You Got Problems When Your Motorcycle Is Laying Down

There are a whole raft of ways you can find yourself next to a motorcycle laying on the ground, and most of them are just plain bad news. So what do you do about it?

One thing’s for sure, you don’t have to be an Olympic weightlifter to make it happen you just have to dig the words of the immortal Archimedes, to whit, “Give me a place to stand, and a lever long enough, and I will move the world.”

Powerful stuff, and you should take it to heart when faced with a downed motorcycle. It’s not about how much force is required to lift your 600-plus-pound machine, it’s about how the power you have available is applied.

We put together this list of possible calamities for your dining and dancing pleasure, and here’s hoping none of them ever befall you and your precious machine…

1. Putting your foot into a hole when stopping.
2. Putting your foot down on something slippery when stopping.
3. Locking the front wheel during enthusiastic braking.
4. Missing your driveway and sliding on the grass.
5. Not putting the kickstand down when getting off.
6.  Make a turn from a standstill in gravel or sand and applying a touch too much throttle.
7. Not putting a board under the kickstand on asphalt on a hot day.
8. Letting non-riders sit on your bike.
9. Forgetting the bike’s in gear when you jump down on the kickstarter.
10. Revving the engine, releasing clutch, and putting your feet on the pegs when the light turns green – but not noticing your bike’s in neutral.
11. Losing your balance when putting your bike on the centerstand.
12. Ignoring the sand that builds up in the spring along the side of the road
13. Booting down your kickstand and having it bounce back up instead of staying down.
14. Stepping off your bike while it’s running and forgetting that it’s in gear.
15. Having a passenger catch a foot on a saddlebag while getting on the bike before you.
16. Getting your bootlace caught on the gearshift while trying to kick down the stand
17. Pissed off for dropping your bike in the first place, you yank off the ground with a flourish, but flip it over on the other side.
18. Riding on wet grass with street tires
19. Kick stand slowly burys itself in hot asphalt while you sit inside drinking cool beer.
20. Kick stand slowly burys itself in soft ground as you walk away.
21. Backing your bike down a plank from the bed of a pickup truck. Words of advice? Once you start down, there’s no stopping.
22. Park facing downhill – and don’t leave the bike in gear.
23. Park with sidestand facing up hill only to discover that the kickstand is just a little too long.
24. Riding a short distances side-saddle – never recommended.
25. Reach down to pick up C-note off the ground.
26. Put ArmorAll on your tires to make them look sweet.

10 Steps for Picking Up a Downed Motorcycle

1. Hit the kill switch. Make sure the motor is off.

2. Turn the gas off using the petcock on a carburated bike if fuel is leaking.

3. Make sure the bike is in gear if you can get to it. If it is not in gear and you can’t access the shifter to put it in gear, the technique becomes more difficult because the bike could roll, but it can still be done. You’ll have to have find the balance point of the motorcycle between the two tires and leverage it as you lift.

4. Standing with your butt toward the seat, stoop down, and with your right hand grab the left grip.

5. When you grab the grip, pull it until it is as close to the tank as possible. With your left hand find something sturdy to grab hold of under the seat. Don’t grab the seat. It’s too flimsy to support the weight of your lift. Grabbing the bike by the frame is the best bet. The closer your left hand is to your body, the better.

6. Place your butt midway on the edge of the seat. This is crucial. The placement of your butt too high or too low on the seat will not give you the leverage angle. You are pushing the bike with your butt and upper legs. You will have to pull up with your arms a bit, but mostly you will be pushing the bike up with your legs.

7. You must have good traction under your feet or they will slip. If there is gravel under your feet, sweep it away with your boots. Same for grass.

8. Start pushing your butt against the seat using baby steps to force it upright. The hardest part will be the beginning. Once the bike starts to lift off the ground, you’ll gain momentum to help you execute the rest of the lift.

9. Once you have the bike up, carefully put the kickstand down and lower the bike to it. If you can’t get the kickstand with the heel of your boot, turn your body carefully toward the front of the bike and grab both grips, then put the bike on the kickstand or center stand.

10. The process is the same if the bike is on its right side. Your hands are reversed of course. It is easier to get it into gear. Remember to put the kickstand out first so that you can ease the bike onto it once it is upright.

Additional Motorcycle Insurance Coverage You Should Consider

 Whether you ride a sport bike or an American cruiser, your insurance needs can get complicated.

We’re here to help you find the right motorcycle insurance, whatever you ride…

Tips for buying your motorcycle insurance, coverage you need:

• Collision to pay for damage caused to your vehicle in an accident with another vehicle or any stationary object.
• Comprehensive to cover such things as fire, hail, wind, vandalism, hitting an animal, etc.
• Towing / Pickup
• Medical payment or personal injury protection to cover the medical bills resulting from an accident.
• Uninsured or underinsured motorist to protect us when the other driver is at-fault and does not have coverage or assets out of which your bills can be paid.