Jose- absolutely solid thinking, keeping us away from traffic in the first place is a big benefit of this process. I think I skipped over your point because it’s not so much that we are within a traffic lane upon immediate park/dismount, but rather have the potential for falling into it if the bike tumbles over. But my response to you is probably more so motivated by the fact that I can’t change my story at this point and I’m trying to defend myself for having omitted your good point. If I’m honest I’m a little irritated that you failed to give me a heads up before it went to print.

#1 is that Police motors are massive to begin with, and these riders are FIT!
Rule 1 for them is to Dismount Away From Traffic, plain and simple.

In my over 50 years of riding, the process has varied accordingly, with all of those factors first mentioned (and I am certain there are more). in my early days, I’d dismount left without deploying any side stand, and pull my BMW R69S right up on its center stand. Rarely used the side stands, as they seemed to be an engineering and fabrication afterthought back then.

As I got older, and less fit, and probably also because I was riding Liter-Plus bikes, my process began to evolve. The side stand’s been deployed more as a “crutch,” both literally and figuratively, against any miscalculation on my part, as normally I’d go directly to the center stand for maximum stability and less of a footprint in my garage.

As usual, YMMV (your mileage may vary), but to insist that “Dismounting on the High Side” is THE WAY, is much too narrow an approach, IMHO. Thanks for bringing this all to the surface. It gives us all a reason to reflect on what we do, and could perhaps do better.

At 68, I don’t clamber on and off like I used to, but will give the high-side exit some practice. Would have been easy 30 years ago.

This process is definitely NOT easier from a mounting/dismounting perspective. But it’s a process that answers the most amount of “what if’s” in parking/stopping situations from a safety standpoint. My goal here is to introduce an idea of mounting and dismounting your motorcycle that will keep you safe, not necessarily make things easier on you. Think of it as tough love.

Craig – First off, I was a husky young boy and I know firsthand what a bad situation torn pants can put you in…so your first point hits home for sure. And if you have already thought of all the “what if’s” within your process and it covers all the variables and conditions you might face, definitely disregard my advice and continue doing it your way. But when it comes to getting knocked into traffic, it takes exactly one time for that to bite you, and in motorcycle riding I live by the philosophy of “possibility” that something could happen, rather than the “probability” it could due to minimal exposure to certain riding situations. Yes, if you are less flexible, older, shorter, on bigger/taller equipment, geared up in certain configurations, and a million other situations we could debate, this way is more of a hassle. And “probably” your way will continue to work fine for you. That said, this process requires no kickstand double-check, minimal surface appraisal, keeps us unbound from the bike no matter what happens, and provides a repeatable routine in all situations. In other words, it’s muscle memory, set it and forget it. Is it perfect for everybody all the time? Absolutely not.