|
 | It's
not easy to ruin a Suzuki GSX-R750. All of the GSX-Rs are
extremely tough bikes, and it takes some effort to render one of them
unrideable. Presented here are the details of my attempt to
destroy one of these beautiful machines:
Greg and I headed into the hills near Hiawassee
for an easy-going mountain ride. I was leading the two of us on my
GSX-R750, while Greg was following on his ferocious Hayabusa. We were both fully armored, which is the norm for these
sort
of afternoon excursions. |  |  |
|
We
were having a very fun, smooth ride, until my front tire lost its grip on the road in this turn.
Greg managed to stay composed and completed the turn
wihtout a
problem.
This is a decreasing radius turn, and
the point where I lost control was right at the apex (see the satellite image). I recall my approach seeming quite stable and untroubled, but something went awry. |  | 
|
|
| The
bike hit the pavement on its right side, and didn't slide very far
before driving the front wheel into the guardrail support, where the
wheel shattered.
The impact of my right shoulder and
leg onto
the pavement was pretty rough. The slide across the road on
my
side and back was very short, and it didn't seem to reduce the velocity
of my body much at all. | 
|
| As
you can see in these images, my right chassis protector left a long
mark on the road. Also, the black, blue, and white colors of
the
bike's bodywork are visible on the guardrail, just above the point of
impact of the front wheel.
Immediately
before I hit
the
guardrail, I remember seeing the shock of the bike smashing into the
guardrail and bouncing back about a meter or so. Then, it was my
turn. |  | 
|
| 
|  | I
hit the guardrail with the rear portion of my left shoulder.
This
impact shattered my scapula, broke a few ribs, broke some of the bony
processes on some of my vertebrae, and left me with a minor
hemopneumothorax.
I never lost consciousness, and
was
immediately in a lot of pain with difficulty breathing. Greg,
who
is a seasoned paramedic, kept the scene safe and ensured that the local
EMS crew arrived very quickly. |
| A
few days after the crash, I elected to have my scapula surgically
repaired using a stainless steel plate and screws. The plate looks like
the links of a chain. Only the most troublesome (and biggest)
of my scapula fractures was repaired with this plate. The other
fractures
(visible in the x-ray films) should heal normally without the need for
additional support.
The broken ribs and vertebral
processes
should heal normally without any intervention. The
hemopneumothorax gradually receded over the course of a few days.
A few weeks after the crash, I'm still in a lot of pain due
to
all of the soft tissue damage, broken ribs, and physical therapy for my
shoulder. Thankfully, I should experience no long-term
effects as
a result of these injuries. |  |
| 
|  | I
can honestly say that my Komodo Meso series leather racing suit did a
fantastic job of protecting me from additional injuries. The
left
shoulder protector of this suit dispersed the impact of my shoulder
into the guardrail, leaving a broad, shallow contusion covering my
entire left shoulder. Without the protection of this leather
suit, my injuries would have been much, much worse. Sadly,
this
suit was destroyed during the emergency removal process (it will be replaced with another Komodo suit).
|
| | Here
is the final result of my attempt to destroy my GSX-R750.
This
is, for me, the most tragic component of the entire crash experience:
I've ruined a truly wonderful motorcycle that I enjoyed and
cared
for, deeply. Feels sort of like losing a good friend. |  | 
|
| 
|  | Upon
close and careful evaluation it looks like the engine, drivetrain, fuel
system, and electrical system are all, in tact and in good working
order. Of course, the front wheel, fork tubes, steering stem, and many
other components must be completely replaced.
There were no
leaks.
Even with a big ding in the bottom of the radiator, it didn't
leak. A fastener on one of the front brake calipers was
loosened
and it bled a little, but stopped when tightened very slightly.
|
| | So,
what happened? Why did I slip and crash?
For
a while, I really didn't know. It was easy to jump on
assumptions
of debris or something on the road, but that wasn't the cause.
I
spent a lot of time reviewing the crash site, the bike, and my
recollection of the step-by-step events of the crash. Greg
had
the best view of the crash, and his recollection of the events
was very helpful.
It
seems that the front tire, a Bridgestone Battlax BT014F 120/70ZR17,
lost grip as I sharpened my turn near the apex. There was a
studder of the front tire's grip on the road, which Greg saw me try to
correct, but it was too late for a correction at that point, and I
was dropped onto the pavement. Greg never saw
my brake lights light-up, which makes sense because I never apply the
brakes so late in a turn. I rely on a lot of engine braking,
which may have been part of the problem.
|  |
| You
see, I was riding
in a gear that was too high (engine revving too low) for a turn at that
speed. I typically get all of my braking done before leaning more
than a few
degrees into a turn. After releasing the front brake, I count on
engine braking for slowing me through the remainder of a turn entry
because the gradual decrease of momentum facilitated
by engine braking in a turn is smoother than my
application
of the front brake.
If
I had entered that turn with the engine revving higher, the engine
would have slowed me down smoothly and I would have had more weight on
the front wheel at the point where my tire lost its grip. The
extra weight on the front tire may have given me a more substantial
contact patch on the road, and might have prevented the
loss of grip. The Bridgestone front tire I was riding on is a
high-performance street tire made from a relatively new silica compound
designed specificially for optimal grip on the road, and I don't
believe the tire performed poorly for its intended purpose. Also,
we had
only been on the road for about 15-20 minutes, so it's possible that
the tire wasn't sufficiently warmed-up along the lateral edge of the
tread. Warm or not, I was still
asking a little too much of this tire, and it simply couldn't hold on.
It's
important to note that this crash, and most of the associated damage
and injury, would not have happened
on a
racetrack. Maintaining the engine speed in the range of
optimal
power is a much stronger requirement on the track, so a maximal contact
patch is more consistently maintained. Also, typcial track
conditions, and track-specific tires, would have provided me with a
much more stable (and forgiving) connection between my bike and the asphalt.
|
| 
| 
| October
2007: A few weeks after the crash, the GSX-R750 rebuild is
underway. All major
components that were damaged in the crash are being replaced in order
to prepare the bike for the racetrack, which is excellent because
GSX-Rs really don't belong on public roads in the first place.
|  |
| Halloween 2007: The end of this adventure, and the beginning of a new one.
I'm back to "normal" and the GSX-R750 is actually on the road again,
and performing better than
ever. In addition to rebuilding it from a very large collection
of OEM replacement parts, I've
added a Yoshimura R-55 carbon/SS full system, DynoJet PowerCommander +
Ignition Module + QuickShifter systems, a K&N
air filter, Vortex sprockets, a DID ERV3 racing chain (520 conversion),
Galfer steel-braided brake lines, Vortex levers & rearsets, and NGK
CR9EIX plugs.
By the way, a big THANKS to the folks at  for the excellent "care package" they sent when they heard about my little adventure.
| 
|
|  |  | | Dr. Jekyll... Prepped for the street, with translucent bodywork. | Mr. Hyde... Prepped for the track, with fiberglass bodywork. |
|
Communicate
with Ed: ed@motojour.com
| |
