An unexpected lay down

Did a couple of hundred km run this am. Had my gsx1250fa on the centre stand near a cliff edge. It was sitting at a bit of an angle but was steady enough. Remember thinking I should redo that. I didn't.

Hour later took her off the centre stand forgetting about the strange angle and she's still leaning away from me on 2 wheels and of course down she goes.
Luckily it was on grass and the only damage was the front rhs indicator popped in. Obviously designed to do so. Nothing broken, nothing scratched, nothing bent big sigh of relief but geez i felt dumb
257kg of fat lump on the right hand faring muffler and clutch lever had me worried. So there are degrees of off. I think I might have been lucky.

Maybe time to invest in some senile moment - fall over protection. Recommendations?
Bill

Sounds like you were lucky this time . Maybe it was enough to make you remember not to do it again in future .

I learned the hard way too, bike doesn't go on the centre stand unless the ground is dead flat.

Someone should have told me this, I think.

NTBill wrote:Remember thinking I should redo that. I didn't.

Maybe time to invest in some senile moment - fall over protection. Recommendations?
Bill

You've already got some
Glad you got away with it.

NTBill wrote:Did a couple of hundred km run this am. Had my gsx1250fa on the centre stand near a cliff edge. It was sitting at a bit of an angle but was steady enough. Remember thinking I should redo that. I didn't.

Hour later took her off the centre stand forgetting about the strange angle and she's still leaning away from me on 2 wheels and of course down she goes.
Luckily it was on grass and the only damage was the front rhs indicator popped in. Obviously designed to do so. Nothing broken, nothing scratched, nothing bent big sigh of relief but geez i felt dumb
257kg of fat lump on the right hand faring muffler and clutch lever had me worried. So there are degrees of off. I think I might have been lucky.

Maybe time to invest in some senile moment - fall over protection. Recommendations?
Bill

Bloody lucky NTBill! Mine rolled foward off the side stand while adjusting the headlight - and no, I didnt get off as lightly as you did.
Oh, just a quick note....if you swap the clutch back over to the left side, the Bandit might be a bit easier to ride

I "fell" for the fully, luggage, laden soft tarmac trick some years ago. Stinking hot day, left it on the side stand. We're standing twenty meters away taking in the scenery when we heard the thump. The side stand had dug into the tarmac and over it went. Not impressed. I carry a small polyurethane plate, 4" x4", these days for parking on soft ground.

sb1250 wrote:

NTBill wrote:Did a couple of hundred km run this am. Had my gsx1250fa on the centre stand near a cliff edge. It was sitting at a bit of an angle but was steady enough. Remember thinking I should redo that. I didn't.

Hour later took her off the centre stand forgetting about the strange angle and she's still leaning away from me on 2 wheels and of course down she goes.
Luckily it was on grass and the only damage was the front rhs indicator popped in. Obviously designed to do so. Nothing broken, nothing scratched, nothing bent big sigh of relief but geez i felt dumb
257kg of fat lump on the right hand faring muffler and clutch lever had me worried. So there are degrees of off. I think I might have been lucky.

Maybe time to invest in some senile moment - fall over protection. Recommendations?
Bill

Bloody lucky NTBill! Mine rolled foward off the side stand while adjusting the headlight - and no, I didnt get off as lightly as you did.
Oh, just a quick note....if you swap the clutch back over to the left side, the Bandit might be a bit easier to ride

Thanks for the advice. Must admit I've found recently riding with my left hand on the right grip and my right on the left has been confusing and makes cornering a bitch. . Thanks for pointing it out!!

NTBill wrote:...........Maybe time to invest in some senile moment - fall over protection. Recommendations?
Bill

GSG Moto make some nice tipover protection. I have some of their stuff on my GSF, but they make it for the FA as well. Check them out at http://www.gsg-mototechnik.de/

It's not cheap stuff, but but looks nice and is beautifully machined.

They will send to Australia and NZ, but don't take credit cards or Paypal. You have to pay by international money transfer, and be warned that if you try and do it, the banks in Germany take a cut, so you need to talk to your bank about a transaction that charges any receiving bank fees back to you (I went through the hassle of this). The company is good to deal with, especially if you have a mate who can translate German (Google will do it but it can be a bit odd).

Here's a pic off their site:



R&G also do a can protector, and check out http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productlist/584/90 for a full list of the engine protectors

Excellent!
Thanks kewwig.

NTBill wrote:Excellent!
Thanks kewwig.

No worries. Got their crash pegs and an R&G can protector on my GSF

Yeah I saw your pics. Must admit I thought a can protector might be overkill and a little irrelevant, but after the gentle drop yesterday I can see the value. If it had been on gravel, bitumen, or concrete my outcome would have been different no doubt. Couldn't believe how easily I hoiked it back up. Adrenaline and fear are a wonderful mix.
Bill.

NTBill wrote:Yeah I saw your pics. Must admit I thought a can protector might be overkill and a little irrelevant, but after the gentle drop yesterday I can see the value. If it had been on gravel, bitumen, or concrete my outcome would have been different no doubt. Couldn't believe how easily I hoiked it back up. Adrenaline and fear are a wonderful mix.
Bill.

I find a group of people watching in amusement also adds superhuman strength after a drop

kewwig wrote:

NTBill wrote:Yeah I saw your pics. Must admit I thought a can protector might be overkill and a little irrelevant, but after the gentle drop yesterday I can see the value. If it had been on gravel, bitumen, or concrete my outcome would have been different no doubt. Couldn't believe how easily I hoiked it back up. Adrenaline and fear are a wonderful mix.
Bill.

I find a group of people watching in amusement also adds superhuman strength after a drop

Funny that should be mentioned... As I have told about before, mine fell off the side stand in a shopping centre (bitumen so a bit of scratching on LHS that had to be repaired) - even though I've a buggered shoulder I picked it up like it was a kids Razor scooter! Adrenaline does kick in!

BTL.... I carry around a piece of plastic about 4 x 5" (an off-cut from the carpet protector stuff typists roll their chairs around on) - plonk it down on the ground under the stand anywhere where I think the support may be a little suspect...

I quite like this concept: http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/5456/584/

kewwig wrote:I quite like this concept: http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/5456/584/

Thats a cool product.
In a past life i have carried a crushed (washed) soft drink can. My RF900R had a "glove box" in the HL fairing. Was very handy.
Cant be arsed taking the seat off my bikes now so I usually look for a large stone or use the center stand.

same here.

A mate of mine uses a small offcut from a plastic kitchen cutting board

I`ve made one out of aluminum but also drilled a hole in one edge & threaded a piece of thin rope through it to pull it up & put in my pocket when I`m taking off . Nothing worse than having kept your bike upright , only to have it sink into the mud while your putting the plate away