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righting a dropped FJR?

7K views 37 replies 23 participants last post by  VCheng 
#1 ·
Anyone have any advice on how to right an FJR by oneself? I'm not a big guy, 5'11'' 140 lbs.
 
#4 ·
There are as @fjroddy pointed out, several videos on YouTube. There are examples of small framed young ladies lifting full size Harley dressers. I think it helps if you have good crash bars. They not only offer good hand holds but keep the bike off the ground and a little higher up.

It is more about technique and determination than outright strength.
 
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#6 · (Edited)
Same as a wing or other bike. Petite women have been demonstrating this at BMW and Wing rallies for years.

If on the right, sidestand down, back to the bike, butt on the seat (or as best you can), r hand on the passenger grab rail, left hand on the grip and brake lever applied. Put your feet way out and baby step it back until the bike is upright. The sidestand will help avoid flipping it to the other side.

If on the left, similar but you have to be more careful about not flipping it on the other side once upright.

Video examples all over Youtube

 
#8 ·
If you are determined enough you can do it, and the YouTube videos are useful. I laid down a Triumph Rocket 111 Tourer, which is much heavier than the FJR, and got it up again unaided. I’m 5’8” and 170 and in no way muscle bound. Mind you I think there was some desperation involved, as I had a small audience of seeming octogenarians, none of whom offered to help!
 
#9 ·
If it falls on the right side, extend the sidestand on left (top) before righting so you don’t have to walk around the other side to put the sidestand down.

At Goldwing rallies that I have seen they have always thought to bring carpet to lay the Goldwing on for these demos.
 
#11 ·
Like previously mentioned there are plenty of videos online. It does require a little bit of strength but having the correct technique makes it a **** of a lot easier.

Face away from the bike and back into it. Your legs should be doing most of the work as your ass is making contact.

With that said, when I dropped mine I was with friends so we just muscled her up. I'm sure a Harley or Wing, despite weighing more is easier to pick up due to a lower center of gravity.
 
#27 ·
Like previously mentioned there are plenty of videos online. It does require a little bit of strength but having the correct technique makes it a **** of a lot easier.

Face away from the bike and back into it. Your legs should be doing most of the work as your ass is making contact.

With that said, when I dropped mine I was with friends so we just muscled her up. I'm sure a Harley or Wing, despite weighing more is easier to pick up due to a lower center of gravity.
The lower COG has nothing to do with it. The Harley is a 900 lb bike. I don't care how low the COG is...that's heavy! And it isn't easier to pick up a Harley or a Goldwing. What makes it POSSIBLE is that they both have GOOD crashbars at a place on the bike where it won't fall all the way over, thus enabling a rider to get enough leverage on it to get it back upright.
 
#12 ·
With the proper technique, it can be put upright by one person easily. Be aware that dropping a Gen3 will likely break the aluminum mainstay inside the top cowling, which is an expensive part and a pain to replace, besides the other scratches. Don't ask me how I know both. :D
 
#14 ·
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, All these videos show a person lifting a BMW Boxer, a Goldwing, or a ST1300, all of which are resting at an angle of nearly 45 degrees because of all the large bits sticking out the side. Try an FJR1300 which is resting at an angle of 190 degrees, because you usually drop it on a down slope, because your leg is too short to reach the ground when you stop. I can guarantee that a guy like the OP, 5'11'' 140 lbs, has no hope of picking that bike up, no matter what technique he uses.

I have picked up my FJR by myself several times over the years, but I weigh close to 190 pounds, and have weight trained all my life, and even so, I have nearly busted a gut every time. Now that I am 69 years old, I wouldn't even try, that is one of the reasons why I sold my FJR and bought a lighter Super Tenere.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Just to be clear, the method in the videos is not as easy as it looks if the bike is flat on its side like a dead horse. Ask me how I know. In December my Superduke GT fell over at a gas station at 7:30 on a Sunday morning. Nobody else around. That bike weighs about 150 lbs less than the FJR and I could not budge it literally at all. The bike is very narrow and was flat on its side.

Also, if you are alone, don't forget that once you get it upright, you then have to figure out how to turn around and put the bike back on its stand without it falling over the other direction. Every bike I've ever had fall over had fallen to the kickstand side because the kickstand was not fully engaged (if at all).
 
#18 ·
Small woman are picking up Harleys and Gold Wings 300 lbs heavier than our FJRs. Can do with the right technique.
 
#19 ·
First if all, don't confuse small with leg strength. Second, as has been mentioned, center of gravity and how far over the bike lays on its side are major factors. In fact, per my post above, a small lady did get my KTM up using the method as I instructed her to. But she offered to help me with it and she told me she was pretty strong for her size.

The point is that not everyone is going to be able to do it even using that technique. I could not. Admittedly I had open heart surgery four months before and was not at full strength. But it just shows that you do have to have some level of strength that not everyone is going to have.
 
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#20 · (Edited)
First of all, get some GOOD crash bars!!!! That is the VERY FIRST thing you add....period. And have them installed BEFORE you ride out of the dealership! Now that we have that understanding, let's go to the HOW TO part of the discussion.

Blah Blah blah..."small woman picking up a Harley"........THIS is a magic trick mostly. Harleys and Goldwings(the pre 2018s) have great crashbars, so the bike doesn't fall over all the way. You CAN get leverage on these fallen bikes. In fact, a SMALLER(read shorter) woman has a better chance of righting that bike than a 6"2" man....reason, woman get down lower and get more leverage than a 6' 2" man can. I'm 6' 2" and when I get down that low with my long legs bent more than 45degrees, I can barely stand back up, much less try lifting a bike up.

There is another way though. Look up a technique called the MEYER LIFT on YouTube. He is an ARUBA motorcycle cop that invented this lift. He stands forward, not backward, and doesn't have his butt against the seat. He stands facing the bike with the handlebars turned and PUSHES against the bike with the handlebars using his weight and arms for leverage. No back muscles are used at all. Easy Peasy!
 
#22 ·
I dropped mine while going around the Finger Lakes in upstate NY, road was sloped and it fell to the left. Fortunately I had TRex crash bars so no damage and it was not flat on it's side. I picked it up with my back to it, and then somebody put the sidestand down for me. It was leaned over pretty far on the sidestand so we backed it up so it was pointing uphill instead of sideways. I'm 5'6", 160. Did not bust a nut, just my pride. Zero damage to the bike.
 
#23 ·
I have an idea for all you macho guys. Lay your bike over in its side and let's see how many of your wives can get it back up (THE BIKE!). And I want videos for proof :)
 
#25 ·
Gee, all this time I thought the general idea was to NOT have the bike laying on its side. :)

I have had to pick up a bike twice. Both times it was my BMW K1200LT and both times were on the same day. After 15 years of owning the K1200LT, that drove me to replace the LT with the FJR, a much lighter ride that my weaker knees could handle.
 
#34 ·
Gee, all this time I thought the general idea was to NOT have the bike laying on its side. :)

I have had to pick up a bike twice. Both times it was my BMW K1200LT and both times were on the same day. After 15 years of owning the K1200LT, that drove me to replace the LT with the FJR, a much lighter ride that my weaker knees could handle.
OH... the Light Truck

Wife and I were on tour in Prince Edward Island on our 99. Pull into a small diner with entrance/exit in same lane, so it was tight. We decide not to go in as parking is very tight. I prepare to do a hard right turn and exit the lot... NEXT thing I know, I am laying on my back, wife is standing beside me and bike is wheels in the air (like the 190 deg Bernie mentioned). Before I could even get off the ground, two guys in a pickup pulled up , jumped out and righted that heavy LT in seconds flat. I put the sidestand down.Lol.

I was still trying to figure what happened........and as my luck would have it.....I stopped where a large pie shaped piece of pavement was missing, and hole was out of site approx under center stand. When I attempted the turn, back wheel dropped in whole and stalled bike, with bars at full lock. Only my pride got hurt.
It was shortly thereafter I traded the LT on FJR. Mostly because Yam dealer was only dealer willing to take LT on trade(he used to sell BMW). Wife still misses her comfort seat on the LT.:wink2:
 
#35 ·
I like the bike jack idea but it would have to be stowed in one of the hard cases and with my luck the bike would drop butter side down so to speak with the jack trapped in the case between the bike and the ground.
 
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