Idiot Patrol: Dumbest thing you've ever done with your bike

[Drunken Monkey]

Dumbest thing I've ever done with my monster?

Spend waaaaaay to much money on mods 

[DucHead]

Dumbest thing I've ever done with my monster?

Spend waaaaaay to much money on mods 

You'll find no one here who agrees that's dumb.      

[accludetuner]

My dumbest thing didn't end badly or cause any damage but it could have been deadly and was stupid and careless.

I hit a pothole a little while back and it jarred the bike pretty good, but everything seemed fine after that. After a quick initial inspection I couldn't find any damage and the bike still handled fine.

Several days later I was on a wide open road that I could see clearly for miles down the road and zero traffic. I thought "perfect speeding opprtunity" so I gassed it. Got up to around the 140 mph mark and backed off when I started to get near traffic again. No issues.

Later that day I was cleaning the bike and noticed something I missed on my initial inspection after the pothole incident. The front rim was bent! Not just slightly bent either.....the side of the tire is not touching the rim in one spot, only the bottom of the tire bead is sealed to the rim so if pushed the wrong way, the tire could leak and lose pressure. After seeing that, I thought about my high speed burst earlier that day and had a definite "oh shit" moment thinking about what *could have* happened.

Dumb and irresponsible

[fastwin]

You'll find no one here who agrees that's dumb.      

The exception would be my wife and thank goodness she's not on here!

[JoeChieftain]

Decided that the sign that said "PAVEMENT ENDS" was only a suggestion, and continued 6 miles down a logging road before turning back. All this on my new bike, with less than 1000 miles at the time.

Never did more than cover the thing in dirt and dust, but I was doing a LOT of cursing in my helmet, and chanting "stupid, stupid, stupid" in my head.

Lesson learned. My bikes like paved roads.

Well, I guess living 2 miles from a paved road will be my entry. The shop I take my 696 to refers to it as 'the one on the dirt road.' 

[Cider]

Got up to around the 140 mph mark and backed off when I started to get near traffic again.

The Monster 620 rocks.

[Ratfink749]

Couldve left it running, and just performed a service and adjusted my valves..  Instead I got a wild hair up my ass and this is what happened.  Dumb? perhaps.  I'm liking it so far though!

[NorDog]

The Monster 620 rocks.

 

[accludetuner]

The Monster 620 rocks.

I don't get it    

In the kitchen. Classic! 

[Cider]

I don't get it    

Just an inside joke (but not at your expense).

[accludetuner]

Ah ok. Even if it was at my expense, that's fine too....but I'd like to know why

[NorDog]

Ah ok. Even if it was at my expense, that's fine too....but I'd like to know why

It's been so long, I'm not sure if I even remember it correctly.  Basically, there was a guy claiming to go 140 mph on his 620.

[accludetuner]

Eh, people make claims all the time. If you're going fast enough to scare the shit out of yourself, it's easy to exaggerate to give the story more impact.

[Queestce]

Dumbest thing I've probably ever done to any bike I've owned was a few weeks ago... The takes the cake for me, overtaking some silly things like over-torquing valve inspection covers and cracking them, forgetting to put on my oil filler bolt after a change etc.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I was cleaning the Monster. I noticed quite a lot of grease and baked on crap on the RHS crankcase/clutch cover, I decided I needed to clean it off. Went to get my degreaser but couldn't find any, so I grabbed what I thought was the next best thing - a can of Carby Cleaner. It said "Parts/Throttle Body Cleaner" on it, so I figured it would be fine on the case. I sprayed it on, it was fine for about 10 seconds, then I started to smell a strong wet paint smell... I thought wow, this stuff must be strong! 

Little did I know, that smell was actually the carby cleaner EATING THROUGH my crankcase covers paint... I managed to pick up on this and wash it all off ASAP, it has still left its marks of stupidity though. Not that noticeable, but its back to the bare aluminum in one place near the oil filler cap! Very upsetting as it wasn't even that dirty to begin with! I don't mind if I do something stupid and drop the bike or w/e, but intentionally spraying something onto it which ruined the engine paint was pretty annoying!!! Lesson learned however, I will always me much more careful with cleaning products now that I'm aware the damage they can do!

Great thread idea, rather learn from your mistakes than make them all myself 

Cheers,

Tom

[Goat_Herder]

It's been so long, I'm not sure if I even remember it correctly.  Basically, there was a guy claiming to go 140 mph on his 620.

Not just any M620.  It was a Capirex 620!