There are only two occasions when “drop your motorcycle” is the applicable term: stopped and low-speed maneuvers. Any other time is a “crash.”
Like the bumper sticker declares, “It Happens.”
Stopped, the mishap almost always involves the side stand in some fashion:
1. You think the stand is down but it is, in fact, up.
2. You think the stand is down, but it is, in fact, not fully extended (and locked, if your bike has this feature).
3. You think the stand is on firm ground, but it sinks in (immediately, or slowly, as when parked on hot asphalt).
4. You fail to leave the bike in gear, and the bike rolls forward off the stand.
5. You’re in the process of deploying the stand, but screw up and catch your boot heel (shoestring?) on something. Gravity wins.
6. Improperly lifting the bike onto the center stand, or improper footing for this stand, can also award points to Gravity.
Ponder these techniques while awaiting my next Tip: How To Drop Your Motorcycle during “Low Speed Maneuvers.”
If there’s any subject where the request, Don’t ask me how I know is more applicable, it escapes me.
— Pete Tamblyn
Good tips. It’s happened to me, too, but I’ve developed the habit of stopping the engine when my trip’s ended by extending the kick stand. It at least eliminate the risk of “thinking” it’s down. I know it is.