Ok, we have all experienced it right? Our precious bike, once a thing of grace and beauty, lying there on its’ side like a beached whale. The embarrassment of it! And in front of witnesses! It always seems like all of your friends are watching just as you do something like this. Actually a group of friends at a time like this is a good thing. They all rush over to see if you are all right and help you get your bike upright again. How did this happen? Let’s take a look at the dynamics of a drop.

First I’ll let you in on a little known secret. This comes from years of training and experience from people much wiser than I. Lean closer. There, get right next to the monitor and I’ll whisper it to you. "Your bike will not fall down if it is under power." There, now you know it! That’s it. It’s that simple.

When you pull away from the stop light, you feed in the clutch and the power. Once the clutch is even slightly engaged, ‘slipping’ as it were, the bike will no longer fall down. You can put your feet up now, ease the clutch out the rest of the way, and drive away. I always smile when I see people slide their feet for some distance when they pull out. No one told them. They don’t need their feet down once the bike moves even six inches! They couldn’t catch it anyway once it was moving and all they would do is hurt their knee or ankle. So once again, the bike won’t fall down as long as the clutch is engaged, even a little. Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it. It can’t be that simple, can it? Yes it is, but it is not always easy to do. Let’s look at a common situation and how to handle it. Stopping.

Most people who drop their bike, do so when stopping. You come up to the curb, turn your bike to line up with the space you want to park in, pull in the clutch and Wham! Your bike falls over. Okay, let’s look at that. The bike will stay upright by it’s own power as long as the clutch is engaged, we already know that. But you must disengage the clutch when stopping. That means that YOU must balance the bike now as the motor will no longer do it for you. If you have to hold the bike up yourself, you will want it to be as straight upright as possible. That means you do not want to be turning or have the bike leaned when you pull in the clutch and stop. As you are coming to a stop, you must stand the bike up straight and straighten the handlebars. If you need to turn some more to align with the parking place, you will have to move the bike afterwards or think ahead and plan your approach so you can be where you want to be, and still stop with the bike upright. (got that Joe?) Try it some time for yourself. Find a nice open, level place and come up to a stop with the bike straight. See, there’s nothing to it. It’s easy to balance the bike this way. Now try it and turn the bars (just a little) as you get almost completely stopped. The balance shifts and the bike is difficult to hold up. Ok, so we stop with the bike and the bars straight. Wow, is this going to save on embarrassment and strained back and arm muscles or what!

Okay, you read this article and thought, ‘That’s a good idea!’ but for whatever reason, you had a momentary brain lapse and now your beautiful bike is lying on the ground. What to do? Well, it’s always easiest to find some nice lady in a red hat like Joe Rivard does to help you pick it up. But if none are around, you can still get the bike up yourself.

First, make sure it is shut off and put it in first gear. (this keeps it from rolling when you get it lifted half way up) Back into the seat and squat down. Reach down with one hand and get the bars. Make sure the front wheel is turned toward the ground, not up. If the left side of the bike is up, extend the sidestand now. Get a good grip on whatever you can with your other hand (Now you realize why the salesman at the dealership wanted you to put those rear bars on by the saddlebags!) and begin to back up, using your legs. Continue backing up as you lift with your legs and you will soon have her upright again. Again, use your legs as much as possible and not your back. This takes some effort to accomplish, but I have seen a small woman pick up a Harley in demonstrations.

Good luck, ride safe, and keep her upright!

-LC

  Editors note: Thanks to Officer Jim Hadley for proving all of the donuts and coffee are worthwhile!