embarrassing moments

[pcsof8]

What's your most embarasing moment?:bolt

[Catman]

Assuming we are talking about an embarrassing moment on a motorcycle, I respectfully offer the following:

I had just purchased my first bike, a brand new 1967 50cc Bridgestone. I had been riding for about a week and didn't have the slightest idea what I was doing. Gleefully riding along, I suddenly noticed the red traffic light in front of me. I skillfully nailed the rear brake only, having been warned by others that if I even looked at the front brake, it would immediately vault me over the handlebars.

Of course, I locked up the rear wheel and skidded a hundred feet or so, coming to a somewhat less than graceful stop right in the middle of the intersection. It was at that moment that I looked to my right and noticed about a half dozen members of the local 81 on their Harley-Davidsons, all laughing their asses off. Fortunately, the little Bridgestone restarted on the first kick, and I was able to slink off and find a place to check the status of my shorts.

I figure this was a pretty embarrassing moment, as I can still recall it vividly after some 40 years of riding. An inauspicious debut to be sure.
:cat

[Bullfrog]

It was a dark and stormy night.....No, wait! I was being transfered from the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA :cry to Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, TX. (Don't know why a grunt would want to be on an Air Force Base!?!?!) I was on my beautiful Honda 550 Four and enjoying the ride immensely. It was the summer of '75, by the way. On day three, early in the morning, I reach El Paso and think I'm almost there, WooHoo!:p Then, I saw the sign - San Angelo - 508 miles. WOW. After many hours, one sore butt (amazing how long one can ride a 2X4, isn't it?), pushing an out of gas loaded down machine, getting help from some really nice folks, and wide open spaces, I pulled into the parking lot at the Base.:usa Many of my compadres who had flown down awaited with open arms. I came to a gentle stop and promptly fell right over. Forgot to put my feet down:doh

So, there it is.:bolt

Dave

[Holly]

Well then there is the many times I forgot what gear I was in on the rotary shift Bridgestone. That can be pretty embarrassing. BTW, I still have a 90cc Sport, which runs, and a 60cc Surfrider which needs work.

[From MARS]

Back in '73, I was stationed at MCAS (that's military for Marine Corps Air Station) Yuma, Az. There are some hills East of town on Isomething or other. Just the other side of them was a biker bar. I was riding my '71 Sportster for the first time. Had my new "Dingo" boots on looking cool; drinking in the noise of the pipes as we ( me and the bike) coursed our way through the "curves". Came down the other side and took the exit that led straight to the bar; rapping the throttle as I geared down. Those shorty mufflers were sweet back then, and everyone turned to look at the new biker.

As I slipped the Sporty into first and was idleing across the gravel lot to park, my right ankle began to get really hot. I risked a look down. Crap! My boots on fire. There's smoke trailing behind me, and everyone is pointing.

Instead of rolling into a prominent parking space, sitting on my new ride, and slowly taking off my helmet really cool like, I damn near dropped the bike trying to get stopped and the stand down. After bailing off the bike, I run over to the water hose while at the same time kicking my boot off. My sock is smoldering. Some real biker types are standing there filling canteens for the ride across the desert. One of them turned and took the hose and sprayed me from the waist down.

I bought a lot of beer that day.

[dbOnIce]

[QUOTE=thomasseigler;211519]Back in '73, I was stationed at MCAS (that's military for Marine Corps Air Station) Yuma, Az. There are some hills East of town on Isomething or other. Just the other side of them was a biker bar. QUOTE]

I was going to say Reds Roost, but now I rember that was in town.

Sliding my bobbed glide into a snug spot of the scooter parking section of the lot, I nicked the tailpipe of the bike on my left with my footpeg. This pinned my foot in place. I had the world famous domino effect on the motorcycles to my left. Thankfully my ego was the only thing really damaged. Needless to say there was again some beer buying.:doh

[knary]

I don't want to talk about it. :bluduh
Trust me, I've got you beat. :ha

[From MARS]

Come on, knary, share. We all want to feel better about ourselves by knowing that somebody else has done something even more embarassing than we have. Besides, haven't you ever heard that confession is good for the soul?

[Easy]

Come on, knary, share. We all want to feel better about ourselves by knowing that somebody else has done something even more embarassing than we have. Besides, haven't you ever heard that confession is good for the soul?

Please don't ask Scott anymore. I've seen the photos of some of the things that were buried in his backyard. Lord knows what else is back there. :rofl

Easy :german

[BubbaZanetti]

16 years old, i get on my friend's 73 CB 360, which fired on one of two cylinders half the time. he explained to me the clutch and throttle. i kept saying "yeah, yeah, i know the principle of the thing". what i really didn't get was the finesse, i cranked on the throttle, dumped the clutch and went about 30 feet before slamming into the back of my own car. scrached bumper, bend fender on the cb and me on the trunk laughing with a bruised rib.:laugh

[Rod Sheridan]

1974, on a 650 Bonneville in front of the movie theatre in the small town I lived in.

Cruising down main street, looking cool (hopefully), traffic stops, I stop, only problem was my pant cuff was hung up on the footpeg (remember the pant styles),
so of course I fell over in front of all my school mates. It took weeks for the teasing to die down.

Oh well, off to my next embarrassing opportunity........Rod.

[From MARS]

It really is our screw ups that make the best stories. Please keep 'em coming. My self-esteem is growing, but still fragile. Remember, its not how you screw up, but how you handle your screw ups that matter. We all screw up.

[sjbmw]

1986. I just sold my Honda CB750 Custom.
I just bought a Suzuki GS1150E, a 119 hp monster.
My sister gives me a ride to pick the bike up.

With a poor combination of shiny new tires, road sand, and torque I spin the back wheel as I pull away and I tumble sideways. Down we go, at about 3mph...I was rolling like Mannix.

Salesman and General Manager run into the street to pick me and the bike up with that "we got a organ donor" look..

No damage to the bike, no damage to me, and my sister is in her car, ashen faced, yelling "Take it back!" at the sales guy.


It would be 19 years until my next tumble.

[DanGreene]

When I misspell a word on the internet for all to see. ;)

[jdmetzger]

I don't think my embarrassing bike moment was too bad (I didn't feel TOO stupid) but here it is, for your enjoyment:

Heading to the VT rally last year, I first did some camping in Canada, and also stopped in Montreal. Anyhow, leaving a campground late one afternoon (bike fully loaded with saddlebags and a duffel on the rear seat) I stopped up at the camp store to use the bathroom before getting out of the park. It was loaded with people eating ice cream, hotdogs, and so on. I stop the bike, put my foot down, swing my right leg over the seat, and catch it on the duffel bag (I did NOT put the sidestand down, as I was planning to use the centerstand). I DID manage to get my foot back down on the right side, but at this point, the bike was slowly falling to the left, with me fighting it all the way. Eventually I heard the "thud" of the valve cover making contact with the ground. :doh

I stepped off, took a quick bow, and then picked the bike back up. That was the first time I tried the "back into the bike" pickup method. It worked, and everything was fine and unharmed (and no gas leaked out of the cap), so it has a happy ending. :)

I was a little annoyed that everyone stood there staring, and nobody offered to help me pick the bike up, though.

[bobs98]

Fall of 1995 with my fiancee following me from my house to hers. Left turn from a stop, a little slick spot, too much gas, and the rear end goes out to the right and the bike and I go down..... No wonder she doesn't ride with me any more.

[Rod Sheridan]

Josh, since you performed a quick bow, they thought you were the free entertainment, hence no help.

Great story, thanks for posting it..............Rod.

[Bigrider]

.... I was being transfered from the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA :cry to Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, TX. (Don't know why a grunt would want to be on an Air Force Base!?!?!) I was on my beautiful Honda 550 Four and enjoying the ride immensely. It was the summer of '75, by the way.
Dave

Dave, brings back memories. I was at DLI the summer of '74 studing German. One of our classmates had a R75 Wehrmacht Beemer with sidecar. At the time almost all the male instructors were former Wehrmacht soldiers. If you took German you might remember Herr Portsig. He had only one arm. We had a BBQ one weekend and he was brought to the party in the sidecar. He then started to relate all the WWII memories he had about riding in the sidecars back then.

Dave H
San Antonio, TX

[godzilla]

Loop for Life Ride 2001. 4,000 bikes (mostly Harley's) starting up for a ride around I465 in Indy. All bikes rumble to life. Me on my Rock Solid Reliable Goes for 500K Miles BMW K100. Won't start (bad starter switch). Ain't right. Just simply Ain't Right.

[MEWAYBRIGHT]

Late 80's just finished pumping gas into my fully loaded K100RT, standing on the left side I take it off the center stand and it rolls into a crater in the pavement and promptly starts leaning to the right and me on the left... only thing I could do was keep it from crashing to the ground. Walked around picked it up and road off into the sunset... good thing it was a place where I was only passing thru. Of course this only ever happens when you have a full audience.

[bobh41]

Twenty-Three, living in Azusa, CA, riding a new Norton 750 Atlas Scrambler, restless; I determined to seek out a young beauty with whom I had suffered through an unfortunate misunderstanding. She had settled in El Paso. Thinking somehow that riding the Norton for a year in So Cal had improved my personality I set about launching a reprise of our relationship – or at least settling the matter so I could concentrate on the rest of my life. I left my job, gave my car to my sister, dumped the little junk I had accumulated and packed everything I owned on the back of the bike in an AF flight bag, with enough tools to almost overhaul the Norton in an AWOL bag on top.

I had carefully studied the maps and figured some of the 1965 era gas stops exceeded the approximate 75-mile range of my 2-1/2 gallon tank, so I tied a full 2-gallon jerry can on the back with thin nylon rope. Well, I had good luck; the “last gas for 100 miles” sign failed to show up. Highway 10 was under construction much of the way. I idled along, bouncing over dirt roads through Phoenix along with hundreds of motorists. My campout consisted of an old Army blanket and a couple of packs of cigarettes. I spent a night a couple of miles off on a Jeep trail in Apache territory lying under the stars with my helmet and face shield on to ward off the mosquitoes. I had never before seen sky quite like that – clear, bright and endless. The next morning I rode the bike to the first café I ran into and had breakfast.

The first thing I did in El Paso was rent a room in an obscure little motel outside of town, and got cleaned up and began my search for my dream girl. She was completely forgiving, very interested in the Norton and suggested we take it up to a nice little mountain retreat in Alamogordo she knew of. She hiked up her skirt and piled on behind me on the bike, squeezing between me and the flight bag and off we went.

About 40 miles out of town the engine sputtered briefly and died. I rolled to a stop on the desolate road, with nothing in view but hot May desert terrain. I should have gassed up in El Paso, but didn’t – nevertheless with complete confidence and assurance to my young lady that everything was in order, I stepped around to the back of the bundle to untie the gas can only to discover that the tight nylon rope had sawn through the metal can because of the vibration and bouncing, and the fuel had completely evaporated.

Well, that’s the story, but to complete it, I had determined a few years previously in my motorcycling style to never ever leave a bike unattended on the highway, so I began to push the bike to wherever I needed to go. As we came to a rise I could see a village a few miles off and was intent on pushing it there. A family in an RV came along after about a half-hour and filled up the tank for me. We proceeded on our way and had a memorable stay in Alamogordo.

[GRANT63RT]

I was cruising down a nice 4 lane road with a 55mph limit doing what I considered a very reasonable 65-70 when a state trooper pulled up next to me waving. Damn! I couldn't figured out where he came from but I wasn't happy. As I pulled over, he rolled down his window and yelled "Your saddle bag fell off back there!" then roared off. I think I would have been happier if he gave me a ticket!

I doubled back to see my side case sitting in the right hand lane on the opposite side nearly causing accidents as car after car swerved and/or braked to avoid it. Doubled back again, pulled on to the shoulder and dashed out into traffic to retrieve it while all the drivers in their cages looked at me with total disdain. I think I could hear them saying "look at that f#@&ing idiot" to their passengers.

Now the really embarrassing part. This is not the first time I've done this. Am I the only absent minded one out there who will from time to time latch the case closed but forget to push down the handle that actuallly secures the bag to the bike?

[John Brase]

On my Airhead RS, a Saturday ride, about 65 miles from home I stop for gas. Hang the helmet on the right side mirror while I fuel. Then I start the bike to ride the 50 yards to the front of the station intending to get a drink and take a smoke break. Half way there my helmet jumps off the mirror and as I reach to grab it I realize the throttle lock is still on and I am accelerating toward the building and juggling the helmet with my right hand. I pull the clutch to slow my momentum and the motor screams toward redline, which gets everyones immediate attention. I give up on the helmet and as it bounces off the pavement I grab the brake and (why, I don't know to this day) stab the pavement with my left foot. The Krauser bag hits me in the back of my left calf trapping my boot between it and the ground and down I go on the left side while holding the clutch in with a death grip. Land on my elbow and take up the shock in my wrist. The three Harley riders sitting in front of the station pick up the bike as their girlfriends try not to laugh too loud.

I get my drink and a cigarette and take off my watch because my wrist is swelling badly. Pick a route home which I calculate has the fewest stops and the least need to use the clutch and ride home. Get off the bike, open the garage door and it is all over - I can't pull the clutch in to ride it the last six feet into the garage. Wrist broken, six weeks in a cast.:banghead

John

[ptero]

Many moons ago I was just off the Bluenose, from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth, heading up the East coast of Nova Scotia. I stopped for gas and put 'er up on the centerstand. When I was done I clambered on and rolled ahead just enough to drop off of the stand.

Then I started up and slowly moved off... about 20 feet (or about 6.2 meters, Eh?) and she bogged. Even under power I couldn't go any further. The centerstand managed to grab up the bell-dinger air hose which was NAILED down at both ends. :banghead The guys at the station were having a great time watching this American fool get stuck. They let me extricate myself... enjoying the show. :lurk

[Jamming]

1980 I had a 1977 R100RS. I was 20, yep started BMW's young. I was at Metro Center Mall here in Phoenix, full face on leaving a parking spot when I spy a cutie checking out the bike. I cruise on over and while she walks, I ride along side chatting, faceshield up, feet on the pegs, real slow. Being James Dean cool, ya know.
We come to a speed bump I don't see and don't have the speed to ride over it.
Fast stop...fall over...feet still on the pegs...she laughs walks off, I pickup the bike and ride off.

Rog

[From MARS]

Does it seem to everyone else that a lot of our most embarassing moments happened in Az? Maybe they should put "Arizona: The Land of Embarassment" on their license plates.

[eddieray]

I went to a benifit ride around 4 years ago with a friend. After the ride they had a dinner and bike games. You know drive over the 2x4s, slow bike race, and so on. We were both driving Honda's. In the slow bike race we were doing good. It was almost to the last few riders. So here we were lined up ready to go. Half way my clutch cable brakes bad timing. I went down high rpm's. Rearend got away from me. My friend goes down looking at me. We were both all right. But all the harley guys were laughing. But it was all good. My friend was more embarrassed then me.

[Rebus]

1978 - On my new fully dressed GoldWing, I am stopped in a parking lot flirting with this cute girl, after "participating" in a beer softball game. I am strattling the bike talking to her, and decide to dismount to continue the conversation on a more personal level. I get off and lean the bike on the sidestand, except that I forgot to put it down and down goes the bike!

She wasn't impressed and I didn't get the date.

[crazydrummerdude]

Why does everyone seem scared to wipe out in front of the Harley guys?

Including me.

I was at a stop light the other day, Harley guy pulls up next to me.. light turns green, and I try to take off, but I forgot to downshift, and it dies in 5th. He takes off, and doesn't look back.

In 3k of road riding, I guess that's not too bad. Knock on wood.

...

In my field last year, I was tailgating my brother who was on the XT, and I was on the Blaster. He slammed on the brakes, and I wasn't paying attention, and nailed him.

...

2 months ago, I took a ride on my friends mint condition $5500 Banshee, through some water; hydroplaned over it, and flew off sideways over the handlebars, landing on my head. He was right behind me, watching.

...

Last year, a friend was trying out dirtbikes for the first time. He dumped the clutch, did a wheelie, spun it around as if he was dancing with it, and both of them fell over into the bushes.. in front of everyone.

...

Last weekend, a friend was trying out our "automatic" 4wheeler, and slammed right into my brothers jeep, and flew over the handlebars.

...

Last weekend, on the first lap of the first ride of the weekend, a friend hits a tiny dip on his 3wheeler, and wipes out.. breaking his collar bone.

[RandallIsland]

Obsessed with securing my 1973 CB 350 Four, in 1992, I used a Kryptonite U-shape bicycle lock on the rear wheel, forget about it, and drive two feet, jamming it into the fender-well, well.

The next week, eschewing the Kryptonite now, being a smart-guy in stages, I conclude that Honda had it right and lock the steering wheel.
The next hour, I gun the engine off the curb, all hip-slick-and-cool in front of the girl I'm trying to be impress, and face plant the pavement while the locked bike slides down the street.

[BubbaZanetti]

oh

i crashed my bike last weekend in my friend's front lawn thinking i was in first as i drove up the hill onto the grass, but i was in second and spun the rear wheel. i have a bruise the size of a small plate on my right calf from where the peg smashed me after i laid the bike down on the left. luckily it was only in front of 4 people:laugh

[Rapid_Roy]

It was about 27 years ago, I ran into the back of my brothers R69S as we were riding up to the Dells Rally, on my R50.
He went to pass a truck, didn't think he could make it and braked hard. I thought he was going for it and I was right behind him. He braked and I hit him once as I was trying to get my brand new boots to the rear brake, and then he braked again, and I hit him again. My front wheel chewed a hole in his sidebag, which he turned around (Wixom, I think) and his tent pole broke my headlight lens. I was shaken and we stopped for a while to sort things out. I was still upset when we took off and almost went off the road in a big left hand sweeper. I told myself to calm down, or something worse would happen. Got harassed all weekend. In fact, my brother brought it up last weekend.

[lamble]

During the 30 minute break in our Instructor training session with live students that we were teaching, someone decided to hone their tight space manouevering skills, emphasising the counterweighting aspect, so as to make it visible from across the range.
Well let me tell you, the angle of lean I achieved momentarily before dumping the bike into a tarmac/indicator light interface, was truly impressive.
The dismount was of chinese gymnast quality too.

Bugger! and bugger again!! with a whole buggeration of buggers thrown in!!!!!

I was glad most of the students had cleared off to find cold drinks and food, leaving only my fellow novice instructors and the chief instructor for the State of Washington as witnesses...how glad was I that they were all watching?
What a pillock!!!.

...and they still passed me. Jeezy Chreezy (Italian for Jesus Christ) there really must be a monumental shortage of instructors.

[pcsof8]

I started this thread so I had better tell of my own momment in time.:type

I was with my wife and some friends, and we had stopped in to have breakfast at the Cracker Barrell.
We were all eating breakfast and talking for a while, and ejoying each others company, when I felt that ol uneasy feelin down in the intestine. "Grumble Grumble" it went, and friends I knew that it was time for me to excuse myself.
Well there I went, sorta at a quick pace!
I walked into the area where the restrooms were located, and quickly looked at the signs on the doors so I would know which door to open. I quickly saw the "Men" door and went in. Now friends, I got in there, and just barely made it before the space shuttle took off. I was so glad no one was in there. It was at that time I heard the door open and I saw high heels underneath the next stall. I started asking God to help me out of this! Yes, Friends, I had gone into the Lady's room. I sat there and waited until no one was in there. I got up and quickly left, but on the way out a lady was on the way in. I nearly died right there, I bet she did too when she finally got in the restroom!
Whew!:laugh God helped me!!!

[sjbmw]

I started this thread so I had better tell of my own momment in time.:type

I was with my wife and some friends, and we had stopped in to have breakfast at the Cracker Barrell.
We were all eating breakfast and talking for a while, and ejoying each others company, when I felt that ol uneasy feelin down in the intestine. "Grumble Grumble" it went, and friends I knew that it was time for me to excuse myself.
Well there I went, sorta at a quick pace!
I walked into the area where the restrooms were located, and quickly looked at the signs on the doors so I would know which door to open. I quickly saw the "Men" door and went in. Now friends, I got in there, and just barely made it before the space shuttle took off. I was so glad no one was in there. It was at that time I heard the door open and I saw high heels underneath the next stall. I started asking God to help me out of this! Yes, Friends, I had gone into the Lady's room. I sat there and waited until no one was in there. I got up and quickly left, but on the way out a lady was on the way in. I nearly died right there, I bet she did too when she finally got in the restroom!
Whew!:laugh God helped me!!!



We have a winner. :jester

[pcsof8]

When I started this thread, I really meant embarasmet on or off the motorbike. So, keep 'em coming this is great!

[StevieWonder]

Long ride from Houston to Alcoa, TN (just outside Knoxville) and a couple of days at The Dragon. We stopped on day 3 of the ride in Maryville for gas just before getting to Alcoa. I'm with 2 other friends, they on their 1150RTs and me on my K1200RS. One friend is PO'd at me for a caught-in-a-downpour-late-at-night fiasco north of Hot Springs, AR the night before. At the gas station I step into a puddle of something VERY slippery as I come off the bike and down I and the bike go. The bike has a very soft landing due to my failed struggle to keep it upright and suffers little but a scratch but I can't get it back upright on my own. One friend helps but the other PO'd friend sits on his bike with his armed folded and refuses to help.

Two days later we are lost on a county road near the dragon on the way to the Cherohola Skyway. Trying to get a good read on the map, we stop in a church parking lot on one of the very few remotely level pieces of land in the region. However, remotely level means a pretty decent slope. As we park, my talking-to-me friend slips on some parking lot gravel while dismounting, falls down-slope and into the not-talking-to-me friend on his brand, spanking new 1150RT. He falls over, breaking the lower mirror and scuffing the bodywork on the left side of his bike.

While I wanted to fold my arms and watch, just couldn't do anything but the right thing and help him get the bike back up. FWIW, that night he ditched us just south of Chatanooga and drove back to Houston while we went to the Barber Museum in Birmingham and then traveled the Natchez Trace.

Not really embarrassing but a freaky karma story.