So, What has fallen off your bike?

[DiverRay]

Lost a side cover someplace in Texas. Was doing about 85, and didn't even look back! It was almost 10 miles to the next exit, and I was NOT going to go look for it! That was about six years ago on my ride to Ohio via the Southern route.

[ddragon63]

My left side panel is missing the dicky-do to hold it into place. I fixed it by drilling a hole and inserting a long wood screw. It's kinda tricky and you have to really pay attention when you put it back on.

A while back I was working on it and had the panel off. Went to take a test ride and kinda just slapped it on there. I'm doing 60 down the back road an hit a bump, heard a low rattling noise, looked down to my left just in time to watch it come off. Watched it in the mirror tumble on its long end down the road...

Now, those of you that have seen pic's of my bike an know it history could only imagine what was traveling thru my mind @ this point. it came to rest on the yellow line in the middle of the road....

A car was passing in the opposite direction... I anchored the brakes and made the sharpest u-turn I've ever made on a bike. The car missed it by inches. I stopped in the middle of the road, picked it up, put it in the trunk, and rode home to asses the damage. As it rolled on the long end there was no damage to the mural on the face of it. just a couple light scratches..... I have a feeling someone from the other side decided to teach me a lesson about making sure things are 100% ready before you roll out!

[Cobia]

Yep,
I lost a left side cover too. Of course the latching thingy was broken and I thought what was left would hold it in..... NOT !!!
This happened just a couple of weeks after I bought a matching set. So I put the replacement on, again, with the bronken locking tab, but this time I secured it with bungee accross the bottom. That was 3 years ago.

[BA80]

Yep,
I lost a left side cover too. Of course the latching thingy was broken and I thought what was left would hold it in..... NOT !!!
This happened just a couple of weeks after I bought a matching set. So I put the replacement on, again, with the bronken locking tab, but this time I secured it with bungee accross the bottom. That was 3 years ago.

The spur on my left cover latch is gone also but I just layed a piece of duct tape over the latch tower and stuck it in the lock and I haven't had an issue in several thousand miles.

Gotta replace that little piece of duct tape evey once in a while though.

[GLoweVA]

I believe you need to start doing a proper preflight inspection!

HaHa Marty, spoken light a true jet mechanic.

[DGXSER]

Like Tod......Me. Oh and a cell phone. Hint, never leave your cell phone in one of those belt hook pockets while riding your motorcycle at highway speeds. Wind will lift it off your belt. Then it is a long slow ride looking in ditches and the side of the road for all the parts to put it back together. I think they had an easier time finding all the parts of me. Only lost my glasses and one small piece of my tibia.

[natemoen]

Like Tod......Me. Oh and a cell phone. Hint, never leave your cell phone in one of those belt hook pockets while riding your motorcycle at highway speeds. Wind will lift it off your belt. Then it is a long slow ride looking in ditches and the side of the road for all the parts to put it back together. I think they had an easier time finding all the parts of me. Only lost my glasses and one small piece of my tibia.

Or just have a good case so all the parts stay contained within

[Hmar]

Twice the contents of my saddlebags when I forgot to close on clasp.... Also lost the start button off of the handle bar.

[planedick]

Glasses

On my way to a rally on Fri the 13th. I stopped to look at a map and had to take off my sun glasses and put on my reading glasses. I have a glasses case mounted on the dash of the fairing and as I was riding down the road after the map stop I noticed the case was open and there were no glasses there. I was wearing my sun glasses so the reading glasses were missing. I turned around and went back to the map stop about 5 miles back looking at the other side of the road and then turned around and slowly rode the 5 miles again looking, nothing. I stopped and thought what to do now and just for fun I decided to look around on the bike. I found 'em hanging on the fairing mount just forward of the engine on the right side. I couldn't believe it was Fri the 13th.

[CatatonicBug]

Lost the left Side cover once, before I learned about the superglue and baking soda trick. Got a new side cover (with a broken latch) and re-built it with the glue, and now it latches perfectly.

I've knocked the door off my saddlebags a couple of times by clipping a car too closely - once in my driveway, and once in a parking lot. Other than that, keeping the bolts tight seems to have kept everything in place.

[Poprock]

Lost the rain cover for my seat when a saddle bag lid didn't latch. Had a few nice pocket knives disappear on a ride as well. Lost a speedo cable one time when the bottom end came loose. Then there was the time I left the oil cap on the footpeg...(but those two were on a XJ650).

[planedick]

Speedo cable

Lost the rain cover for my seat when a saddle bag lid didn't latch. Had a few nice pocket knives disappear on a ride as well. Lost a speedo cable one time when the bottom end came loose. Then there was the time I left the oil cap on the footpeg...(but those two were on a XJ650).

If you notice the speedo cable has a collar on one end to keep it from going through the outer housing and that end should be just under the speedo to prevent it from falling out should the housing come loose from the wheel end.

[Poprock]

Yabut..this bike had been seriously PO'd. It was also my first motorcycle and I didn't have a clue about what was or wasn't where it was supposed to be. After about a year of ownership it was a decent bike when I sold it.

[Special Ed]

Lost stuff...

Had a '62 Harley Sprint when I was in High School. It was like riding a little jack hammer. It left a trail of passenger foot-rest, license plates, and miscellaneous nuts and bolts everywhere I went: but man, could it HANDLE.
But my Skoot? The worst thing was my tank bag. I moved it to my passenger seat to get gas. I got done, got on my bike, road off, and when a dude in a pick-up passed me (@ 80mph!) and pointed behind him, I immediately got the message, and turned around to look for it, but alas, it was gone! Unfortunately it contained some very important paperwork. I also, another time, lost a nice summer, mesh, riding jacket! One can never over fasten something!
Special Ed

[Rooster]

Wife, when I dropped the bike in a rain storm. Were still married and she still comes along when we've got a clear SUNNY afternoon. That's her on the back of the bike in my puny hard to see photo in the corner.