How to pick it up of the ground!

I had the misfortune of tripping over backwards while wheeling my bike out of the shed the other nite. Ended up on my back on the ground with the bike on top of my. NOT a happy camper!! After i crawled out from under it i then had to pick it up. Facing the side, left hand on the handlebar and right hand under the tank, i cursed and groaned and stood it back up. I now have a few bruises (including ego) and a sore back. (and a split fairing F*!K!)

Talking with a friend what i should have done was turn around, back to the bike, right hand on the handle bar and left under the tank (or where ever) bend the knees (which is easy now cos there facing away from the bike) STRAIGHT back, and lift with your legs. Makes sense really. A couple of more Scotch & Cokes and i'm sure the pain will go away.

 

There's a video out that I watched when I was first learning to ride that shows how to pick up a fallen bike like your friend describes. I've used this method, myself, on a few occasions oops and can attest to its effectiveness. One thing to remember is that if the bike has fallen on its right-side to put the kickstand down first before lifting it or else you'll have a hard time trying to turn around while steadying the bike. It's just easier to let the bike settle on the kickstand. Your friend is right. Grab the handlebar with one hand and the sissybar with the other. It's rather surprising how easy it is to lift one of these bikes. If memory serves, I believe the name of the video was something like Ride Like a Pro IV. It was done by an (ex?) California motorcycle cop, I think.

(EDIT: I went to YouTube and found a couple of videos that show how to do this technique...)

[flash=425,355]http://www.youtube.com/v/1sP3cqKbOEs.swf[/flash]
Shorter Version

[flash=425,355]http://www.youtube.com/v/pPjYweKeiLk.swf[/flash]
Longer Version​

 

Great Videos,
You never know when you'll have something happen. It's easy and you'll save your back.
Cheers, Mac

 

A mate of mine in the UK, into body building and weight lifting, dropped his Harley, bloody great thing it is. Crash bar stopped it going all the way to the ground but the pillock still had to call a friend to help get the thing back up. Did we all take the mickey, no would we.....

Mick Faighaigh.

 

OMG this thread rules! lol
I had a honda Hurricane (CBR1000) and the first time i rode it i didn't sit on it right and ended up putting all of my weight on the bars... well needless to say when i got home i dropped the bike at the first stoplight i came to because i was soo tired... lol took me FOREVER to lift the damn thing up...

Never again after these videos! thanks guys!

 

I guess you guys never took the Motorcycle Foundation Safety course, eh?

I'm too old to have taken it but when I was a teenager my mates and I would use this technique for flipping cars onto their sides during drunken Saturday nights - often with the car's occupants hollering excitedly out the windows.
Amazing what a little leg strength can do, isn't it?

Well, I simply transferred this handy skill over to bikes - and during 40 odd rears of riding, man, I've dropped a LOT OF THEM - and often in the most bizarre ways. The strangest was when I rode to a stop in front of a girlfriend's house. On my left was what looked like a large puddle about 2 inches deep. It was late at night in the country, no lights around and I was pretty well lubricated and well... it was dark - real dark. I went to put my left foot down and stepped into the puddle - and my foot kept going... and going. It was actually a pit full of water about 3 feet deep! I landed in the filthy stuff with a strangled screech and the bike fell over almost on top of me. Jeez, I almost drowned! I was still a punk kid back then and all I could afford was a battered yellow Kawi F6 125 enduro so luckily, it didn't weigh too much. Although dirtbikes back then weighed as much as sportbikes weigh now what with their iron frames you could make hammers out of. Anyway, I picked it up in the standard fashion except I had to used the top of my helmet to push on the now horizontal seat since only the tires remained on the road while the rest of the bike and me were in the pit. As I was lifting in this weird fashion, I screamed when the still hot engine scorched the back of my neck.
My girlfriend and her mother almost had coronaries laughing like insane baboons from the front porch. Dang women - wouldn't even lend me a hand! The sick part is I remained friendly with that gal and her mom and I STILL have to hear about that innocent little mistake so many years ago. I especially love it when they go into a long laughing recitation of the tale after they run into me as I'm about to saddle up with some riding buddies...

 

I have a somewhat unorthodox method of getting my bike back up after it falls over from me being stupid ...

It works like this and is a pretty simple technique!

"Excuse me, please. Would a couple of you guys mind helping me out for a second?"

Easy!

 

Great Vid's, it's easier if you own a BMW with crash bars, it just about stands itself up! I haven't been riding for over 12 years, mainly trail bikes, last road bike was an old Z650 4 Kwacka, dropped it in front of a Hungry Jacks Restuarant doing a u-turn in a car park space, front wheel slipped out on oil dripped from cars, most embarrassing! . The bruises are coming out nicely, i landed on a car battery lying on the floor. Arhh the Scotch tastes good, works wonders. I'm slowly learning all the "tricks" of the trade, duct tape does wonders, for holding fairings together....

 

NOTE: This technique, doesn't work well on black ice...

Don't ask me how I know

 

when i had my first crash i was so embarrassed i didnt want anyone to see me with my downed bike. and my adrenaline was so high that i actually picked my bike up no more than 2 seconds after i crashed. after i had a moment to think about how i did it i just laughed. totally facing the bike using my arms and back.

dont make me crashed. you wouldnt like me when im crashed. *flexes*

 

The adrenaline can be pretty intense after a crash.

I went down with the bike right side down.
Started picking up the "wrong way"
Right arm on bars, left to the rear.
Less than 5 secs from crash, in the roadway(time was important)
Starts to get bike up and something is not right !!

Push the bike in a close parkinglot.
Turns out my wrist was broken.

Waited 48 hour though to find out, would not go to the hospital!
When your wrist is the size of a grapefruit, maybe its broken.

 

thankfully my bike comes in at less than 500 pounds and im still fairly young so its not that hard to pick up off the ground when it does fall over. but im going to keep this bit of info handy and tell other riders about it. i like Ricks solution the best, i have used it before and it works great.

 

I'll second that adrenaline thing.

Three years ago, I was rear ended at a stoplight on my 550 lb. GS1150. I was out for maybe ten seconds, then got up, horsed the bike up just like you did, and started pushing it to the side of the street. A few seconds later, several bystanders grabbed the bike, pulled me away from it, and helped me to the sidewalk. They also pushed the bike to the side of the street out of traffic.

Turns out I had a concussion, two cracked ribs, and a lower back strain (maybe from picking up the bike). I also had a broken left thumb.

I had to pick up the Seca on Saturday after unloading it, when my wife and I lost control of it coming down the ramp (she slipped on the wet gravel), and it tipped over on it's right side in "slow motion" as I was hanging onto the left side like an outrigger (no damage).

Compared to my big Suzukis, it felt like picking up a dirt bike.

 

Too true! I ruin my back permanently lifting my Interceptor. Pitty I didn't have the knowledge beforehand! Heed these words of wisdom or an aching back you will have, possibly for life!

 

Hehehe... Baz's story reminds me of a good friend who had a V-Max. He rode it to a co-worker's party and while there nursed a beer for a couple hours. When he went to leave, the hostess was very concerned, having seen him with a beer in his hand most of the night she thought he had had several. She made a bit of scene at the door, insisting he call a cab, and he practically had to wrestle his was way out the door. This made everyone take notice of his departure so he figured he'd roar away down the street, just cuz he can. Woulda really showed them if he'd remembered to take the Disc-Lok off first. Front end plowed out from under him and he nearly wedged the bike under a parked car across the street. And it didn't do his claims of being sober any good...

 

Those Disc Locks ought to come with a "Warning; Remove Before Flight" Flag that you hang on the Handlebars.

I saw somebody do that inn front of a big crowd at Bike Night, one time, and I swear he didn't need the key to pull-off that lock he was so peed-off!

The videos were good.
Thanks.

I'll know what to do if there isn't any volunteers around after I dump my bike ... which I don't plan on doing ... But, who DOES!!!

 

I have a white front fairing for your bike in average condition...
Just not sure if I can get it shipped over the ditch because of the size.

Let me know if you're interested

 

Baz, true words. Great job putting these in, Gamuru.

The Nova Scotia Safety Council provided the training for our bunch of over-the-hillers and they used the methods shown in the videos - We were also shown another method that could be used when the need arose.

It involves the bars only, works on either side. The grip uses two hands cupping the end of the bar and a straight-back stance that faces the bike. I can't imagine using it myself, but there was about a 5/3 split on who found which method easier. Ever seen something like it?