with over 40,000 miles and 17 years under my belt, i finally felt i could handle the awesome power of the zx-14. i purchased mine a few weeks ago, (three weeks, 4 days, and 4 hours, give or take). i got me a super sexy burnt orange special edition. mostly cuz i couldn't get the rates on financing an 08 since its after April... what ever. i'm in love. the first 7 days i owned the bike, i put 856 miles on it. the following week, i went on call. bummer. this last weekend, with 1468 miles on her clock, i put her down going thru a nasty patch of sand. well, the sand was accross the entire road. thankfully, my second rider has a gs1200 with something he calls, "ABS"... i guess this helped him keep it up right as he got thru the sand only to find himself in the gravel on the side of the road, meeting me as i came to a stop rolling about 75' then clipped me with the valve cover on his boxer engine, sending me down the same embankment! LMAO!

so, while i heal up, and make my first claim with the insurance company, i am going to do some more reaserch with the extra time i have, and prolly dust off the old fz1. (amazing how much dust can accrue on a bike in three weeks, specially when the state has had so many fires as of late.) i did actually get a few miles on the bike tonight... funny how twitchy the right hand can be when you ride after a crash!...

so i will get back up and start getting some real miles on my bike soon. got lots of questions for you guys, but will spend a few days and see what i can find in some of your old threads first.

Bubba.

Hi Bubba. Glad you are not too scraped or banged up. Welcome to the forums.

ABS-- anti lock brakes. You must have heard of that. Just about every car made in the last the last 10 years has those. The European ZZR 14 has anti locks so I am sure you could order a system for your 14 if you run across slippery conditions like that which caused your spill. I'm sure Adding ABS would cost a lot as it was an expensive option on the 08 CBR 1000. It adds a few pounds too.

Welcome rally,

So Bubba, ABS means, Asslap Bubba Silly! I thought boxers only took out plastic front bumpers off Honda cars, trying to beat me to a corner ~ splitting lanes. No ABS on that boxer, but I stayed upright like your buddy that took you out. My other boxer did have that Ah Bubba, Silly me barking down on some pebbles and saved my ass using the front brake only.

You two were hooking it close, like looking for Honda bumpersounds like?

i am a bit of a smart ass.... so yes, i do know what ABS is.... we just laugh at my buddy for having it, and for having one of the only bmws we ride with. LOL and this guy generally follows at about a 4-6 second window. so not too close. remember, i rolled a good 75' feet before he caught up to me. and his knocking me off the embankment did not do any more harm then had already happened. now i just have something to hold against him. LOL

thanks for the welcome guys.