Today was my first day with a new pair of Darien pants. I'm trying the hard shell hip guards in them and they seem a little thicker and obviously less flexible. Anyway, I went to the garage, put my stuff in the bags, and was getting ready to get on the bike. I park it on the sidestand and mount it by swinging my right leg over it. Welllllllllllll, between stiff new pants, Santiago soles, and a slick garage floor, I managed to just fling myself on the floor! Apparently, my right leg would only go so high, so my left leg just slid right under the bike. I figured, what the hell, since I'm down here I'll just check things out. Mods: I couldn't tell where to post this since it involved GS mounting, product review, butt plant, and general clutziness!
I get an ache in my left hip and it hurts to swing over when I've been riding for a while. If it's on the center stand then there's no issue... just step up and mount. But when it's on the side stand I step on the right peg with my right foot and step through with my left, rotate, and sit. You have to be pretty fluid or keep your mass close to the bike to keep from pulling the bike off it's side stand and making it unstable.
What bike are you talking about? Obviously not the tiny R1150GS. So which one is it? I would love a larger bike. [TaSK]
Centrestand, .. left leg on left foot rest ... Swing the other leg over .... Fire up, seat properly and grip well, .... rock off the centrestand and go
With luggage on the pillion seat, swinging my leg over wasn't an option, so I sort of goose-stepped towards the side of the bike, pushed my foot over the seat and dropped into the saddle. This has the added advantage of pushing the bike away from the sidestand and towards a more upright position ready to ride off. Sounds awkward but after 4 days, mounting and dismounting became quite fluid - if not still very comical for my touring buddy!!
I have been trying to adapt this mounting style. <object width="425" height="344"> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aHSkGVZzlW0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></object> It's not going well so far.
Raising your right leg to clear the saddle then hopping on your left leg to get close enough to mount the bike has been described as the 'Ally Oop maneuver'. I've become accustomed to doing this. It looks funny, feels funny but works.
Shit, I've been grabbing my right heel and bending my leg enough to get it over the seat on any BMW I've owned. Only the new lowered suspension F800 have I been able to swing a leg over. I'm at 5'6", maybe less now that I'm AARP.
When I have my riding pants on I leave the bike on the side stand, put my left foot on the left peg and just get on. The extra height from using the peg allows me to get my leg easily over the backrest. Works great.
+2 just try and knock most of the dirt off your boots before mounting/dismounting, or you get bunch of junk all over your seat! oh and don't park too close to the gas pump, make things kinda tricky and yes my friends laugh at me every time i get on/off.
This is funny. I just asked this question as a n00b on another board on how to mount/dismount with a tail bag. Glad I am not the only one who has problems with it.
almost 60 5'7 201 29 inseam Corbin driver and pass. seat standard ht. no problems of on mounting the bike. Sure way to do this.... do some stretching a couple of times every day and you will release the hamstring. This will give you a couple of inches of clearance on the swing the leg up and around. Think of hamstrings as a rubber band you are stretching. Chasing a younger wife also helps
Okay, thanks for the chuckle this morning. This is what I do, I turn the front wheel to the right, this lowers the seat a little more and makes it much easier to mount, then as I am getting on twist the front wheel straight. For the dismount its the opposite with putting the side stand down first. Learned my lesson with this top heavy beast. Mount well...
I call one of my wives over to either get on her hands and knees so I can step on her back and get on or if I am feeling kindly, I'll have her interlock her hands and use them as stirrups. When the whole harem is slaving over my dinner preparation, I do a textbook karate heel plant on my seat then gracefully hop closer to the bike. Now when the bike if FULLY loaded, I need a wee bit of help to get the bike off the sidestand while seated. My sexy long legs can't tippy toe a GS.
I needed this this morning. When I have all the crap and more that I never seem to use all of stacked and bundled to the various flatish spots on the Adventure, I hike up my inseam challenged, riding pant encased leg across the front seat, (OEM 1150 Adventure), and slide it across to the farside. To raise the bike off the oddly short side stand I put my right foot on the right foot peg and weight it, while pushing off the floor/ground with the left all the while levering as much as I can muster the bars with my feeble old arms. This works so far. When I add the tank bag and work gear to the mix, the available open space is just enough to clear my ever-expanding girth. So far, I've managed to not knock the mess over on myself or any of the surrounding countryside. Or the garge floor. I am able when there isn't any crap piled up to roll the bike off the center stand, while standing bedide it and swing my right leg over and mount the vehicle. Part of this is due I'm afraid to repeated practice. Four times a day at a minimum. And riding very slow trials like every so often to sharpen the old balance skills. I need this as I tend to wobble some even on dry land... Good luck, if all else fails one could always opt for one of those little 1200GS's. They are flat foot bikes for short guys like me, (5'10", 180)...
