Dropped my bike!

Bloody hell. The B12 shows up at 215kg dry, that makes it a lardy old
bus. Would have thought an ER-5 much lighter than a (nearly) litrebike.

 

DR says...

Where do you think the 'Heavy' In Kawasaki Heavy Industries comes from?
Kawasaki have never really been known for making lightweight bikes
compared to the opposition.

 

KR1-S?

 

JackH says...

Heavier than the RGV. Kawasaki did make them incredibly light though,
but at the expense of relibility. Have you ever felt the weight of one
of the KIPS valves, they weigh next to **** all, but the tops can easily
shear off when fitting or removing the linkages that screw onto them. I
hated the KR engine, it was horribly made and everything was designed to
last 10 minutes.

 

I never had the pleasure of anything, KR1-S wise - their reputation
proceeded themselves well in advance, thank feck.

The RGV isn't *that* much better in respect of reliability, really.

S'wot I liked about the TZR250 so much - apart from the fact it was the
natural progression from the 125s I had, it had none of this 'Nikasil'
bollox etc.

Might not have been cutting edge for its time, but I'd still like one now.

 

Made me titter... My little brothers recollection of his first off at
Cadwell went somthing like that.

sky - track - sky - grass - tyres - St Johns

 

Fair go guv ! The KR1 came out well before the RGV, and the KR1S was
only a mildly modded KR1 (17" rims both ends, suspension and some engine
work), there was a bit of technology improvement in the intervening 5
years; that's like comparing the first release R1 with the current model
Gix-thou

JL

 

That's me fucked.

 

I see them lying on their side leaking the precious juice. Makes me get
a wriggle on.

 

I use the left foot on road, right foot on brake idea, my instructors
also said it was fine. But it doesn't really matter what you use.
However, the DSA's Official "Motorcycle Riding: The Essential Skills"
says:

""
Stopping

The following sequence will apply to most motorcycles

.. Close the throttle

.. Apply both brakes smoothly until the machine stops

.. Just before the motorcycle stops pull in the clutch lever to
avoid stalling the engine

.. As the machine stops put your left foot on the group to support
the weight

When the machine has stopped

.. Keep the front brake applied

.. Release the rear brake and support the motorcycle with your
right foot

With the clutch lever still pulled in

.. Use your left foot to move the gear selector to neutral

.. Release the clutch lever

.. Place both feet on the ground
""

That's the official DSA advice. However, one needs to take into
account that the DSA also say that Counter Steering is not possible
and, as such, it has stopped Riding Schools from explaining it to
newbies. Make of it what you will.

When stopping I normally put my left foot on the ground and right foot
on the brake, but if I feel someone is going to run over my left foot
I do it the other way around and if I'm going to be ages at a traffic
light, I put both feet on the road with it in neutral. My instructors
said that it doesn't matter which method one uses, but the DSA frown
if you haven't got a brake on while stationary.

 

I've been riding without L-Plates for nearly two weeks now, officer!
After my little droppign incident yesterday I will certainly treat the
front brakes with more respect at slow speeds.

 

Clucking hell
--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 2.0 TS (Badly bent) 155 TS
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

You should have stood aside and let a passing truck finish the job ;-))

 

'Snot working though, is it?

Stick your dashdashspace<return> above your signature and it will,
however.

 

The purchase of shares in a building company?

 

Same as a 1970s RD, then.

 

(The Older Gentleman) struggled
to ejaculate:

No, nonono.

A building firm run and staffed by people who quite happily go both
ways innit.

They'll fall foul of HSE, wearing comfy shoes rather than safety
boots, mind.

 

That's the feller.

I mean, even with a fucked back I managed to pick the Bandit12 up a
few times - on gravel, on grass, in the back of a fucking 7 1/2 tonner
when it made a break for freedom. The only time I couldn't do it
without assistance was the infamous incident of the left-off oil
filler plug, when I dumped the bike in the middle of a busy junction
and only managed comedy Keystone Cops-esque whirling movements with my
legs due to standing in a spreading pool of warm oil.

It is a handy technique to master, though - and something all of us
are familiar with. I understand the backing-up to the bike thing is
very good, as it uses the thigh muscles and not the back - and it
closely resembles the technique I use to get a car rolling when the
surface isn't good.

However, for a normally-built male, picking a flattened bike up
shouldn't be impossible (certain BlingMobiles excepted, obv.) just by
getting feet under it, grabbing a good handful of lower bar or under
tank and under frame around the seat area - and lifting it up. FFS.
Confidence/determination/blind panic, all fuelled by a good shot of
adrenaline really helps, mind.

Commiserations Nick - but that's the first one over with.

 

John Littler says...

Yeah, but the gixer was good when it came out and the K5 is a definite
improvement over the K1. With the transition from KR1 to KR1-S Kawasaki
managed to make an already unreliable bike a little quicker but just as
unreliable and no lighter.

 

The Older Gentleman says...

In hindsight, you're probably right. That bike was the final straw that
broke the back of a 6 year salvageable relationship, with a girl I
really and truly loved.