It’s more aimed at people buying their first bike. It’s the reason people use when they try to convince a first time biker to get a $5000 used Honda Shadow instead of a $15000 brand new Harley. You’re gonna drop it at least once, might as well be on a bike that doesn’t cost as much.
Nailed it. The phrase isn’t meant to disparage bikers–instead it’s a cautionary tale to those who are new.
I don’t know why anyone would seemingly take offense to it.
I’ve stayed out of this thread because I’ve never ridden a Cruiser. The type just doesn’t appeal to me. So I felt I had nothing to add. But I’d like to comment on this:
I’ve been riding since I was five. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dropped a bike. Most of the time it was when I was younger (non-licensed) and riding offroad. I haven’t figured it out recently, but I have about 140,000 miles on motorcycles. A lot less than many people, but still indicative of a modicum of experience.
Since I started riding exclusively on roads I’ve been hit by cars twice. One dark night, completely exhausted after working on someone’s film all day, I forgot about a 90º turn and went off the road and dropped it. I’ve had a chain snap at 80 mph. Once I was making a left turn from a traffic light, and wouldn’t you know that there was a flattened aluminum can in the road. The back end slid right out from under me. A few years ago I was making a left from a stop sign one dewey morning, and the rear end slid out from under me that time too. Last September someone(s) dropped my bike when I wasn’t at home and did $2,300 in damage. Plastic is expensive.
My point is this: I think I have some experience riding motorcycles, and I’m a fairly careful rider. But stuff happens. And when it happens it can be expensive. The saying is that there are two types of rider: Those who have dropped it, and those who will. An inexperienced rider will probably be more likely to drop his bike than a more experienced one. Fixing a used bike, especially a non-sportbike that doesn’t have a lot of plastic, will usually be cheaper than fixing a new one. And if it is damaged beyond repair, it’s less of a loss.
As a young adult I called my dad from Europe to let him know I hadn’t been abducted by the Soviets. He said that my sister had come up and had crashed my ride, a Yamaha 250 Enduro. ‘I can ride [boyfriend’s] 650, so I can ride Johnny’s little ol’ 250!’ Only, the 650 was a four-stroke Standard. My Enduro had a two-stroke engine and weighed about a third as much. She was across the street and on the ground before she knew what hit her. Dented my tank, dammit.
I’ve never dropped my present bike. But in 30+ years of riding, it’s the only one. Wise words, sez I.
800 is fine. I completed my course last week with no prior experience and am comfortably riding a Vulcan 900. On a cruiser, it will mean that it is a lot different to do those stupid slow speed maneuvers they make us practice in course. The controls will respond completely differently as well. Expect it and adjust accordingly. The basics still apply, but there is a learning period to adjust to your bike. I’ve laid it down twice, both times when not moving; and both times without any damage at all. I also learned what it was to pick up a 630 lb bike; it isn’t fun though I manage fine. I purchased a mid range cc, so I’d have plenty of power when getting out onto the freeways once I’ve practiced enough. At 5’7 and 155 lbs I found the 750s to be light enough to kick around with my hips, and the 900 just a wee bit difficult to handle. I’m growing into it quickly though and expect to be able to handle it with ease in the next month or so. You need to find what is good for you. It it is going to serve as a commuter for you, like mine will for me; I’d recommend nothing smaller than a 750 in the cruisers. Let the sport bike people make their own recommendations, those things are not for me.
Really? I am going to assume you don’t ride.
I said dropped, not have a serious crash. You admit to dropping bikes, therefore proving my point.
It’s a nice day here today so when I am out for a ride I am going to ask every biker I talk to if they have dropped a bike since they started riding. I’ll report back later tonight.
Actually, I have been riding for 30 years. Starting out with a CB360, graduating to a CB750, now a GL1500 and a VTX1300.
I really don’t care who did or didn’t drop whatever bike they are or aren’t riding, its a trite platitude IMNSHO.
How so? And out of curiosity, have you never dropped your bike?
If my wife is moving my bike and drops it, does that count?
If I high-side going around one of the mountainous curves and end up in a coma, is THAT dropping it?
If I wrap it up to 120 and face-plant a semi (I’ve seen the pics), is that dropping it?
What about the guy almost splitting the Honda (car) in half? Is that “dropping” it?
How about riding 50 mph past a gas station and have someone pull out in front of the bike (video somewhere on you tube)? Did he “drop” his bike or did someone drop it for him?
When my friend hit and oil slick going through a toll booth, what about that? Did that qualify as a drop when it was more of a slip?
And what is the point of saying this? Are you trying to scare someone? Are you trying to caution them?
If you are trying to caution them, then I suggest you give them some realistic advice. Like learn how to identify potentially dangerous situations and how to avoid and/or extricate yourself from them.
Then maybe tell them to be aware of their limits and not ride outside of them. Also tell them to learn some evasive maneuvers and practice them once in a while. And the most important advice “don’t ride like a DICK”. I think I have summed up the MSF/ABATE course, maybe I should teach it.
I might even buy it if you explained to get engine guards on their first bike on the outside chance that something will happen.
If you are trying to scare them, then why don’t you bring out the even stupider old saw “heh heh, 'round here we call them ‘donor cycles’”. What utter crap. I know far more people that ride and are still alive than I do people that have died in mc related accidents.
And as a matter of fact, I have dropped my bike. I was doing something that I really knew better than to do. So if I had been riding like I knew how to ride, I would not have dropped it. I did no damage to me other than a scratch on my head and no damage to the bike, my GL 1500, other than a scratch on the mirror (more than likely if it had been a smaller bike I would not have dropped it at all). I did more damage to myself push-starting my bike one time, but goddamn, I didn’t drop it.
But again, it’s a really meaningless phrase that serves almost no purpose.
Do you go around saying “there are only two kinds of car drivers, those that have had flat tires and those that will have?” Sure the statement is true but that doesn’t make it any less banal. I can’t wait for people to chime in how they have never had a flat.
I forgot to add, I dropped my cousins minibike when I was nine or ten. At least I think it was a drop, it might have been a smash or a crash. If the bike lands on someone is that still a drop?
To The Surb, I don’t ride so I may not be the best person to answer this.
To me though it’s quite simple. “Dropping” a bike can be anything from the 5 mph fender bender all the way to a 100mph escapade into the back of a semi.
Round here there is a rather pithy saying
In a car you have a metal cage around the flesh
On a back, you have flesh covering the metal.
The meaning is pretty simple - in a car, you brake late and knock someone at 5mp, no big deal, on a bike its a different matter.
By the same token, if someone doesn’t give way to you in a carpark, when driving a car you will not be harmed - on a bike it can be potentially dangerous.
Add to this the inherent nature of a bike that makes it “easier” to make a mistake than in a car, you will have a mishap. On a bike, mishaps are a far greater problem than in a car.
It’s possible to get a 600-cc sportbike with out-of-this-world performance (0-60 in < 3 secs), so displacement alone is probably not the best guide. The Marauder you’re considering seems reasonable; given its age, the performance won’t be such a shock. The web is reporting 0-60 times on the order of 5-6 seconds, which is pretty mellow. More importantly, since it’s used, you won’t mind quite so much if you drop it.
At 456 pounds, it’ll be light enough so that dropping it isn’t quite so likely (as if you had bought an 850-pound Goldwing).
I think that Marauder is a good starting point, and I hope you’re able to buy it. 
To me, dropping the bike means you were sitting still or barely moving on it. Going faster than that is called a crash.
That’s always kinda how I pictured it. Setting it down without the kickstand, coming to a stop and setting your foot on a piece of gravel and having your foot slide out from under you, making a right turn from a stop sign without enough speed and doing what would be a very slow low side fall, basically just having the bike tip over on you etc etc etc.
I’m lucky to have not spilled my bike yet, but I have had close calls in all of these situations. Also these are all situation where if I had a heavier bike I definitely would have dropped it. It’s amazing how much a bike weighs when it’s at a 45 degree angle (at a stop) and you’re trying to push it back up with one leg.
Wow, I learned that innocuous aphorisms apparently make some people really, really angry.
99% of men masturbate, and the other 5% lie about it.
“What’s *that *supposed to mean? Huh? What counts as masturbation? If I scratch my balls, does that count? What if I’m just washing in the shower? If I’m taking a pee and shake it more than twice, are you gonna call *that *masturbating? It’s a stupid, meaningless platitude you’re using to scare people away from masturbating, and it doesn’t mean anything and you’re a big dumb stupidhead for saying it! Grrrr!”
“Do you masturbate?”
“Yeah! So? I don’t *have *to, I could lie about it instead! Hey, wait OH YOU MAKE ME SO MAD!!!”
Agreed. Drops are much more common than crashes. I’ve ridden about 150K miles and had zero crashes, but four drops:
-trying to do a U-turn while still in third gear, stalled engine, gently set bike down on its left side. :smack: No damage: bike came to rest on tires and cylinder head guard (BMW boxer engine).
-parked on sidestand on uneven pavement, bike was too close to vertical and a breeze blew it onto its right side. :smack: Collided with footpeg of bike next to it, suffered $3500 in damage.
-foot lever on centerstand snapped off as I was putting bike on centerstand; I basically threw the bike over on its right side. :smack: Despite the velocity of the fall, it came to rest cleanly on tires and cylinder head guard, suffering no visible damage.
-Wanted to move bike down driveway, used spare key on main keyring to unlock steering. Straddled bike, started coasting down driveway. Other keys and pocket knife dangled behind tripletree, prevented me from turning bars far enough to keep bike balanced. :smack: Keys/pocket knife got crushed into the plastic fairing by my steering effort, making a nice gouge.
Plenty of close calls, too. Gravel and slick spots at intersections and (especially) tollbooths are a major hazard.
I moderate a motorcycle discussion board where every so often someone posts, in an embarrassed tone, about having dropped their bike. The result is a chorus of “don’t feel bad, I dropped mine too” replies.
Someone who is new to riding (as I was when I attempted my third-gear U-turn) is more at risk of a drop than a veteran; it will be less risky to one’s finance and emotions (and body…yes, you can get hurt in a tip-over) to start with a lighter, less valuable bike until one acquires more experience with common road hazards and zero-speed bike-balancing characteristics.
FWIW, when I used the term ‘drop’ I meant everything from forgetting to put the kickstand down to being hit by another vehicle to a 150 mph crash into an immovable object.
NO
YES
What the hell is wrong with you? It’s not meant to scare anyone, it’s a saying that seems to hold true with most bikers. It should serve as a reminder not to out drive yourself, and to be prepared for the worse to happen. The way people drive their cars today, completely distracted, a rider has to pay constant attention to their surroundings, almost to the point that it takes the joy out of riding.
The other day when I went out for a ride and was going to ask the bikers I saw whether they had dropped their bikes I only got to talk to seven guys.I took my dual sport out with my kids and spent most of the day in the woods, so I didn’t get a chance to talk to very many. All but one said they had at some point dropped their bikes, and as for the the one that said he didn’t, I don’t believe him…he is just the kind of guy who would not admit it even if he had. This included everything from dropping it in the driveway to driving into the back of a pickup, that stopped on the highway, at 55 MPH.
I bought my ten year old son his first bike this year, a 70cc dirt bike, and I am teaching him how to ride. He’s dropped the bike about a dozen times so far. We have talked for hours about riding and I have instilled some fear into him, it’s good to have it, it teaches him respect for the machine. The other day we were out for a five hour ride and he had no problems until we were about a half mile from home. Through the day I was explaining to him that the bike is more stable when it’s has some speed, he has been driving too slow and putting his feet down a lot. He came through a small twisty, trying out my theory that more speed equals better stability, and didn’t think he was going to make the last turn. He drove off the trail and down into some 4-6 inch stone and came back up the other side, but he didn’t lock it up or put his feet down and he stayed on the throttle, he remembered what I taught him about panic and managed to drive himself out of it. It scared the shit out of him and me, but I was proud of him for keeping it together long enough to come up the other side. Most people have no idea how to deal with the feeling of panic that overcomes them when things go wrong, let alone how to ride out of a bad situation.Most think they are going to get instant gratification by grabbing a handful of brakes. When I was younger I was always proud of my high performance driving skills, but then and still now I have always said… “Any idiot can make a vehicle go fast, it’s knowing what to do when things go wrong that matter”. But I guess you don’t like that saying either and I can’t wait to hear your opinion on " Loud pipes save lives".
You win the thread!