| Author | Message | ||
     Xbolt12 |
2 years and about 19000 miles and a trackday and my xb12r had never been dropped. So today I'm riding with my manager (from work) and we head down Mount Palomar's infamous South Grade. Half way down we stop to call a friend at the turnout and he offers me a try on his FJR1300. I didn't really want to, but what the heck. So I tell him to turn around at the bottom of the mountain and we'll switch back (because I never park my bike facing down on a slope-duh). So we get to the bottom and he pulls over with the front of the bike in rough asphalt and gravel with the front pointing downhill which I didn't like, but being the nice guy I was most concerned about his FJR not falling off the stand. So I start over to my bike and over she goes. My manager rushes to pick it up and I stop him saying it's already down and I don't want to scratch it further or drop it again, so we gently pick it up. So the left peg broke off (yep those stock pegs are scary weak), clutch lever bent, shifter bent, front turn signal destroyed, bent left handle bar, gouged bar end, Gouged left mirror. Amazingly, no body work scratches or damage and no frame dings. Still it made me sick looking over the bike and waiting for him to say he would pay for everything. I finally said I hoped he was going to help and he said he would whatever that means. Later he hands me forty bucks as I head home with my left foot on the passenger peg. Anyway luckily Buell has reasonable prices on parts. The total is about $90 without the footpegs (I was going to put the Firebolt pegs back on anyway) and I straightened the shifter (must be forged, it showed no sign of weakening), so I'll just put new rubber on the shifter, new bushings and bolt (it was bent), new bar, new mirror, new turn signal, new bar end, and new grips, and except for the slight scratch on the primary case from the shifter, it will be back to original. Sure hope he doesn't balk at paying the rest or that will probably be the last straw at my work.... Moral of the story is don't let anyone ride your bike. | ||
| Luvthemtorts |
Man that sucks! My family and friends don't ask to ride mine. They do however make fun of me for spending four hours at a time cleaning it and detailing with toothbrushes and Q-tips. I guess they figure if I'm that freaky about keeping it clean I would probably have a stroke if they actually scratched it. | ||
| Buell_892 |
Thats rough man.. sorry to hear that... glad to hear it was fairly cheap to fix! | ||
| Buelltroll |
I'd be asking for a raise too. The ONLY way someone other than me rides my bike is if there bike is of equal OR GREATER value and I tell em straight up u break it we trading n its not a joke at all | ||
| Blake |
Moral of the story for me would be that the guy made a simple mistake like any number of simple mistakes I've made in life and the damn bike is just a thing. People matter a heck of a lot more than stuff. In fact stuff don't even register on my important scale. Don't sweat the small stuff. He sure as heck didn't do it on purpose. Be a friend, not a lover of stuff. | ||
| Aldaytona |
That's correct, one of the best statements I ever heard was "never cry over anything that can't cry over you", sorta puts everything back in perspective. | ||
| Bikertrash05 |
When I got my V-Rod I let my foreman take it for a ride, only because it was stock and he used to race Gixxers at Road America. A year later, after 2 years of no bike (due to a messy divorce), he made me take his "new" '96 Honda CBR900RR for a ride. It was that day I fell in love with sportbikes. That is the only time that I let anyone, other then my dad, ride my bike. I did let my brother-in-law ride my ATV, which resulted in a bent steering stem and his hip hurting, so from now on, no one rides any of my toys. | ||
| Peanut_man |
Yeah, when I first got my XB12S, I rode it to my friend's place to show it off. He insisted on riding it, and he said he have ridden motorcycle before. Being naive, I said "sure" and tell him to feel the clutch and stuff just to get used to it first. He came around the block (never once he shifted gear) about to stop and I can see he has no clue about the clutch as he's coming to a stop and his left hand is completely off the lever! I yelled "clutch! clutch!"... he still got no clue. Bike stalled, jerked to a stop and fell on the left side. He tried to "catch it", but 400+lb? no way. Broke the shifter and scratched the mirror back a bit. He paid of replacements, of course. Turned out his motorcycle skill was limited to "scooters" only! He had no clue he have to shift or worked the clutch on this thing!  | ||
| Reepicheep |
I watched a close friend drop my Cyclone when I let him try it. I was glad he was OK, and sorry he felt so bad. No significant damage to the M2, not that it would have mattered. I hope to get him to try again with the 9sx, I don't want him to be afraid of bikes. | ||
| Nutsosane |
When my Lightning was new a friend asked if he could ride it. Knowing he had enough money to replace it should anything happen I then gave him the biker quiz. Question #1- do you tend to use more front brake or rear brake when you ride? Answer-I'm afraid of the front brake man it might flip me right over! No ride for you buddy! You can sit on it if you like though. NUTS | ||
| Snackbar64 |
I think that we often let people ride our bikes, or wish that they could ride our bikes because we want to share the same joy and experience. Being on such high emotional satisfaction, we never fathem that something so catastrophic could end it all. Our love for the Buell overpowers us into a state of kindness unlike any other. My unkind secular thought however from listening to your story makes me wish that you had an exact voodoo doll replica of his bike so you could break off the exact parts  piece by piece from your own living room. | ||
| Blake |
Rarely does anyone without a motorcycle class designation on their driver's license ride my bike. It's more to protect them than the bike. Peanut_man, That is a funny story. I bet you got a lot of mileage out of that kidding your friend. I know I would have... "Hey Scooter-boy!" LOL. | ||
| Cataract2 |
I only allow family to ride my bike with MY permission. Outside of my family anyone can only sit on it with MY permission. | ||
| Rageonthedl |
Yeah i let people ride my bike if i know them, but i have 2 rules... 1. you break anything you pay for it, or if you total it you pay cuz im not gonna claim it on my insurance. 2. if you do bust ANYTHING i keep and ride your bike till mine is fixed. but also the same goes for them if i bust anything they keep mine till i get theirs fixed. | ||
| Hkwan |
"That's correct, one of the best statements I ever heard was "never cry over anything that can't cry over you", sorta puts everything back in perspective." That's pretty good to remember. It applies to most situations. I believe the issue here isn't weighting between a "thing" and the people. It is more the headache (and maybe financial issue as well) that comes after someone else dropping the bike. You can just say "oh well", crap happens and move on, but you have got to take time out and deal with the damage that the "friend" has caused which you can avoid if the "friend" knows not to ask for riding the bike and not put you in a difficult situation in the first place. | ||
| Buelltroll |
Me n my neighbor were drunk in the garage one night and he dropped my baby on her side after getting off n not putting the kickstand down. wasn't any damage other than a scratched barend, but he felt so bad he said " go ahead kick me in the nuts" I did n felt better after doing so. | ||
| Blake |
There's actually a lot of wisdom in that story.  | ||
| Peanut_man |
Blake, Sure did got plenty of mileage. He felt so bad he treated me way nicer than before. If I kept my count correct I got 2 free lunches and a free dinner so far... oh... and a couple of rides. Haha... | ||
| Buellin_ri |
To bad your not his manager. You could just take the damages out of his pay then fire his a$$.  | ||
| Bigdaddy |
I've learned that if you keep one long enough that it's going to go over -- fact of motorcycle ownership. I rode a brand new Fatboy home in December of 2000 and parked it in front of my barn. My wife runs out and jumps on it (she can ride) and and says "cool, I like it and it fits." She promptly dumped it on the right side and banged her head pretty good. She felt terrible (the bike had 24 miles on it at the time) and I was only worried about her head. G2 | ||
| Cruisin |
I used to have a nice red S2 - nicely modified, ran perfect. I had a friend who's been riding for 8 years (6 years longer than I had at the time) take it for a spin. A minute later his wife got a phone call...yup, the boys went down. I hopped in the truck with his wife and went up the road to where they crashed (about 1/4 mile - I think that's record time to dump a bike). He was going through the corner at a pretty good clip and used the front brake..went wide and into a ditch. He rolled off and the bike got caught in a metal culvert and flipped about four feet in the air. $7200 in damage...and that was without starting the motor to see if anything had happened. My first question? "Are you okay?" He was...just a few scratches from tumbling. He paid the deductible on my policy. He and his wife couldn't believe how calm I was since he just trashed my bike. "It's only a bike..." I have become a little pickier about letting others ride my bike. Typically it needs to be somebody familiar with sportbikes so they can understand a strong front brake and sensitive handling characteristics...and they need to have a motorcycle endorsement. | ||
| Perry |
I agree - nobody without a motorcycle license AND experience on a motorcycle, period - for their protection, not mine. Second, nobody who can't afford to fix it - for their protection, not mine. I've swapped bikes on a ride twice - both times were people I know and trust, and could afford to fix things. And, they clearly had respect for the bike, and asked me if there was anything special they should know first rather than having an "oh yeah, I know all about riding" kind of attitude. | ||
| Kootenay |
My brother-in-law has a saying, if you're borrowing anything of his--"Ride it like you own it, because if you wreck it, you will." Still, as far as this story goes, it was an accident, and no real harm done. He should have offered immediately to pay for everything, though... I parked my Bolt once on a slight slope, on gravel, and running, while I got off to adjust something...I was right beside it when it rocked off the stand, and although I caught it it still went down. Not a thing damaged, though (except my pride--but I don't think anyone saw!). | ||
| Msgdld |
Great Stories, The day after I finished a major redo on my old shovel, I had a guy at church want to ride it in the parking lot. He assured me he knew how to ride. 50 feet later he ran it into the back of an Oldsmobile. His comment was "Gee, I guess a Honda 350 20 years ago isn't the same." NO kidding. He did pay the deductible, but not the increased insurance rate for the next few years. Ah well. | ||
| Capndoug |
My girlfriend recently started riding. She has a healthy respect for motorcycles and the dangers cagers pose to any unenclosed object on the road, bikers, cyclists and peds. Even before she had gone for a license she bought a V-star which I had to bring home for her. So she got her permit helmet and a leather jacket from a friend, and wanted to take my bike for practice. Actually I thought this was a good idea, a 700 Virago, less power than the Vstar, better handling and lighter. She did good going around the area a couple miles then stopped back near the house. The bike is shut off and she's straddling it and we are talking, then she takes her hands off the bars.(Why do women need to talk with their hands?) The bars twist, and the bike is in neutral on just a little slope, so it move ever so slightly and the front wheel goes sideways on her. I have to just watch as she pitches over and rolls, and the bike is laying on the ground. She learned several valuable lessons in that incident. Fortunately there was no breakage, and any scratches could not be discerned from others created during the Bumble Bee Incident. She took the MSF course a couple weeks later, and is now riding her VStar. I went and got an S3T. She only wants to ride on the back of Floppy. | ||
| Xbolt12 |
Interesting stories. I guess what really bothered me is that he didn't offer on his own to pay. It's not the money, but rather the principal. If he had offered it's very likely I would have said "don't worry about it" and covered it myself. Since he didn't, now I expect him to pay... Of course the important thing is no-one was hurt on that ride. I feel better now after fixing everything and getting a great ride at PIR (Palomar International Raceway  . Seems like I'm faster now that the bike is now longer a virgin-hah, hah! xbolt12 | ||
| Xbolt12 |
...no longer a virgin I meant to say... |
