Caught BESIDE a downed KLR, and UNDER a V650....
Here are TWO personal accounts of a "dropped bike".
Number 1: - I was riding my KLR650 on the Forestry Trunk Rd in Alberta (
ALONE, as usual!), and decided to have a look at a power-line right-of-way heading W from the road, and down a hill. I was
NOT planning to ride down it - just wanted to have a look at where it went. I stopped
BEFORE the downhill, put the bike onto its side-stand, walked over for a look, then got back on, and started riding, planning an
uphill 180 turn to my left.
For those who haven't ridden a KLR -
first gear is quite high, and, being a single, the KLR will sometimes do a STALL and FALL IF you're NOT slipping the clutch enough as you attempt the turn, which is what it
DID! It fell down w/ the wheels on the
HIGH side, w/ me rolling OFF, and downhill, so I wasn't
under it, and not hurt.
No biggee - just pull it around till the wheels are
low, then it's easy to stand it up and get back riding,
except there was NO way that I could get it pulled around!
After a few minutes I realized
that there was NOT A CHANCE IN HELL I could get the wheels low; I'm in the middle of no where,
alone; so I considered the
walk out, probably at least 20 miles...!:surprise:
That wouldn't work, so I started looking for something to
lever it up to where I could get my knees
vertically braced under it, then continue from there to upright.
After 10 or 15 minutes I found a tree-limb about 3' long, 4" in diameter which I was able to
wedge under the KLR, then lever it UP about 2 1/2 feet, get my knees under, then continue UP. Worked well, and I was soon on my way.
Number 2: Years ago I had begun "spinning my V650 around on its side-stand" so it would be pointed the right direction for leaving the garage, and
I guess I was FORGETTING that it weighs near 500 pounds, as the "spinning" was working out PDG!
As the bike got to 90 degrees (
sideways to the direction I was aiming for) the rear wheel came up against something, so rather than standing it UP, then rolling it a foot or two before continuing w/ the "spin", I
foolishly figured I could just pull it away from the obstacle, then continue spinning it.
Worked GREAT for
for probably the first couple of inches, and then the side-stand
folded, and I went down w/ the WHOLE 500 POUNDS ON ME!, my head catching the 1/2" plywood bottom shelf on the workbench about half an inch in from its edge
which probably saved my life... had it hit 2" in
I would more-than-likely have broken my neck, and IF I had missed the shelf
probably fractured my skull when it HIT the concrete floor!
As the doctor at EMERGENCY said to me -
You REALLY scalped your self!!!
Here's where I caught that shelf w/ my head.
And here's what a scalped V rider looks like....