Tip Overs

[ST.George]

Doggy's thread about left and right curve riding reminded me of recent tip-over incidents.

TO#1: First ride with wife on back of ST. Rode incident free on Grand Pacific Drive for a couple of hours and, three blocks from home, front wheel locked at stop sign and threw us off. Now only use rear brake for stops. Harley riders in house across the road came to our aid. Said thanks and took off. Embarrassment Quotient: 9/10.

TO#2: I was in a shopping centre car park the other week, parked in a bike only bay just inside the entrance. Reversing out I had to watch out for 2 lanes of entering cars so I was reversing sharply to my right. The bike leant over too far and went down on the right side where I rolled off. Picked the bike straight up and was on the wrong side to get back on again! Tried once and couldn't do it. Said "far canal" and slowly tippy-toed around the front of the ST while trying to stop it falling over again. Made it round, jumped on, started up and got out of there. There were people everywhere - incoming cars, car park staff, even a busy car wash business only metres away. However nobody seemed to be staring.
EQ: 9/10. 

TO#3: Went to a large council car park early Sunday morning to practice tight turns. Only use rear brake for slow maneourvering these days and also used extensive clutch slipping to control speed. All was going well with many slow turns of all varieties going well under complete control when I took a left-hander too sharp and down it went. No spectators at all. Straight back up and more practice.
EQ: 2/10. 

BTW: I am 5'8" and 95kg and have no trouble getting the ST up using the handlebars and bending low. Using the recommended method of sitting backwards would be a hassle for me. I guess us shorter stocky guys are a bit more suited to the conventional lifting method.

If anyone out there wants to share their tip-over experieces, I'd sure like to read them. Had a chat about this with Atoyot recently and he reckons that once an ST gets over more than 15 degrees at slow speed, it's gone. I agreed immediately. So let's hear 'em. Come on - don't be embarrassed!

[Whizz]

1) About three weeks after I got the monSTer I was coming out of work in the car park, hopped on, started up and had to do a tight 180 to get into the exit lane. The bike decided that I had no idea what I was doing and it didn't want me on it, so it laid down and spat me off. I jumped up, looked round to see if anyone has spotted the gaff but there was no-one there. Heaved the monSTer up by brute force, got on and got out of there quickly.

Embarrassment factor 0/10, there was no-one there!

2) Waiting for the crowd to drive past in the forecourt of a gas station going out on an RTE. Went to join Shiney and Gaz on a fairly steep uphill slope. Turn got too tight, bike tried to screw itself into the ground and I went rolling across the tarmac. I'd had recently hurt my back so I couldn't lift the monSTer (I was actually having trouble standing upright!), so Shiney had to lift it up for me! What a nice chap!!!

Embarrassment Factor 10/10, having to ask another OzSTOC rider to lift your bike up for you is just TOOOOO much!!

I totally agree with the figure of about 15 degrees, anything over that and she's having a little nap on her side!

[Tipsy]

  py

You lot are going have to stop this as "TIPSY" is taken

BTW: I am 5'8" and 95kg and have no trouble getting the ST up using the handlebars and bending low. Using the recommended method of sitting backwards would be a hassle for me. I guess us shorter stocky guys are a bit more suited to the conventional lifting method.
Oh and a little tip for turning slow sharp corners is to lean the opposite side to alter the centre of gravity.

St G I am only 172 cm as I have lost 1 cm and just about the same around with stuffed knees and I use the back to the bike method and find it the easiest way to pick up the bike....

Now lets see, Oh yea
1  pub meeting Diesel and co,
2  front drive way - lack of surface for feet planting
3  back yard- they are not designed for slippery grass
4  car park -at shopping centre.
5  camp site - at Blackheath at 1st rally.
6  as yet to come 

Tipsy

[doggy & Nola]

before i had st i had cbr1000  my x mate was getting a hours built  near completion
i went over  just dirt driveway & soft pull-up on to driveway seen a plank 2x4 so put side stand on it .
ground was uneven other end stood up got off cbr as i was taking my jacket off he can up to me .
with one foot he stepped on yep you got it  with that my hands where behind my back jacket half  off .
well on the right side of cbr was a tray truck with a hyd lift on it back left Conner and a support leg .
which softened the landing. from head light up smashed   

[Lionel]

Years ago, on the old OZSTOC site I saw a thread which advertised a weekend ride to the Bunya Mountains from Brisbane. It was to be my first get together with OZSTOC riders.
I rode my ST1100P from Canberra while Ross and Julie rode from Newcastle to participate.
At the restaurant where we stayed there was a grassy embankment that dropped down from the road.  I rode down the embankment and parked without any problems. However, riding back up the embankment and turning to the right I was travelling slowly and on too much of a lean – over I went with plenty of spectators to witness.
I remember being totally surprised as I didn’t know then why the engine cut out.
Fortunately, there were plenty of people to help me lift the bike.
The only damage was to my pride.
From memory Barry Lane organised the ride and others I remember include Laurie Green and a BMW ring-in pair from the Gold Coast.

[Biggles]

1.  Had just paid for and done paperwork for my first ST, an ex-police 1100.  Rode out of the bike yard and stopped to give way to road traffic.  Put my foot down and was straddling the gutter, so no foot landing and over she went.  Seller came out to help stand it up and neither of us knew how to restart it after the tip-over cut-off activated.  Stumbled upon the fix.  More annoyed than embarrassed since the bike was "new".

2.  Doing a full lock turn on my 2004 blue 1300 in a shopping centre carpark and passed the dreaded 15^o.  Had to get a trolley boy to help lift her.

3.  Doing a tight U turn, had it in 2nd gear and didn't slip the clutch.  Engine stalled and she dropped like a rock.  Half a dozen people at a bus stop watched me struggle before a good Samaritan came to help.  Pretty embarrassing.   

4.  Still the blue ST.  Another U turn on a wet road.  Put the right foot down and slipped.   Gravity won again.  Two guys in a panel van were on the spot immediately to pick her up.

5.  Current red 1300.  Rolled back into a very steep kerb.  Was anxious about what the lean angle was going to be like.  Was gradually leaning her to the left waiting for the touchdown when I realised too late I hadn't put the side stand down!  Yep.  Gravity again.  It was on a very busy road, and the good Samaritans this time were a couple of Council workers in a ten tonne tipper who pulled up immediately, turned on the hazard lights blocking the lane and picked the bike up almost before I'd extricated myself.

So it looks like you've got competition, Tipsy.   

[Gadget]

1. Was at approx 85-90 km/h down the Gateway at Deagon deviation flyover, in very wet conditions exactly 13 days after buying ST 1300.  Had just finished overtaking trucks, buses, vans and cars all doing about 65 km/h.  I picked the bike and the bits that had decided to part company up, stuffed them into the pannier, check that the bike would start (reluctantly but it did), checked myself (bruised, slight graze and highly embarrassed), thanked the guy from the van who stopped to make sure I was alright and rode back home to sulk and lick my wounds.  Insurance coughed up for the $9,500 insurance bill and the bike is as good as new after a loooong delay for parts.  E.Q. 12/10. 

2. This one was in the driveway at home, just out in front of the garage on the way to work one morning.  So as not to disturb my son who was sleeping in, I reversed the out to the left, and warmed it up.  Put on the jacket and gloves and hopped on the do a sharp right hander up the slight incline of the driveway to discover that my wife had parked the spare car much closer to the garage than normal halving my turning distance which of course was insufficient.  Of course my instinctive reaction was to throttle off immediately, but I forgot to pull in the clutch.  Instant stall in the middle of a tight right-hand turn and down the bike went, wheels pointing up-hill.  So extra effort was required to get the bike back up on its wheels. The first attempt was unsuccessful as I had left the steering unlocked and the handles bars weren't taking any of the weight. I got it to its wheels twice because on the first go I'd forgot to put the side stand down before standing it up, and was left holding up the bike with no where to go.  )  Needless to say I was looking pretty    )  by the time I finished.  E.Q. 0.25/10.  I don't think any of the neighbours saw it. :)

I've since read about lifting with the back to the bike and think that would have been my best solution.

An interesting side note to this was in both cases, within two days of each event I was hospitalised with Kidney stones.  So hopefully there won't ever be a next time, but if there is, I'm going for the back to bike seat lift method!!

 

[Whizz]

Gary, dare one ask how you managed to drop the thing at 85-90 km/h and still walk afterwards?????? 

[Gadget]

Gary, dare one ask how you managed to drop the thing at 85-90 km/h and still walk afterwards?????? 

One may dare ask!   

Luckily I had just finished cornering and was changing from the left lane to the right lane when the rear Shinko Tyre let go and the back of the bike started sliding sideways to the left. (oil, diesel, white line?? don't know)  After a certain amount of slide and lean to the right, pointing the front wheel into the skid, the back wheel gripped and the bike stood up and as soon as that started I let go with arms and legs!!! and somehow between then and a second later I was sliding down the left lane on my belly with my arms out in front of me.  Then I remembered I had overtaken trucks and a bus, flipped onto my back, checked between my feet, and saw they were stopping, so flipped again onto my belly, and waited until I was almost stopped and rolled off to the left of the road into the safety lane and saw the bike stop on the centre line.

I think I may have cracked a rib on my Glasses case I was carrying in my top pocket, (don't do that any more) as I had a big bruise there and was sore there and around at the spine.  Two bruised and mildly graised knees and a severely bruised ego later wondering what had possessed me to buy this bucking beast, I was back on the bike head for home via the roundabout at Boondal.  (Later I found the Shinko was a hard compound tyre renowned for letting go in the wet and the front tyre was a Gold-wing sized tyre not intended for the ST 1300A which adversely effects the steering geometry.) 

After reading some of these tip-overs I think maybe some of us should look at these:

http://www.colinappleyard.com/motorcycles/used/goldwings-and-trikes/honda-gl-2005-29747497   

*edit  £23,999 = AU$36,138.25  I'm assuming that is for the complete modified bike going by the description.

Gary
 

[Whizz]

Ah, I see it all now, and understand why you managed to have a fun slide down the road, must have looked quite comical with you rolling over and looking around at passing motorists. Really glad that you weren't seriously hurt! and that you stuck with the ST regardless.

That thing you found in the UK was horrendously expensive, and then you'd have to get it here...a bit a long ride out I think!!    

[STeveo]

Thats what I want to do to my 1100 when I can no longer ride with two wheels.

 

[Biggles]

It's a beautiful looking mod, but I'd expect it to cost a motza, and require a pretty skilled converter.
It's a Spyder on steroids.