You (Yes, You) Can Lift That Heavy Bike, And Here's How

If you're a smaller rider, you might think you can't do this. Nail the technique and you totally can!

By: Janaki Jitchotvisut

Sep 25, 2024 at 9:04am ET

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If you grew up riding dirt bikes, you're already used to falling over, laughing, picking your bike up, and going about your business. And to be fair, piston-powered dirt bikes are usually super light and easy compared to, say, electric dirt bikes. Or even other types of piston-powered motorcycles.

So if that's you, then you may not need what I'm about to share here, and that's cool. Tell us your gnarliest, best bike-dropping story in the comments instead if you like! I mean, executive editor Jonathon Klein just dropped the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 on his left leg not too long ago!

But if you're intimidated by the idea of picking up your bike after it's fallen over, then you should probably watch Doodle on a Motorcycle's latest YouTube video. She's an experienced rider, but she's also on the smaller side as a human (just under 5'4", about 112-ish pounds). And she says if she can pick up her 500-plus pound Triumph Tiger (the biggest weight-plus is when it's loaded up with luggage), you absolutely can do it too if you master the right technique.

And don't worry; this isn't one of those super-spammy "one weird trick" kind of tips, either. Instead, what Doodle instructs in this video owes a whole lot to good deadlifting technique, as I learned through months of physical therapy after tearing my meniscus last year.

Good technique consists of a few key elements. The first is, tie your front brake lever down so your bike doesn't try to roll away from you as you pick it up. The rest is mainly body positioning, and lifting with your legs. Your knees should be bent at slightly less than a 90 degree angle to the bike, with your butt against the seat. Find two good places to place your hands and grab (see the video for examples).

Keep your back straight, and above all, look up. Don't look down. Looking up, as any trainer helping you improve your lifting technique will tell you, tends to make you straighten out your back. If you look down instead, you're more likely to curve your back, and you're more likely to hurt yourself.

My physical therapist also stressed sticking your butt out a little when you're lifting, as this helps to protect your back. Think about a duck, or a goose, and how its butt kind of sticks out when it's walking. Do that, but into the seat of your bike as you start to push it up with your legs. You're not lifting so much as pushing up from the ground.

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If you're in the gravel or on uneven ground, Doodle also has advice for getting a friend or helpful bystander to use their dead weight on the other side of the bike to make it easier for you to lift.

Watch the video to see both techniques in action, and be sure to get yourself a snack after you successfully get your bike back up onto its side stand.