What is the dumbest thing you have done?

[Waihou Thumper]

Regarding the maintenance of your trusty steed?

Seeing we are on the topic of Man Caves and such-like. Be brave guys, I know we are great at talking and playing etc, but what would be the single most stupid, absent minded, dumb thing you have done with your bike in the privacy of your own man cave or garage?

Keep it clean, I don't want any kinky stuff...
I will kick it off and it only happened in the last hour, so this got me thinking, I bet some others have done similar or am I just really absent minded here....
Anyway, here I was with 4 litres of nice clean, new oil for my Husaberg. I read the manual to refresh my memory (looks like I needed it afterall)
to do the required oil change.
I measured out accurately the 1 litre needed and made a funnel arrangement with the hose and suspended it from my handlebars. I was proud of the cleanliness as usually the floor is covered in oil and my hands the same.
It is a very tight fit and not the best engineered design as the oil filler cap is right under the muffler and poses a hard angle to fill unless the bike is nearly laying down.....
Okay, here I am filling, slowly mind you, the litre of oil, looking at the sight glass and got to the stage of thinking that I must be seeing it by now when.......
I went around the other side of the bike and saw all this lovely clear new oil dropping straight into the drip tray...

Clever me had in my excitement forgotten to put the plugs back into the engine casing....Doh!!
So, the bike got a nice flush with new oil and I wasted only 300ml but it sure was stupid!

I have done many many other things but this is the freshest in mind at present. Must go to the doctor and check my memory if I can remember where it is....Or what the number is....

Spill the beans fellas, let us all have a laugh at the expense of ourselves and see what humerous, dumb things we have done with the bikes during maintenance times...

[vifferman]

Oh, I've done something much dumber than that...
Although it seemed like such a good idea at the time.

[junkmanjoe]

ok yes i fit in to this thread.

when the safari tank arived, and i got it fitted.
put in some gas, and in all my excitment with haveing a big new tank.
i had not conected the second fuel line, under the tank.
and gas was going stright on to the floor as the fuel tap was turned on as well.
as i was on the other side off bike i didnt see it untill i saw the puddle under the bike.....

[buggsubique]

draining the sump but not the frame tank, so overfilling with oil...

trying to bump start with the kill switch off...

snapping an ezy-out off in the bolt and being unable to drill it again...

teaching my 2 year old to start my bike....

[vifferman]

trying to bump start with the kill switch off...

That's always a goody.
Yeeeeeears ago, I had a 250 2-smoke dirt bike. I went home for lunch one day, and couldn't get it started after lunch. Must've kicked it 15 or 20 times before noticing I'd knocked the killswitch to 'Off'.
No worries - flicked it to 'On' again, and gave it another kick.
The accumulated gas ignited, the engine massively backfired, and the kickstarter kicked back, shooting my kneecap into the bottom of the mirror mount.

After several minutes of swearing and hopping around, I was able to walk again...

[warewolf]

I've done lots of silly little things, lots of the kill switch off moments (usually someone else's bike) nothing major comes to mind - but I tend to work slowly, methodically and carefully, otherwise I probably wouldn't be here today.

I nearly missed the start of a XC race when my 'mates' didn't tighten up the throttle for me. I volunteered to help someone else at the last minute, my mates were supposed to finish putting my bike back together. Got the other chappie going, raced back to my bike, got all my tools packed in my backpack, all my gear on, jump on the bike... FAAAAAAAAAAARK! get half my gear off, tools out, grrr!

Another race I'd cart-wheeled the bike in the sand. Before going to scrutineering for the next race, I checked the bike ran OK with the tether kill switch in place. Got to scrutineering, the kill switch... didn't. Arse. Back to the pits, hurriedly strip the bike down to find the wiring fault. Damn, all looked good. Finally thought to check the switch itself... yep, full of sand. Arse, all that work for nothing. So remember: check the simple stuff first!!

Tyre fitters are easily distracted. Watched one fitting a tubeless tyre to my rim, I was wondering how he'd install the tubeless valve stem after the tyre was on. He replied, "normally I'd put this second side on, then notice there's no valve when trying to pop the bead, then take the second side off again, fit valve... repeat." Noticed another had my tube sitting aside, thought he'd fitted a new tube without asking (it was pretty had it) so didn't mention it. Gotta watch them with the LC4 rears, the chain being on the 'wrong' side means they can fit directional tyres backwards if they aren't checking.

[bogan]

two parter of dumbness to this one:
1) got new rings for two stroke, slightly the wrong ones for the pistons, the locating tabes were on the inside instead of the underside, now worrys i though, ill just file the dowels down a bit and itll fit anyway, did that put in bike was going fine.
2) part two was frigging with the carbs, a mate reckoned you move the needle clip till its just running too lean then pop it down a spot (or up cant remember) anyway running too lean is too hot, and too hot expanded the dowel out (or summat like that) and result is i now have a large score mark at the rear of each barrel.

other silly thing i did recently was put one of those disc locks on my bike, now i dont actually have disks so put it on holes in the mags (just fit), just assumed it wud stop the wheel going round cos a disclock is pretty massive, took it out of the shed and rode off, handlebars start shaking violently, at this point i remebered i had a diclock on the front. I was also wondering why the alarm was not going off, got back to the shed and sure enuf, alarm goes off, fuck, now gotta unlock shed, find key and disarm.

[warewolf]

Oh yeah, ridden off with a disc lock fitted. Didn't get far, fortunately I'd parked behind a car so was able to use my body as a fender and stop any damage to either bike or car.

[Waihou Thumper]

Wheeling the bike out of the garage with the Disc Lock on, didn't get far and wondered if the brakes were stuck on, hmm, looked down and then...YES!

[klingon]

... here I was with 4 litres of nice clean...

Hmmm... I read that as 4 litres of ice cream... see, things could always be worse!

[Waihou Thumper]

Hmmm... I read that as 4 litres of ice cream... see, things could always be worse!

After re-reading it, yes it does look and sound like that...
Mind you, if it had been ice cream I would well and truly be
as I would have eaten most of it and the Husaberg would be a little light in OIL,OIL......okay, not Ice Cream!

[YellowDog]

Looks like enough fuel left to get me past this petrol station and too the next one, which can't be more than 45km away?

W R O N G......................

[bogan]

Looks like enough fuel left to get me past this petrol station and too the next one, which can't be more than 45km away?

W R O N G......................

bugger, ive always lived by the rule, if you have to ask whether its enuf, it almost certainly wont be. Havent been standed yet.... well for a fuel problem anyway.

[junkmanjoe]

QUOTE=YellowDog;1129248951]Looks like enough fuel left to get me past this petrol station and too the next one, which can't be more than 45km away?

W R O N G......................[/QUOTE]

................

[Oscar]

Stopped to fix my bike in the middle of a transport section.
Took off one glove to use screwdriver.


Ten kilometres later realised throttle hand was colder than clutch hand....