[gnrharleygirl]

Hello all. I am new to the forum. Picked up my V-Rod a few weeks ago and have dropped it twice when turning right from a complete stop. Has anyone else had this problem? It may be the rake of the bike, but now I'm a bit gun shy!

 

[Val]

welcome gnrharleygirl!! Can't say as I've dropped it on the right side before, but I have dropped it enough times. This might be something to do with the extra weight from the stock pipes on the right side, if yours are still stock.

Do you have a vrsca or b? You really have to get on the throttle when starting out from a stop with the 30-tooth pulley on the stock vrsca. I hear low speed maneuvers are easier with the 28-tooth pulley on the vrscb, but I still haven't test-ridden one to see how much easier.

Welcome again!!

Val

 

[KBOlsen]

Hi! Welcome to our little corner of the Internet!

Don't feel bad - I've managed to drop every bike I've ever owned at least once - LOL!

Sounds like you might not be giving it enough throttle while letting out the clutch. You might want to head over to an empty parking lot, using the stripes as a guideline, and just practice until it feels nice and comfy. Are you new to motorcycles, or just the 'Rod? Have you taken the MSF Beginner Course? It's a great way to get your skills 'up to speed'.

 

[Max]

Val if you want to move this thread I have set gnrharleygirl up in the ladys lounge.

and welcome gnrharleygirl to the forum.

Max

 

[Christine]

Hi there and Welcome.
Yeah I've dropped mine too Everyone has - or will!! - you've just got it over with quickly.

I agree that some practice on a open space is a great idea. Do you have the crash bars? - seem to be worthwhile to prevent too much damage to the bike.

Enjoy the forum - it's really friendly here.

Christine

 

[Christine]

Val if you want to move this thread I have set gnrharleygirl up in the ladys lounge.

and welcome gnrharleygirl to the forum.

Max

Max
Are you suggesting that none of the men have dropped their bike?

 

[gnrharleygirl]

I took the motorcycle saftey course last summer and started with a small 250cc street bike; no problems at all! No drops! I fell in love with the V-Rod (as you all have ), started out the first few times just fine, but since the 2 drops, I am almost afraid to ride it. Have gone back to the old bike. I will put in some parking lot time, thanks. I am very curious to see if others have a problem with complete stop turns. I will check out the ladies lounge. I do have the crash guards and no damage as yet!

 

[Val]

Christine! Don't be mean to Max!

Max, I'll move it if necessary. It would be nice to have input from some of the guys with riding-skills knowledge, too.

 

[Max]

LOL Christine, have you not heard of the "drop club" the first rule of "Drop Club" is that you don't talk about "Drop Club".

Christine I have found that it might be easier for a woman to discuss this with other women without all of the macho stuff. And no I have never dropped my bike.

 

[BRY65]

Christine! Don't be mean to Max!

Max, I'll move it if necessary. It would be nice to have input from some of the guys with riding-skills knowledge, too.

I don't think you need to move the thread. I think it's good for everyone to read and give tips.

mjw930 is correct in teh othe rthread in that it is different thanmost bike in that you do have to steer it in slow speed manuvers. The bike requires more input than just about every other bike I've riden.

When I first got the bike, I was making a left turn and leaned it over as usual and it didn't respond as I thought it would. I ended up brushing the curb. It took some practice to get the feel of the bike, but i caught on. You will too. Just keep riding.

 

[v-robb]

I've almost dropped my V-Rod twice, strength and luck being the only things that kept her from hitting the ground. Both times during a slow turn, once each direction! I have found that at parking lot speeds the 'Rod tends to fall into a turn, and at said slow speed will keep falling, so I try to keep her a bit more upright then.
Seems to help.

 

[Ricky G.]

LOL Christine, have you not heard of the "drop club" the first rule of "Drop Club" is that you don't talk about "Drop Club".

Christine I have found that it might be easier for a woman to discuss this with other women without all of the macho stuff. And no I have never dropped my bike.

Amen MAX.........

 

[Christine]

Christine! Don't be mean to Max!

Sorry Max !

 

[RICK DANGERS]

I havent dropped my v-rod, but ive pretty much dropped most of my 20 or so bikes that i did have before , feet slipping on gravel, once foot slipping on oil at gaz station.. they never hit hard, just touched..I always sacrificed myself before my bike.ouch.

 

[bassist]

yep, the exact same thing happened to me when i first got the bike; handle bars at full lock, eased out clutch, the bike leaned way over, i freaked, braked (bike is leaned over past the "point of no return", and well, you know. here's the solution: when you feel like you want put your foot down, ease out the clutch lever (this presumes that you have the rpm's up high enough). the whole incident made me very paranoid about executing this manuver, but i still practice it. i think you'll find, as i have, that this bike requires that you adjust to it's characteristics. i imagine it's more difficult if you have more than one bike and don't ride the rod exclusively. make no mistake, there is a "learning curve" here to be negotiated, even if you're an experienced rider. hang in there. once you've become fully acclimated to the rods characteristics and "quirks" you'll love it. it took me about 10k miles to become completely confidant on the bike (my third). i guess that might be the "bad news" if you only ride 1k miles a year. but hey, you might be a faster learner than me.

 

[wild-t]

Hi gnrharleygirl, welcome to the board.
I just started riding my new V-rod several days ago. After riding a CX500D Honda for 22 years I have found that this bike needed some getting used to.
One example; getting that "natural"/confortable feeling with the foot controls out front initally came slow but you will find the learning curve later increases quickly.

But one maneuver I'm approaching slowly is mastering is tight turns going slow. First, I realized that this bike is 'chopped'/has a large turn radius and I have to adjust how I maneuver the bike when parking, doing 180's on narrow streets, etc. Its just a different animal and I will never be able to make all the quick/tight turns like my smaller Honda...so I'm not trying.

I already noticed that when I first started riding the V-Rod...I always started the bike moving with the wheel straight then turned it. (But with its large turn radius, and I starting from deep into the stop sign, this makes you come out of the turn near the center of the street. I just didn't do that at first.)

***My main point:
You will find that with some miles under your belt your hands will learn the correct feel to work the clutch/throttle (and a little front brake if started too fast). Then you will find that you can start moving with the wheel turned and have smooth control of the weight of this bike.

From the first mile I tried to practice turns in a parking lot and right away found that that was a bad idea. It just felt to wierd to start doing turns untill I could smoothly start out without thinking of my hands. Like I did, you need to find some back roads with few cars. Let your hands learn that smooth action when starting and only do more gentle/sweeping turns with the roads. Because I was breaking in the bike I was constantly and gently going up and down thru the gears and never holding the same RPM for very long.
This rapidly got my hands the feel for starting smoothly, and the gentle turns allowed me to get confortable with the feel of turning with this 'chopped' front wheel. After 2 days (50mi each day) I went back to the parking lot and now practice the slow tight maneuvering/weight control (with more confort/feel/and confidence).

I admit I dropped a bike 21 years ago. (actually slowly let it down - so that might not count in 'drop club' - NOT!) It was my Honda - I was talking with some friends and started to get off the bike with the kick stand up! Too late and all I could do was hold on to it and slow the fall. One of thoes mistakes you remember and never do again. But after feeling the weight of that bike while helplessly trying to hold it up...made me really focus on weight control in turns and not push the envelope. HTH.

 

[bassist]

wild t, welcome to the "drop club". we're happy to have you. i'd be interested in a poll that asks people who have owned more than one bike "do you think the v-rod is a good choice as a first bike?"

 

[Val]

bassist, you've read my mind. I'll start the poll and explain why in another thread.

 

[wild-t]

I just added a post to that poll.

I did not mind talking about my only 'drop' experience because it really motivated me on paying attention to total motorcycle weight control (when maneuvering)...500lbs is heavy! And the V-Rod has 100lbs on that I think.

 

[danafwelch]

Turns, sometimes. Curves, never.