You left it in neutral!?!

I always park in gear and let the bike roll against the stop, then set it on the side stand, unless I'm going to put it up on the center stand. Even in the garage, as habit. I also carry a side stand plate and use it often in gravel or grass, and even on some asphalt. Arizona, like other warm climate areas, I have seen bikes on their side as the side stand auger into the soft hot asphalt!

 

AFATG I always park my car in gear so it won't roll. The sidestand doesn't work worth a hoot on it.

 

Neutral here, well, most of the time anyway. However, if a gradient concerns me, I park appropriately.

 

How did this jump over to cars and cramping your wheels? LMAO! Most every city (with grades) will ticket you for failing to do so. I know, I see cars in my neighborhood get ticketed on a daily basis by the parking guy.

Since you are talking cars, I was taught to drive one many, many, moons ago, and 1st gear was never taught as the parking gear (though it was stated to leave it in gear), the emphasis was on the use of the "parking brake" as the primary means of holding the vehicle in place. As someone else mentioned, the compression of the engine (and drivetrain) can only hold so much on a given grade.

I am more about using the gray matter between my ears to decide how to park my bike at each stop, and whether I leave it in gear or not. If the grade is too steep, I think it is a poor decision to park there in the first place...especially parking facing downhill. I think the fellow just made a couple of bad decisions, and hopefully he will learn from them.

 

Always in gear just like a cage

 

I recall 1 time we were hanging out around my friends VW bus. He had it in gear so it would not roll, had the key on for the radio.
Well, it started to move anyway and the engine fired! Downhill towards the water it started.
Good thing we were young and college age and he jumped in and hit the brakes.
Anyway, LOL .

 

For sure with a manual transmission car, I do park it in gear. Either first or reverse, depending. Parking brake always applied, even on level ground, in ALL cars and trucks I drive, every time, no matter the terrain. It really is funny that I have always done something so drastically different with cars.

 

Kinda makes you wonder why they don't have a parking brake on a motorcycle... They do on ATV's, but I guess ATV's don't have kickstand, and they usually have a cable actuated rear brake.

 

Parking brake on the DCT's.

 

I almost always park in neutral at home and usually park in neutral when out and about but if there's any sort of slope I'll park it in 1st and never pointed down hill.

 

Just where the hell would YOU find steeper grades for gawd's sake.

 

I always thought that it was reverse that was the go to gear to set when parking a standard trannied engine. Could be wrong. My mind is kinda full of holes of late.

I could never seem to find reverse on my VFR

 

Now that you mention it I remember 1st or reverse.

 

In a car with manual transmission it's 1st gear facing uphill and reverse facing downhill.

 

With our old cars and a "three on the tree", we would park in reverse since compression was usually low. And reverse is the lowest gear and thus, the hardest to turn the engine over against. And parking brakes rarely worked since everyone forgot to release them, and the brakes were for sh*t so you rarely noticed that the brake was still applied. Many things were very different 6 decades ago.

 

I have never thought of this! I just pull in slowly in first, kick the stand down and pull out the keys. To be honest I have never parked any bike in a downhill incline. I avoid any incline if possible, but if so in a uphill incline and back it up at an angle with the back tire to the curb in first.

I did forget once at 17 in my car to put the parking brake on and had it in first at a 7-11 and the mouth of Big Cottonwood canyon. Probably a 5-7% downhill grade. Went in for a Slurpee and came back out after 5mins and the car was gone. I thought someone had stole it. Nope It popped gears and missed the gas pumps and went across the busy road, not hitting anyone and was resting on a rock that stopped it from going off another drop off of about 60ft into the creek. Used the emergency brake every time, any incline or not ever since. Being old now I get more indicator sounds from my car that I forgot to release the brake!;-)

 

I always park in gear. Bikes and cars. The only car I habitually parked in neutral was a Nissan patrol which had electrical gremlins and a bad habit of starting itself up and driving off.

 

I always park facing up hill cos I'm a lazy SOB and don't like paddling backwards

 

This looks interesting to get both wheels off the ground.