List your "Duh" moments here

[Billy Jack]

Or as Homer Simpson says


So if you checked out my intro thread, you will realize I purchased a real diamond in the rough. Brought her part of the way to life just by cleaning her with a tooth brush and soapy water. Well after I got her all shined up, she was revving  very high. I freaked out and thought I got some thing wet that I should not have. I tried to dry her off by taking her for a spin. Well, this didn't work, came back to the house jumped on the inter-web for answers. I did this no less than 4 times ( around the block - back to the computer ), before I found a thread ( here by the way ), that said to check that the choke was not on or stuck.  . While detailing around the choke... I moved it. Do'h.

[Bumblebee]

The list of dumb things is way too long for internet to hold them all.

A simple one to overlook for the dump parts in the coffee can and scatter things all over the workbench technician types:
One of the engines I rebuilt I got to the put cylinder on point. I slid the cylinders on, dropped the bolts in then checked the organized work space for anything I might have missed before torquing things down. There was a single piston pin retaining clip laying there in the cylinder #2 area. Off comes the cylinder again and sure enough, the clip wasn't there. That could have been bad.
That is one of the many reasons I'm so organized when working on things.

[bajakirch]

From my most recent project:

I took off the valve cover to hopefully fix a sticky tappet and stop the valve cover gasket leak. Maybe a 2-night project, even with my meager mechanical skills.

As I was putting the rocker arms back into place, one slipped out of my fingers and dropped straight down the cam chain opening.

The 2-night project is now going on 2 months as I've struggled to find the time to:
1. Remove the exhaust.
2. Remove the oil pan (busted a cooling fin and put a little gouge in the mating surface along the way).
3. Order and wait for new oil pan gasket and exhaust gaskets.
4. Reinstall the oil pan.
5. Reinstall the exhaust.
6. Re-bleed the tappets and reinstall the cams.
7. Diagnose my failure to start.
8. Realize and deal with the fact that I failed to properly set the timing.

I'm in the midst of #8 right now.

All because I forgot to stuff some paper towell down those cam chain holes.

[nhktroup]

I took my MSF course on a Nighthawk 250. During the evaluation part of the course, I was first up in line for the "quick stop." I put the bike in first gear and went to take off. The bike died instantly. I restarted the bike and slowly released the clutch. It died again. I had the instructor come over to "fix" my bike during the eval. I was so mad that my bike broke down during the evaluation.  He reached over and turned the fuel selector from OFF to ON.     The bike was fine after that.

I got marked down for being an idiot.

[green427]

There isn't a book large enough to list the d'oh's that I made.

As far as motorcycles go, some examples are:

After replacing my tires, I rode around and could not figure out why my left arm is stretched out longer than my right arm on the bars. I checked the bar alignment, etc, but could not figure it out. Some miles later, I was checking something and noticed that the rear tire was almost touching part of the swingarm. Turns out my rear wheel was so misaligned that my front forks were always slightly turned while riding. Now my arms are stretched out at the same length.

Could not get my Rebel started one spring. After 15 minutes of cussing, fiddling, etc, I realized that I forgot about the choke lever.

[SirSeanSean]

Drained the battery trying to start my bike. Tried jumping it.... still wouldn't start. Looked at the start button and noticed that I had it set to "OFF" and not "ON." 

[mattrowe19]

Drained the battery trying to start my bike. Tried jumping it.... still wouldn't start. Looked at the start button and noticed that I had it set to "OFF" and not "ON." 

I did the same thing after I put my 450 back together after paint. Felt pretty dumb. My worst one was forgetting to put the kickstand down after I moved the bike. Got off of it, and over she went. Oops!

[DesignFlaw06]

Got off the freeway and was behind a car at the stop light, where we were both attempting to turn right. Due to the overpass, seeing oncoming traffic can be a bit of a challenge so I was really trying to see what was coming. The car took off, so I started to roll forward while still looking to my left. What I didn't see is the car in front of me change her mind and stopped. The slight bump of my tire against the bumper caught me by surprise and my hand slipped off the clutch, causing the bike to lurch forward. My fender punched a hole into the rear of the car. There was a cop sitting in the lane next to me that somehow missed the entire thing. We pulled into the adjacent parking lot and exchanged information. I told her I would pay for the damage. I never received a phone call from her so I'm not sure what happened after that. I got away with just a small crack in my fender. Definitely a learning experience. Vehicles in front of me have to be completely out of sight before I make my move now.

[palakaman]

Checked the oil while on the sidestand.

[hppants]

Boy this is a good one.... 

http://nighthawk-forums.com/index.php/topic,5795.0.html


Man, I've done some dumb things in my time...

[NHPep]

Parking lot exercise crash. Bike is on its right side running in gear, hmmm,  D'OH!! I finally remember the kill switch.

I do the back-to-the-bike reverse lift only to realize I'm turned the wrong way once it's up, D'OH!!! the side stand on the other side isn't down D'OH!!! and I've never mounted the bike from the right side.

[luckylindy]

Lately-Forgot to bungee the bag on the passenger seat at a gas stop.  Thank God it stayed on while I was flying down the road at 70mph.  Came off as I was slowing coming into a small town.  The shoulder strap was clinging to the luggage rack, so the dangling bag was driven under the fender by the rear tire.  Caused my back wheel to lock up at 50mph, causing a long fishtail slide that scared the crap out of me.  I kept it upright and afterward berated myself for being so careless.   Always secure your stuff . 

[jsepanski]

Dooh!

[Blade]

i was teaching a friend to ride on my 1986 450 rebel oldschool chopper i had built. i knew every inch of this bike. after a few hours of stalling and restarting and him learnin to ballance it (thank god im a fast runner with quick reflexes lol) he got the hang of it. after he parked it i jumped on to go fill her up again and it wouldnt start. just cranked and cranked but no sputter. ran my battery dead. after getting pissed i looked at my right hand control and noticed he had used the on/off switch to shut the bike off. needless to say i superglued it in the ON position.

[Blade]

i was in a hurry to leave work yesterday and was helping my boss park his harleys. his wife didnt feel good so i said id park her yamaha veno scooter for her. i turned the key on and hit the start button,nothin. so i pulled the kicker out and kicked the holly hell out of it. after my boss stood there for about a half hour watching he came over and kicked the side stander up and it started right up. damn safty switch made me look like a dumbass.lol

[bittenbythehawk]

Cotter Pins. I replace the rear brakes on a bike and put the brake stopper bolt in and in the frenzy neglected to put the cotter pin back in. After a few stops hopped on the interstate after a few miles up the road got on a off ramp, first tap of the rear brake locked up the rear wheel, apparently the nut had rotated off the bolt, the rear brake arm was whipped around in a position never intended to be in. Somehow I was able to stay rubber down but the thought of dumping it did cross my mind. Took awhile for the pucker in the pants to subside but I make sure every cotter pin is back on before the bike rolls out now. Not so much a "Duh" moment more a "Whew"

[Rebel13]

I just bought my bike 2 weeks ago. It needs alot of work. After the first week, I figure I should start it up, one issue was the battery wouldn't keep or have a charge. Anyway while starting it would not crank over, I heard two pistons fire, but nothing more. Apparently The kill switch was on the off position. I sure aint use to this cut off switch and or let alone the double position for it!

[spoupard]

I had taken the fuel tank off of the bike to do some work. After reinstalling the tank, I go for a little ride. About a quarter mile down the road the bike starts to sputter and I immediately knew that I forgot to turn the petcock on. I reached down and turned it on, but the bike continued to sputter until it died. I pull off of the road and it's about this time that I can feel the fuel wetting my jeans. I had forgotten to put the fuel line on the petcock when I reinstalled the tank.   What an idiot!

[Adam Roby]

I winterized my Intruder 1400 a couple weeks ago.  One each side of the bike, you have to remove a cover that goes over the head to reach the spark plug.  I removed what I thought were those bolts but got confused that they were 4" long... then realized I removed the head bolts instead of the little covers.  OMG!!!!  Panic set it, I hit the Intruder forums and many of the guys there have done the same thing before.  Apparently there are 4 primary bolts around each cylinder and these 2 bolts are secondary - so they claim that retorquing to the spec will be just fine.  I haven't tried to start her back up cause the winterizing has been done, but I really hope I didn't mess anything up, will see next spring.

[KarlJay]

I took my MSF course on a Nighthawk 250. During the evaluation part of the course, I was first up in line for the "quick stop." I put the bike in first gear and went to take off. The bike died instantly. I restarted the bike and slowly released the clutch. It died again. I had the instructor come over to "fix" my bike during the eval. I was so mad that my bike broke down during the evaluation.  He reached over and turned the fuel selector from OFF to ON.     The bike was fine after that.

I got marked down for being an idiot.

Did you take your MSF over at the safety center on Bradshaw?  My bike locked up the tranny and wouldn't shift during my class!

[ginmqi]

2 "DOH!" moments so far in my short riding career:

1 - Pulled out of the driveway and onto a street but motor would stutter and almost die when I tried to let the clutch out and roll on the throttle.  Turns out fuel petcock was in OFF position.

2 - Bike wouldn't start one day.  Turns out the engine ignition switch was OFF. 

[TomInLosAngeles]

I have so many Doh moments w/ bikes, but the last one was with my 700SC -- when I got it it had little tiny turn signals, front and rear, and no running lifhts.  They only functioned (barely) as turn signals.  Got it running and first Saturday I took it out to run errands.  Stopped maybe three places and then the bike just ... died.  Could not jump start it, had to get a friend to get it home, checked everything and could not figure it out.  Charged the battery and all was good and I had no idea what had killed the battery.

Then on this site I saw someone mention that the "P" on the ignition cylinder meant parking lights.

Mine were all two wire lights so "P" did not actually light anything up so no idea where the juice was going, but apparently when I was turning the bike off I was putting it in "P" and not lock.  I guess I though "P" stood for Park, like in a car?

Doh!

[cjbear11]

I've had a few 'doh moments in my riding career.

The most recent of which was the common "I forgot to turn the fuel on" mistake. I was on lunch break, getting ready to head back to work. As I turned onto the fourlane highway I accelerated past a few cars coming up to a red light. Right before I got to the stop the bike starts to hesitate and sputter, and as I came up to the stop it died. Stupd me forgot to turn the fuel on. I tried cranking it in the intersection, but to no avail. So I had to walk it to the nearest parking lot in full gear, in front of a bunch of cars only to crank on it more and run the battery down. I ended up having to leave the bike there until after work, and had to call a friend to come pick me up. I could have started it in any other situation, but I wasn't in the right frame of mind after that.

The second 'doh moment was when I was in the process of a top end rebuild, in the reassembly phase, trying to re-attach the cam chain tensioner and it's little cotter pins. I carelessy did not stuff towels in the center opening for the chain. The second cotter pin slipped out of my pliers and straight down into the bottom case. 'DOH! Needless to say I was not happy, and ready to walk away for a couple days. My friend and I went to eat dinner with his wife, and while we were talking about it, she casually mentioned tying a string around the pin and the looping it around the frame. That idea was pure genius! We managed to get the pin out by taking the oil pan off and blowing compressed air down the chain opening. I used the string method the second go around. 

[Adam Roby]

...I was turning the bike off I was putting it in "P" and not lock.  I guess I though "P" stood for Park, like in a car?

Yup, did that one too on the Intruder.  The key is on the side of the bike like a HD so it is not a natural way to turn the bike off (for me anyways) and I turned it to P (park) which actually lights the rear light (not very visible during the day) but enough to drain the battery.

One cage D'oh I did...  couple years back I was parking at work and there was a snow bank in the way, so I backed into it as hard as I could, came forward, backed up harder, basically making a spot for me.  All was fine... worked late that night was leaving around 10:00 PM and it was around -30 celcius that day.  Started the car... after a few seconds, it stalled and would not start anymore.  Luckily another crazy collegue was working late and came to help me.  Long story short, I had packed snow into my exhaust pipe and it froze there.  Luckily he was a smoker, and I spent about 30 minutes trying to light the muffler and melt the ice enough to pick it out.  Finally started and I left, but that was the last time I did that stupidity.

[AmericanClassic]

The first time I dropped my bike, I was turning into a parking space, and pull the clutch in enough, so it bucked, and I dropped it. I was so embarrassed that I tried to hurriedly pick it up, and ended up tipping it on to the other side. And of course, my rather attractive neighbor at the time was outside to witness the whole thing.