I was hoping you guys could give me some suggestions what, and how, to check on the ZX14 after a lowside slide. I was headed to work yesterday morning, the normal route, and in a left hand turn, about 20 mph, the rear slide out from under me. Unfortunately there's no clear indication what caused it, I wasn't at any extreme lean angle - my boot wasn't touching, but would well before the peg feeler - and I didn't apply any braking. I assume it was something on the road, but being a busy section right at a bridge, I didn't really have a chance to inspect and the cop only did a drive by for potholes.

So.... the cosmetic damage is obvious, requiring replacement of the whole left side plastics (Silver '08), but I was looking for suggestions on mechanical items to double check while repairing it - e.g., transmission, steering bearing, swingarm and wheel alignment, etc. Any input is welcome and appreciated!

One odd thing in my opinion was the damage to the rear wheel, in case the adds any suggestions beyond the obvious wheel replacement...

Thanks!

I hope u ok buddy! If u gna go the ins route better have it inspected by a kawi dealer, u don't want something to go wrong at 100 miles an hr. And if something doesn't work properly u've got somebody to blame.

I feel for you. Reminds of when I threw my ZX11 away, but at least you can fix yours, probably with little more than is evident in the pictures if you are lucky.

So yes, if insurance is paying to fix it, let your Kawi dealer do it. That way you a) have people doing it who know your bike (mine do, I can't speak for everyone else), and b) have to warranty the work more strongly than having it done at a general motorcycle shop or in your garage.

Do you have any idea how that wheel got like that? Did it slide up against a manhole cover or something?

She looks fairly mild there...if you could say that.But that wheel...geez...I'm with Privateer there...HOW did THAT happen?YOU KNOW...THAT LOOKS STRANGELY AS IF THE TIRE BLEW,AND YOU SNAGGED THE RIM WHILE TURNING.IS THAT POSSIBLE?Definitely had to have zero or almost zero tire pressure to nail the rim on the cement or whatever it caught on.Geez.The pipe is barely touched,which probably saved the tank,but that rim....your bike had to be all the way over to catch that area?I can see the scuffmarks on the tire sidewall there...And those scratches on the rim itself,just aft of the bend(assuming the wheel was rolling normally).MAYBE...TOO low rear tire pressure caused the bead to flex,and go flat?

Reason I say that...mine high sided,flip flopped onto both sides,and came to rest.NEITHER wheel suffered any scrapes or damage.I think yer tire blew,or was flat at the time.

Frontend's probably fine,but I'd definitely remove that left bar with clamp attached,and make sure THAT's not tweaked back just a bit.Mine was.Look right at the hole where the clip-on goes into the clamp.Any bending back right there?It may be almost unnoticeable.

* Last updated by: blue07 on 7/19/2011 @ 2:55 PM *

Glad your OK wertdaman, that is a little puzzeling, how did you lay it down , do the fairings, do that rear rim and not take out the left hand exhaust just some minor damage.

Must of slid backwards into something and the rim made the stop perhaps.
she looks in good clean condition sad to see, the main thing is your ok.

You OK? Cause that does look more like slow slide. You were not going fast, that is true. You were shadinged off that bike via the rear tire meeting whatever collapsed the rim is my guess. Going to work and all that traffic tying up some runway, I hear a bridge gap? Front had to have something happen in that short of a wheelbase of time span. That rear had to stop at one point and just send in that ding, it'so sad looking.

I have no clue how to connect the dots to that rim. Anyway, the drill is to ride it as is. That says I am either straight or I have the Kruz Kurse on the front end. That's an inside joke. However, if she rides as straight as the day you picked it up... Now pick it up and if she is for shit?:

1. Upper and lower crowns are a given.
2. Upper and lower steering bearings, because you need to buy a new one for the lower crown, so new with old is your bike in the cheap seats is ignore the bearings and buy the one new one for the steering is half done.
3. Forks are just an easy sight down the gun barrel. Roll them and if straight? Again, one slight wave and it is fork leg replacement with seal and that is a given.
4. The price is climbing and we are not done yet with the cosmetics. Nothing is punched or cracked but check that front rim and axle.
5. Same goes with the rear axle. You need to pull the back wheel out of the way, slide the axle back in the swing arm. Spin the rear axle. We see a wave? Not good! That energy kept moving to the swing. Now the swing is in question.
6. Like you said, she was pretty slow going or that plastic would be shattered. If you want parts or paint in a shaker can color, you have that 50/50 kind of love/hate relation for it. Sink money in it so she looks like brand new and that cost just boggles the mind about how much that bike is worth in book value.
7. The other 50% of you says it's a throwaway bike and you may be throwing good money at it where the steering is everything on this bike. Cosmetics is your deal.
8. Bottom line, what I see from here; I question the front rim. I change the rear rim with new tires f&r. I ride that wrinkled front end and if she steers to the right/left and not center, it's the given up there as you eliminate the forks/wheel/axles/screw the rest, the cash goes into the front end she's not that badly hurt.
9. Transmission hardly got involved. Remember, race bikes go down or motocross bikes, it rarely involves any damage you fall, pick it up and take off riding again.

* Last updated by: Hub on 7/19/2011 @ 6:04 PM *

Still say the tire blew.Look at that first picture of the tire and pipe.Look along that upper edge of the muffler,in line with the rubber of the sidewall.Doesn't that look like a sharp azz "cut" in the tread edge there?A v shaped blowout?Does to me...and that tread in the second wheel pic....right above the bent rim part,towards the "center" of the tread,between the grooves there..That roundish scrub right there.Looks like part of the tire(tread) blew off the plies.

What brand of tire is that BTW?

take the insurance $$ and put it on a good aftermarket exhaust and wheels.

Isn't anyone the least bit curious HOW that rim got bent the way it is?If that tire was the culprit,I'd sure as shi^ wanna know so I could warn others about it.The tread itself looks fine...not worn.So what DID actually go wrong here?Imagine having a tire let go(if that's what it did)at a buck fifty?Maybe with yer boy or girl on board(not doing a buck fifty of course)?Or yer wife?

Glad you're doing okay...but seriously...if your rear tire did not hit anything.....there was some serious force goin on right there to create a rim like that.I'd wanna know.

Yo HUBSTER...you think there's any way that tire pressure(too much) could cause a rim to deform like that?That doesn't look like a hit to me.

* Last updated by: blue07 on 7/20/2011 @ 3:36 AM *

LOL blue07 I asked about the rim right off, above. He hasn't answered anyone so we may never know if its one of those one post ghosts.

I don't think a blown tire did that damage to the wheel. Could be wrong. With the abrasion on it, looks like it hit something.

When I low-sided my ZX11 at about 60mph, the bike seperated from me and went uphill ahead of me. Stood up and rolled for a second, then turned itself into a bike high-side basically, and started cartwheeling, end over end.

You can imagine what was going through my mind as I slid and did a few cartwheels of my own, watching the bike tumble uphill, still going 40mph or better. Bits of fairing and metal were flying off as she went, and the sound..... was dreadful.

Everything goes slow motion when you crash. It does for me, anyway.

Despite the violence of my crash, the wheels were 100% serviceable, verified by putting them on an electronic balancer and checking run out. But they did have much the same abrasion in a couple spots as shown in the picture, above.

Thanks for all the comments guys. I fared pretty well considering, no jacket that day with a forecast in the 90's so I walked away with some relatively minor road rash on my arms and left knee, and a sore left middle finger. The bike is at my Kawasaki dealer and I should have the insurance estimate later today.

As for the rear wheel... your guesses are as good as mine, actually better I think. There was no curb, just a flat wall, and the bike slide ahead of me on the road without me noticing it hitting the wall - so I'd say there is little to no chance it was from impact. My wife (ride a sportster) actually saw the wheel damage first while I was talking to the cops and guessed a blowout. The tires are BT016, my second set, and had around 1500 miles on them - so they weren't too new and definitely had good tread on them. This set was the first time I took the wheels off myself and had tires mounted at a local shop, but with 1500 miles without issue I wouldn't assume any issue from the mounting. I'm also pretty regular at checking the tire pressure, it was max two weeks since I checked them. I hadn't noticed any slow leaks on the rear, but that's not to say there wasn't something in the road to cause an issue in the last couple of days or the morning of. I drove that bridge (no sidewalk) a couple times that day and the following - I thought I noticed a line in the macadam that would have matched up with my expectation for the rear wheel. So, with all that extra detail, I would have to agree that something cause the rear wheel to catch and drag causing that damage. I was definitely leaned over at the time, but certainly not my most extreme angle, which I think is decent but isn't all that extreme compared to some people - I've only gone to the peg feeler once.

Bought the bike new just over two years ago and have around 14,000 miles. It was pretty much mint before this, and insurance was a no brainer - with Progressive we have no deductible and no impact to our rate after 3 years without a claim. So she should be back to new again soon! I know the shop didn't tear anything down for the inspection, so it's nice to have some feedback from you guys, especially your detail Hub, so I can make sure everything is done right. I was/am considering doing the work myself to know its done right, and at a reasonable cost for parts, but not sure how that all goes with insurance and if further damage is found during the work.

Anyway, thanks again for the comments, and feel free to add more. I'll let you guys know how it goes...

I was definitely leaned over at the time, but certainly not my most extreme angle, which I think is decent but isn't all that extreme compared to some people - I've only gone to the peg feeler once.

No problem there. Same here just the other day with the japanese cop cone foot dragging my new boots. I did notice that one side was bent only. More info like this explains more of what happened. You whacked something hard leaned over or the impact would have been equal on both sides of the rim.

That front rim has to have something or say I know! I've hit the same line with the same hole they never fixed in some canyon I take. I smash into that hole with the front tire and I'm looking off to the side seeing if that rim is about to lose air soon. What I'm saying is that, your front end is kind of light on the front bounce, where your ass is a lot heavier over that back rim to pound some shock move, plus the rear having less travel does not help.

The puzzle is almost solved. You hit something leaned over. I'd still spin that front rim.

Insurance finalized their estimate yesterday, coming to $5,000. Today I'm going to decide how much I do myself versus the shop. I'm tempted to source the parts to get it road worthy (handle bar, clutch lever, and rear wheel) and have the shop do that work, then finish with the cosmetic/body panels myself. Partly to save money, but also to expedite the process - they're not the quickest shop. I could double check things when I pick it up, but the shop would be responsible (in theory) for ensuring no damage/issues with the front end, swingarm, etc. There's still a part of me that wants to let them do it all, and just hold them responsible for everything...

Going to call around on those parts today and help make up my mind.

Got lucky, finding most of the replacement parts off zero mile bikes at 402bikes - should have everything by the end of the week. Since I have to replace the clutch lever anyway, I decided to try Pazzo levers, with a free set of driven grips - I've wanted wider grips from day one. I'm also looking at slip-ons now to replace the mufflers since they cost about the same as the single replacement I need too - leaning towards the Vance & Hines for the polished mufflers.

I'm looking forward to getting the necessary parts to the shop so they start working on it and see if there are any other indications of the cause of the accident (i.e., within the tire) and make sure everything else is in order. If there are no surprises, I should be back on the road within two weeks... fingers crossed!

Should I order new muffler connecting gaskets (Kawasaki # 11060-1376) for installing a set of slip-ons? I wouldn't have thought of it, but the shop had one in their repair estimate for replacing the left muffler.

May as well.

Check out northernkaw in the for sale section ,He gets brand new rolling chassis less mtr .You could buy your bodywork and rim and save a bundle

Thanks for the suggestion darryle, but I already have most of the parts, including bodywork and wheel, en route from 402bike. Easy to work with, and a pretty complete selection of parts mostly off new bikes, so we'll see in a couple of days...

I've actually got everything on order now for the repairs, just need to pick up a new set of gloves so I'm ready to ride it home next week!

So everything, the major bits at least, is back in order and I got in a few good rides since picking it up a week ago Frdiay. Mechanically, there was nothing wrong beyond the bent wheel - it tracks just as straight as it did before. Its actually running noticably smoother since I included new spark plugs, valve clearances, and throttle bodies.

Cosmetically though, I've got a pick list to work through thanks to the dealerships lack of attention to detail. One of which is considerable scratches on the brand new vance & hines left slip on - any one have experience re-skinning a slip on? I realize it is drilling out the rivets and replacing them, but was curious the practical level of difficulty...

Also, anyone ever replace the instrument/meter cover? Looks like it should be easy after removing the front fairing?

As for the aftermarket replacements, the slip-ons are purely cosmetic, but do make the bike a lot narrower, which is nice for our parking arrangements. The pazzo levers are a nice upgrade. The driven grips don't do anything for me though, they actually look a hair short for the clipons and are really uncomfortable with bare hands (moving it around the garage).

Thanks again for all the input.