= not so pristine and dead dear. Yes its that time again, look out for our furry friends that are so unpredictable. Looking for 98 - 01 high mileage Viffer.
Buy the best gear you can and wear it!
Believe it or not, as is, put the key in and the engine flashed right up 8D
Sorry to hear of the "more-than-close" encounter with a member of Bambi's family. I hope the unfortunate rider heals quickly.
I hit my first deer just over a week ago (Wednesday 5/30) while driving my family back from a few days vacation at the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Thankfully, none of us were hurt and the impact seemed to cause little damage to our Toyota Sienna (I didn't stop to review the deer's condition). Just before it happened I spotted the deer just off the right side of the road and immediately applied the brakes (albeit lightly). It was about an hour after dark at the time and I was driving along an empty two-lane highway out in the country in eastern N.C..
When the deer bolted it initially turned away from us, but like many squirrels seem to do the animal suddenly changed direction by darting left and ran across the road immediately ahead of us. I had at most a 1/2 second to nail the brakes before the unfortunate creature impacted the left side of the front bumper and bounced into the ditch. I've had my drivers license since 1974 and this was the 1st time I had been unable to avoid colliding with a deer.
Since the experience I've been considering the "what ifs..." in case I should face a similar situation while riding a motorcycle. I've also been thinking about what happened to Larry Grodsky. Some may remember him as a safety instructor, author/contributor to Rider Magazine and the founder of "Stayin Safe" rider training tours. Larry passed away a few years ago after colliding w/a deer while he was riding alone through Texas one night.
If it can happen to a guy with his training and experience, clearly none of us should consider ourselves adequately prepared or immune from danger.
In any case I'm planning to react quicker and to bleed-off speed faster the next time I see a deer ahead for I realize allowing my initial reaction to be based on a prediction for what the startled animal may do would be akin to leaving my fate to chance while playing "russian roulette" with a loaded gun.
Its actually a friends bike, mine is the blue one. He is not typing fast at the moment but he will ride again, I am just getting the ball rolling, as you never know when the parts or the bike you need will show up.
I heard a story where the road had two lanes in each direction with a medium in the middle and a solid fence on top of it, probably to shield drivers from on coming head lights. A deer jumped over the medium and made contact and killed a motorcyclist. Now that is a true horror story, it must be like deers dropping out of the sky.
Myself I have come around corner with a concrete medium on the outside of the corner protecting people from going down a bank if in trouble and seeing just the deers ears above it. I got the involuntary sphincter factor response on that one.
I would say to Smoothsailing and everyone else(Have done that myself)........ Unless you're going to get rear-ended....... When having close encounters with deer don't guess, come to a full stop and wait to see what they do, because they do turn around when you least expect it.
Sorry to hear this but glad only bambi bought it. I've seen a few deer even in in the more populated parts of Malibu canyon. Especially on midweek ride.
Sorry to hear!
If I see a deer I slow down or come to a stop if it is pointing in my direction or close enough tot he road to make it in front of me.
The trick is to see if first of course, which is not always possible.
It's a Russian roulette...
That has always been one of my OMG fears,ever since I had 3 deer leap over the bonnet of my dads car when I was a teenager !
I got my Viffer back on the road a couple of weeks back after a winter rebuild. First test run bike was going great.
Luckily I caught up with a slow truck, lucky because otherwise I would not just have over taken it & would have been going much quicker at the next bend. There were no 1 but 2 deer in the road at the apex of the corner, I hit the brakes & luckily there was nothing coming the other way, so crossed the road to the far curb wilst the deer milled around each other !
Phew, brown trouser moment ! Hope that's the first & last of them I see on a bike.
At this years TMAC there were 3 of us riding to catch up with the group, riding through a small Town in western NC right at noon when a doe runs right in front of the second rider, full speed and crosses the road and scoots between a fence and the side of building, disappearing after that. The side of the road she came from was built up and the side she ran to was built up with cars and buildings and people.
Bizarre place to see a deer.
The rider she ran in front of had no time to react and was very fortunate he missed her by just a few bike lengths. The rider in front never even saw the deer. My biggest fear riding the mountains are the creatures that wander in my path.
Have yet to hit one, but had a few close ones. Last one was riding to work over 150 around daybreak on the RT. Right hand sweeper 50mph, traffic approaching, several deer going up the bank on the opposite side of the road. Suddenly two more bolt out in front of me. Last one was just a little doe, and I couldn't see her legs below the dash. Got a little adrenaline rush from that. Way too close. Might not have crashed, but if not would still be buying a very expensive headlight/bodywork.
That is scary!! I almost hit a black bear last year and have come close to having free turkey for Thanksgiving several times. I'm also responsible for sending several birds and squirrels to animal heaven. BTW......Getting bird shit out of a mesh jacket is a bit challenging
Condolences to your friend and his bike--I hope he heals quickly and is able to rebuild or replace the '01. I've had a few close encounters with deer over the years, but (touches wood desk), no contact. I try to avoid riding at dawn and dusk, although that's not always possible. If I see the deer early enough I watch them carefully, slow down and cover the brakes. I had one of those blood-runs-cold moments a couple of years ago on my DR. I was leaned over in a nice, wide sweeper on a four-lane highway in the Interior (of B.C.). Great weather, mid-morning, July, cool part of a hot day, light traffic--perfect. I was in the right lane and the corner was long enough that I couldn't see all the way around it. Suddenly, I spot a deer in the ditch on the right. It had its head down initially, the ditch was fairly deep and the radius of the corner and tall grass kept it hidden. I backed off the throttle and, checking the left mirror, noticed a sports car coming up fast in the left lane, so weaving left to give the deer more space--if I could have pulled it off while leaned into the curve--wasn't an option. The deer shoulder checked and saw me coming--that was the blood-running cold part. The right side of the ditch was quite steep. Which way would she go? :3: As I passed the deer (it felt like the deer was just a couple of feet away, but it was probably farther), I saw her white tail bouncing up the steep opposite bank--good choice Bambi's Mom ... The moral of the story is that sometimes the grand architect makes the call--if the deer had jumped left instead of right I might not be typing this now.
Glad to here your friend is ok. I have been in a vehicle a couple of times when we have hit a deer, however only had a couple of close calls on a bike. the closet was last season. A buddy and myself were making a quick after work run up to Mannnig park (southern BC). he was leading, a good thing as I don't think I could have pulled off the maneuver he did, when we came around a right hand corner a moose calf bolted out of the right side bush. I was about a 100 yards back and was able to brake however he had to move hard right to avoid it, then hard left to stay on the road. To make matters worse, before I got to the spot (doing about 10k) the mom came up on the road as well. I stopped about 30 feet short and was getting ready to pull a U-turn, didn't want to have a right of way argument with a 1000 pound protective mother, when they ran off. When I finally got up to where my buddy was pulled over picking his seat out of his ass, all he could say is "I didn't even see it until it was on he road". he also said he just reacted and doesn't know how he didn't hit it let alone make the move without laying it down. This was only my second season riding and if I had been leading i wouldn't be typing this either.
Glad to hear he is ok, and it's great you are jumping in to help him out, best of luck!!!
I got my '01 through Craig's list. Use the Searchtempest to make it easier, you can search an unlimited area. The bike I got was over 500 miles from where I live.
The only other thing I will say about f'ing bambi is this, GET A LOUD EXHAUST
I love my Staintune, now when I ride I see them running before I get to them, when I rode a "quiet" bike they always hung by the side of the road and jumped out doing a sneak attack...
We went back to the scene and he took a picture of the dear before the park rangers loaded in their truck. I think if you were to take it and got caught doing so you would be in a world of trouble.
If the deer wasn't killed outright and could not be found the authorities who have to get into everyone's business probably would not believe you hit the deer and would look into every avenue possible to charge you with some trumped up violation.
They are large, stupid and unpredictable animals for sure. When I was in HS in VA, I remember one classmate who drove a VW bug (old air-cooled one, not the newer ones with the airbag, etc). A deer came out of the woods one night, and turned to face him and came head on at him. He jumped, but didn't clear the windshield. Caught his legs/hooves at the very top of the widshield, and rolled the roof back like a can of sardines. Fractured the windshield too. I saw it and took fotos of friends sitting in the front seat and holding their hands up thru the roofline and waving in a car that was not designed as a convertible.
My deer story on a bike happened once when I was back in VA for fall break from college on my ZX10. Riding at night with the GF on the back just leaving her place, I see something move in the ditch out of the corner of my eye on the left side, and then all of a sudden everything goes dark. Pitch black on a VA two lane country road way close to midnight. In that split second, I think "Damn. The headlight bulb just went out at the worst possible time.". I went to touch the front brake, and did, but just about the time the front started to dive the light was back on. I got the requisite "my neck and spine are made of Jell-o" knock in the back of my helmet from her helmet, and as I looked to my right I saw nothing but deer tail heading off into the woods.
Yep. The damn thing came out of the ditch on my left, hit the pavement once, jumped over my front fender (WHILE I WAS MOVING) close enough to blot out the light for a split-second, crossed over, and kept on running. I was probably doing close to 50 mph or so at the time.
I stopped right after it happened in the next area to pull off, turned around anbd said "Did you see that deer?"
I road down into Pennsylvania on Wednesday and did State Route 44 down and back and saw at least 6 deer. 4 in the road and 2 more dashing in the bushes as I came around the bend. I've never seen that many in one day but it was a more away from civilization ride than my usual back roads around here.