How to pick up a bike. Does everyone know this?

mikerust

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Nov 5, 2003
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I stumbled onto this today.

And How to Pick It Up Again

What follows assumes the bike is on its left side, with its brake levers up in the air.

Turn your back on the bike, and grab the left handlebar in your right hand. Pull up as though you were turning the handlebars to the left, and the motion of the front wheel should start to lift the front of the bike. With your left hand, grab the frame just under the seat, the grab rail, or whatever's convenient. Put the bit of your back just above your bum against the seat, and use your legs to start to move the bike upright. It gets easier the further up you go, but for heaven's sake don't go too far and push it right over!

If the bike is on its right side, reverse the above instructions left-to-right and get the side-stand down (unless you've got a bike with a spring-loaded side-stand, in which case, tough).

Note: use your legs, not your back. Use your back and you may get the bike upright, but you won't get yourself upright for quite a while. The reason is that you run the risk of slipped disks and ripped muscles. So - use your leg muscles to do the work. If you can get a friendly (and muscular) bystander to help, so much the better.

Apparently an 80-year-old granny can get a Honda Goldwing upright using this technique.

Amazing now if I can get brave enough to lay my bike down?
 

Muzz

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Mar 27, 2007
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mikerust wrote: I stumbled onto this today.

And How to Pick It Up Again

What follows assumes the bike is on its left side, with its brake levers up in the air.

Turn your back on the bike, and grab the left handlebar in your right hand. Pull up as though you were turning the handlebars to the left, and the motion of the front wheel should start to lift the front of the bike. With your left hand, grab the frame just under the seat, the grab rail, or whatever's convenient. Put the bit of your back just above your bum against the seat, and use your legs to start to move the bike upright. It gets easier the further up you go, but for heaven's sake don't go too far and push it right over!

If the bike is on its right side, reverse the above instructions left-to-right and get the side-stand down (unless you've got a bike with a spring-loaded side-stand, in which case, tough).

Note: use your legs, not your back. Use your back and you may get the bike upright, but you won't get yourself upright for quite a while. The reason is that you run the risk of slipped disks and ripped muscles. So - use your leg muscles to do the work. If you can get a friendly (and muscular) bystander to help, so much the better.

Apparently an 80-year-old granny can get a Honda Goldwing upright using this technique.

Amazing now if I can get brave enough to lay my bike down?
Mike, you forgot to mention that the engine should be cut or switched off, and the bike should also be in first gear. I think many of us Beemer riders learned this trick :D
 
Nov 2, 2008
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That’s good advice and I quickly mailed it off to two close friends who are recent BMW 1200GS owners, with some added ribbing about if an 80 year old lady can. Seemed fair, I’ve had to assist picking up a Softail for one of these buddies when their daughter bumped into it on the driveway with her car, but their sorrow may have sapped some of their strength.

But always wondered how it was done on the big machines.