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[Manzanita]

So I'm letting my gf ride my Zero S on sunday. We're going to a parking lot and just giving it a slow trial run. First time on a motorcycle ever. So my attitude is that I should just expect that she will drop it. Definitely use the MSF course approach and do it very gradually.

So my question is, how well does the Zero S handle being dropped, will the plastic around the bodywork around the front tank hit and get cracked? If you lay the bike down on the ground will the bodywork be damaged?

[Burton]

My bike fell once on the side of the highway. It doesn't have plastics on the side and the tank is chopped short.

It feel lighter than my ninja 250 was to lift if done right.

I think my pegs got scraped up a little but that is about it .... oh I should mention I have wheel sliders on the bike and a top case. I am sure each of them helped to some extent.

If you plan on dropping it take the plastics off and tape the frame where you don't want potential scratches. That is what I would do. And I am sure you already know, but keep it on eco with all settings turned down.

I assume your GF can ride a bicycle well? If not don't even think about getting her on a bike that weighs 450 lbs yet

[benswing]

Yes, it drops well.  Your GF will not get pinned in any way and the plastics don't get touched.  Just the mirrors get scraped up a bit. 

I  was unfortunate enough to test this last Halloween.

Good luck!

[hippiesparx]

You've probably already done it so I hope it went well.
Hopefully you didn't find that the Zero S is fine when you drop it.
You can drop it on top of you to save the plastic - it's bottom heavy so think quick and get your knee under the tank.
Best not to tell the girlfriend that.
If it was a mate, he either lands with the bike on top of him or dies.
The handlebar is made of plasticine and you will need new mirrors - nothing that a few hundred dollars won't fix.
Shrug it off, smile, apologise for the bike and with any luck you'll still be reasonably popular.

[Manzanita]

Thanks for the replies. So the funny thing is that sat night I dropped the bike in a sloped gravel parking spot (it was pitch dark and I couldn't really see the slope), and the body was fine, it didn't touch the ground. The only slight damage was at the end of the handlebar, a throttle tube dent was causing the throttle to bind. But I just removed the grip and filed it a little and it was fine. The acutal training session was no problem, but she is on the tips of her toes and so I plan to lower the bike further by modifying the rear shock as mentioned in the other thread...

[pluto]

I had the unfortunate experience of dropping my 2015 S my first time out, going round a corner and lost control. Bike (and me) slid a bit. Needed a new front brake handle, grip, handlebar, rear brake lever, right mirror. Amazingly the plastic bits weren't damaged at all. Total repair bill came to just over $600cdn which I thought was pretty reasonable.

[Justin Andrews]

Also expect that the usual motorbike bits might snap off as well such as the foot pegs.

[Straightedg4lif]

I had the unfortunate experience of dropping my 2015 S my first time out, going round a corner and lost control. Bike (and me) slid a bit. Needed a new front brake handle, grip, handlebar, rear brake lever, right mirror. Amazingly the plastic bits weren't damaged at all. Total repair bill came to just over $600cdn which I thought was pretty reasonable.

Sorry to hear that you had a bit of a spill. Do you mind if I ask if this is your first bike? I too dropped my first bike Ninja 250, and scuffed up a few things, it was stopped on a slope and the weight was too much for me to hold up. (Beginner mistake... ugh). Now I am on my fourth bike and haven't dropped one again... fingers crossed! Hoping to never drop my Zero but will always stay aware, mistakes can always happen.

[pluto]

Nope, not my first bike. I have been riding for about 6 years, also have an 800cc that I've never had an issue with.  Have ridden much heavier bikes including >800lbs Harleys. I'm not really sure what happened, may have hit a bit of gravel or sand but I think I probably just gave it a bit too much throttle coming out of the corner (had it in Sport mode).

It can happen to anyone at any time, so be careful!

[NoiseBoy]

I dropped my 12 S about 6 weeks after getting it. I hit what looked like new tarmac under a tree on an old driveway at about 15mph. It turned out to be a thin layer of black mud and both wheels went sideways at the same time and the bike hit the ground really hard, much harder than I had experienced on supermotos at higher speeds. It cracked the glass in one mirror and scuffed the brake levers and footpegs which sandpaper and black enamel fixed. So it crashed very well.

The worst part is that when I picked it up I slipped in the mud and it went over on the other side. Luckily it landed in a  muddy bank so there was no real damage.

[KrazyEd]

   Several years ago, I was looking at 250cc bikes for my daughter.
EVERY one that we looked at had " fallen over in the driveway ".
The side of one of them had very bad road rash. I asked if he
was going 90 in his driveway.
   My XU wasn't dropped, but, I was run over by an SUV.
I was dragged along with the XU for 1800 feet. The bike
was then drug another 2100 feet before the SUV finally
came to a halt. Given the distance that it traveled under
the car, I think that it held up rather well.

[protomech]

What kind of an asshole drives his car for almost a mile after hitting a motorcyclist? : o

[Richard230]

What kind of an asshole drives his car for almost a mile after hitting a motorcyclist? : o

Someone texting and never noticed the bump in the road.