A Bit Rattled...

[Shortie]

So Saturday Tony took my bike out on its maiden voyage. And he stayed on the bike all day because he thought the little 400 was just so much fun. He picked me up later in the day and we cruised around on it for a while, and it was an absolute blast! Never will I let someone poke fun at me for riding a 400 because this thing has some spirit for sure. And it is F*ing loud!

By the time we got back from our little jaunt I was a bit tuckered out (the riding position surprisingly isn't too far off from that of riding pillion on his Monster...) I was just sitting on the bike in the driveway shooting the breeze with T when he asked me if I wanted to roll it into the garage and put it away. I tried walking it into the garage while still mounted up but my legs are just too short; I couldn't push myself forward with my riding boots on. This was somewhat frustrating, but I figured whatever, I'll just get off the bike and just push it. No shame in that.

Well, I dropped it. Again. While trying to dismount I somehow lost my balance and the weight of the bike shifted. Luckily, I didn't really hurt myself or the bike. This is now the second time I have let my bike go down and I'm not even riding yet. The tank wasn't even full, so the bike wasn't even at its heaviest. This has me pretty rattled, and quite embarrassed. I'm sure T is thinking "and she's going to ride this thing?"

The first time I laughed it off, because it was pretty funny the way it all went down (no pun intended). The second time I laughed it off... and then the doubt creeped in. At this point, I'm trying not to worry about it too much, but seriously - if I can't even move this thing around without dropping it every other time, in a flat driveway, or a flat garage, how the hell am I going to ride it - on the street, with potholes, and road crown, and all kinds of other things? This is a small bike. I feel like a total loser when I think about it. Maybe I should have bought a Blast...

I still haven't received confirmation of my MSF class either, which isn't really sitting well with me since I mailed the application- and a $200 money order deposit- at least 3 weeks ago...

 

Tony walks the bike around like it's a toy. But I have to wrestle the damn thing around, with the bars almost to my chest when I stand next to it. Being petite is a pregnant dog.

If I had one wish... I would ask to just be a normal make the beast with two backsing sized person! I'm tired of this 100 lb 27" inseam 4'11" bullshit!

Lately I wonder if pillion isn't the appropriate place for me...
 

[somegirl]

Hang in there.  It's normal for you to feel rattled right now.  Glad to hear you didn't hurt yourself.

It's also normal to have issues learning to balance and handle the bike when you're new, especially for us petite people.  Parking situations are the worst in general.  I've ridden over 15K miles so far, including some track days, and I still get nervous in some parking situations. 
Most of my drops happened early on.  It does get easier with time and experience.  Taller people can't really understand how challenging it is for us to move bikes around, and how a tiny motion can make all the difference for us.

Did you see this list?  It might help you feel a bit better:
128 ways to drop your bike

The little cruisers they have in the MSF class will be easier for you to handle, so you should have less to worry about there.   Why not try calling them to confirm?

I think once you actually get ON the bike, and are not only rolling it around and parking it, you will discover that being small is not so bad.

Being small does have some advantages too:
- better gas mileage
- faster acceleration
- easier to get your fingers into tight spots when working on your bike

And for the record, here's my bike-dropping history to date:
1. MSF class - first time across the parking lot, I forgot to put my feet down at the end and fell over.
2. First time on first bike (Suzuki GS500F), I was practicing in a parking lot, my boyfriend at the time jumped out in front of me to take a picture, I tried to do an emergency stop, ended up with my foot over a storm drain, and fell over.
3. On Suzuki, first time trying to park it in a spot with a slight slope, I mis-calculated, and fell over.
4. On Suzuki, first time trying to do an uphill start (accidentally ended up on a 20% slope), I stalled and fell over - this particular time I was accused of doing it deliberately for the benefit of the firefighters across the street.
5. Trying to move the Suzuki into a parking spot next to another bike (this was standing next to it and rolling it), at one point I mis-judged my position slightly, and it got away from me (luckily not hitting the other bike).
6. On Monster, trying to pull out of a parking lot where I had a steep uphill slope, poor visibility of oncoming cars, poor road surface, and wet ground, I wasn't use to the clutch, and so ended up not giving enough gas as I was turning and fell over.
7. On Monster, someone tried to do an illegal U-turn into me, I managed not to get hit, but didn't have enough room to stand up the bike after my emergency swerve and went over.
8. While cleaning and lubing the chain on my boyfriend's bike, I was rolling it back and forth (no rearstand for his bike), at one point I must have bumped up the sidestand and not noticed, and dropped it onto myself.

[Ducatista]

Oh, ye of little faith.  Don't be so hard on yourself.  The bike is the least stable at slow speeds and while standing still.  In the case you were talking about, you have a sidestand, so USE IT!  Sure, a lot of guys can swing a leg over, but I can't.  I'm assuming you had the same problem.  My track tool doesn't have a sidestand and no matter how much shit I get for it in the paddock, I will always have someone either hold the bike or have someone put it up on a rearstand.  Same for getting going.  My ass is in the saddle when it comes off the rearstand or if it has to be backed out of the pit, I'll have someone do that for me.  I'm not going to let my pride get in the way of a session because I was too much of an idiot to ask for help moving my bike around and I dropped it and broke a lever. 

When you're at slow speeds and you think you might be turning a sharp corner crawling, don't be afraid to put your toes down.  That was my one and only drop while on a bike on the street.  (I had my one agricultural adventure at the track, but that's for another post.)  I was turning a tight corner at about .5 mph and should have just tiptoed it into the spot.  My ego got in the way and over she went.   

Don't be too hard on yourself.  Mistakes will happen.  Just learn from them and use the tools you have not to make the same mistakes again.   [moto]

[somegirl]

When you're at slow speeds and you think you might be turning a sharp corner crawling, don't be afraid to put your toes down.

This is great to keep in mind as an emergency option, but I wouldn't want to depend on it.  Unfortunately for those of us with short legs, there are a lot of places, especially coming out of driveways into streets, where the ground dips far enough that toes won't reach.

In fact if I am pulling out of a driveway into a street and have to make a quick stop at the wrong moment, I won't be able to put my feet down and I will definitely go over.  So I make sure to scan as far as I can before I start pulling out.  It can be challenging if there are lots of parked cars or something else blocking my view.

[TiNi]

some great advice so far for you biposto...

i've been riding for 3 years and still need more confidence and experience, especially in parking situations.
riders that have the strength and can reach the ground just don't understand how difficult it can be.

my advice... don't be hesitant to get off the bike and turn it around, and always put the bike on the side stand before your dismount.

... hang in there 

[Shortie]

Thank you for all the great tips and advice; I knew I could count on my girls to help calm me down a bit.

A lot of my frustration stems from the fact that I'm just plain frustrated with being so tiny, in general. Dropping the bike is a bummer but it's more just the icing on the cake. Shopping for gear is a pain in the ass, shopping for regular clothes and shoes is a pain in the ass, I have to use a stool at home to do just about everything, driving certain cars can be a challenge, shopping for a bike was a REAL pain in the ass... it just gets tiring after a while, ya know? As you all said, people just don't realize how difficult everyday things can be for those of us who weren't gifted with legs that go all the way up.

If I had used my sidestand the other night when dismounting the bike, it wouldn't have fallen over. And now that it's been brought up as a point, it will probably stick, especially since I don't like to make the same preventable mistake twice.

Another thing that bugs me about the situation is that Tony hasn't let me try to pick the bike back up by myself. With 4 carbs, the thing barfs gas all over the place when it's on its side. He always gets the bike back up in a hurry because he doesn't want gas all over the driveway or doesn't want the engine to flood. I can understand this, but I really wish he would just let me try and we can deal with the gas issue after the fact if necessary. If I knew that I could pick it back up by myself, it would give me some confidence and dropping it wouldn't feel like such a big deal. Boys just don't get it sometimes.

[TiNi]

you forgot to mention that you can never see the stage at a concert,
unless you push your way to the front 

for every disadvantage there is a work around

[duqette]

I'm one of the taller gals around here, and just reading these posts makes me feel sorta guilty....

IMHO moving the bike while standing next to it is the very hardest thing to do, right after picking the damn thing up after a drop. 

Hang in there with it! Once you get a little more experience under your belt, you'll wonder why you were so frustrated....

[Grio]

Hang in there with it! Once you get a little more experience under your belt, you'll wonder why you were so frustrated....

True that!  It will feel awkward at first, but you'll develop your own tricks manuver the bike around (when you're off it).  I lean the bike's tank into my hip.  I have way more leverage to push it around that way than trying to keep it upright by way of the bars.  Use the kick stand as your friend untill you get comfortable.

[TiNi]

True that!  It will feel awkward at first, but you'll develop your own tricks manuver the bike around (when you're off it).  I lean the bike's tank into my hip.  I have way more leverage to push it around that way than trying to keep it upright by way of the bars.  Use the kick stand as your friend untill you get comfortable.

i also lean the bike into my hip... it feels less tipsy that way

[somegirl]

i also lean the bike into my hip... it feels less tipsy that way

+2

[lauramonster]

+3.  Even us tall girls use that trick

Dropped mine twice!  Lees than 2 miles an hour each time.  You'll be fine once you start riding/handling the bike.  The more you do it, you realize your body shifts to help you out.  The first drop was a u turn to the left, on a street that sloped to the left.  A year later, I realize our driveway is the same turn, less slope, and my body leans the bike just slightly to the right and it steadies the bike (while making the right foot easier to reach the ground). 

Don't beat yourself up for things all of us do!!  Review it in your mind, ask questions and figure out how not to have it happen again.  I've learned a lot of stuff just from reading the Ducati Forum. 

[m0t0g0th]

good advice above, and you're learning a lot about how the weight moves and getting the feel of the balance point.
+4 on walking the bike with a hip-touch.
i don't ground guide more than i absolutely have to.  it's just something i suppose have to put up with as shorties, we don't have the angle.  i watch guys at the shop and dealer move them around like sliding furniture, no worries at all.
maybe feel better knowing it's not really a strength issue, it's leverage, too.  taller folks reaching down get a much wider angle and much better leverage; we're short and when i'm walking my bike i figure my arm's angle from shoulder to bike is maybe 50°, where some tall folk loom over the top with 100° or much better.  they move the weight side to side like a feather and are less likely to over correct.

i'm always on the brake and am really careful about the angle of turn - because man, if that wheel folds it gets away from you like lightning going down.

also, hey, why not - put out some blankets and the two of you lower the bike, have your M8 spot you {against lifting injury and then on the other side of the bike} while trying out some practice lifts.
i love this, possibly because of the miniskirt - http://www.pinkribbonrides.com/dropped.html

i had a 400lb moto for 17 years and i never got comfortable walking it, always me with the waddle in the saddle.  tres graceful - not.  and the same on the Duc.  but i figure even waddling ducks look smooth in the air. 
 

[Popeye the Sailor]

A lot of it comes with time and experience. I dropped my first bike three or four times. All of said times....were dummmb. Such as parking it facing downhill. Well....then it just rolls forward, kickstand comes p, and it falls on its side. Weee.


One time on the Ducati while riding, the seat came loose. So while stopped at a light with my left hand on the bars, I twisted wayyy around and stood up to push the seat back into place with my right hand. At which point, I lost balance and dropped it.

[Speeddog]

i also lean the bike into my hip... it feels less tipsy that way

Dunno if it's +5 or what, but I do that too, and I'm 6'1".
Use whatever technique or trick works for you.

I'm more comfortable pushing a bike from the right side, and that works well with the stand on the left.
Just keep an eye out that you don't snag it on something and unknowingly fold it up.

99% of the time, I'm handling a customer's bike, so I'll do most anything to keep from dropping it.