New Motorcycle Lift Day - Oh noooooooo

[petshark]

Thank you for sharing, What a story! I can totally imagine. I hope there is little or no damage to your Tenere and you got the gasoline off the bike and your clothes.

And I am going to start paying attention when getting gas. The latches are still there at most stations in Belgium and I often use them. No more after hearing this. 

 

[knyte]

2 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

I'm going to go hide now.

Naw man, that's just real life - totally relatable!!

[knyte]

As for the lift system.  I have an ATV lift from Princess Auto, but it only works with certain bikes, and my FJ isn't one of them.

However - I did pick up a QuickJack on sale at Costco (best $ spent EVER if you have a few vehicles and DIY), and they make an accessory for motorcycles:

https://www.quickjack.com/accessories/motorcycle-lift-kit/

I'm too cheap though - it so happens I've a wheel chock, so I can just make the platform out of wood and affix the chock for the front wheel..  Problem solved!

[betoney]

2 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

I had resolved to never tell this last part of the story and put it behind me, however, in the spirit of @petshark's share, I felt it was necessary.  I'm going to go hide now.

I hate to laugh but I can only imagine someone watching the security footage...  WTF?... rewind... WTF?...rewind... 😎

[Wintersdark]

1 hour ago, petshark said:

Thank you for sharing, What a story! I can totally imagine. I hope there is little or no damage to your Tenere and you got the gasoline off the bike and your clothes.

And I am going to start paying attention when getting gas. The latches are still there at most stations in Belgium and I often use them. No more after hearing this. 

 

I've often used them in the past (though not for bikes so much because filling a ~13l tank is pretty quick anyways)... but this time, I didn't even intentionally use the latch, I was squeezing the handle manually - normally those latches should stay retracted.  But not this one.  The gas everywhere was all on their janky broken nozzle, but dropping the bike just hopping on to it was 100% me, and just made the whole thing an absurd comedy of errors.  I'm glad it wasn't a comedy of errors that involved me being engulfed in a fireball, so there's that on the plus side at least.  

What's kind of weird is I still don't really know how I managed to do that.  Just getting on to the bike, and dumping over the other way.  I mean, yeah, it was a bit awkward and I was pretty stressed and upset, but... how do you even do that?  And yeah, the T7 is a very tall bike, but I'm also a pretty big guy.  At 450lbs it's not light, but it's also not really heavy by my standards.  Still, as we all know... There's a point (and it's a lot higher than most would expect) where the bike is just going down, no matter what you do.

No damage, though.  An upside of the T7 and it's crash protection.  I've binned it *hard* five times not counting this (3 dirt 2 pavement), and it's completely undamaged other than scratches on the plastic handguards and on the OEM engine guards (which are largely invisible with a bit of black paint on them).  I'm a REALLY big fan of the whole adventure bike setup these days; where you've got a rugged machine that's intended to be treated poorly. 

1 hour ago, betoney said:

I hate to laugh but I can only imagine someone watching the security footage...  WTF?... rewind... WTF?...rewind... 😎

I kind of feel for the gas station workers, because at that point.. I just left.  No idea what they're gonna do with their pool of gas, but I was *not* interested in talking to anyone.  And deeply, deeply thankful for my helmet.

[Warchild]

4 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

Went over to the right, and just kept going, couldn't get footing on the wet ground in time, and then it's lying on it's side

Ack, that is certainly a bummer! Gasoline on concrete is amazingly slippery, it might as well be thin oil.  But kudos for your petshark support by re-telling this tale!  👍

[Warchild]

1 hour ago, Wintersdark said:

There's a point (and it's a lot higher than most would expect) where the bike is just going down, no matter what you do.

 

Yes sir, and exactly as you say, that point (angle) it's a lot higher that one might think.

So what would that angle be for a top-heavy Tracer with full fuel tanks at 0-mph?  It likely depends one's leg and upper-body strength. Regardless, I am just not interested in finding out.

I'm pretty sure that a 0-degree lean is best on fuel-sloshed concrete. 🤡

 

 

[2and3cylinders]

I always fill-up standing next to the bike because IMO it's much safer.  Besides not being trapped and catching a crotch full of gas, you can readily back away quickly if something untoward occurs.

I fill-up with the bike on the side stand or center stand if available, and always park on the right side of the pump with it on the bikes left side.  I also never use the nozzle lever catch when filling a bike.

I once, not long after I bought my FJ09, picked the gas nozzle off the pump which some how was docked with either the lever catch caught or somehow just stuck on.  I don't recall exactly how it all happened but suddenly I was spraying gas all over my pristine FJ's gas tank.  I managed to quickly turn the fountain away, get the gas off and redock the nozzle.  I then ran inside the BP station yelling there was a defective pump and gas spill.  I grabbed 2 gallon jugs of drinking water that conveniently was stacked by the door and ran back out and dumped them on my FJ.  I ran in again and grabbed 3 more gallons of water and repeated the rinsing.  I frankly did not give a dam that people thought I was crazy.  I also never offered nor was I asked to pay for the bottles of water.

Needless to say I was very upset, so much so I eventually tracked down the station owner and filed a claim against his liability insurance.  I didn't get a payout but did at least get some satisfaction from rattling their cages.

I subsequently removed the saddle and bodywork, and washed and waxed it all inside and out.  Luckily the engine barely was splashed.

To this day I often visually survey a gas station when I first pull in and try to locate the stations emergency gas pump shut-off kill buttons, just in case.

https://firemarshal.wv.gov/Documents/Unattended Fuel Dispensing.pdf

https://jwkblog.com/wordpress/fire-at-gas-stations-some-facts-some-statistics-and-some-prevention-tips/

[Warchild]

21 minutes ago, 2and3cylinders said:

I always fill-up standing next to the bike because IMO it's much safer. 

Yep, I am strictly off the bike and on the centerstand for a maximum refill, and to reduce the chances of a mishap.

That said, the S1000XR has two fuel tanks to refill, so I have no choice but to dismount to refuel:

 

[2and3cylinders]

What's your XRs range then?!  I presume with a heavy wrist it drops to under 35 mpg...

Long ago I bough a second tank for my VTR1000F and increased its capacity about a gallon because it averages only 33 mpg and the OLOD can come on at 100 miles; stock is 4.2 gallons including a pitiful reserve.  Unfortunately my prostate even after a couple of ream jobs did not often permit me to drain the stock tank before my bladder cried foul, so I removed the bigger tank and it's gathered dust since.

Since I got the FJ with its not even 4.8 gallon fuel tank and better mileage, my prostate got even more demanding, very rarely letting me drain the tank before I had to stop, usually on an emergency basis on the side of the road, heart pounding and breathing heavily.  Talk about difficulty remembering to put the side stand down before struggling to get off the bike and then unbuckle and unzip in time to keep from leaking prematurely.  I considered Depends but could never bring myself to wear them.

After my lumbar fusion last August I managed to get a few rides in late last year until I had a Button TURP (my 4th procedure of that ilk) mid-December.  Now I'm still recovering not only from the disc fusion and TURP but also my right rotator cuff repair and bicep tendon reattachment I had last week.  But I hope by July to be able to run a fuel cell - bladder challenge. 😎

[betoney]

1 hour ago, 2and3cylinders said:

I always fill-up standing next to the bike because IMO it's much safer.  Besides not being trapped and catching a crotch full of gas, you can readily back away quickly if something untoward occurs.

 

52 minutes ago, Warchild said:

Yep, I am strictly off the bike and on the centerstand for a maximum refill, and to reduce the chances of a mishap.

I do the exactly the same thing, always standing on the side of the bike and its always on the center stand.

 

[petshark]

2 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

After my lumbar fusion last August I managed to get a few rides in late last year until I had a Button TURP (my 4th procedure of that ilk) mid-December.  Now I'm still recovering not only from the disc fusion and TURP but also my right rotator cuff repair and bicep tendon reattachment I had last week.  But I hope by July to be able to run a fuel cell - bladder challenge. 😎

That's a lot! Hang in there and fingers crossed for July.

3 hours ago, Warchild said:

Yep, I am strictly off the bike and on the centerstand for a maximum refill, and to reduce the chances of a mishap.

2 hours ago, betoney said:

I do the exactly the same thing, always standing on the side of the bike and its always on the center stand.

+1

 

@WarchildIt's probably been asked before but what role does the Tracer have when you have a XR? I haven't tried one yet but have ridden with one and I always thought of the XR as a similar bike only more luxurious and powerful. An upgrade?

I know about the difference in engine character but had not expected someone to keep riding both. Could you share what the Tracer gives you that the XR doesn't so much so that you keep both?

Edited March 26, 2022 by petshark

[roy826]

I’m not getting rid of my lift after one incident in the past 11 years of owning it. Absurd! My knees, back and everythIng in between thank me. 

[2and3cylinders]

2 hours ago, petshark said:

That's a lot! Hang in there and fingers crossed for July.

+1

 

@WarchildIt's probably been asked before but what role does the Tracer have when you have a XR? I haven't tried one yet but have ridden with one and I always thought of the XR as a similar bike only more luxurious and powerful. An upgrade?

I know about the difference in engine character but had not expected someone to keep riding both. Could you share what the Tracer gives you that the XR doesn't so much so that you keep both?

Thanks 

3 surgeries in 7 months 

But I'm having C5 & C6 fused in December so i can get a few monthsof riding in, then my other shoulder will get redone in 23; hopefully I can hold out until December 23.

The XR is rocketship with much more sophisticated rider aids, electronic suspension and QS.  With its longer legs it's better suited for high speed cross country trips, and really excels in the fast twisties.

Yes it's very similar to the FJ / Tracer but up a couple significant levels.  I have a friend with the fastest red one, and when we park side x side my also fastest red 15 looks like its little brother less one pipe.

[Wintersdark]

I know lots of people who are strictly off the bike filling people.  Me?  Nah.  I don't even have centerstands on both bikes - the T7 lacks one.  This hasn't changed that in any way; hell, while it likely wouldn't have been my crotch, I'd probably still have been splashed given how gas sprayed everywhere once the tank was full.  It would have saved gas in the crotch, but... Meh.  I'll fill from either side, though I generally prefer the pump on the right (being right handed), but that too, doesn't much matter.  My thinking is this: It's painful and awkward mounting/dismounting with my shot knees, general oldness and prior stupid youth.  Long gone are the days where I just hop smoothly on and off bikes.  I'm fine with a slightly higher risk of getting a bit of gas on me.  On the other hand, outside that, the only time you'd really not want to be on the bike while fueling is if it somehow started burning.  In that case, I can be off that bike VERY quickly.  I'm ok with that risk, given that (as I said in the first post) the autoignition temperature of gasoline is way above any hot surfaces on the bike.  It'd take an absurdly bizzare set of circumstances to actually have this situation result in flames. 

To each their own, though.  I definitely respect the reasoning behind off-bike fillers.  I'm just lazy and wimpy.

But in my defense, to be clear: I never use the latch when filling a motorcycle gas tank, and didn't engage it here.  The tanks are small, so there's no point in it. Most of our pumps don't even have them anymore. But they're supposed to be spring loaded (the spring pushing in the release direction, which is why you can squeeze the handle to release the latch) but this one apparently was lacking that spring so the latch engaged on it's own and wouldn't disengage.