EVANS
Well-known member
Why is parking with the front wheel to the curb a bad idea?
Be carefull how you park your bikes
- Thread starter Vlad
- Start date
Why is parking with the front wheel to the curb a bad idea?
skip
Well-known member
You have to back your bike out. This means you move slower out of your spot into traffic with less visibility to see if cars are coming.Plus its just more a pain in the ***, more so if the road has any camber to it.
My friend was telling me a story how he jumped on one of the HDs downtown a few weeks ago, because he thought it was just a show bike - parked almost in the bar and had the same plate name as the hotel or bar or something. Next thing he knows, alarm goes on loud, owner comes out in a sec, goes nose to nose with him. And my friend was trying to defend himself to me how he didn't do any harm and s***. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I asked him how he would feel if someone sat on the roof of his car for pictures. He didn't quite understand the situation. I schooled the him tho, he won't do it again. Apologies to the bike owner, from here, on behalf.
But again, I would rather have people sit on my bike than backing into it with a vehicle.
I wonder which of the three I am?!
That's a good rule of thumb. Not easy to follow though, with tight parking space and no markings...
Because it's much easier, not to mention safer, to unpark the bike by riding it forward than backing it out, while parking it in reverse is neither complicated nor very risky. Also, the cross section of properly constructed roads and streets looks like this (exaggerated for better understanding):
Would youd rather climb that "hill" backpedaling with your feet or just riding your bike over it? Couple that with drainage covers, asphalt damage and dirt/dust by the curb and you get the picture (rear wheel spin is much easier to recover from than front wheel slip).
No and rarely. It certainly doesn't happen often enough to loose any sleep over it. It's even more rare for it to cause any damage.
I'm sure someone will jump in to say their bike was damaged by people sitting on it three times in the past year or some such experience. I'll say in advance that I don't know which ghetto those people park in, but I'm discussing downtown Toronto here. Also, I understand why those that got scalded by hot milk start blowing on yogurt.
Last edited:
Griffin
Well-known member
Yes, I've had problems with people sitting on my bikes. Not just in downtown Toronto either. Rural Nova Scotia, Thunder Bay, Ottawa and T.O. Yes, most times you can leave your helmet on your bike with no problem. But would you leave other valuable property sitting out? Doesn't make a lot of sense to me and I don't think anyone that does that should be surprised to find their stuff lifted when they return. I once sat my helmet beside my snowmobile while I helped a friend out of a snowbank. Two guys rode up, stole my helmet and rode off while I watched helplessly. Many people are not honest and I don't see why so many people put such trust in them when it comes to motorcycle stuff.
I've had people sit on it, take pictures, try and pretend it's their bike while talking to girls.
Even came out to find ice cream all over the tank and seat once. Various locations of the GTA.
People have no respect for other people's property anymore. They look at bikes like the horsey ride in front of your local Loblaws.
@Vlad - Rarely would people sit on touring/naked bikes, but it happens a lot to blinged out cruisers or sportbikes.
Even came out to find ice cream all over the tank and seat once. Various locations of the GTA.
People have no respect for other people's property anymore. They look at bikes like the horsey ride in front of your local Loblaws.
@Vlad - Rarely would people sit on touring/naked bikes, but it happens a lot to blinged out cruisers or sportbikes.
It makes sense. As I mentioned, sport bikes and cruisers are considerably easier to climb on and arguably less intimidating than my Bandit propped on the center stand and with a top case on. One more reason to both love my Bandit and park it on the center stand.
I would like to take this opportunity to steer this thread back to it's original theme, which is proper parking techniques and best practices. If it doesn't prevent cars, people or other bikes from accidentally bumping, scratching or tipping over your bike or otherwise damaging it, it doesn't belong here. Open your own thread if you want to discuss idiots sitting on other people's bikes and similar unrelated incidents.
redlinerush
Well-known member
what is the onatrio law concerning parked bikes? just any where on the side walk is always legal?
i've been only riding a few months but i see people just park it next to restaurant and theater exits and stuff, is that safe or legal?
i've been only riding a few months but i see people just park it next to restaurant and theater exits and stuff, is that safe or legal?
Griffin
Well-known member
Parking anywhere other than a parking space is possibly going to get you in trouble with the law. Parking on the sidewalk is not legal. Parking on private property next to a business may get you a ticket if the enforcer thinks its parked on the sidewalk. You could even get a moving traffic violation for operating a motor vehicle on a sidewalk, although very unlikely. You could have your bike towed by the property owner if they wanted to. Also, depending on where parked and what the pedestrian traffic is, it may be more likely to be sat on (sorry Vlad, I couldn't resist) or knocked into and damaged.
Then again, parking on the street or in a parking lot has significant hazard for your bike being bumped into by some inattentive moron, particularly those misguided souls that drive humongous SUV's and pickups to be "safer" but have no idea what is around their vehicle.
I park on the street, back wheel to the curb, at about a 60 degree angle but, I'm alawys worried I'll come out to find it banged into. I try to avoid parking near large vehicles and try to take advantage of any obstacles that may reduce the chance of my bike being hit, like a lane reducing barrier on some sidestreets.
I'm not sure there's a "best solution" on where to park in the urban environment unless you can find a parking lot with motorcycle parking or private property where you know the owner.
Then again, parking on the street or in a parking lot has significant hazard for your bike being bumped into by some inattentive moron, particularly those misguided souls that drive humongous SUV's and pickups to be "safer" but have no idea what is around their vehicle.
I park on the street, back wheel to the curb, at about a 60 degree angle but, I'm alawys worried I'll come out to find it banged into. I try to avoid parking near large vehicles and try to take advantage of any obstacles that may reduce the chance of my bike being hit, like a lane reducing barrier on some sidestreets.
I'm not sure there's a "best solution" on where to park in the urban environment unless you can find a parking lot with motorcycle parking or private property where you know the owner.
I don't know why it's 60 degrees, but it is. I also don't know why the highest speed limit we have is 100 kmh, but it is. That said, people will continue to break both rules. Do what you like, but at least if you get a parking ticket while your bike is parked at a 90 degree angle to the curb, you'll know why, and knowing is half the battle.
From the info that you just gave there, I won't know why.
Yes you will. You'll have a ticket for breaking the by-law set by the city. Why they set it as such is unknown to me, but it is what it is.
Last edited:
