I met Mr. Pavement this weekend!

Ah, this past Saturday was set up perfectly. I had the day to myself, weather was perfect, so I planned on a long trip to see wildflowers in East Texas. I pulled the ZR7-S out of the garage not long after the sun came up. Dew was still on the grass (plot point), so I warmed the Kawasaki up and took off. My mind was already contemplating my route as I exited the alley onto the street. What the #A@! there is an SUV passing right as I exit the alley. I grab a handful of the front brake and Hello, meet Mister Pavement. Down I go in a heap of breaking plastic and metal grinding sounds. Oh me, I’m able to free my foot from under the bike (thanks to the engine guards that I installed) and regain my upright standing position. There lies my pride and joy on her side with pieces dangling.

How could such a beautiful day go so wrong so fast. Well, I should have paid more attention to the dew on the ground, and my wife has told me numerous times to watch out exiting our alley.
Once I got her back on her tires I surveyed the damage. Mirror broken off, turn signal hanging by the wires, fairing cracked, engine guard and muffler scratched along with the bar end.

Other than that, everything still working. It sputtered to a start and I thought 1. Go back home and get really pissed. 2. Go enjoy the day. I chose 2. I may have looked rough but I had a great day of riding. Beautiful weather, some pretty flowers (see attached), great food at the Shed in Edom then back home. Now I have some work to do to get the “Yellow Mustard Dawg” back to looking new.
By the way, I didn’t get a scratch. Thanks to my helmet, riding gloves, leather jacket, boots, and Joe Rocket textile riding pants. Without any one of these and I would have been hurt. At least I did one thing right. Make that two, I continued on with a day of riding.

Repeat after me....Ron Ayers is my friend.....

Glad it wasn't more serious. I mirror, a turn signal and some paint is cheap.

Glad you were ok and got to take a ride.

Maybe you should come play in the dirt with us.

Don't feel bad Rick.

A somewhat similar thing happened to me yesterday as well...

http://www.twtex.com/viewtopic.php?t=3954

Whew, glad everything broken was cosmetic (and maybe ego) related. My wife had just mentioned that all the bikes that went on the Soda Shop run were all shinier than our two. Yours was one of them. Well, your ZR has "character" now.

There was a thread a while back on embarrassing moments - I added my story from Pie Run I, so I knows how ya feel.

Glad you finished your day riding. Another gear testimonial.
Cheer up! Now you have something to work on!

Everything is fixable. I really think I can get it back to near new with less than 50.00 in parts. The cracked fairing is a hairline crack that is hard to see. I'll let that slide.

Sorry to hear about the mishap Rick. But what a great attitude about life and motorcycles (2. Go enjoy the day. I chose 2. I may have looked rough but I had a great day of riding.) Hope you get your ride back in shape soon. Next time you're in Edom (May 28th is the Pie Run ) and wanting some company drop a dime, I'm about 20 minutes from The Shed. 903-882-6236

Rick,

Dude! you should have told us you were going to Edom. We went a different direction that day. We ate in Jacksonville.

Glad you're OK.

Dave

I thought about you East Texas guys and I kept an eye out for bikes I have seen before, but no luck. I didn't plan on the Shed until a hunger pang hit me outside of Palestine and all of a sudden "The Shed" popped in mind. It seemed downhill and a tailwind all the way at that point. I will holler next time. Hopefully, I'll have the bike back in order soon.
Rick

Okay, bike is back in order. I guess it is considered to be a custom bike now. The mirror was held on by a rivet. I have upgraded (customized) that to a bolt. The turn signal is popped back in place. Even though it is broken inside the faring, it works ok so it will stay that way for now. A little touch up paint on the engine guard and I'm almost new.
Rick

You can call it "gently used" now.
Or just flat-out crashed!

I'll take the gently used option.

Rick

About ten years ago in Germany we had the first nice day of spring, so I rushed to take the ST1100 out for a ride. In my haste I didn't quite clear one of the wooden beams holding up my carport, catching it with my saddlebag. I was barely able to keep from crashing into my car, but I tore the bag completely off. I knew it was gonna be expensive, but why ruin a great day? I just took the other bag off and went for the ride.

By the way, thsoe saddlebags are over $750 each. I was lucky as I had some buds at a Honda shop who hooked me up with a new one for their cost, but that was still over $500. I didn't want to file an insurance claim, as it was already expensive enough owning such a large capacity motorcycle in the land of the autobahn!

Glad to hear you weren't hurt...

Cheers! M2

Thanks M2. I'm looking good as new now and more experienced. I wonder if I should put little crashed bikes on my fairing nose like the Air Force fighters put (kills) on their jets. Since, I don't plan on any more "get offs" maybe not.
Take care.
Rick