Laid Her down

[Fireman973]

So took the Valk to work yesterday morning and then came home 24hours later. We have had an unusual wet spring here in North Texas. I knew the backyard was soft but as I tried to back her into the lean to shed I knew it wasn't going to happen. Change of plan was to ride her to the concrete back porch. But as I circled in the yard I ran across the spot of the tree we removed three years ago. The rear tire began to sink as I was fully turned to the left. We  then began to slowly start to fall over. My left leg was in no shape to stop the decent. The fact that the ground was so soft and being able to at least slow the fall helped a lot. I'm glad to say at 61 years young I was able to get her back up and thankfully no damage done. But we will wait for the ground to get a little more solid before taking her off the back porch !!

[..]

Phew!

[Jess from VA]

If I have to fall off, I want to do it slowly, on soft ground.  Every time.  

I've gone over before, and held it sometimes, and other times decided going over was better than what was going to happen to my leg/back/body.  It's always one of those quick decisions.

After having a foot/leg slide out on pea gravel, and doing a 900lb-bike-assisted splits, I decided sometimes it's better the damn thing just go over, and jump clear.  I walked funny for weeks after that one.

[Valkorado]

I almost laid Ruby down today with my lady on back.  O mph and my right foot slipped on the gravel.  Hate that chit!  Kept her up,  but was puckering and fighting the forces of gravity hard.   Not the first time.   It seems the closest I've come to dropping a Valk is when I'm  prepping for takeoff and a foot starts sliding in gravel or sand.

Maybe I'll invest in some cleats! 

[Jess from VA]

Many years ago, doing the tightest Uturn possible (on a super narrow street), I still rubbed the curb and went over.  I stayed with the bike, but the wife was flung like a rag doll (onto grass).  She was really pissed off (though unhurt).  I asked for some help lifting the bike.  She threw a rock at me.  It was OK,  the rock was small, and her aim was poor. 

[Bighead]

Laid her down?  Yeah in the yard. Not much of a lay down. Glad
All is ok. No damage? I dont think I would have posted this. But that is just me.

[Tfrank59]

I almost laid Ruby down today with my lady on back.  O mph and my right foot slipped on the gravel.  Hate that chit!  Kept her up,  but was puckering and fighting the forces of gravity hard.   Not the first time.   It seems the closest I've come to dropping a Valk is when I'm  prepping for takeoff and a foot starts sliding in gravel or sand.

Maybe I'll invest in some cleats!  

Similar to an experience I had where I came up to a stop light and put my foot down in yes a patch of oil , my foot slipped right out there and the bike was all but over but I managed to catch a patch of dry asphalt just in time.  now I try to be more careful about what I step in if you know what I mean

[..]

Trinidad CO. Some of the streets are brick/ cobblestone. The road dept decided to re fill the cracks with a sad / grit mix.

BUT the road dept DIDN'T bother to clean off what didn't get forced into the cracks leaving a thin layer of barely visible " ball bearings" for the unwary left foot.

Thanks for the adrenaline rush.

[zzed28]

Its fun to read all youz minor lay downs, even though its scary at the time,  its still fun. Its a good learning experience to be able to see what others have gotten into minor mishaps so the rest of us can avoid doing that.    Ive had one just last year, was trying to make a U turn in a two lane.  I tried a technique supposedly taught me in advanced  riding class.   That technique is to keep minor power on to load the suspension up, brake and make the u turn. hahahaha,,,I was making a nice tight turn, when something happened and I lost my balance at three or so mph.  I think my mistake may have been to allow too little throttle, and have too much brake on, because forward progress , just stopped.    My Valk  just sat down at a 45 degree angle, and rested rather firmly on the crash bar, that was as far as it would go, it just sat there.   Me with my weak heart, couldnt lift that thing to get going but fortunately some young guy came along and asked to help. Thankfully all went well and I was going again in five minutes.   No injury except to my pride.

[Chrisj CMA]

Thats why I park in the Family room.  The shop (where my first wife wanted the bike) is out back, around the house on wet soft grass , Nope not happening.  She lives inside with us.  Happy happy happy

[Fireman973]

Laid her down?  Yeah in the yard. Not much of a lay down. Glad
All is ok. No damage? I dont think I would have posted this. But that is just me.

My bad I didn't realize it was a contest.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Laid her down?  Yeah in the yard. Not much of a lay down. Glad
All is ok. No damage? I dont think I would have posted this. But that is just me.

My bad I didn't realize it was a contest.

It was a good post. Info is always appreciated by most. Glad you weren't hurt. 

[Fireman973]

Laid her down?  Yeah in the yard. Not much of a lay down. Glad
All is ok. No damage? I dont think I would have posted this. But that is just me.

My bad I didn't realize it was a contest.

It was a good post. Info is always appreciated by most. Glad you weren't hurt. 

Thanks Meathead I'm always willing to learn from others especially if it saves me money, time or physical pain !!

[hueco]

 Fireman973. Good post. As you stated in your original post. It was more of a slow fall over than a lay down. Good that you and your bike are ok. Sounds like you could have hurt yourself more by lifting that heavy bitch up than by "laying it down".

[Grandpot]

Ya, these beautiful bikes of ours really suck as dirt bikes.

[rug_burn]

  That's actually more like 'you dropped it', something I've done with mine, in the garage, etc., more than once (okay, more than twice)

[Visseroth]

Glad it was a nice soft let down!

I park mine in my garage / office / man cave. She stays dry and gets TLC as needed without needing to leave the house.

I used my garage as a temp bed room for a while due to having the father-in-law living with us, so at that time I parked her in my office / bedroom / garage, lol. It stays plenty warm in here with the servers running.

Yep, computer motorcycle nerd here. A friend calls me the local mercenary nerd. I'm not sure if it's a compliment or not but I find it amusing.

I did once drop her on a trailer when trying to unload. The trailer was tilted slightly back and when my son let the straps loose I forgot to hold the brake. I did everything I could to hold it up but it was slowly and gently let down. That incident helped me realize how heavy these bikes are when they start going down!
It went down because one strap was still attached while the other was let loose and the bike rolled backwards and was pulled onto it's side as I fought to try and hold it up.

[Hook#3287]

I'm not going to say whether I've done that or not cause I don't want to jinx myself, but a fellow rider did the slow speed tip on his tourer while turning around in the road.

The beauty thing is, the tourer and I/s have the lower bag guard that, if on solid surface and low speed, will hold the bike upright.

Funny to see such a heavy bike just sitting there leaning.

[Fireman973]

Ya, these beautiful bikes of ours really suck as dirt bikes.

LOL for sure !!

[Bighead]

Laid her down?  Yeah in the yard. Not much of a lay down. Glad
All is ok. No damage? I dont think I would have posted this. But that is just me.

My bad I didn't realize it was a contest.

Didnt state it was a contest did I? Nope nowhere to be seen all I was stating is that you more or less dropped it and that if it were me I would have not posted this if it were me. And BTW way I DID say glad all was good. Dont ride the Dragon on grass from now on.

[Fireman973]

Laid her down?  Yeah in the yard. Not much of a lay down. Glad
All is ok. No damage? I dont think I would have posted this. But that is just me.

My bad I didn't realize it was a contest.

Didnt state it was a contest did I? Nope nowhere to be seen all I was stating is that you more or less dropped it and that if it were me I would have not posted this if it were me. And BTW way I DID say glad all was good. Dont ride the Dragon on grass from now on.

I appreciate the reply I joined the forum to talk Valk not to decide whether someone's post are relevant. If a post seems out of place or does not apply to me I just move along. No hard feelings. I feel that everyone has something to contribute it may just not apply to everyone's situation at the time. If a topic is neither relevant or interesting I find they usually find their way to the bottom of the list fairly quickly. Again no hard feelings and ride safe !

[rug_burn]

    I mean he's right:   'laying it down'  is more like going into a turn too hot, you know you can't make, you lay it over and take you punishment,  sliding  into whatever is on the outside of the turn, knowing you f'd up.   Typically the front end goes out or loses traction and you fall over, 
   That's laying it down.

[The emperor has no clothes]

    I mean he's right:   'laying it down'  is more like going into a turn too hot, you know you can't make, you lay it over and take you punishment,  sliding  into whatever is on the outside of the turn, knowing you f'd up.   Typically the front end goes out or loses traction and you fall over, 
   That's laying it down.

You are correct. The OP was very deceptive in his title. He should titled it "I set her down in my soggy, wet yard. And nobody or nothing was hurt" 

Geez, guys. He told a simple story in order to remind others to avoid the same situation. It almost seems some are disappointed that he's not in the hospital and his bike at Pinwall awaiting destruction.

[Fireman973]

    I mean he's right:   'laying it down'  is more like going into a turn too hot, you know you can't make, you lay it over and take you punishment,  sliding  into whatever is on the outside of the turn, knowing you f'd up.   Typically the front end goes out or loses traction and you fall over, 
   That's laying it down.

You are correct. The OP was very deceptive in his title. He should titled it "I set her down in my soggy, wet yard. And nobody or nothing was hurt" 

Geez, guys. He told a simple story in order to remind others to avoid the same situation. It almost seems some are disappointed that he's not in the hospital and his bike at Pinwall awaiting destruction.

Thanks again Meathead you get where I was going.

[msb]

Thats why I park in the Family room.  The shop (where my first wife wanted the bike) is out back, around the house on wet soft grass , Nope not happening.  She lives inside with us.  Happy happy happy

Ya, right... we all know that's not the real reason your bike lives inside the house. You just can't get bear the thought of not being able to wipe that bit of dust or smudge of road grime off her 24/7
ps... if I didn't have a heated garage easily accessible from the house, I would probably drive the Mrs crazy and figure out a way to do the same and keep her inside

Fireman973... I too see no issue with this post... any discussion related to our bikes is good for me. Your post title did lead me to expect a story about laying her down out on the open road though, however I'm happy for you that it was nothing more than what you described...

[Fireman973]

Thats why I park in the Family room.  The shop (where my first wife wanted the bike) is out back, around the house on wet soft grass , Nope not happening.  She lives inside with us.  Happy happy happy

Ya, right... we all know that's not the real reason your bike lives inside the house. You just can't get bear the thought of not being able to wipe that bit of dust or smudge of road grime off her 24/7
ps... if I didn't have a heated garage easily accessible from the house, I would probably drive the Mrs crazy and figure out a way to do the same and keep her inside

Fireman973... I too see no issue with this post... any discussion related to our bikes is good for me. Your post title did lead me to expect a story about laying her down out on the open road though, however I'm happy for you that it was nothing more than what you described...

Again thanks to everyone who has read and replied. I'm pretty envious of your storage setup MSB !I'm on my second wife and don't have that much pull lol.
I suppose it's just me but I truly get that sick if the bike is not upright or on the kickstand. Heck I could drop her in a pillow factory and still get that sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach 

[Fazer]

Fireman--I've done it too--twice.  My highway peg catches it before it even hits the bag guards.  I also did  a "lay down" trying to pass a car on the right that I had impatiently been following.  I was in a  concrete curb/culvert that had a little water and moss in it and gunned it a little to get around this car.  Wheel spun and the bike slipped out from under me like I was on ice.  Again the highway peg held it up and no damage anywhere.  Lucky.  Totally my fault.  I totally know better.  Had to have a couple of guys mowing help me stand it up.  Embarrassed.

[Fireman973]

Fireman--I've done it too--twice.  My highway peg catches it before it even hits the bag guards.  I also did  a "lay down" trying to pass a car on the right that I had impatiently been following.  I was in a  concrete curb/culvert that had a little water and moss in it and gunned it a little to get around this car.  Wheel spun and the bike slipped out from under me like I was on ice.  Again the highway peg held it up and no damage anywhere.  Lucky.  Totally my fault.  I totally know better.  Had to have a couple of guys mowing help me stand it up.  Embarrassed.

Bag guards ? ...hmmm sounds like the perfect "get your own Father's Day gift".