One of the most disappointing situations a motorcyclist can find themselves in is to come out of a building and see their motorcycle tipped over and lying on the ground, or worse, gone. The driver of a motorcycle must be aware of conditions the driver of a larger vehicle might not think about. Teach yourself to do a quick, but careful assessment of the parking area every time you park so you can keep your motorcycle safe and upright before you hit the road again.
Choose a flat parking surface whenever possible, even if you have to park farther away than you'd like.
Maneuver the bike into a safe position when you have no other option than to park on a hill, until you feel the motorcycle is in the most stable position possible. Spend extra time finding the right angle for the motorcycle to lean when parking on hill.
Check the surface of the parking area for grass, loose sand, hot asphalt or gravel where your kick-stand might sink into the surface, which could cause the motorcycle to tip over. Carry a hard, flat plate of metal or wood that is about the size of a pie pan in your saddlebag to place on the ground before you put the kick-stand down. Use the plate to create your own safe surface to park on when it comes to surfaces that are questionable. Maneuver the motorcycle so the kick-stand rests squarely on the plate.
Park the motorcycle at an angle to the curb, if there is a curb, so you can easily pull the motorcycle out into traffic. Push the motorcycle so the back tire presses tight to the curb.
Use your foot to put down the kick-stand while the motorcycle is in gear. Leave the motorcycle in first gear when you park it. Shift the motorcycle into neutral only when you are about to start it.
Park in the middle of parking spaces, near the rear-end of other vehicles that could block the view, so your motorcycle is easy for other drivers to see, and so people leaving and entering parked vehicles won't bump your motorcycle when opening car doors.
Drive the motorcycle all the way through the parking space whenever possible so you don't have to back out into traffic on your motorcycle. Park so you can inch forward past parked cars to see if the way is clear before you pull out into a traffic lane. Inch the motorcycle around to face the exit whenever possible if you are not able to drive the motorcycle through a parking space to face the exit.
Be aware of parking rules that limit parking to just one motorcycle per parking spot, or if it is permissible to park more than one motorcycle to a single parking spot.
Turn off the ignition, remove the key and lock the forks before you leave your motorcycle.
