Patience, young grasshopper.

When getting on a motorcycle one should always maintain the center balance of the bike. One must be sure not to let it tip one way or the other. Leaving the kickstand down while mounting is generally the best way to insure this.

Once one is comfortably situated on the bike it is necessary to disengage the stand so that when one starts the bike they don’t bust it off by riding with it down. Some bikes are equipped with an automatic shut off for such instances when people shift into first gear with the stand left folded down.

The kickstand is mighty important.

This morning an anxious rider mounted her faithful motorcycle. She started it up. It cut out. She pulled out the choke, restarted the bike, and let it idle in neutral. The rider then disengaged the kickstand. She snagged her helmet and started to put it on when she noticed something pertinent which she had forgot before mounting her motorcycle. She hung the helmet on the right handle bar and leaned the bike to the left, balancing it in its parked position so she could dismount and attend to the forgotten something-or-other.

Remember, the rider had disengaged the kickstand.

This young grasshopper saw the most entertaing thing this morning. The bike and rider were parked on green grass. The precipitation was such that small pin prick sprinkles glimmered and fell. The air smelt of Washington in fall, and the soft grass appeared even more bright in contrast to the dim, cloud filled, sky.

The rider dropped like a rag doll, still wrapped around the bike. She realized her mistake too late; the kickstand was no longer standing by her side. The bike leaned to the left, and kept leaning, and then gravity took hold and the bike fell with that rider still on it. The rider hit the soft grass like a rag doll.

This grasshopper isn’t privy to much in the way of humorous falls. In my recollection they mostly appear frightening. However, that rider on that motorcycle was just fine. Her cheeks were about as red as the lovely roses that adorned that green grass around the perimeter of the yard where the bike and rider had toppled. The rider untangled herself and clambered from under that bike — less than gracefully I might add. The rider brushed herself off, and gave a quick sweep of the vicinity to check if any eyes had saw, this grasshopper was the only witness. She picked that bike up, and continued about her bussiness, attending to the pertinent task that had caused the ruckus.

Kickstands are mighty important that’s all I’m saying. AND one should have patience, young grasshopper.