Went into a curve too fast today, started braking, rear slid, released brakes, reapplied, slid again, bike went off the road. This was a curvy mountain road with nothing but trees and rocks on the side and gravel shoulder. Bike hit tree, but I think frame is ok, buy probably at least 3-4k in damages. Tank hit a rock so huge dent in it, right exhaust and muffler are chewed up, mirrors, left foot peg, and gear shifter cut off. I'll post pics later, at a clinic right now trying to get xrays.. hit my knee into a tree, but luckily right where knee armor was... I can walk, slowly, without the armor I'd probably be with a broken leg, easy, and broken ankle if I didn't wear boots.

Cop said he is used to see accidents at that corner and that I'm lucky b/c he usually assumes rider dead when he hears the location... I think I'm first to survive, much less walk away..

I think i'll stick to drag strip and track for the 14, beside commuting and casual riding... Well, in 6mo or so - that's probably how long it will take to repair it, I didn't have collision :(

That SUCKS man! Glad to hear you are ok!

This is exactly why I am upgrading my riding gear before doing anything performance related, I am glad to hear you were properly protected. Totally sucks balls but at least you were not seriously injured. Keep us posted, and again I'm glad to here you were able to walk away.

I would also love to know what legging armor and boots you were wearing that obviously did their job very well.

Thanks for the support guys. Blue, your dmg sounds very close to mine and if it "only" took 2200 to repair, that actually makes me happy because I thought I'm down at least 3k. But I don't know full dmg yet, can't take her apart until knee gets better.

IKeyes, I wore Hood Jeans brand for pants, their Concept Six model (all their models are similar), with knee armor. I didn't have hip armor in (which I also ordered), but thankfully I didn't really need it this time. They are hand-made in UK and beside the armor, they have 100% woven kevlar all over (and not just in "common" spots like most other brands). A bit hotter than normal jeans, but they are comfortable (kevlar is soft). Jeans + knee + hip armor + shipping to US was $170. Expensive, but I KNOW they saved me from a broken bone and a messed up knee :P Also, I believe Hood Jeans will replace their products for free if you get into a crash - woot woot!

For boots, I wore Icon Field Armor boots and while they are sturdy, I don't like their comfort overall. They are shorter than racing boots and after today I'd def. recommend racing boots - better comfort and more protection. The lesson I learned was not that my boots were special, but that wearing riding boots in general really, really does save ankles. I remember hitting foot hard into tree as well and when I stopped sliding I looked at my strangely-shaped left leg and thought "Wow, I bet it's all f***ed up". Pretty horrid feeling, so when I could actually stand up and walk, I was so overjoyed, I almost didn't care about the accident lol. The cop was smiling when he walked up to me, I asked why, he said he's happy to see me alive - I think he said I'm far from first to crash at that spot and first to be alive. Made me appreciate ZX brakes..

This is the leg that was under the bike before the bike left me. Leg hit the tree mostly in the knee area, hit was hard enough to turn me probably 150+ degrees. The skin rash is from the rocks (probably wouldn't have it if I had sliders). Got x-rays done today, bones are just fine. But I can't tilt leg to the right without major pain directly to the right of the knee cap - thinking torn cartilage(s) maybe? Probably also a contusion, but I don't really have money for an MRI right now, no health insurance :(

Right leg was above the bike, nothing major:

Neck looks undamaged, but a really scary thing happened... I slid under some strong thorny vine and it wrapped around my neck. Miraculously, I stopped right as it was about to start choking me. The vine was so strong, I could not pull it out of ground with my hands or break it, so I used it as leverage to slid back up a bit and move it above my helmet. Had I slid fast enough, I wonder if it could literally just cut off my head or at least do permanent damage to my breathing passes.

Damage:

* Last updated by: AlexTheNewb on 7/13/2009 @ 4:59 PM *

Hmm I wonder if there are after-market tanks for ZX that are lighter? Getting the bike lighter is now priority #1 for me as I fix it.

My mirrors, front fairing holding headlights and mirrors, left foot peg, gear shift lever, front brake lever, and right passenger footpeg/exhaust holder are gone, speedometer gauge's glass has big hole in it, left handgrip is... compressed for the lack of better word, both tires need to be replaced probably, and definitely rear wheel at least... and I got antifreeze all over the bike so I need to figure out what happened there.. so there's more dmg than probably can be seen in pictures :/, but I still hope your price is about right lol. One of the guys who was with me at the time said he can get cheapest deals on Kawi parts that any dealer can possibly get, so maybe that'll help, kudos to him.

Now I need some stuff for my garage so I can handle this repair - don't currently have the tools, don't even got a rear wheel bike stand or spools, so sad.

Great info, thank you, Blue! I will be sure to check it out when I know exactly what I need.

Sorry to hear anyone having sheet time. If you are about to have a sitter, remove the tank and use the gas in the car. Empty the tank, empty the fuel line, empty the injector rail.

You want to at least a fresh hot air dry the injectors for that long a storage. You need no tools to un-clip the fuel lines. Let the gas work be done outside so you don't burn the crib down.

You have a bike that is smoother than you think. Takes corners better. Gets you there quicker, you need to step up the brain performance.

Live another day... Next time out you know how much to rip that cable so much is just enough.

Alex, I'm glad you're not seriously hurt!
I saw a few pics of you and your bike in jeans and sneakers,
good to hear that all the appropriate riding gear was on you
when you went down.

I'll check the spares part shelf but ontop of my head I have
an extra red 08 swingarm, red rear wheel and a ton of odds and ends.

Shoot me an email when you are able to evaluate what exactly needs to be replaced.

Stan

Will do, Stan. I do wear sneakers and jeans for pics or when I go to neighborhood marketplace via 35mph roads, but I put on real boots and riding jeans with knee (and sometimes hip) pads when going on interstate or to roads I am not familiar with. I might be putting on riding jeans a lot more often now, though ha-ha. I can see bruises on lower leg bone from my boots when they were trying to keep my foot from twisting and breaking my ankle, so boots do work as well!

Alex when you were heading into that corner, and realized what was about to happen what do you think your sequence of reactions may have been? I'd like to pick your brain for some knowledge that will help me and hopefully others possibly to fair better in a similar situation.

I have been riding on the street for five seasons now, and moving to the 14 has literally made me feel like I am learning from scratch all over again... this bike just does things I didn't know were possible, both good/fun and bad like in your story here. Well I guess I do those things good or bad... lol

I have been watching videos, and per the recommendation of several people picked up a copy of A Twist of the Wrist II by Keith Code. At just 115 pages (which I am only 1/2 way through) this is already the best $14 I could have spent on becoming a safer rider. Let's take for example the technique of counter-steering... I had never heard that term up until about two months ago, yet I make use of this technique every time I'm on a bike.

Without getting too long winded (and possibly highjacking your thread >.<) I am curious if you have read this book, and are familiar with what the author refers to as our human SR's or Survival Reactions? When I read your first post the first thing I thought of was the first chapter in that book, which details the primary SR riders have to deal with... throttle control.

Basically he outlines how a motorcycle going through a corner "wants" to be pushed to a weight balance of 40% up front and 60% in the rear +/- 5%. He outlines the process of taking a corner from beginning to end and what we (the rider) should be doing in order to allow our bike to do its job.

Things like backing off the throttle and breaking when you are either entering the corner too fast, or if your rear begins to spin out can actually make us crash, when in fact the bike would more than likely have pulled us through hairy as it may be.

When you were saying you felt that you were coming into that corner too hot, and then when you started breaking you felt the rear start to slide do you think (if you can recall that is) you may have also let up substantially if not completely from the throttle as well?

The book basically gives several examples of how this can cause all types of "unfavorable" results ranging from making the rear slide even harder, or even worse causing a large amount of weight to be transferred to the front end resulting in a highside.

You didn't mention exactly how you fell off the bike, but based off your expereince with the frame sliders and your pictures it sounds like this was a left hand turn, and the bike slid out from the rear to your right side which ended up with you under the left side of your bike?

This is certainly not meant as criticism to your riding skill, but purely me trying to learn from your experience. I am very much the type that when something goes wrong, I want to understand why so as to be better prepared for the future. In this case your experience may just save my ass someday. Reading a book and feeling something on the road is obviously not the same but if you can recall in more detail what happened in those short few seconds I would be most interested!

* Last updated by: IKeyes on 7/12/2009 @ 5:46 PM *

Keys, what you're doing is the right thing to do. I will outline what happened, but I must say that I'm not sure how much it will help. Thing is, the group actually talked about a similar accident with someone else and about how they overused rear brake and slid and crashed. I nodded, agreed that it shouldn't be done, and then did same thing before I crashed. So nothing, nothing substitutes practice in parking lot and on track b/c knowledge is only good if practiced enough to the point of instinct. That's my opinion.

The road was going straight then curved into a right turn of about 45 degrees and of average difficulty which was then followed immediately (we're talking about maybe 50 feet of straight line here) by a very sharp 90-degree curve to the left. Problem is, due to trees I simply didn't see that 90-degree turn in the opposite direction, so I entered first turn at somewhere between 60 and 70+ mph (this is a 35-mph road btw). Sure, we all (or many of us) do it all the time, that's the whole point of twisties, but in this case it was extra stupid of me b/c I didn't see what's ahead and it was my first time on the road.

I passed first turn just fine and was on the left side of the lane as I was exiting it. But before I even straightened out my bike I saw the next turn and I remember instantly realizing I'm screwed and it was scary but the very next moment everything got super-clear. Immediately question popped in my head, "Try to save bike or only worry about myself?" and answer was, "Low chance to save the bike and high chance of doing more damage to myself when doing it; only priority is minimizing damage to my own body". Some may say "BS, you didn't think that" but really I did. Except when you get scared, it's almost like you don't think like usual, you think in terms of answers somehow. It's blistering fast. Then my thoughts went as follows:

If I lean and try to make a 90-degree turn at this speed, I'll most definitely slide. (I didn't THINK I was going to skid, I suddenly had the feeling of KNOWING I will.) If I slide, I'll hit the trees that are closer to the road further up the turn and I'll die at this speed. (That I KNEW also) If I let engine to brake, it won't do it fast enough. So I must brake and then try to lean into the turn and make it.

These thoughts flew through my head in literally a split second. I never thought I could think that fast. Imminent danger does make you think FAST. I started braking, both brakes, and as soon as I did that, my head got completely clear again and only one thought kept circulating: "Is rear tire skidding yet? Is rear tire skidding yet?" As I kept approaching the end of road and gravel I squeezed brakes harder b/c I wanted to get everything I could out of them. Then rear tire skid. AS SOON as it did, I released rear brake and as soon as that happened I realized that front brake can't do it alone and that I'm doomed for a crash. This is b/c the split-second skid of rear tire turned the bike a bit to the point where if I applied throttle, I thought there was no way it would catch traction. This may have been a mistake, I can't know, but I KNEW my only choice is to reapply brake and to get all I could out of it even if it skids. It's the same subtle feeling of knowing something like you have when you catch a ball - you just know where it is without "thinking" about it. I believe that brain does a crapload of calculations behind the scenes to know exactly how much to move the muscles to catch a ball, and that's how I felt here - that calculations were done and my best option to survive with least damage was to break.

As I got close to the edge of asphalt, another set of thoughts flashed by:

This bike is heavy. If I keep holding on to it and it hits the trees, it will spring back into my body and f*** me up. I must release it as soon as I hit gravel and braking is useless. I can lean in a bit and try to make at least some of the turn until I lose traction, but there are trees without a gap between them just 20 feet up the road and if I do this and lose traction, I'll hit those trees head-on and die. I should just keep going straight and turn it on the side as I reach gravel b/c that will slow ME down more than it will the bike which means I'll create the much-needed distance between myself and the bike.

Again, a moment-long thought. I also noticed the two trees and empty spot between them as I was braking and I swear that I didn't consciously choose the moment when to put down the bike - my body did. But I KNEW it was the best moment of time to lay bike on its side in order for me to survive. And it was - I flew right between the first 2 trees that were immediately next to the road, hit grass and rocks on my way down, and only then my left leg hit some other tree. It was a substantial hit, but nothing like what would have been had I hit one of the first 2 trees. Another funny thing is that as soon as I missed the 2 trees and saw heading towards 3rd tree below, I was sure I'm going to break a leg. I guess my brain didn't take into account the knee pads; hit right into the middle of one so that probably saved my bone.

Had I went 2 feet to the left, I'd hit a tree head-on and probably die or at least have severe problems. Same thing to my right. I really got lucky. But it was my subconsciousness, really, I just trusted the body as it basically just took over. Police officer said everyone else so far died at that corner and I can see why - if they tried to salvage the bike, they had attempted to lean into the turn, and hence hit the first trees instead of missing them like I did.

Yes, I released throttle as I started breaking b/c judgement was that I need ALL the braking power I can get. I haven't read that book yet but I need to - everyone recommends it. I'll order it right now.

Lessons I learned for myself? Use front brake even harder. My bike already nose-dived some, but looking back I feel like I could have applied more front brake. I didn't know limits of my bike b/c I never practiced breaking with it yet (it's 2 weeks old for me), so I broke as hard as I thought its possible, but I was wrong - front didn't lock up or slid, so that means it could handle more brake go.

Another lesson - do not do extreme twisties with stock tires. They are not bad, but they are not good enough. I felt a bit uncomfortable from the very start of the trip. Thing is, stock tires might be fine for twisties. But if something unpredictable happens like it did with me, that's when you wish you had better tires. As I was falling down the cliff, three thoughts cross my mind, "I'll break my leg", "My parents told me this would happen", and "I should have replaced stock tires"

Whew, that was long. :)

I think I can (Eye >.< Jack) a thread as well as the next person who said it [in the same breath], but if you want counter-steer, you need to steer smooth.
Keith condensed the rules of engagement. Or say, pointing out the fundamentals. I think I saw one basic rule and as Keith Paz'd it on to me is basic rule was all I needed is to tell you in a few words.

Look WAY OUT AHEAD = Everythink comes clear is the rest is a given. I am willing to bet you looked at the nose of the bike, rather than looking way out aheADD YOU thought about that being your stickler?

I am counting the crashes I've had on my toes = The slowing of time is the same time you are thinking through now is just splits of seconds is your finger is heading in the buzz saw it and there was nothing you could do? BS!

I think you thought the crash out and there you are to talk about it. No luck involved is quick thinking call it. Both you and the instincts kick-inn together, bed down together, get it all straightened out together is get up from it, wipe yourself off, and now blame the tires?

YOU HAVE GOTTA BEE'Z WAX those BT's and I will show you tire. NO<NO< Social Science me about that pour any tire. Hand me a tire and remove the rear brake system and my body and instincts will push that dozen ding filled balls is raise you 12 dozen more dollars to donuts you calling out the tire?

YOU CALLING OUT THE TIRES?

I THINK what you're saying, Hub, is this:

That if I had time to think about it and brake, I had time to do something about it. I disagree, sorry. There are turns you know you can't take at certain speed. I'll take a certain crash at 10mph anyday over an almost-certain crash at 60mph.

I'm not blaming tires at all. This was all my mistake to start with. You're right, I should have thought better when I couldn't see far ahead. I assumed it's just one turn and it wasn't, but I couldn't see second turn at all - trees were blocking all of view. Tires are fine for overall riding, but I did feel a bit uneasy in turns. Sure, bike is heavy, but I thought the tires weren't that great. I'm sure I'd feel a ton better with Pirelli Stradas, and you can't deny that. But what I really meant by my tire comment is that, once you have to break hard hoping to slow down as much as possible in as little time as possible, at that moment you wish you had best-sticking tires on the market because that 5-10mph difference at the end makes a LOT of difference when you hit a tree - difference between broken bones and bruises. Stock BTs are FAR from best-sticking tires on the market for ZX-14 and that's all I meant.

But by the end of the day, the whole accident is my own fault. I just WISHED I had better tires so that I could slow down even more, although I'd still crash. :)

You know I am ragging on you because you survived to tell about it. Shame here. I took a turn too fast when I jumped on a faster bike. I too headed off into the trees, hit my right side off a huge tree that I cleared in between a few others before stopping. My left side kidney area was numb for years. It slowly went away, but took very long. Was I thinking out the steering right up to the end? You know it and I was not thinking tires. < LOL

Last close call where I didn't crash [the woods bike either is I stayed up on the big heavy Triumph] I meant to add, but say now we are on the '06 14 without rear brake assembly. I'm throwing the bike into a turn I know well. Just the speed adjustment of the WOT/Lift so I use no brake but smooth the way in there, I over cooked the corner, saw the plowed field/gully/train tracks/ect, where I crossed the solid white line, the edge was there as I looked right at it, saw the dirt gravel and said I am not going there.

Like you and your buddy instincts, we both guided that bike off the brakes, on the lean, saw the white line pass under my tire and there I was thinking, "front tire wash" with these BT'zzzzzzzzzz. See me snore, I am about to blame tires(?), when our skills kicked in and saved the day?

I've stopped counting on my fingers the crashes. I literally have to use the 3rd tow on one foot, as the crash count steps to the tune of doing the math. So, all those years, all those crashes add up to WOT? Are you now using the tire as an excuse or did said tire hold that paint strip on the lean back over it?

Did not the back of your head say, this is dead man's curve and you were now in it 100% Buy-Bye. Did you not say to yourself, you are not going to be a stat? I am not about to be a stat? I am sure, your buddy thought of THAT. < Is all I am saying is that, "you could half been on any tire." You did not need tire to survive but you rolled the wheels, not the tires is you did not push it to know how much stick is stick? I am just saying. I'm sticking to my story.

Keith is literate and uses word association to explain the text. I need to watch it so as to copy or mimic the moves. Dare four or however many chapters there are... I move on "Instinct" not a dictionary. Once the words, "stay in bounds of the edge" was heard. was when I parted ways with the social science way back when.

My instincts are still in tactful man NEW veers. Look ma, no rear brake is give me a break, TIRES!

alex like all the guy are saying glad your alive and you are thinking clearly (I have the same helmet) I ride ICON gear as well. as for your bike I dosn't look to bad from the pics well I mean bad not phuked... Ive just finished building mine as I bought a laydown bike with 1200 miles on it took a while to build but there are thingh to look out for when you start to build again motor mounts mine looked great so i thought they where cracked clean and I did not notice it till I was looking at my oil pan which was also damaged plug bolt went clean through I can go on and on about my build and things to look for when you need I'll be hear lol I will say after you are done You'll love that bike even more and remember the bike only cost money but your life is priceless...xxx's

Looks like you got off lucky on this one, Alex. I am sure glad for that. I bet the pain you are feeling for the bike is worse than the rash/knee pain. I am so glad that you are not reporting horrendous internal injuries that would have you laid up for weeks and still leave you sore for another year. Sounds like you have a fair amount of experience with 5 years under your belt. Stern warning to all of us noobs to watch ourselves close. I'm still working on waring my tire up to edge and I'm not going to push it way farther than I already know I can do. Have to tell ya, I already got my chicken strips on the new BTO16 150s a bit smaller than i had them on the stockers. The new tire has helped me corner a bit harder than I had previously dared. Might want to burn your stocker up with some straightline action and switch up to 16 150s.

Hub wrote:

Look WAY OUT AHEAD = Everythink comes clear is the rest is a given. I am willing to bet you looked at the nose of the bike, rather than looking way out aheADD YOU thought about that being your stickler?

I always start an aggressive corner about as tight as i can and allow myself all the extra width of pavement as leeway as I accelerate through the corner. That is rule #1 but rule #1-A is what hub said up above. It is so easy to get fixated on what is happening right in front of you. It is not like being in a car where you are just a rider and not really a part of the machine. In a car it is easier to be detached and look out ahead at what is coming at you, how much does the corner tighten, what is the condition of the pavement, who is there ahead of you? I will make this observation, when you're not on a track and there are retaining walls, brush or trees on the edge of a road, it can be awfully hard to feel ahead with your eyes because the road is hidden. Sounds like this may have been one of those curves. Obviously all we can do with such a curve is to take it enough times that we know it and be aware that there could be a slower moving vehicle or obstruction ahead that is out of sight.

Good spirit you have. Stay with us through the healing process for you and the bike. Hope you're not married or you might be hearing about this for some time. lol

Rook

Thanks guys. Rook, I don't have 5 years under my belt, can't see where I said that, I only have 1.5 years so I'm quite a noob =) BTO16 are BattleAxes right? I heard good things about them. Beside getting different tires, I'll also try and lose as much weight off the bike as possible during the re-build.

It was a blind turn in the sense that you could only see first turn, not second. The moment 2nd turn becomes visible from behind the trees is one moment too late. I bet that's why the turn is known for fatalities by the local police. Last week a couple riding a Harley 2-up died there and I bet they weren't going NEARLY as fast as I was and apparently they were still caught by surprise.

Hub, are you saying you don't have rear brake?? You're right that I skid b/c of lack of knowledge as to how much brake to apply, but you're wrong in the sense that tires don't matter. With better tires, I might have never skid given same pressure on rear brake lever :) I did release brakes and re-applied, as per book, but it skid again. It's really hard to judge in that situation how much brake to apply b/c when you don't skid and can feel crash is imminent, you want to squeeze brakes harder and harder thinking that it's better to get 100% out of the brakes even if it means a skid at the end than to get 80% out of them and never skid. Makes sense? I might have been wrong in that decision, but with the skid I at least lay the bike on the side, which is much better than diving off of it down a mountain slope nose-first and probably having the bike hit me on the way down... that would be very, very bad. You always want to create as much friction as possible between your body and ground (i.e., skid) as soon as bike control no longer provides an advantage - that much I know from physics hehe.

UPDATE: Fixed link to the first image that shows most of the damage to the bike on the right side. Make sure to mouse over image and select Full Size in top-left corner.

* Last updated by: AlexTheNewb on 7/13/2009 @ 5:19 PM *

Maybe you mentioned this and I missed it, but if this is a corner where people have died, they sure ought to have a sign warning to slow down -- like a maximum corner speed. I rely on those often, although I don't slow down quite as much as the sign suggests <grin>...

Is there a sign there? -bg

Didn't see any signs at all but I also illegally passed a car before the turn so maybe missed it... Bit car wasn't large so don't think it could block. I was also going almost twice the limit when entered first turn so maybe at speed limit it's more safe, but again I doubt that the Harley couple was speeding much... I'll definitely go back soon and check for sign, and lobby for at least 2 signs if there are none, for sake of future riders.

Sorry to hear about your accident. Important is you are OK!

Now, put the bike back on the road, would you.

* Last updated by: Steven14 on 7/13/2009 @ 6:35 PM *

Alex, that is correct. I stabbed the rear for an uphill light I was stopped at. That is about it. Say, I may have stabbed the rear, being, no one has beat me up or down this hill with this bike and the stock tires...

Dis is my turf. I do not need a road sign. Like I said, pick your favorite road and I'll give you a head start and all that front fender echo on the rhetorical.

We will be changing tires soon, so you can see the pads or disc if you like. Think I am BS'inn?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS5hl3ElcbU&feature=channel <<< Home turf is the accel of this bike eats them in my mirror it is fun to watch them shrink in the glass.

Alex wrote:

I only have 1.5 years so I'm quite a noob =) BTO16 are BattleAxes right?

1.5 years just like me. You know, i read an interesting post a while back about what experience level riders crash the most. Turns out the guy who has ridden for 2 years learns the bike pretty well and thinks he knows it all but finds out different more often than those with less experience. The total greenhorns are too afraid to try anything radical and the experienced riders learned how far to push it. I'm in favor of both of us graduating into the experienced rider catagory.

Yep BTO-16s are Battleaxes and they are nicer than the stock BTO-14s. They have a multi grip surface meaning hard on center, soft out to the sides and sticky on the edges. I have been mistaken in reporting the size tire i bought but the correct number is BTO-16 190/55/17 on the back and 120/70/17 on the front. This size rear tire is ~10mm higher in back wich seems to allow the bike to dip into a corner quicker and it has a larger contact patch on its side tread for more grip. The new front is the same size as stock but it also has the multi grip surface for better cornering while also having good ware on the center where you need it most. A lot of people recomended ths tire and several really like the higher profile larger contact patch. It is working for me.

* Last updated by: Rook on 7/14/2009 @ 12:09 AM *

Was this tire or rider inspire YOU!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOERYdqx51A&feature=related

Was this tire or rider inspire YOU!

Amazing stuff! -bg

Steven: sir, yes, sir, will do.

Hub: disabling rear brake is not a crazy idea. Rear brake is almost useless in heavy braking scenarios, but it CAN reduce braking distance by 5-10% depending on the bike. Of course, one needs to know how to use it in order for it to be actually helpful. I tried to remember to release/reapply but I only did so once, I should have pumped the brake more times to create the ABS effect - in that case it would probably do a lot more good. But this is why tires are important - it will lock good tire less than bad tire. Usefulness of rear brake depends heavily on motorcycle, of course, as evident in this study and comparison: http://www.msf-usa.org/imsc/proceedings/a-Green-ComparisonofStoppingDistance.pdf - but mostly, not using rear brake only resulted in about 5% change in braking distance (so 95% braking done by front tire, amazing)

Check this out (I know it's car comparison, but physics laws don't change from type of vehicle :))
http://www.eurotuner.com/techarticles/0411et_tire_comparison/bf_goodrich_bridgestone.html

Same driver, different tires, stopping distance from 50 mph was as follows... Tire 1: 79.4 feet, tire 2: 87.4 feet (couple pages later). They said tire 2 performed very similar to OE tires. This is very close to ZX-14 braking distance (which I think is around 85-95 feet stock from 50mph, depending on rider weight) So there we go, 8-foot difference. 8 foot is 10% of the distance, and if we assume uniform deceleration, that's about 5mph difference in speed when you start the crash. Truth is, you slow down quicker in the end as tires warm up so it's a bit more than 5mph, but let's stick with 5. How much more dmg you incur at 5mph more speed depends - it could actually save you if this means you miss a tree stump or a rock and fly over it, etc., or it could mean little difference if you just slide across grass, but it could also mean difference between life and death in head-on collision with a tree. But on average, here's a document that studied cars hitting pedestrians: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/671.1.pdf.

So there we see that if a pedestrian is hit by a car at 20mph, there's 5% chance of fatality and 30% chance to have no injury at all... at 30mph, fatality chance is 45% and no injury chance is just 5%. What a difference! Add 10 more mph and fatality chance goes up to 85%... so it's about 40% per each 10 mph, or 20% per 5mph... (starting at 20mph, that is). So can 5mph be the difference between life and death? Absolutely. Of course, we wear good gear so numbers are different for us, but you get my point. I think 5mph makes a real difference between minor injuries like what I got and more severe problems like broken bones that I probably would have had if I crashed at 5mph higher speed. Plus, bike would get less dmg at smaller crash speeds, too, which is $$$.

In my situation, it was my fault, yes. BUT once sh*t hit the fan, as we say, I sure as hell wished I had best tires b/c that would have meant less injuries and less cost to repair bike. You can't argue that, Hub, I'm sorry. Good try, though. :P

* Last updated by: AlexTheNewb on 7/14/2009 @ 8:46 AM *