's Hondo 750 next to a couple of oldschool panheads...

Ah well...

Some people are just plain ignorant.

I pulled a bonehead move 2 weeks ago. Left my Matrix, went into the hardware store to buy a drill for my GF (I'm a thoughful guy, no jewellery from me!), came out and there was my car sitting in the middle of a lane in the lot, literally 2 inches from the bumper of a brand new Pontiac Grand-something-or-other, with the owner sitting on his hood patiently waiting for me while having a smoke. No damage done, l but man, I was VERY embarrassed and apologetic. He was cool about it.
This was a fairly flat lot, with just a tiny, little slope towards the middle. I was definitely having a bad, busy day, but I know this will never happen again, becuase I only do something stupid once and I learn my lesson! I haven't driven stick in 15 years, so I just wasn't thinking.