Please read this first
Part one of final:
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=40947
Continued from Part One.
Ok, it's become somewhat evident that I'm either a slow learner
or just enjoy riding hard and too fast for my own good. Great
on the track but not the road.
A couple of months ago, I traded my K2 blue and white 1400 for
a brand new black K6 1400. Just shows you how much I love these
bikes.
I read on the forums that you never ride the GSX1400 with
the tyres they come out with, Bridgestone BT020's. They are lethal
in the wet and dodgy in the dry on these particular bikes.
I tried to have them changed prior to picking up the bike but
understandably the workshop is too busy and you can't wait
a couple of days to pick up your new bike, can you?
I had clocked 2500kms on them up to the ride on the 2nd December
to Waihi with a KB group. I had already done two Coro Loops on
the bike and yes the tyres were downright dangerous in the wet
but appeared fine in the dry. After this Waihi run, I was going
to change them as they were close to the wear indicators but
still up to WOF standards.
The pace had been pretty quick until my off but not as quick as
I used to ride after my mate had a real bad accident recently on his
bike. I was thoroughly enjoying the days ride and the company of
the others, meeting some new faces relishing the weather.
Turning off towards Whangamata, I was out front and about four
corners into the sweeper section, I was taking a left hander at
around 130kmh which was not excessive for me or the bike. Quite
a few corners that morning, had seen the footpegs scraping which
is quite normal. On this corner, the footpegs were not scraping,
I was not at a lean that could be considered severe at all and
was applying maintenance throttle only. That is enough throttle
to maintain your line without getting the rear out of whack.
Others following could not explain what happened next as the corner
was not damp, there was no oil or diesel, dust or anything else
that could have caused the incident. My line is spot on and
the next split second, without any warning or tyre twitch, the
rear goes into a full on slide. There is no time to do a thing at
all. I try and turn into the slide to straighten her up knowing
I am risking a highside, but the 1400's straighten out quite nicely
with all the weight, normally.
Not this time, it just slid for ages and kept going around then
went down hard, snapping the footpeg clean off and then dropping
250kgs of solid bike on my ankle, which at that point I was reasonably
convinced had been broken. I slid under the bike for quite some
time and distance, parted company, slid some more then rolled a couple
of times, coming to stop in the other lane quite close to the bike.
I hobbled off the road and lay in the drain for a few minutes, mentally
checking myself over. Hell, it hurt. My ankle felt like it had been
squashed in a vice and my left wrist was aching badly as well.
Other than that, not a mark anywhere.
The girls and guys on KB are an awesome crew. They sat with me and
sorted my bike out and made sure everything was sorted. Thanks
heaps again. You know who you are.
The point of this story:
I believe I was doing everything right at that point in time and
yet something still happened that could have been a lot worse than it
was. I say again, wear the best gear you can possibly afford.
A couple of months back I bought a set of Minatour leathers from
Tony in Christchurch as he was specialing the last of them out.
I had leather gloves from Quasimodo, a top of the line HJC helmet
and Forma sport touring boots. I slid a long long way and some of
it under the bike.
Damage to myself: broken left ankle, severe bruising and Heamatoma
of the ankle, sprained wrist and pulled wrist tendon on the left hand.
Damage to my gear: The hardened Carbon Fibre knuckle protectors worn
away a little on the right hand. My left boot only slightly scuffed??
The right boot slightly scuffed. A very light scratch on the back
of the helmet, my leather jacket scuffed on the back panels and a bit
of the Kevlar thread worn through. Right shoulder and arm badly scuffed.
Both knee sliders got a good workout. (Glad I left them on) And the pants
were scuffed all over the seat and a little down the right side.
Amazing that it all held up so well considering.
Bike: $5,300 worth of damage, mainly cosmetic apart from the tank.
There's another thread on that with some pics for those interested.
But, it will be like brand new when I get it back.
Friends: Concentrate at all times. A split second of inattention
on a bike can be fatal. We ride a little quicker than most cars too
and a little inattention can mean a lot of ground covered before
you realise what's going on.
Even when you do everything right, things can go terribly wrong
but you can stack the odds in your favour by wearing the best gear you
can afford.
As for me, I'm still learning and forever will be. I do know that
riding hard on the road is not an option. Even though the last few months
I have been a lot more cautious and pulled back, that level needs to
be pulled back even further. I enjoy riding and being out on the
bike and I want to be able to keep that up for as long as I can
with all my faculties intact.
It's an opportune time that I complete this series heading into
the Christmas and New year period. I'm out of action for maybe
another month but your guys and girls are still out there.
Please ride safe, be careful, prepare as best you can for any
eventuality, never assume and do have a great Christmas and
New Year.
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Originally Posted by beyond
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