[sartorius]

When I'm ready to go out on my butt-kickin' GS500f, here's my general routine:
1. have jacket, pants, boots on
2. sit on bike with helmet and gloves on tank
3. use the choke
4. start bike, put it in neutral, let it idle as I put on the gloves and helmet
5. give a few twists of the throttle as I ease down on the choke
6. slowly go on my way, using my parking lot to make sure the power is smooth before I go on the road

Here's the Q: How likely would it ever be for the bike to slip out of neutral and into a gear while I'm putting on the helmet and gloves? I'm not sure how much of a danger that'd be (would I go flying forward or would it just stall?), but I hear the choked high rpms and wonder sometimes.

 

[The_AirHawk]

Not likely, unless you've been beating on the transmission a LOT(say, repeated clutchless upshifts under power near-redline). Neutral is a pretty-safe "gear", once you're in it.

It's possible, but not probable. You'll have other problems a long time before that happens, I daresay.

 

[seruzawa]

That is the last thing you should worry about.

 

[Dr_Sprocket]

Hasn't happened to me yet, in six years of riding. Most of the time, I start the bike (in neutral, of course) and let the bike idle while I gear up.

One thing to think about: my driveway isn't level so with all the vibrations from the bike it does have a tendency to migrate or inch along. I always make sure the front wheel is pointed uphill (relatively speaking), so the bike won't rock forward off the kick stand.

 

[sartorius]

I don't think mine even starts while the kickstand is down. Safety feature, I guess.

Thanks for the input, folks. I'm not gonna worry about a sudden 4k rpm burst making a new entrance into my apartment.

 

[A Star Ride]

Unless your helmet falls from your tank & catches the shift lever on the way down, even still he bike should stall if you engage gear while side stand is down. You have a better chance of someone parking on top of you while sitting there loud pipes, blaze orange vest, etc.

 

[pushrod]

+1

Most bikes will stall, assuming you could accidentally get it to drop into gear.

If it's a Big Twin HD, or one of the other big V-twins, it may lurch forward, as the rotating mass of the engine is substantial, but again, it is not easy to go into gear without meaning to.

As mentioned above, I'd worry a lot more about well-fed birds, runaway grocery carts and mindless car drivers.

 

[ghettoe]

Personally, I put on gear before I get on but as someone said that will be the least of your worries.

 

[Dirty Mac]

When I'm ready to go out on my butt-kickin' GS500f, here's my general routine

Sorry to go off topic but how do you like your GS500F? They are selling 2009s for $3,900 including all dealer fees before tax, tag and title in Central Florida. It's one of the bikes I'm considering for my first ride.

 

[sartorius]

The GS500f is never off-topic.

I got it earlier this year, and I love the thing. Enough power to easily merge on the highway, yet very controllable so I'm not hanging on for dear life every time I twist the throttle. So yeah, powerwise it seems to be perfect for me as a first-timer. Seems pretty dang agile, too, although I don't have anything to really compare it to. Seating is kind of standardish, I guess: leaned forward a little, but not crazy crotch rocket style.

Mine was dropped by the previous owner, so I paid less and am not afraid to let it meet the pavement if it has to (only did once). That may or may not be a factor for you, but it was a big plus to me. Cracked fairing and duct tape ->

At first I was thinking I'd want a cruiser, but concerns about back posture/pain and general cost (I wanted < $2500) led me to narrow things down to the 250r, 500r, and SV650.

The SV650 got ruled out because it was a little pricier than what I wanted, and I heard varying things about the power: too much for a newbie or not? I probably could've handled it fine, being the cautious sort, but there'll be time to find that out next year when I get a different bike.

I hear the 250r or 500r would've been great first picks, too. Listening to people talk about them, they sound similar to the GS500f. I don't know what any significant differences might be, so maybe others will chime in here.

The GS500f just happened to come at the right time and right price. Completely unexpected, and I'm very glad I didn't ignore it.

 

[MOKE1K]

This thread reminds me of a buddy that used to wear tennis shoes when he rode, we always told him to get some boots. One day he got the lace stuck to the peg at a lite and feel right over, whilst trying to free it up so he could put his foot down. Man it was funny watching him struggle to remove his foot as the bike started leaning over until it hit.

 

[The_AirHawk]

This thread reminds me of a buddy that used to wear tennis shoes when he rode, we always told him to get some boots. One day he got the lace stuck to the peg at a lite and feel right over, whilst trying to free it up so he could put his foot down. Man it was funny watching him struggle to remove his foot as the bike started leaning over until it hit.

I did that once - only, I had enough sense to realize my predicament, and put the other foot down. As it was just me, and I was in Rush-hour Traffic, I couldn't just "pause for a moment" and untangle my laces at the stop. So, I got going again, and untangled "on the fly" between the next stop.

Awkward putting the "wrong" foot down, but beats the hell outta laying in the street with a motorcycle on top of you, and 500 angry cagers honking and yelling expletives.

 

[MOKE1K]

That's why Iv always worn boots.

 

[The_AirHawk]

That's why Iv always worn boots.

I was a dumb kid, and didn't know any better. Didn't even wear a helmet regularly then.

I'm probably only a little dumber now.

 

[pplassm]

Saw my brother forget to mput his foot down once. Lots of witnesses, too. Lots os Lols.

 

[sarnali2]

Back when bell bottoms were the thing I got one hooked over the kick starter somehow, pretty much everyone thought it was funny but me.......

 

[MOKE1K]

I was a dumb kid, and didn't know any better. Didn't even wear a helmet regularly then.

I'm probably only a little dumber now.

Guess I should rephrase that I have worn tennis shoes hightops to be exact and have had the issue, scared the **** outta me but managed to get the foot down. Boots for life, besides they look cool as hell!

 

[gunsmoker]

Reviving this old thread because two people talked about getting shoelaces caught on your motorcycle's moving parts and one guy talked about hooking the bell bottom of his pants on the bike.

Today I was riding in 42° weather and I had a scarf trailing behind me. It was long and I thought having it flap in the wind would make me more visible to cars, as my ride began at dawn.

Sometime during the ride, unknown to me that scarf got caught in my rear brake on my right side. ( it could just as easily got tangled in the spokes, but instead it just wedged itself around my disc brake system and reduced my breaking power from the rear.)

I discovered this 4 miles from home so I carefully limped it into the garage and inspected the damage. It looks like I'm gonna have to take at least one of the brake pads off the free this scrap of melted nylon-poly material in there.

LESSON TO LEARN
(keep in mind this is the "learning to ride" forum, so these are tips for inexperienced riders.)

NO LOOSE STUFF ALLOWED hanging off of you, or any of your gear, or any part of your bike.

 

[gunsmoker]

I hate slip-on leather boots; I have to fight like hell to get the things on unless they're sloppy loose, in which case I don't like walking in them. All of my boots, except all-rubber mud/ muck boots, have laces.

I'm not sure if I should continue using those lace up boots on a motorcycle, although I've always been in the habit of double-knotting them, even triple knots, so the laces are both short and resistant to untangling themselves.