OOPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday night , I had left the scoot out front by the sidewalk. It rained a bit and the sidestand sunk into the ground.
WELL it fell over and hit the mailbox.

It broke the fairing form the turnsignal to the instrument panel... DRATS!!!!!!!!!! and broke the wing off my GIVI windscreen....@$@#!%@^%^

I had just been thinking of making a bigger pad to bolt/weld onto the sidestand for just that reason.

Now 2 things to do.
fix the panel and make bigger pad.

Not a happy camper rightnow.

MaxB (harrumph)

That's a real pain - I hope you can repair the damage without too much difficulty.
I use a stand-pad if I'm uncertain about the ground.

You can weld a bigger foot to the side stand. Also I've added a half inch to the thickness of my foot to change the angle in which the bike leans.
However the best way to avoid this is to get in the habit of putting it on the center stand every time.

Dan

That's nasty. In retrospect, you are probably kicking yourself as well as swearing. I feel for you.

D'oh! =(

The good news I guess is that the damage is easily fixed. The bad news, it will cost a pretty penny.

Sorry to hear about your bike.

It is terrible and truly annoying when these things happen especially as parts are so very expensive but as long as there are no injuries etc then it is just one of those biking things that happen from time to time.

I recently dropped my motorcycle when it was parked in my garage and whilst moving it forward a touch to get it away from parked postion (LHS To wall on side stand - No centre stand) prior to my getting on from its LHS.

Have done this for years but in this instance the side stand must have dragged a little on the garage floor, lifted up and back a little without springing back down into position and so when I settled it back onto it's side stand (Whilst I was on itss RHS) the bike just dropped away from me like a stone and there was little I could do as it happened so quickly when gravity took over.

My heart sank and my first thought was to pick it back up as quickly as possible (Easier said than done) but the adrenalin kicked in and it was up in a flash and it was not until well after the event I noticed a partially damaged finger nail along with bruises & cuts to my leg which sustained whilst trying to prevent the bike from dropping & then picking it back up.

When it happened I was scared to look and see what the damage was but you have to just get on and look - Anyway the LH Mirror had broken off / the LH mirror extension was bent / the side stand kick down locator pin was bent / the gear lever bent in and under the sump / the LH bar end was scraped & the front left fairing mirror mounting flange was bent.

Otherwise there was no damage to tupperware and so it could have been a lot worse especially as petrol tank just missed the corner of a nearby brick wall and that would have been really expensive !!!.

Managed to fix everything up in a few hours - I just bent the side stand thingy and gear lever back into place / dismantled the front fairing and bent back all of the gubbins related to the LH mirror mounting on the tubular frame / Painted LH bar end / Only cost was a new LH mirror at £47.50 (Local dealer had one in stock) but having only just fitted two mirror extensions, the previous week, at a cost of £37.50 I was loathe to replace these as can only buy a pair rather than one.

I suppose it was my own fault for not being more careful in the first place !!

I went out this morning and took a good look at it.
I think I can fix the fairing crack with a little luck .
The wing on the givi is not found yet, It may be in the hedge somewhere, continuing to look.

I think I missed the sidewalk with the sidestand by a 1/2 inch. and in sunk due to the rain.

OH well not as !@#$@%%^$!#! as I was yesterday.

MaxB (who spends most of his winter fixing and farkling bikes and scoots)

When I bought some boots at Red Wing Shoes I told them I had a motorcycle (it's kinda true!) and they gave me a free kick plate.

Sorry MaxB for your collapsing 'Wing'!!!

I use a stand pad, an oval pad of very hard plastic, cheap as chips to buy and sits nicely in the compartments of the 'Wing' for easy access.

(Cheap as chips - [UK version] Somehow, 'cheap as French Fries' doesn't have the same ring).

French Fries are expensive when you buy them in quantities like I and most other folks around these parts do.

Buy a deep-fat fryer - cheap chips aplenty!
The Belgians have chips with everything.....accompanied by big dollops of mayonaise.

(cit)"the best way to avoid this is to get in the habit of putting it on the center stand every time".
But what to do if my SW is too heavy for me?

It is heavy but there is a technique for getting it on the centre-stand.
Stand beside it,with your body at 45 degress to it.
Put your right foot on the centre-stand lever, point your left foot to the front of the bike and take hold of the grab-rail with your right hand. Hold the handlebar with your left.
In one flowing motion, put your weight on the centre-stand and lift and pull on the grab-rail - you can pull the handlebar a bit, too.
You need to pull up-and-over.
The weight of the bike will help once you've got it moving.
I often deploy the side-stand; I make sure I don't let the bike fall away from me and if it does tip, it'll fall on to the side-stand, not the ground.
It needs practice but you'll do it.

One thing I've noticed is that it's much easier to get it up on the center stand if it's standing completely straight. If you're leaning at all it tries to ride up on one peg of the center stand and fights you like crazy.

I agree.
I should have added:

Push the centre-stand down and 'feel' that both feet are on the ground, then do the 'flowing movement'!

I'll try, but up to now I'm affraid of falling down my bike and damaging it... It's my first maxi and I'm still learning

MikeO wrote:

I agree.
I should have added:

Push the centre-stand down and 'feel' that both feet are on the ground, then do the 'flowing movement'!

I find it also helps make it feel more stable to put more of your weight on the foot holding the stand down (but not all since it helps to have a good stance in case things don't go the way you initially planned )

I understand your feelings. I once parked my Goldwing on the edge of a paved road while I 'visited nature' behind a tree. While zipping up I heard a crash. Since there was no one other than my bike and I and I hadn't crashed I feared the worst. Back around the tree and I saw my GW laying flat on it's side. Once I righted the bike, no easy task when it's laying all the way down to the mirror, I could see that the thin layer of pavement at the edge of the road had broken off and caused the bike to fall. Surprisingly other than some scratches on the left mirror's outer edge and a slight bend in my wind wing mounts there was no other damage. I guess the only thing one can say is, "stuff happens."
BTW - Most of the plastic on the SW is ABS. The best adhesive to repair the stuff is ABS cement, the gooey black stuff used to joint ABS drain pipe. Available very inexpensively in most hardware stores. Guaranteed to bond better than any epoxy type glue like JB Weld because it forms a chemical weld with the ABS substrate. The only caveat is to put on relatively thin layers of the stuff at a time. If you need to build up a thick application do it in thin coats and allow plenty of time for each coat to harden fully. Since this stuff does form a chemical weld an overly thick coat can soften up the whole area excessively and will take a very long time to fully harden.