Well, I did something pretty stupid yesterday..

[FloridaValkRyder]

My wife, Bonnie, and I took a little cruise around Lake Apopka and on into Mount Dora yesterday to go to this Village Market thing. It was cancelled due to a sail boat regatta that was going on..boring.. so we decided to go eat breakfast at this place we like in town. Now picture this, slight uphill approaching the stop sign, lined up to make a right hand turn, let out the clutch in first gear and stall it while leaning into the turn. I realize in horror, OK, not really horror, I mean we are going .00137 MPH, how bad could it be, right...that we are going over and there is no stopping it. Gravity and geometry are now in control. The bike makes a slow motion lean to the right and never stops until it is leaning on the front crash bar/highway peg. Wife bails off into the street, does a pretty nice roll and back onto her feet, I kind of fell/stepped off and there we stand..looking at the bike at a perfect 45 to the street. Now Bonnie is looking/glaring at me..asked what the #*%#* was that all about .  I said something like "OOPS" and "Sorry about that" and "Would you mind helping me lift it back on to the kickstand?" She did and it was just fine. No body hurt, bike not hurt, thank God for the front crash bar, highway peg and proper riding attire. So, what happened? I ride solo most of the time and have never stalled the bike before but I'm assuming I misjudged the angle of ascent and turn angle for the additional weight, not enough throttle and simply stalled it. I turned the bike off and back on to reset the tip over sensor and she fired right back up and off we went to eat.  We laughed at the situation at breakfast and she forgave me for dumping her into the street. Her gloves kept her from getting any scratches on her hands. Why am I telling y'all this story? No matter how much you ride (I have 35 years worth of experience, almost all of it on big, heavy bikes) you can get a little reminder that failure to evaluate the situation properly can put your bike on it's side and the unhappy wife into the street. No Harm-No Foul they say..but sure made me feel pretty stupid! Another lesson learned.

[saddlesore]

 Takes a big man to admit to making an error.  Thanks for the reminder that we still make mistakes.
 Glad you, your wife and bike are OK.

[John Schmidt]

Jeff, were there any onlookers? I was riding with a guy once that did exactly the same thing. When he rolled off and came up on his feet, he put both arms out sideways and yelled "TA DA." He then added "for my next trick, I'll get on it and ride away with my tail between my legs." All the people on the sidewalk applauded, no damage on his bike either...just his pride. Only problem was I had to show him how to get the bike upright by himself, he had never seen it done and was amazed at how strong I was. Told him it wasn't strength, it was technique. I then suggested I show him how to do that same start up on a hill that involved a turn.

If you're on an incline and going straight, it's easy. Hold with your foot brake as you twist the throttle and let out the clutch. But making a turn is a bit different. If I'm making a right turn on a hill and have to stop first, I'll pull to the far left side of the lane. That lessens the sharpness of the turn....makes it greater than 90 deg.  If you're making a left turn on a hill from a stop, keep to the far right of the lane for the same reason. Although left turns are not as sharp anyway, right turns can cause....well, you know! Glad it all turned out OK in the end. I assume you had to pay for breakfast.  

[Flrider]

Jeff
Glad both of you were ok and able to laugh about it afterwards.
Stuff happens sometimes but we learn from it, thanks for sharing.

[FloridaValkRyder]

Yeah Jack, I learned a lesson there..one I already knew unfortunately. I just didn't give it enough gas. I was lined up perfectly for the turn. Yes John, there were two people walking their dogs, we were in a residential area, and they asked if we were Ok. Fortunately I know how to back into the bike and lift it back up. Bonnie just went around and put the kickstand down for me. Thank goodness that's all the spectators there were though, embarrassing enough as it was.  And yes, breakfast was on me!! 

[Jess from VA]

I did nearly the same thing, years back.  Stopped, thought I had kicked for first, but had gone to neutral. The old 1/4 MPH rolling stop to a hard uphill right.  Leaned her over to turn, clutch out, gas on, NO POWER to the wheel.  Bike leaned over and pinned me between the bike and a 4 X 4 pressure treat stop sign pole (pretty lucky, sort of).  Struggled like a trapped bug for a minute, the bike gets pretty heavy leaned over and would not let me loose.  Got my leg down, pushed off/up, and rode off the pole with no scrapes.

Now for my next magical trick, I'll lean it over on a gas pump.   The bike is not dead, it's just resting.

[Grumpy]

I think we all have done it, if not it will happen. I dumped mine once at a campground out side of Daytona. Sand road, was doing fine till I had to turn, dropped it and my wife was tossed off. She was not a happy camper.

[Bert AKA,Valkaholic]

I Once Pulled Into A Gas Station On My Goldwing ,Put The Kickstand Down And There Was A Dip In The Pavement Where The Kickstand Was Supposed To Touch. I leaned It Over And Went To The Ground With The Bike Pinning My Left Leg Between The Bike And Pavement.I Was Trying To Kick And Scramble To Get Out Fron Under The Bike And After A Minute Or So I Got It Off Of Me. It Bruised My Leg Pretty Good But No Damage To The Bike. I Am Glad To Hear That You And Bonnie Didn't Get Injured During This Mishap. As You Know ,Things Will Happen  When You Least Expect It.

[_Sheffjs_]

I dont want to tell what I did   

[Jess from VA]

It Bruised My Leg Pretty Good But No Damage To The Bike.

Yes sir, it has always been my practice to pad the fall with my body as well.  Nobody want's their bike dinged up.   

I once laid the Harley over at the curb in front of my home, and the wife pitched off and ripped her tiny leather miniskirt.  She was hoppin' mad, and I said I was very sorry but could she please help lift the hot exhaust off my leg before it caught fire.  Course there wasn't a scratch on the bike that time either.

The seam in the skirt was easily repaired..... of course, that was well worth the cost. 

[larue]

glad it was not worse Jeff

[FloridaValkRyder]

Brought my wife in here and said  "See. I'm not the only one..." It's pretty funny now however.

[Thunderbolt]

I did that too Jeff.  A few years ago we were coming back from Daytona with a couple of other riders.  Stopped at the appropriate place and proceeded to do exactly as you did, stalled it while leaning/turning.  Iris tumbled off but luckily when she landed on the concrete she was wearing her helmet and just scratched the helmet. 
Another good one was when I pulled up to a gas pump with the whole ride group at the other pumps.  So I pulled up and you know how you sometimes need to turn the wheel a little to the left to balance?  You can't do that if the wheel is already against the concrete island.  So I asked them to quit laughing and help me pick it up.

[FloridaValkRyder]

I'm not feeling quite so bad about this now. I guess we all make a little mistake sometimes. Thanks for sharing your experiences my friends. Many years ago, I leaned my Goldwing into a gas pump too..no one saw that though! 

[reclaimerroger]

Ahhh the advantages of a trike!

[CaribouHunter]

Appreciate your story FloridaValkRider and will retain that in memory bank. New to the world of Valkyrie, and bought mine, an '03, a couple of months ago.  Riding almost every weekend. Have learned a lot from this Forum.  CaribouHunter

[James III]

Anything can occur at any time, sometimes things like this happen. You'll never forget it. You had taken the first steps already to protect your self's from these things....you had helmets on. Even at .001 mph they are heavy bikes and can throw your heads on the ground going over.
Glad you and your wife are unscathed. Just the mention and sharing of these incidents helps us all be aware. 

James

[Bighead]

Glad all is ok,and I have a DOH! Story of my own I was sitting on my Phatgurl  in my garage one evening after giving her a bubble bath  and was waxing the tank and had benn there for a bit and had her standing up off the stand. And evidently a garage gnome ran by and raised the stand while I wasn't looking and when I finished the buff of tank I just got off and over she went

[musclehead]

that's exactly how I dumped mine the first (and hopefully only) time. 

[F6MoRider]

Have done the same thing, almost.  Never had it happen with a passenger but have when I was alone.  I've been able to get the foot out there fast enough to catch her and almost pull my stomach muscles (back when I had them).  It's scary no doubt, glad you nor the two ladies were hurt.

Got a friend rides a HD roadslide.  We rode to DC last year and up to Alabama a month or so later.  He dropped it on both trips.  Both times, he was making a right turn and had to stop in the middle of it.  I tease him about it now and he has a good sense of humor...but I know he was embarrassed when it happened.  There were many witnesses.  Lol