BluCat Nap

[DavidR8]

 
Dropped the BluCat on her right side while making an off camber left-hand u-turn. Front wheel dropped of the edge of the pavement and over I went. Ultra-slo-mo. Slow enough to make sure the bars were straight to keep the tank off the ground.

A few small scratches on the right pannier. Back is a bit sore from trying to pick it up. A passing biker helped me or I'd still be there sweating my ass off.

It went essentially flat because it fell over into a ditch so we had to go from flat to upright.

For the future how do you pick these beasts up?

[jsingraham]

I have same bike...same color and did the same thing once when fully packed and on the road.  Stopped under an overpass to put on rain gear as it had started to sprinkle, put my foot down on loose gravel and over it went...right side as well.

I had to take both side cases off along with trunk and was finally able to hoist it back up.  Thankfully tank was only about 1/4 full.  I had to go at it a couple times...but finally got it doing it the way they normally teach with back to bike and walk it up using legs.

Definitely not easy though

Glad you had minimal damage...as with my tip...sounds like only thing really damaged was scratching to the side case.

Jason

[DavidR8]

My cases were empty but I should have pulled them off. I was a bit freaked out about damaging  the down side one any further, tho' I suppose if my head was screwed on right I could have lifted the back up to remove that case...

I think the hardest part was that because it tipped into a narrow ditch, the bike was almost flat to the ground as opposed to being slightly more upright. So it was a dead-lift from flat to standing.

I might actually try dropping it and then lifting in a grassy field (with a blanket!) just to make sure I can actually do it...

[Bixxer Bob]

It's going to mean a few more scratches, but if you're on your own and HAVE to get it up, then that's a no-brainer.

I was taught to do it like this, using your legs rather than your back.  It's important to have the bars the right way(which where the extra scratches may occur) so the bike dowsn't roll away from you as you lift.  The right way is the bar nearest the ground is against the seat, so if it's on the right side, the right bar is nearest the seat.  You hold that bar and something hard at the back to lift:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sP3cqKbOEs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sP3cqKbOEs)

[DavidR8]

Without a word of a lie, the woman in that vid is of the same stature ass the one who so graciously stopped to help me...

I'm taking mine to the park this weekend and layin' her down. I have to know I can pick her up again.

[Spud]

Yep blue Tiger syndrome, dropped mine on a slow u turn in the middle of London on a busy Saturday afternoon

cheers Spud 

[Dutch]

Without a word of a lie, the woman in that vid is of the same stature ass the one who so graciously stopped to help me...

Gotto be the best typo in ages   

[Marc]

It's going to mean a few more scratches, but if you're on your own and HAVE to get it up, then that's a no-brainer.

I was taught to do it like this, using your legs rather than your back.  It's important to have the bars the right way(which where the extra scratches may occur) so the bike dowsn't roll away from you as you lift.  The right way is the bar nearest the ground is against the seat, so if it's on the right side, the right bar is nearest the seat.  You hold that bar and something hard at the back to lift:

Hmm.... it's a boxer!! the bike is not laying flat on the ground 
I had this DavidR8 story 2 times, also once whith my K1  and even with the video-trick, if the bike is flat, no way to get it up!  Last time, when parking her in front of the house (front wheel angled when braking...stupid)  I had to ring the neighbor 

[DavidR8]

After 26 years of riding, I've come off my bike twice this year.

I wasn't hurt in either case but dropping my Tiger rattled me, perhaps because I'm really conscious of its height and not want to drop it... My mind immediately raced to the question of perhaps I shouldn't be riding.

It took a week for me to settle down.

Note that I'm a very conservative rider, very safety conscious...

[Bixxer Bob]

It's a Tigger thing; they take naps. Soon after I bought mine she pinned me to the garage wall.  Took ages to get her off me.....

[ned37]

this thread just won't die so i'll add my embarrassing moment. 
was buttoning the tiger up after a valve adjust when the milk crate i was sitting on tilted and spit me off.  since i had a wrench on the valve cover, i pulled the bike over on me.  i was very close to a wall, so had no room to slide out of the way and i wasn't strong enough to keep it from going over.  it pinned both my ankles to the floor.  the left one smashed under the pipe, the right one got slashed by prolly the brake pedal.  to add to the problem, i hadn't replaced the timing cover yet, so all the oil ran out all over me.  after a couple of futile minutes of trying to lift it enough to free my legs, i ended up calling 911.
lessons learned?  1) when working on the bike put a jack stand under the right side to keep it stable.  2) don't ever put a block of wood under the kickstand to level the bike without propping the other side 
fire dept was freaking as they came up to the garage because they saw me laying in a big pool of a dark liquid until i told them it's oil, not blood (i think).
bike was none the worse for wear.

[Marc]

Well ned37, when reading your post I had a smile on my face, but seriously it must have been a nightmare!  Fortunately you had your cell phone within reach...

[Sin_Tiger]

Ned, I must confess to a snigger as well  though I bet it wasn't funny at the time or for some time after.

[ned37]

I bet it wasn't funny at the time or for some time after

it is kinda funny when you consider i'm the guy who everybody around here goes to for advice about bikes.  it's embarrassing because i've been repairing motorcycles for over 40 years and should know better.
years ago i had a sticker on the handlebars of my modified kawasaki that said "margin", to remind me to always give myself a margin for the error i was bound to make.  maybe i should get it engraved on the inside of my glasses.
every time i walk by the tiger in the garage, i test it to see how stable it is on the kickstand.

[Mustang]

I bet the EMT' s pissed themselves after th e y left