Interesting. Keep em coming. I'm a future owner and want to get educated in every way possible.

What about this - can people describe why is it that the bike is dropped so often in parking lots or at low speeds? Anyone have experience with this?

 

take a peddle bike ride it at slow speeds and turn ..takes more balance, more likely to fall over.

 

bikes are easy to drop standing still because they tend to have high seat heights so shorter riders can already barely put both feet on the ground. Add that to gravel, oil, water, leaves, etc that tends to gather on flat parking lots and its easy to drop your bike. Turning is even more difficult because sportbikes want to fall into a turn when you put pressure on the bars, at slow speeds the front wheel tries to make the bars turn more than you want them to then the bars will hit lock and suddenly stop stop the turning motion then it wants to suddenly stand itself back up
and once a bike starts to fall its not easy to stop it

 

At higher rates of speed, a motorcycle is a gyroscope. It wants to stay upright. Sideshow...good to here you're still here, that was an incredible bit of luck/guardian angels.
I've posted my story before, but it is too stupid not to share it again. I was going to take my bike in for it's 600 mile inspection, and the wife was going to follow me to the Honda shop. I got to the end of my drive and stopped, then looked back to see if she was coming. I had just enough time to realize she was going to run me over. Next thing I know, I'm on my belly in the street, soaking wet with the overflow from the gutters, and my wife is hysterically screaming out the most infamous words of all, "I didn't see you!" Well, she thought I was under her car for a few moments so I wasn't harsh on her at all. The impact bent the exhaust, the right fairing was scratched up, the right signal broke, and the front fairing was cracked where the turn signal used to be. About $1200 dollars later she is up a running again...and I can get any mods I want for the next several months! Moral of this story: Be prepared for ANYTHING!!!

 

I think it depends on how tall you are. I'm 6'1 and have no problem muscling the bike if I slip up and it tips a bit. I can very easily flat foot both feat so I think that makes it easier for me.

 

I can see how someone could easily drop their bike at a stop.

I'm 6'2, i have probly a good 2 inches between my *** and the seat when im standing flat footed and i still almost dropped in in my garage backing it out one day for work. My foot caught a slick old oil spot in my already smooth cement garage right as i was putting my weight/bike weight down on it walking the bike backwards. Had an 'Oh ****' moment but luckily i caught it. Good thing too because if it had gone down theres a good chance the back end could have taken down my brother's bike too.

 

oh yea, i forgot, i came to a stop once 2 weeks after i got my bike and put my foot down on some gravel and she tipped over on me. i couldnt muscle her back up so i set the bike down as gently as i could. i had sliders on so it rested on there, no other damage, just my pride...cause there was people all around

 

ill do mine in a nascar style interview. "Well now Fast What happen out there" Well there jimmy i went into turn 2 off the interstate there and someone musta got loose in the turn because there was gravels everywhere"

 

I'm just scared of falling over at speed, or being crunched under the bike if it tips at low speed turns. I'm 5'10 or 5'11. I wonder if it would help me out to lower my future bike a little bit.

 

Running a backroad. Rusty from not riding for awhile. Hit a 90* left was banging downshifts, blipping and braking. Had brain freeze and was going to enter too hot. No problem right? Just lean it a litte further and go on through. Nope. Gravel right in my line. Too hot so I can't tighten the line. Choice, lowside on the gravel or stand it up and runoff into the grass lot. I picked the runoff. I almost saved it but got launched by a ditch. Bike revved up when I came back down in the saddle and lowsided. Slid about 30 feet.

Grass stains and scratches in the lower. Mud on the bar and frame sliders. Snapped passenger peg (saved my exhaust).

Injuries: None. Wearing a Cortech HRX jacket and pants, gloves, Sidi Vertebra Race boots, and X-Eleven helmet. My leg and ribs were sore, but no bruising.

Stood the bike back up fired it, and rode the rest of the day on it.