Motorcycle Muscles

[alanmcorcoran]

So, finding myself out of town (and away from the stable) this weekend, and acutely disappointed to know that I cannot pick up my Kawa any better than The Beast, AND, having access to a decent hotel fitness center, I figured I might adopt a new fitness goal - getting into good enough shape to pick up the KLR 650. I have a rule of thumb (which may be completely incorrect) that says "If I can dead lift half the weight of the bike, then I should be able to pick it up." (Anybody know how valid or invalid this statement is?) From there, I kind of wondered - what's the best approach in the gym? My gym routine has gotten wimpier as I've aged and, at this point, it's more about not hurting myself rather than developing any muscle, but, I think picking up the Kawa might possibly still be in my range (hard to tell, really. My max bench has dropped from a peak of [one rep of] 215 [was never that high to begin with] to a mere [six reps of] 135 of late. A few tweaked shoulders, etc. will do that to you. I was doing 20 pounds more last year, but it was a trial, so I backed off so the "dread" factor wouldn't chase me out of the gym entirely.)

For lack of any better ideas, I am wrestling the two heaviest dumbbells with which I can safely clear the rack and setting them on the floor. I then walk up to them and... pick... them... up. Rest. Repeat. Try to use the legs mostly, but I'm definitely using back muscle, too. Did ten reps of 75 pounders (150 total.) Feel like I could probably do a little more, but not a lot more. I'm thinking - If I can work my way up to 100 pounders (not really sure this is physically possible), I'll be in range of being able to do ONE rep of the Kawa.

Thoughts?

[Moedad]

...disappointed to know that I cannot pick up my Kawa any better than The Beast...

Wait, did I miss a post somewhere? When did you drop your KLR (no shame, dirt/dual sport bikes get dropped/crashed)?

[dentheman]

I would think being able to lift half the weight should work, since the wheels support the other half. You didn't scratch your brand new KLR, did you?

By the way, I went to the dealer a couple days ago and tried to sit on a KLR. I almost got my leg up over the saddle.

[dhgeyer]

Alan,

No insult or offense intended, but I must ask: has anyone ever told you about, or have you encountered in your reading, the correct way to pick up a dropped motorcycle?

If not, it goes like this:

If the bike is not on level ground, pivot it so that the top is uphill and the wheels downhill. Yes, this may cause additional scrapes depending on the surface.

Turn your back to the top of the bike.

Bend with the knees, keeping the back straight. You are now squatting with the part of the bike you want to lift directly behind you.

Reach behind you and grab whatever will give a solid hold, and also the best leverage - often the handlebars.

Lean back against the bike a bit, and lift with your legs, keeping your back straight so as not to throw it out.

I should think that lifting a KLR would be doable with correct technique, although I've never tried it with that particular bike.

[blaine]

...disappointed to know that I cannot pick up my Kawa any better than The Beast...
It's not how much you can lift,But how you lift.I have see 90lb female lift a fully loaded Harley.She lifted by been backwards to the bike and lifting from a low point & lifting with her legs while backing up till the bike was up on the side stand.She had other people watching try the technique,all succeeded.I have seen this technique demonstrated at different rallys & bike shows.I have used this technique in the past and found that it works.Although my bike is considerably lighter than a Harley.
:rawk: :2tup:

[dentheman]

Alan,

No insult or offense intended, but I must ask: has anyone ever told you about, or have you encountered in your reading, the correct way to pick up a dropped motorcycle?

If not, it goes like this:

If the bike is not on level ground, pivot it so that the top is uphill and the wheels downhill. Yes, this may cause additional scrapes depending on the surface.

Turn your back to the top of the bike.

Bend with the knees, keeping the back straight. You are now squatting with the part of the bike you want to lift directly behind you.

Reach behind you and grab whatever will give a solid hold, and also the best leverage - often the handlebars.

Lean back against the bike a bit, and lift with your legs, keeping your back straight so as not to throw it out.

I should think that lifting a KLR would be doable with correct technique, although I've never tried it with that particular bike.
There is a demonstration on Youtube of a rather hefty woman demonstrating this technique. And some smaller girls too! search 'lifting motorcycle' on Youtube.

[alanmcorcoran]

Yes the klr went down. At 209 miles! More on that perhaps in a different thread. Re so called "proper technique": yes I've seen it and if you happen to dump your bike in a perfectly level parking lot with no other obstacles nearby maybe it even works. In real life, I'm now a three time dumper. In all three cases I got nowhere, absolutely NOWHERE with this technique. I could not move the KLR more than a few inches. The ground is loose, there's not much to grab, there's really no special place where your ass magically attaches to the seat- you can't even get your ass touching the seat- and I don't know that my spindly legs are really all that strong anyway. I asked several dirt bikers if they used the "technique" and they laughed. They drag the bike level, off the rocks (something I currently can't do) and they pull it up by the bars and the handle on the seat.
My current technique is to cry like a little bitch and wait for a real man to come and help me pick it up. So far, I'm three for three with this approach but my looks are fading fast and I don't know that I'll be able to pull it off much longer.

I'm not saying I couldn't maybe be doing the technique wrong but the reality is, I've seen it, I tried it, I got nowhere with it and, the only way to practice it is to dump my strat or the 650 over, which will not only probably eff them up some more, but I'd probably have to resort to crying again if I didn't improve enough to get the thing up. In my defense, although I am a weakling I am not a spazz - I aced the msf course and got the only perfect score in my class. Good thing I didn't have to pick one up!

[Water Warrior 2]

I will no longer try to pick up the Vstrom without help. It can lay there sleeping till help arrives. It is also tall like a KLR and heavier. It does have crash bars and hard bags so there is a safety factor there against a lot of damage. So far 2 left front signals and a clutch lever have been replaced in 5 years. I do consider that pretty cheap overall. There a couple very minor scratches prior to crash bars and the first drop a week after I got it. That was the only time I picked up the bike by myself. Never again though, I spent 7 weeks laying flat on my back with bruised discs in my lower back.

[Easy Rider]

I have a rule of thumb (which may be completely incorrect) that says "If I can dead lift half the weight of the bike, then I should be able to pick it up." (Anybody know how valid or invalid this statement is?)

While getting in shape is a laudible goal, using the "proper" technique for picking up a downed bike is probably even more important.

That technique involves facing AWAY from the downed bike and using mostly your legs to do the work. While it looks wierd and I have been somewhat skeptical, it does work......I now know from experience. There are "training" videos of a 90 lb. girl picking up a Harley.

Maybe someone can provide a link. If not a search should find it.


[edit] OK, while there ARE some conditions under which "the technique" will not work because of the terrain.......it will work most of the time and one of these days, you may have to wait a LONG time for help to show up. If the 90 lb. little girl can do it, I'm sure YOU can too.......if you just get past that mental block. :tongue:

[alanmcorcoran]

Yeah, I've seen the video. There's actually quite a few variations of it, including one in a video Patrick sent me. I don't have a "mental block." It's a pretty friggin' simple idea. The problem is that it has not worked for me in what I'd refer to as Real Life Situations. Right from the start, the seats of my bikes have been down, touching the ground in near vertical position. In addition, there has been steep, loose terrain next to said seat. I do not have any magic hooks on my ass that I can back up and connect to the bike. I cannot even get my ass down low enough to touch the bike, and even if I could, I'd be down too low at that point to be able to do any lifting without popping my knees out (or something else.) What you see in the videos is someone righting a bike that is not completely fallen over or has some other mechanical advantage (perhaps its shape or protrusions) that is not present on my bikes. Maybe the 90 pound chick is an Olympic weight lifter. Whatever the case, it falls under the category of Shit I Am Never Gonna Be Able To Do. When someone on here posts a video of themselves picking up a Strat with nothing but their own legs and ass, I will start paying attention. Until then, as far as I'm concerned, it's useless information.

What bike did you pick up? I'll pay to see a video of that.

[music man]

When someone on here posts a video of themselves picking up a Strat with nothing but their own legs and ass, I will start paying attention. Until then, as far as I'm concerned, it's useless information.

What bike did you pick up? I'll pay to see a video of that.


:plus1: :crackup

[Easy Rider]

Until then, as far as I'm concerned, it's useless information.

What bike did you pick up? I'll pay to see a video of that.

Oh for crying out loud. I thought you had more "savy" than that, Alan.
Maybe I mis-judged.

Just because a situation hasn't presented itself where the technique has been useful to YOU, does NOT mean that it is useless. I would agree at this point that it is/was and will continue to be useless to YOU because you have dismissed it now.

I picked up my present ride: a Honda Shadow 600, which weighs no more than 2/3 of what your strat does. It's not huge. The first step was to rock it so that the seat came up off the ground about 8 inches. I can't imagine any bike that is so top-heavy that you couldn't do that fairly easily.........but my imagination is somewhat limited at times.

Part of the point of me doing it MYSELF was so that nobody would see.
I'm certainly not going to re-enact it now. :neener:

[Water Warrior 2]

Alan, you might want to get onto a KLR forum to see what is available for the bike in case you drop it again. Less damage and possibly bars that will prevent it from laying completely on it's side. Every little bit helps. As for the Strat I would suggest MC motorcycle bars like Lynda's M-50 has. Very little muscle required in the event you drop it. Ask me, I've done it twice.

[alanmcorcoran]

There's no question that the bars make a huge diffference. To be honest, I kind of don't like the way they look, although I suppose I could get over it. They make a pair for the Strat that kinda go with the bike. I doubt they make they make them for the KLR.

[Water Warrior 2]

There's no question that the bars make a huge diffference. To be honest, I kind of don't like the way they look, although I suppose I could get over it. They make a pair for the Strat that kinda go with the bike. I doubt they make they make them for the KLR.
That is why I suggested a KLR forum. You may see a homebrew idea that will work well and is simple to make or have made. The KLR has a tremendous aftermarket support system and you might just find what you need on a forum. Either way you have nothing to loose and looking is free.

[blaine]

W.W were did you get the driving lights for the M-50?I have the same ones on my Kawasaki,bought at Canadian Tire for $29.95.Sure beats paying $300.00 for a light bar.They came with 35w bulbs,I had to change them to 20w bulbs,as the charging system couldn't keep up.I find a big difference at night with the extra light.
:) :cool:

[alanmcorcoran]

Oh for crying out loud. I thought you had more "savy" than that, Alan.
Maybe I mis-judged.

I should know better than to get into a dead horse discussion with you, so I won't. You should know, next time you're talking down to someone, that "savvy" is most often spelled with two "v"'s. For the record, I'm pretty comfortable with my amount of savvy.

I picked up my present ride: a Honda Shadow 600, which weighs no more than 2/3 of what your strat does. It's not huge. The first step was to rock it so that the seat came up off the ground about 8 inches. I can't imagine any bike that is so top-heavy that you couldn't do that fairly easily

The difference here is that, I did not have to use my imagination, as I have already been presented with the actual situation. Multiple times. To reiterate: seat of both bikes rest firmly on the ground/berm/curb. There was no possibility of rocking - they would not budge. In the case of the KLR, I nearly pulled my arm out of the socket trying to move it an inch. There was absolutely no chance I could get the seat up 8 inches. Or even 4 inches. Or even one inch.

I'm aware from years of other thread wreckage that I will not have the last word on this, but this will be my last post in this thread as it has entered into the "I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I" zone.

[Water Warrior 2]

W.W were did you get the driving lights for the M-50?I have the same ones on my Kawasaki,bought at Canadian Tire for $29.95.Sure beats paying $300.00 for a light bar.They came with 35w bulbs,I had to change them to 20w bulbs,as the charging system couldn't keep up.I find a big difference at night with the extra light.
:) :cool:
Slightly different story with the same results. Bought them south of the border at Wally World for $20 and installed 20 watt bulbs. I now have so many extra 35 and 50 watt bulbs I could open a store. I even have a couple 50 watt amber bulbs with nowhere to put them. Princess Auto in Canada usually has a variety of cheap lights that one can afford to break and replace now and again too. A lot like Harbor Freight in the U.S.

[blaine]

Is the M-50's charging system not strong enough to handle the 35w or 50w bulbs?I just thought the Kawasaki had a lighter system,as it's not really built to be a cruiser.
:??: :)

[Water Warrior 2]

Blaine, I needed to leave some reserve for heated gear and such. The M-50 has a SilverStar bulb and the two 20 watt driving lights compliment it nicely. Also the triangular light pattern is a good idea.

[blaine]

Blaine, I needed to leave some reserve for heated gear and such. The M-50 has a SilverStar bulb and the two 20 watt driving lights compliment it nicely. Also the triangular light pattern is a good idea.

O.K. Thanks. :rawk: :)