New 4th gen Vfr and a sidestand disaster!

Well first off a background of myself. I've been riding off and on for about 5 years. My first bike was a 1994 Suzuki Katana 600. It was a quick bike but not a "monster." Fun none the less. Engine seized one night coming home, and since it was pretty beat already, that ended that. Last year I bought a 1986 Honda Shadow 700. It was really comfortable but just not enough power for me. The torque was fun, but I was ready for a bigger bike. I rode it for a year and sold it. Just last week I picked up a nice 1994 VFR 750 locally for 2000 flat. 44k miles on the engine but has been recently rebuilt, and even better, all plastics are in awesome condition!! All of the dash is in great shape, and all gauges areworking properly. I have yet to find a problem with it (minus needing tires). Then there was today.... I was parking on the walkway that leads from my driveway to my door after coming home from work, I kicked my sidestand down, and started to park it, when all of the sudden I was on the ground! It happened pretty quick but I think my bike rolled forward a little and pushed the sidestand back enough to catch me off guard. Fortunately it fell in the grass and I was not under it. It had a couple of scuffs and scratches, but nothing major. More harm to my ego than anything. I'm a pretty small guy at 5'6 and 145 lbs, but even still I was pretty ticked at myself for letting that happen. But I did learn something out of this, I need too buy crash peg ASAP! Hah, here's some pics.

 

I cant believe you would let this happen! So irresponsible about the care of your forth gen....GEEZ. Always put you bike in gear when stopping and try not to push it back in your garage when your shoes and floors are still wet.



Side note.....pick up any trip hazards like extension cords and air hoses...





Im not sure whos bike this is but it looks alot like my garage :hss:

 

Oops. Ouch, that hurts, but as you said, it's more your pride that gets bruised. My best friend Doug, who got me in to motorcycling in the first place, once told me that the first rule of motorcycles is that sooner or later your bike WILL fall over. He also mentioned that with any luck, you won't be moving when it happens.

Congrats on your new bike and Welcome to the WORLD. We are sure you will enjoy the ride.

 

:welcome: to the zoo mate :wave:
S.......happen clean her up and ride her hard :wink: she like it rough

 

Slo, why is your bike sleeping on it's side? Most everyone else's bikes sleep in an upright position.
John

 

Aw man, it's trashed. You might as well start parting it out now. Dibbs on the ...

 

Welcome to the MadHouse

Don't beat yourself up - learn from it. Especially for a smaller rider, with a VFR it is more a matter of "when" rather than "if" the bike will adopt horizontal parking mode, so frame sliders are a good idea. Don't waste time fitting cheap crash mushrooms onto the fairing mounts - these are heavy bikes and when they go down the mushroom will probably make things worse by concentrating the load and ripping chunks out of the fairing. You need proper frame sliders which mount right through the frame.

Also make sure the mirror stem bolt (where it swings round by the screen) is not too tight - you want it just tight enough not to move when riding along but able to pivot around if the bike tips over, rather than snap right off...

If you can parking on the flat or facing slightly up slope should be fine on the side stand. Down slope can be a disaster.

 

It is only a matter of time until I decide to throw mine in the ground again, good thing you had the good sense to use grass to drop it on.

 

Dip on the Corbin :wink: :rofl:

 

Now that you have the scratches and blemishes out of the way you can actually enjoy riding the bike.

I know the feeling. I did the same thing. I was parked, pointed up hill, in a scenic turn out. I was with about 6 fellow riders to make the show complete. I started to roll but didn't give enough throttle. it coughed, died, rolled backward and stopped because it was in gear. I was off balance anyway and my boot slipped on some loose chat. Down I went in a slow motion roll. I ended up flat on my back, with the bike on my left foot. Totally embarrassing but no real damage. My faring lower was scratched a bit but nothing major. I plan on keeping and riding my bike so I figure it's going to get marked up in the process. It scared everyone else. It's like having Santa Claus take a tumble right before your eyes.

 

I think most of us have done something like that at some point. A couple years ago, I pulled into my garage and did everything like I always did, every day. Took a step away and my VFR crashes to the ground. The worst part is that at the time I had a roommate who rode a gixxer and my bike hit his on the way down. No damage to his bike but I had more damage to mine than I had in either my sideswipe OR my rearender. Both mirrors broke off and the windscreen broke off, breaking the tabs so I was forced to get a new windscreen. Thankfully that crazy Canuck Randy had his stock one and he sent it to me just for the cost of shipping. I got aftermarket mirrors that are just as good as stock. Point is, no matter how often you ride or how many like ya got under your belt, stoopid stuff happens sometimes... Don't beat yourself up about it.

 

Happened to me about 4 years ago getting on an Enfield, facing downhill, sidestand folded up I went down under the bike and ended up with a broken hip and the bloody thing wasn't even running

 

Wind blew mine over. Scuffed the right engine case and the bike will probably wear the scar forever.

 

They are made to be used right? I picked up my (new to me) VFR and it was pretty much blemish free. Rode it home and on the way down the rock road to my house I hit a washboard section that really hammered the bike. I pulled into the garage and the first thing I noticed was a 3 inch long stress crack that opened up in the right side of the tail pieced starting at the mounting screw hole. I was sick. I could spend $250 to get it mended and painted or I can just ride it. Like yours, mine will wear that scar forever.

 

My first bike was a Suzuki Bandit 600s. I backed it off the trailer, I washed & waxed it, I took pictures of it, I had a friend take a picture of me sitting on it. I took it for a ride, at the first stop sign I put my foot down on some loose gravel... And down we went:frusty: Up I got. Brushed myself off & said "well at least nobody saw me do it!" it was then that I realized the 30 or so people at the BBQ on the opposite side of the road were applauding! :redface::redface::biggrin:

The point is that we've all done it. Now that you've got a scratch on it, you can relax and enjoy the ride!:thumb:

 

Wow, well that one tops the cake. At least I didn't have an audience... This is such a friendly forum. So many responses to my stupidity, hahaha. But it is very reassuring knowing "everyone" does it. I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for frame mounted
crash bungs?