Top 10 Things That Fall Off Motorcycles

Tom Roderick
by Tom Roderick

Fast moving vehicles lacking a roof, doors, a trunk, seatbelts, etc., are prone to stuff falling off them. No matter how dutiful you are in securing objects to your motorcycle you’re eventually going to lose something. Whether due to wind or vibration, a forgotten tab, unclicked lock, loose connection or unzipped pocket, something of value to you will find its way to a temporary roadside residence until found and claimed or junked by another.

Not all items listed are unintentionally lost, or lost due to unforeseen happenstance. Beginning with #10, an item for which most men are willing to pay to see lost.

10. Women’s Clothing

Get a motorcycle – your motorcycle or any motorcycle – a camera and a girl together, then watch the magic happen. Women love having their pictures taken, even more so when there’s a bike to straddle. Clothing? The less the better, right? From Daytona to Sturgis, Isle of Man to MotoGP, it’s impossible not to find cool bikes and sexy half-naked women in Polaroid mode.

9. Non-motorcyclists

Publicity stunts are great for witnessing non-motorcyclists falling off motorcycles. It starts out innocent enough, with the non-motorcyclist enjoying the occasion until … the running motorcycle they’re astride mysteriously accelerates forward, taking the non-motorcyclist for a brief yet terrifying ride. Another occurrence is simply letting a non-motorcyclist sit on your motorcycle only to have them lose balance to the un-kickstanded side.

8. Passengers

Whether it be caused by an unannounced wheelie or some other inexplicable reason (such as in the video below), more passengers are thrown from motorcycles than you’d think possible. I covered the rider’s responsibility to his/her passenger more seriously in my Your Passenger Is Your Responsibility editorial. On the lighter side, though, this video is hilarious. How does he not know she’s no longer behind him, and, better yet, why the hell doesn’t she let go?!?

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7. Insurance

In the rush and excitement of getting your bike out of winter storage you either forget or disregard the fact that you haven’t renewed your motorcycle insurance coverage for the new riding season. It happens. More often, you’re young and poor and affording motorcycle insurance seems a luxury you can’t afford, so your policy lapses or is intentionally cancelled. I’ve been there but don’t recommend it. Better to reduce spending elsewhere than to let your motorcycle insurance fall off.

6. Pillions

With minimal, if any, storage room, no helmet lock and no toolkit, there’s not much reason to remove a passenger seat from many modern motorcycles. But for those who’ve been riding long enough or if you and the people you ride with happen to own older bikes that actually provides these comforts, chances are you’ve either lost a passenger seat yourself or know someone who has. It’s easy to do because what oftentimes seems secure isn’t, but you usually don’t find out until it’s too late.

5. Baggage

From tank bags to tailpacks, camping gear to homework, if it’s been transported on a motorcycle at one time or another it’s also fallen off a motorcycle. When magnetized tank bags were first making the scene some were insufficiently powerful enough to secure the tank bag at freeway speeds. I learned this the hard way when one blew off my CBR600F2 on the way to Laguna Seca.

4. Cell Phones

You stop, pull your phone from your jacket pocket, check your messages, put your phone back in your pocket, forget to zip the zipper and … no more phone. “It must have fallen out during that wheelie,” you think to yourself. At least that’s what I thought the day I lost mine. The best thing to do is to always keep your phone safe within an interior pocket.

3. Helmets

There’s an unmistakable thunk motorcycle helmets make when hitting the ground after unceremoniously falling from the seat, mirror or handlebar upon which they were perched. Every motorcyclist in earshot of the sound delivers a sympathetic moan, because it’s a ubiquitous experience among motorcyclists.

2. GoPros

GoPro made a fortune, not solely on the popularity of the company’s product, but because most GoPro cameras spend as much time bouncing along behind a motorcycle as they do attached to one. Kind of a new take on planned obsolescence. This, of course, applies to all models of action cameras and not just GoPro. Watching circus clown editor, Troy Siahaan, one-handedly juggle a GoPro after it detached from the fuel tank of the R1 he was riding was both sad and entertaining. Years later he still believes it lingers somewhere on the 405 freeway.

1. Riders

Cameras, luggage, passengers, etc., while often subject to falling off motorcycles, are but occasional guests to the party. The only compulsory element to riding a motorcycle is the motorcyclist him/herself, thereby defaulting to the number one position of what most often falls off a motorcycle. But, enough with that unappetizing thought. Let’s go back to #10.

Tom Roderick
Tom Roderick

A former Motorcycle.com staffer who has gone on to greener pastures, Tom Roderick still can't get the motorcycle bug out of his system. And honestly, we still miss having him around. Tom is now a regular freelance writer and tester for Motorcycle.com when his schedule allows, and his experience, riding ability, writing talent, and quick wit are still a joy to have – even if we don't get to experience it as much as we used to.

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