How dumb is dumb?

[Nelmar]

It was last Sunday, beautiful skies, mild breeze, and the Spirit moved me to ride my 2005 Warrior to church. Cautiously, I approached the parking lot, parked my cycle, wrapped the security chain around the front wheel, and went inside the chapel to thank the Lord for my blessings.

After service, I walked slowly to my Warrior, adjusting my armored jacked and pants, CE riding shorts, knee armor, Hi Viz gloves, and my bright, full-face yellow Hi Vis Helmet. Mounting my 1700 steed, I looked around me, started the engine, shifted into first, and pulled out-------nanosecond later I found myself on my ass with the bike on top of me. Thanks to my paratrooper training (or I like to think so), I nimbly jumped to my feet, placed my butt on the seat, grabbed the handlebars, and uprighted the bike---all 650 lbs! Adrenaline definitely had a part in my efforts. As I looked around, I was hoping no one saw my rookie mishap,but no such luck. A young kid on a crotch rocket just happened to be by riding out of the church parking lot, his girlfriend perched on the back, blue eyes wide with concern.
"You okay?" he asked. I could have lied but I didn't.
"I''m okay. I forgot to remove the chain from my front wheel. Thanks anyway." After making sure I was okay, he sped away.
And, I feeling moronic, idiotic, stupid, and humiliated. How the **** could I have forgotten to remove the security chain? What the **** was I thinking! Lord, why are you punishing me? To my chagrin, I noticed the left peg broke off. Luckily, I had enough aluminum on the peg where I could place my foot and shift. Folks, tell my I'm not the dumbest person in Texas. Humor me and tell me that you've been the victim of your own theft paranoia.
Later that evening I gave thanks to HIM for coming out unscathed except for a little soreness in my left butt cheekbone. Wouldn't you know it --- the only place on my body unprotected but that's where I landed. Again, tell me it ain't so. Am I really that dumb?

[Ama]

there's a whole thread talking about dumb things that have happened to us, at least you're okay, you can find used pegs or buy aftermarket ones for pretty cheap

[Dunecraz]

There is alot of us (myself included) that have done stupid stuff, and felt like the biggest idiot. Can you say "KICKSTAND". Don't forget to put it down!!!

[SpaceCoastWarrior]

I had a friend who's roomate was always late for work. He had a habit of hopping on his bike, reving the motor and taking off....only to end up doing the endo of shame! Not just once, but multiple times!!!

[active1951]

Sounds like you were "high on life" leaving church on a nice ridin day. Not a bad way to be, but remember on a motorcycle it can be costly. Kinda like being distracted. Easy to do on these bikes...
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[whajac]

When I first joined there were a bunch of posts about forgetting to put the kickstand down. The dumbest thing so far was turning the engine over during an oil change without the dip stick seated. I try to keep the same routine for every start up, shut down, mount & dismount, along with other standards. If I miss something, it feels wierd/different and concentrate on what I missed.

[Nelmar]

I hear you Active1951. Definitely will have to take my time on take-off checklist. In a way it woke me up as I do agree with you that you have to focus all the time. Better to fall in a church parking lot at 2MPH than on a freeway at 65MPH.

[gilly]

Put some kind of color reminder on the throttle grip. As soon as you see it, it will remind you to remove locks or chains. J&P cycles sells them.

[mr_noize2]

Well, unless you also have a car tire on your Warrior, probably not the dumbest person in Texas. But MANY of us have had similar moments.

I use to have a disc brake lock which I kept forgetting to remove. I normally will push the bike out of my parking space or where it was parked, and that kept me from charging off.

Good luck finding what works for you. I hope it is not getting a stock pile of left pegs.

[yamaweezle]

Originally Posted by gilly

Put some kind of color reminder on the throttle grip. As soon as you see it, it will remind you to remove locks or chains. J&P cycles sells them.

Exactly...I use a length of bright orange twine tied to my kickstand plate, when I'm parked on gravel. I tied a loop in the other end, so I can loop it over one of my hand grips as a reminder. Haven't forgotten it yet.