Death is a possibility on a sportbike -more so than NOT on a sportbike, I'd say. As you may remember, the last thing I worry about is crashing. If it looks like I could crash, I back off. My fears are all rooted in cops looking to write tickets. So don't worry about anything unless you are a cop magnet LOL.

"No matter the car in the way"....."WOT happens if this happens? There is no time to think".If I'm riding that fast on the street....I best get rid of my bike.I've no business going that fast.PERIOD.That thinking may very well help ya get to the podium.It'll only get ya to the morgue 'out there'.You and perhaps some innocent person(s) taking a nice afternoon drive with the family.Sorry...I have a mega powered motorcycle...I have no right to put anyone else at risk cause I think I have to 'win win win'.....if that makes any sense.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 3/17/2012 @ 5:56 PM *

Its funy in the tight stuff if you come down riding like a idiot like we all do, you stand a chance of making it and so dose the person you hit.

At high speeds it just gets worse.

remember awhile back I was running around this sweeper about 220 klm tight enough to be almost on the pegs as I come out of the bend straighten I see this van in front of me doing about 80, in a split second I hesitated, go round on the fly or brake, car coming the other way just a perfect storm .

I could of braked or gone round on the fly safely, but you put in that hesitation and both are now turning to shit.

In the end I braked, my eyeballs hit the back of that van and my hart came out through my mouth and I shit.

Come up on a slow move vehicle at speed is to me more dangerous that pushing hard in the tight stuff.

220klm = 61 meters/ second,- 200 ft/sec

my little brain can't process information that fast I must need an upgrade

Ya...I know the feeling of having to brake fast and hard to save my azz.Not fun.

I'm not out to wreck this bike.

Hub says.. "I think I can process the,'faster you are home, the longer you live' part?"....that thinking would go right along with..."I'm almost out of gas...I better HURRY UP and make it to that next station"(as I open the throttle) Of which neither one would be the CORRECT thing to do.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 3/17/2012 @ 10:03 PM *

No my instincts were to be smooth and just fly on by.

when I saw the Van if was part of the picture and I flowed with it, But my vision and reflexes disagreed when I saw the on coming car, I hesitated

At that speed the window closed quickly, and then I through the anchor over the side.

The faster guys are faster processors or is it a drive instinct? Driven to win. Sound like a racer to you?

you maybe right, I'm in my fifty's you should of seen me go when I was Young, all my brain cells heading in the same direction, all working at once, I was amazing one time.

* Last updated by: ethin14 on 3/17/2012 @ 10:10 PM *

You know...virtually that same deal happened to me Ethin.Cruising fast...very fast...uphill...two lane...logging truck ahead....doing about....35mph.I'm rolling...comin up on him...WAY faster than that.There was a left hander up ahead...I didn't know if there would be someone rounding that bend or not.I decided...'stay put'.By the time I was able to 'judge' my velocity against his....I knew I had to react...NOW.I applied the brakes...not hard enough to skid...but fairly firm.I kept moving...much faster than I expected.I was gaining FAST...that rear end was getting closer and closer and ...shit!!!!!I gotta stop this baby...'c'mon.....grab....harder.More rear...easy now....don't lock it.There....I'm okay."....I was about 10 ft(or less) from nailing that guy.Had I 'gone around'...I may have gotten hit,or wasted precious time deciding to stay put and deal with it.One or two more seconds of 'waiting' could easily have turned into a wicked rear end crash.I again learned a serious lesson....despite what some feel about 'thinking what might happen' ahead of time...I learned...'THINK ahead of time'...so if and when it DOES appear...you have already outlined a basic survival strategy and put it in your tool kit.Ultimately...I should have throttled back way before I started to gain on that truck.But....sometimes...we misperceive what's actually happening.He looked like he was moving faster than he really was.And it didn't become real apparent UNTIL I got closer....and at that point,I HAD to do something...other than slam into him.I say...ya gotta think ahead about these things...unless of course,you never encounter slow moving vehicles or cross traffic or oncomers drifting into your lane.

It is not a track where everyone is going the same direction with the same mindset going on.Calculated turns....entry points that are set ahead of time.Familiar sets of chicanes and s's that never vary.Brake points and shift points.Speeds.All pre meditated and planned.

BIG difference passing a semi hauling a double as opposed to passing a motorcycle going the same direction and knowing nothing is up ahead except your next straight or turn.

That whole scenario could have been easily avoided IF...I had just recognized when I was still back there.."hey....chill....you don't HAVE to do anything except ease up and enjoy your ride'.There would have been no drama.No risk.No anything...and that's the whole thing about sportbiking.Without these episodes of 'reality' sometimes,we become complacent and then who knows?How many times have I found myself thinking something TOTALLY out and away from what I'm doing at that minute...piloting a big ass missile that demands attention virtually all the time.It's weird and sometimes scarey...realizing you just went one mile at such and such speed,and didn't even REALLY notice the oncoming traffic...that're only feet away as they pass.You saw em,but that was about it.I don't do that very often...but sometimes...I can get lulled into a false sense of 'security'.You know...'this bike is so cool...nothing could really happen'...."it happens to other guys...not me"..."I'm too tuned in to let anything like THAT happen'...you know what I'm saying.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 3/17/2012 @ 10:40 PM *

I'm in my fifty's you should of seen me go when I was Young, all my brain cells heading in the same direction, all working at once, I was amazing one time.

BS! You are still there. Look at bg, look at grn, me, the 71 young one on his 14 racing. Then the old salt with the indian, literally on the salt.

... the longer you live' part?"....that thinking would go right along with..."I'm almost out of gas...I better HURRY UP and make it to that next station"(as I open the throttle) Of which neither one would be the CORRECT thing to do.

WOT are you, sounding like, bg? LOL I'm not running out of gas. It's not to hez, not to back off, not to do anything, but avoid [moving metal]> at all costs me nothing. These are sheples behind a machine. I have no clue their condition behind the wheel? Either they are sobering up, sipping one between the legs, I'm not about to wait around to [be collected] to find out. Oh, we have something in common = Matching the legal speed limit.

The skills needed are not to hez, lose something you adjust to, meaning, aging. Grn moves fast enough for an old fart. You're not giving your age more credit, ethin.

I'd have to make just ONE exception to that comment about "getting home sooner to live longer"....that COULD be a valid point.

I was on my zx12...been out all morning riding.I didn't feel so good.But....I figured I could still go give blood like I planened.Pulled into the clinic parking lot...walked the 50 or so feet into the building.Fine...I'm good.Went in to give blood.They could get a vien.By this time,I'm on the verge of passing out.I ell em..."okay,okay...stop...I need to go...we'll do this another time"...they says..."maybe you should get over to the hospital...your blood pressure doesn't seem too good"

Nah....I'm only a mile from home."no...I'll be okay".

I walk out...sit down on the curb there.I'm really not feeling okay.I'm getting to the point that if I don't ride my bike home NOW...it may sit here and get stolen.5-8 minutes go by.I've got to do something...now.

I get on my bike,start er up...take off...get home.Go upstairs.Take off my helmet.FUCK...this aint good.I feel like shit.I'm going.

I get downstairs and get out to my car.Back I go...to the emergency room.Walk in.Sit down at the intake nurse there.She tells me..."just a minute'.I'm thinkin..."I don't HAVE a minute.I get up,walk to the adjacent room there where some doctor's workin on a guy.I grab his sleeve...I tell him..."I think I'm dyin"...as I collapsed DEAD in his arms.True story.Took 12 hours of intensive work to get me back and stabilized.Died three times while in there.They didn't think I would make it.

I said all that to say...sometimes...you CAN rush home to live longer!!!!!I wouldn't recommend doing it the way I did...but.... Most times...when things are saying in your head
'speed up'...that MAY BE the best time to 'slow down'....IDK.....strange world we live in sometimes.I think more than one person here has heard that voice in his head when he was REALLY low on fuel..."You better hurry up...you're gonna run out".

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 3/17/2012 @ 11:06 PM *

glad your still here grn

I like to travel faster than the traffic, always feel safer when you coming up on them and not the other way around.

Gives them less time to stuff up and your making things happen and have more control

Does that mean I speed all the time, yes it does. in the slow speed areas ,schools zones around town or in the suburbs then No

but as soon as your clear of the slow speed areas it's a constant over the limit not always by a big margin but enough that you pass the world and say goodbye, not the other way round.

concentration is a big thing, sorts out who the racers are and who the rabbits are

Do the speed limit 100k (60/mile) all day and my focus drops, can do 140k all day and be as sharp as a tack, concentration is good all the time

slow speeds are a pill to sleep

Ya....I'm the same.Obey city speeds.Open road...clear highway,big curves...open er up.I get around traffic ahead...yes,I do.And keep staying ahead.Away from danger.I don't rip everywhere I go.But I get clear and try to stay clear.I said it before...and I'm glad some here can be honest...I don't do the speed limit.I rarely cruise at 70.Rarely.I don't like traffic.Following cars.Waiting to see what they're gonna do when they signal right,and end up going left.I don't like it.So I keep clear of it as much as possible.If that means speeding by...then that's what it is.Not in anger...just for my own safety.Someday it may catch up to me.....I just hope I'm ready to go....I intend to be anyway.I wouldn't actually classify myself as a wreckless driver.

I remember talking to a Highway patrol one time when I got pulled over....few years back.He asked me 'why' I was riding the speed he clocked me at.It wasn't extreme...but it was over 90.The road was clear and no traffic.Well minor traffic.Some.I told him straight out."I'm riding offensively...I don't want to be caught up in some of these car driver's things"...he just looked at me...didn't say a word.I think he understood that a bike rider really IS vulnerable when he's riding in traffic.VERY.He wrote the ticket for 80 something....gave me a break.Would have been a 145 dollar ticket.Ended up being like 75 dollars...something like that.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 3/18/2012 @ 1:47 AM *

I like the idea of setting the suspension softer and softer until it wallows and dives and then tightening things back up. Being comfortable can make you faster up to the point of deteriorating control. To me, the most important aspect of cornering is to be in the correct gear, keeping the engine in the powerband. This is a harder judgement to make with these big motors that have power everywhere. You don't have to keep it within 500 rpm of redline, but you don't want to lug it or be in too high a gear either.

You know Danno...that's exactly what I did yesterday.Set everything back to 'std' settings...except...added a click or two to the front rebound damping,and a turn to the rear rebound damping(in).Went for a ride.In a few fast sweepers,she held very nicely.Need some more days though to get out and do some railing...just to confirm the settings.Kinda hard to find a 'happy medium' sometimes.I don't intend to ride triple digits everywhere...but I do want the right settings for higher speed cornering.I keep forgetting....it's not a race thing!.

I am not the smartest person out there and seem to lack some common sense so I just leave the suspension alone that way I cannot make it any worse.

It also gets more miles on it being moved around in the gayrage than it gets out on the road.

Hub....that's exactly what I've been doing all along.Rafters?No..not anytime soon.But the rest...yes.For whatever reason you seem to think that I can't understand how my suspension works...what it should feel like and so on.Because I ask questions about things does not mean I don't understand it.I usually want input from others about what THEY'RE doing or feeling when riding or whatever.I don't know everything.Never claimed to.But I do understand the functions of THIS motorcycle,and my 07.

The starting point is the factory settings.The bike with my weight rides very nicely and handles very nicely with the book settings.That's the starting point.But they aren't setting the bike up for HIGH SPEED running.That's a personal thing..how a guy wants to ride 'out there'.A dragger goes what...150+ in the quarter.Okay....so the factory sets the bike to run a certain way straight outta the crate for an anticipated straight line run.They don't automatically set the forks down an inch...or crank the rear shock all the way in.That's why they picked those settings.For joe average...at least a guy around my weight.I know how to set sag and how it should be.Front and back.I know how to set damping to get a certain feel or characteristic out of the shocks.

You said yourself.."I like plush"...okay...your settings are going to be very different from someone who enjoys a firmer feel and all.Only you can tell what you want your ride to feel like.And you'll set things according to your wants.Same with me.I experimented plenty with my 07 over the course of ownership.This new bike is virtually the same...except...the suspension has been upgraded.So it's not exactly as the others...but...the physics involved ARE the same...you know that.I know that.A guy doesn't need to be a suspension expert to tune his stuff IF he understands what he's doing and trying to accomplish.You know that.I know that.My sag is fine right now.I've checked it.

My bike does not pogo...I removed that from the equation.

You also know that these bikes here...the 14's and Busa's...they will perform differently suspension-wise at varying speeds.That's why 'one size' does not fit all.If you're primarily cruising around...and you want a "Harley" feel...that's fine.These bikes can do that.But at higher speeds and deeper faster sharper corners..that "Harley" feel may or may not be possible...depending.You know this.I know this.I ride primarily in triple digits in corners....if possible.The way my bike performs doing this is what I experiment with.There IS a happy medium...but one needs to remember...this bike....is NOT a 1000...it's primarily a straight line drag bike.The suspension is very good...it will allow some very good tweaks to it.But it will never be an"Ohlins" race bike.So ya gotta go with what ya have...and try different stuff to get that 'medium".I think mine is dialed in very well.She corners extremely smooth and planted.She doesn't wallow...or run off line...or swing wide...or anything like that.EVERY bike and rider is a different match for whatever they're asking of their machine.You only need to know what you want...or don't want to start getting things lined in.

Besides...if Kawasaki didn't think that 'joe average' could adjust a ride feel for his bike....they would have said"Take your Kawasaki motorcycle to your dealer to have him make your adjustments for you"....yes?It's a street bike....drag bike...NOT a world class carver like those guys on their 999's and 1000's.ANYONE expecting THAT kind of handling performance from their 584 lb bike...add rider...is going to be disappointed.I'm not...but some may.

"Run them all out, sag the spring load"....I don't NEED to 'run them all the way out"....you can see if she's rebounding or whatever incorrectly by starting at factory settings.And going from there.You love to 'tinker' with your bikes...nothing wrong with that...that's how a guy learns.I'm not necessarily into that.I change things up and such...but if it aint broke...I TRY not to fix it.

Like changing a bulb in the new bike.They say...'remove the whole under cowl thingy.That's a LOT of stuff to remove and the pins and all.NO WAY am I gonna pull all that apart if I don't need to...and I don't.I changed bulbs just fine from the inside...just as I did with my 07.No need to remove anything but those duct covers.Sometimes leaving things alone is far better than doing something that might only create a problem.Just to 'find out' what it is...or whatever.I learned that from my 07.Some things are better off left alone.

Tell ya the truth here(as I see it anyway)...I don't think there are too many "joe averages" owning these bad birds.ANYONE taking on the performance of one of these is definitely NOT average IMO.Maybe....not entirely familiar with...but average...not.

How many guys you see 'our age'...well,some on here, riding a bike that'll do 0-60 in a second(or damn near it).And actually riding like that.Regularly.Carving...rolling.Ripping.On the fastest most powerful production bike on the planet.I wouldn't say we're 'joe average'.Not that I personally care.Joe or no Joe...I'm one of the elite having a bike like this to enjoy in my later years!Makes me feel....good.I LOVE my 14R.

FWIW...you guys here that have the new bird...I would 'suggest' you keep an eye on your chain adjustments.Already had to do TWO so far(in 1086 miles).If you start getting a clunk underneath at various times...you might want to check your slack.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 3/24/2012 @ 12:50 PM *

I finally had my ZZR 1200 suspension set up the way I liked it right before I totalled it-five years after purchase. The suspension would compress a little when you put your weight in the saddle and then would settle a bit more when the motor started running.

You shouldnt be so critical of yourself Grn. Im thirty years your junior
and i havent spooled my mill past 3/8 throttle or seven thousand rpm...
and thats AFTER you and Hub told me to wind higher to get away from pinging.
I suppose that would make me a cephalopod pecker.

Well...IDK what Hub said about pinging and rpms...but I'll say this...IF your engine is pinging...increasing rpms will not be a good thing for it.Any pinging is asking for an engine failure down the road.I hope you're not riding your bike...whatever it is...with pinging occurring.If no one told you....I will...do not ride your bike if she's pinging all over the place.Something isn't okay if she's doing that.ANY pinging is damaging to that motor.ANY.Get that sorted first.

Timing and/or fuel or both.That's where you start with that.Kawasaki tells ya...91 octane MINIMUM.NOT 87...as a lot of guys use.You can't always HEAR pinging going on.Until she 'pings' right out the head or something!

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 3/26/2012 @ 12:32 PM *

Lol... go to general zx14r and find the thread titled "valve rattle".
If that isnt you advising me to wind higher then we have a troll
lurking this forum.

....and who's motor doesn't make some kind of rattle or clopitty-clop. You start listenning to that thing at an idle you might just hear all sorts of sounds.

Good point Rook! In that vein... would you liken the powerplant of the 14 to the European or African swallow?

"and thats AFTER you and Hub told me to wind higher to get away from pinging"....no one established there was any actual predetonation going on.Your description was more similar sounding to 'lugging'...not pinging.IMO.

....look carefully at what I said...and how you described what was going on.I mentioned timing moving...BUT...I never said ride her with a ping.The timing will adjust with the rpms and load and such...but that's NOT the same thing as 'pinging'.You mentioned 92 octane...so throttling up and such would not describe(to me) a 'pinging' situation.I wasn't thinking about 'pinging' going on when you posted.I was thinking about the automatic timing from the ECU...which would NOT cause a pinging with 92 octane.It just wouldn't.But a lug would /could create that sound you were hearing.

I suggested that hammering with your weight would increase the load she has to pull...(and I don't want to offend you...not even)...which at particular rpms might load the engine a bit more than a guy my size...175.That could affect how the motor responds at certain throttle applications.IDK.My suggestion about raising your rpm/shift/throttle applications was meant only in that respect.I wasn't thinking your baby was 'pinging'...no way would I say...open er up if she's pinging.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 3/26/2012 @ 11:40 PM *

My apologies for the confusion.

Nahh..it's all cool....No apologies needed.Sa'll good Hagrid.

Well....what happened?Did ya figure out what was going on?

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 3/27/2012 @ 10:12 AM *