Stupid question on Parking

I am still new to the whole cycle scene and I was wondering where and in what position do you park a cycle in different situations (parking lots, streets, parking structures, etc....). I know it is a foolish question but I have been trying to figure out where to. I get my first cycle mid week.

 

As a general rule, always park it in a conspicuous spot, where no one is likely to pull in and 'not see it.' Never park facing down hill (if possible) just in case you ever lost compression, your bike would tend to roll off the stand and fall. where as if you are facing up the hill you would be ok

 

When in a parking lot, I like to park diaginally across the parking stall facing out. Also, I try to park where I'll be able to see the bike from inside.

 

i try to park it next to the cart return thing or on the front end next to the lamp posts. i wont park it in between a couple of cars where it could be run into...

i like to put it on the center stand too. you can still turn-lock the front wheel but i dont have to worry about the sidestand sinking into gooey asphalt...

d

 

I follow a simple couple of rules:

1) Make the bike stable.

2) Make the bike seen.

When parallel parking I always kick the end out a bit so the tail light is just barely visible from the side of the car behind me.

When parking in parking spaces/lots I always park the bike at the _end_ of the spot rather than way up into it. Seeing as here in the Midwest we seem to have a lot of large SUV type vehicles the faster they can recognize my bike is between those two Hummers the better off I am.

People keep getting more careless though and I'm seriously considering putting a large tall flag with the word "MOTORCYCLE" off the tail of my bike. :-(

 

Oh yeah - centerstand almost always if I'm going to be more than 5 minutes.

I've already had to pick my bike up once this year (inside a moving truck) so i don't need to do that again.

 

I see bikes parking up next to buildings all the time, mainly at stores, so they don't have to park in a parking spot. Is this legal? Will you get ticketed?

What are the general guidelines on things like that, parking your bike where cars can't park?

 

Depends completely on the store owners in question. A lot of places will tolerate something like that if it's a 5 minute stop or something but in general you're likely to get a ticket.

 

If you're on private property and the owner is cool with you parking on his sidewalk, there's no problem. Most cities won't let you drive or park on public sidewalks, though.

 

some places have little triangles at the end of the rows, with stripes painted on the pavement, those work well
convince stores have cameras all over, try to park under one
some guys use a metal plate on the ground to keep the sidestand from sinking in, a must for parking in the grass, keep it cheap you'll loose it

 

Go to your local autosupply store, buy something, and nicely ask the guy at the counter for some quart can lids, they are small and (usually free) and if you loose it no big deal

 

My wife has one of those can openers that cuts horizontally through the seam rather than vertically through the lid, leaving no sharp edges.

She makes perfect parking pucks just about every day. I only have to get them before the recycler does.

 

I come out of the Kroger grocery store only to see a Mc Donough Ga cop
writing a ticket for a bike parked in the white striped area at the end of the parking row , I ask him about the parking of motorcycles in these areas and he told me it was illegal for any motor vehicle to park their. It was a safety zone for pedestrians.
wrenchmaster

 

^^^ I'd ask him to cite the law and look it up to see if it applies to private parking lots or just public parking lots. As far as I've seen, the only place you cannot park in a private parking lot is in a marked fire zone for safety reason. This white zone may fall under the same rules, but I'd definitely check it out to make sure he's not applying the law to a situation where he has no jurisdiction.

But, you raise a good point about where you can and cannot park. I'll have to go check my local codes to see what they say as I park my bike on the sidewalk in front of the store where I work. It's out of the way, but I'd hate to catch the wrath of officer friendly on the day he's found out his wife has been banging the neighbor.

 

The way I've always understood it is if the owner gives them permission to ticket they can treat the lot as if it were standard public roads and able to have the full "Rules of the Road" applied. That information came to me from a friend who's a county cop.

 

That's fine for the shop owner and the cop, but how is the motorist suppose to know whether public traffic laws will be enforced where they normally wouldn't be? And by what authority does the shop owner have the power to extend jurisdiction to the police? I don't see where he does. But, before we get too far down this path, and seeing as how I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on television, I'll just leave it until I have a chance to do some research.

Interesting topic, though.

 

You raise exactly the points I did when I heard it and even my buddy "on the force" so to speak didn't have an answer.

 

there is a lot of good points here including bringing up that somewhere someplace you will run into a douchnozzle with a badge, curb parking or "curbing" is handled differently in different places, I curb even my Harley sometimes but the XJ is easier to curb and get closer to a wall. believe it or not in some places (Clearwater FL) you can not park two MC in one spot, yes that is retarded like velcro sneakers but true... when I park in spot I try to leave room for a bike to share but I deliberately take up enough room to try and avoid finding a car "sharing" my spot... you would think parking would be easy...

 

And the Emmy goes to... Chilidog!! For his brilliant use of both "douchnozzle" AND "retarded like velcro sneakers" in the SAME post! Unprecedented, Sir!

 

At work, I park it at the bicycle rack... At university, on the motorcycle parking lots (or a bike rack if there's no motorcycle parking at that building)...

I asked a meter maid once if I was allowed to park my bike on the sidewalk downtown and he said he wouldn't give me a ticket, that it was up to the owner of the storefront.

If you're lucky enough to live in TO, they don't give any parking tickets to bikes b/c of a few cases of tickets blowing away and people getting obscene fines... just don't park it in a tow away zone

(I wouldn't hesitate to park on the line DT between cars parallel parked... if you can stomach someone parallell parking that close to your bike).

 

I usually park in the stripes next to the handicap (rock star), or if I have to, I will then pull into a spot so that my back fender matches with the other cars back bumpers so some old lady won't think the spot is empty and try pulling in and not realizing there is a flat black bike there. I also try to pull in so I can just drive off instead of having to back out..




Chili dog---- I miss the beach in Clearwater!! I lived in Seminole/Largo for 7 years before getting stationed in WA

 

^^^ What, not enough beach for you on the island?

 

Our local Wally world has designated MC parking spaces...marked with a 5 gal bucket filled with quick crete and sign sticking out that states motorcycle parking.

Even the space is marked with a bike painted on the pavement....but still there are these idiots who get out and move the signs to park...

I pulled in with my son not long ago and was in the wright mood...the sign had been moved back about five feet and a big Lincoln Navigator was parked halfway accross the parking space...so...For fun I drug the sign over and rolled the bucket with the quick crete in it under the front of the truck..then went inside...I sat on the bench and watched as the blond on her cell phone came out and freaked over the problem.


Long story short....Sheriffs deputies show up...they page the tag number on my bike...I walk over....he sees Im a LEO ..he laughs it up and tickets her.

 

Rescue, YOU ROCK!

 

rescue76, that's AWESOME. I wish I coulda been there to watch that!

At work, I park in the blue diagonal stripes next to the handicap spot. It's a bit spot, and I am far enough up in that the front of the bike doesn't even reach to the door of the vehicle. (That is the proverbial handicap-vehicle that NEVER parks there, and hasn't been one park there in the six years I've been using that spot cuz it's around the backside of the building) I think the bigger problem is the building/grounds crew that parks their truck consistently right in the middle of the parking/drop-off/loading circle.

As far as at stores, in town, etc.......I park away from vehicles, I don't mind walking a little farther. In town, I park diagonally in the spot, rolled back til the back tire touches the curb.

Under the kickstand, I place a small metal plate. I made it from the cover of an electrical junction box. I ground off the two corners that the slots are on, then ground off the two opposing corners. It's small enough to keep in my jacket pocket when not in use.