Dropped my 650GT today.
- Thread starter Hatburger
- Start date
Hatburger
New member
That's the way I have picked up my other bikes but the rear passenger handles are so far back it's hard to get any leverage while trying to grab the handlebar and passenger handle. I had to call my son to help me get it up. Thank goodness I was in my driveway and not out on the road. I was thinking about getting some of those furniture lifting straps to hook on the passenger handle. Of course, the best solution would be for me to not be stupid and stop with the wheel turned all the way to the left.
grey.hound
New member
I have dropped my sport twice, once in a parking lot within the first two weeks of ownership, and once in the driveway, forgot to put the sidestand down. Both times, butt to the bike, grabbed handlebars and passenger handles, eased it up slowly. Heavy, but doable.
SteveADV
Active member
Legs and leverage work. I've seen a smallish women get a full-size Harley back on two wheels.
(Had to edit 'cause it just didn't seem right to say "up".
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exavid
Member
As I confessed awhile back I too joined the 'dropped the scooter' club. I couldn't quite lift it upright on a hill when the bike fell with the wheels uphill. I needed some help to do the job. I wanted to see how hard it would be to lift the bike on level ground because I never had too much trouble lifting my Goldwing. So I laid my scooter down with some help on the lawn. With near maximum effort I was able to lift it up okay as long as it was down on it's right side. On the left when the side stand isn't holding the brakes it helps a lot to have a piece or cord or bungee cord to tie down the brake lever(s) to prevent the bike from trying to roll a bit. That makes it a lot harder to lift an could cause a good bit of scraping if the scooter was on hard ground. I will say lifting this bike isn't much, if any, easier than the twice as heavy Goldwing/
Hint: Carry a couple lengths of cord just in case.
Hint: Carry a couple lengths of cord just in case.
SteveADV
Active member
Survivorman uses rope as a belt just for those MacGyver moments. I understand they are on sale at Sachs for under a hundred bucks.
exavid
Member
Well, if grey.hound is that honest I guess I have to confess. About three years ago I was on a road trip with my brother and we had a 'drop the bike' epidemic. He was riding his BMW R1200 and I had my GL1800. He was the first to go, put his foot down in sand on an intersection and down he went. I helped him lift his bike back up and even kept my mouth shut which was a good move. About an hour later we stopped at a gas/convenience store to get some fuel and a drink. I filled my Goldwing's tank, moved my bike away from the pump and parked it next to the store. I just about got off the bike before it gave me a big push as it fell over to the left side. Yep, left the side stand up. Mind in neutral I guess. All I'm sure of is that I'm so glad I kept my mouth shut when my brother dropped his bike.
SteveADV
Active member
My drops have been slow maneuver related. Trying to learn to do stuff beyond my skill set in one case and a near miss of a puppy while approaching a stop sign was the other. Have never had the no side stand down issue or slipped foot. So I guess they're still out there waiting for me.
I think I posted this link before, and it looks like a good alternative to the backwards lift, although I haven't tried it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO-fW6ZeXuk
I had a Harley a long time ago and found that after "foot slips" a couple of times, that they aren't that hard to get up if they just fall onto the crash bars. If the wheels touch the ground, not bad, if the wheels are off the ground, it will be a harder job to get it up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO-fW6ZeXuk
I had a Harley a long time ago and found that after "foot slips" a couple of times, that they aren't that hard to get up if they just fall onto the crash bars. If the wheels touch the ground, not bad, if the wheels are off the ground, it will be a harder job to get it up.
dascooter
New member
I ache dropped my GT twice. Both on loose gravel. First time all my fault as I was turning around and thought it would be cool to slide the back wheel thru the turn. Down I went in remote parking lot with no one around. That was good since it was embarrassing. But bad if I needed help. Butt to the bike and was able to pick it up. Second time was at a gravel parking lot. Had to stop on top of a hill to turn around. While fully stopped the bike just went down. Unfortunately wheels where in the high side of the hill making it hard to pick up. Just 1 guy sitting in his car eating his lunch. I struggled quite a bit but finally got it upright. He just sat there watching.
Worse thing is I picked up a number of big scratches. Tried buffing them out and the. Made the mistake of trying rubbing compound. That made things worse. Can you buy touch up paint? Or do I just go buy the new 2017 GT.
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Worse thing is I picked up a number of big scratches. Tried buffing them out and the. Made the mistake of trying rubbing compound. That made things worse. Can you buy touch up paint? Or do I just go buy the new 2017 GT
. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Hatburger
New member
When I dropped the bike, the left mirror snapped off. Purchased a replacement ($400) and decided to replace it myself. The service manual made it sound easy. Just remove the left top panel (piece of cake) and remove the two screws holding the mirror. One screw was easy (if you have a small ratcheting torx). The other screw is next to impossible to get out. It's almost completely blocked by the frame. It took me about an hour to get it out and get the new mirror in place but and I gave up trying to get the new screw back in. Hopefully the one screw will be OK.
SteveADV
Active member
....Worse thing is I picked up a number of big scratches. Tried buffing them out and the. Made the mistake of trying rubbing compound. That made things worse. Can you buy touch up paint? Or do I just go buy the new 2017 GT
I feel your pain das. There is a thread on this forum somewhere that talks about what couple of us did to fix the scratches on our Beemers. Basically, took fairings off and had BMW collision shops paint the parts. Mine turned out perfect and cost about $75 (made in cash).
I ache dropped my GT twice. Both on loose gravel. First time all my fault as I was turning around and thought it would be cool to slide the back wheel thru the turn. Down I went in remote parking lot with no one around. That was good since it was embarrassing. But bad if I needed help. Butt to the bike and was able to pick it up. Second time was at a gravel parking lot. Had to stop on top of a hill to turn around. While fully stopped the bike just went down. Unfortunately wheels where in the high side of the hill making it hard to pick up. Just 1 guy sitting in his car eating his lunch. I struggled quite a bit but finally got it upright. He just sat there watching.
Worse thing is I picked up a number of big scratches. Tried buffing them out and the. Made the mistake of trying rubbing compound. That made things worse. Can you buy touch up paint? Or do I just go buy the new 2017 GT
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You dropped your bike, why was the guy eating lunch expected to help you get it up? Should he risk hurting his back. Maybe he had a heart condition or a hernia.Maybe he didn't want to embarrass you. Why are you trashing him, you dumped the bike.
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dascooter
New member
Hey, it was no big deal. I certainly didn't "expect" him to jump out to help. Might have been nice if he rolled down his window to ask if I needed help since it was a struggle to right it. But then again, I was embarrassed enough just because I dropped it and I did get it back up by myself. Falling down the hill just made it extra hard to get it back up on two wheels. All ended fine and I rode off no worse for the wear other then some scratches.
Whoa....We all have helped people in similar situations. The guy should have offered to help.
(Ease up and relax. Now that your guy is back you're gonna win another Super Bowl.
Why should he have helped? And if he hurt himself who would be responsible. A dropped motorcycle is not a life or death situation. A tow truck is just a phone call away and no one would get hurt or miss lunch. It is always wiser to use trained help in difficult situations to avoid injuries or further damage.
I have helped many people myself, I was also in emergency services for many years and exposed to life threatening situations while trying to help others. People are not at their best when in stressful situations and libel to make grievous mistakes. Being untrained only makes things much much worse.
Scootin' Boomer
New member
I also dropped my C600 Sport within the first two weeks because the sidestand wasn't down. I made a simple fix and after 3 years, even though I have occasionally forgotten that the sidestand was not down, I haven't dropped it . IMO the original, unmodified sidestand made the bike lean WAY much more than necessary. For 5'10", 200 lbs me, I needed to know/realize the stand wasn't down MUCH sooner - that is while the bike isn't already leaning more than I can handle. Sooooo all I did was add a 1/2" thick landing pad to the bottom of the sidestand. Now I can tell when the sidestand is not down much earlier with much less leaning and am able to pull the bike back upright with only moderate effort. Yes, if the parking spot happens to be too inclined downwards from left-to-right I may have to back my bike into the spot or find another spot - not much trouble and not very often. Also, although this made the landing footprint only slightly larger, it made a big difference in being able park with confidence in spots with softer ground.
BTW, I also eliminated the kickstand's ability to kill the engine (thanks to a posting on this site which appears to have been deleted) by disconnecting the wiring from the switch and fitting a small U-shaped jumper into the two CORRECT female leads (can't remember which two). This modification seems to be very safe since I can't take off with the sidestand down because of its auto-parking brake feature.
NOTE: There did come a time (around 6,000 miles) when I noticed the brake didn't keep me 100% stopped but the drag was still VERY noticeable. It took less than 5 minutes to find and adjust the parking brake cable to eliminate the slack that was a result of worn brake pads.
BTW, I also eliminated the kickstand's ability to kill the engine (thanks to a posting on this site which appears to have been deleted) by disconnecting the wiring from the switch and fitting a small U-shaped jumper into the two CORRECT female leads (can't remember which two). This modification seems to be very safe since I can't take off with the sidestand down because of its auto-parking brake feature.
NOTE: There did come a time (around 6,000 miles) when I noticed the brake didn't keep me 100% stopped but the drag was still VERY noticeable. It took less than 5 minutes to find and adjust the parking brake cable to eliminate the slack that was a result of worn brake pads.
SteveADV
Active member
'Cause that's what you should do. You may not be able to, but you offer. You commiserate. Just like when you see a bike and rider stuck on the side of the road. We're in this together.