What's the dumbest thing you have done on your bike?

z06boy · 11-02-2009, 10:49 AM

Well other than actually wreck it has to be this...

When buying my very first bike...a 1988 Kawasaki Ninja 600R I had no real clue how to even ride it. Yes I knew right hand throttle/front brake...left hand clutch...left foot shifter and right foot rear brake but still no real clue how to ride it.

I had NEVER ridden on the street either and I picked it up when I got off of work on Friday afternoon in rush hour traffic.

I was real hesitate to jump out into traffic so I decided to ride around in a neighborhood behind the dealership. Well I did and then all of a sudden about a 1/2 mile away it started sputtering and cut off. I tried and I tried to restart it to no avail.

Pushed it off the road and parked it behind a building and walked back up to the dealership.

Told the guy the piece of crap was ALREADY giving me problems.

He said humm...."well maybe it's out of gas...did you switch it to reserve?"

I was like

...needless to say...I turned around...walked out red faced and all back to the bike...switched it to reserve...it started and I was on my way.

I thought I'd never get home alive being in rush hour traffic...but I did.

That was over 20 years ago...glad my current bike doesn't have a switchable reserve.

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11-02-2009, 10:49 AM	#23
z06boy Letzroll Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Lake Norman area, NC Moto: 07 Red R1 & 07 Blue R6 Posts: 5,265	Well other than actually wreck it has to be this... When buying my very first bike...a 1988 Kawasaki Ninja 600R I had no real clue how to even ride it. Yes I knew right hand throttle/front brake...left hand clutch...left foot shifter and right foot rear brake but still no real clue how to ride it. I had NEVER ridden on the street either and I picked it up when I got off of work on Friday afternoon in rush hour traffic. I was real hesitate to jump out into traffic so I decided to ride around in a neighborhood behind the dealership. Well I did and then all of a sudden about a 1/2 mile away it started sputtering and cut off. I tried and I tried to restart it to no avail. Pushed it off the road and parked it behind a building and walked back up to the dealership. Told the guy the piece of crap was ALREADY giving me problems. He said humm...."well maybe it's out of gas...did you switch it to reserve?" I was like ...needless to say...I turned around...walked out red faced and all back to the bike...switched it to reserve...it started and I was on my way. I thought I'd never get home alive being in rush hour traffic...but I did. That was over 20 years ago...glad my current bike doesn't have a switchable reserve.