I haven't dropped the Tenere. . . . yet. But, the last time I dropped a bike was the ST1300. Thought I had the side stand down. . . . and didn't. I was so pissed, and embarrassed, jerked the handlebars and stood it up. I'm probably luck the cast bars didn't break. Sometimes being half the weight of the bike is an advantage. I would normally go with Chaz's technique though for 90% of the time.