Rider vs. Deer - I won

[lawlberg]

Nothing spices up a morning commute like some guy coming into your lane. Today that guy had a big set of antlers.

The Events:
35-40mph -
Deer jumps into my lane
Deer are big and solid and heavy
Kept the bike up
Pulled a U-Turn and laid down on the sidewalk
Deer collapsed in the median and then crawled to the sidewalk to die

The bad:
Front headlight assembly is probably inside the deer, I couldn't find much of it.
Radiator is bent/dented/leaking
Left mirror broken off, probably defending me from antlers
Deer is dead
My knee and thigh are bruised

The good:
Fire Department is eating well tonight
I met a taxidermist today (he was one of the responding officers)
Forks are surprisingly straight based upon my parking lot inspection
Instrument Cluster seems intact
I was already at my yearly medical deductible, so the ambulance ride was free
Kept the bike upright
Kept the bike upright
Kept the bike upright

Per forum rules, can I post a picture of the deer? I feel like my bike is a more gruesome image than the deer anyway.



PS: Bike was naked before the accident, so there's not as much fairing to worry about.

 

[FinalImpact]

GAWD I HATE DEER! Glad you are OK and walking away with minimal damage to you and bike!!!

Not sure its value add (Posting pic), but links are links. The reader can follow picture link or sensibly keep reading and ignore it if sleeping DEER offends them!

Approximate speed at time of impact? And did you ask for any bits for taking out the menace? =D

 

[lawlberg]

GAWD I HATE DEER! Glad you are OK and walking away with minimal damage to you and bike!!!

Not sure its value add (Posting pic), but links are links. The reader can follow picture link or sensibly keep reading and ignore it if sleeping DEER offends them!

Approximate speed at time of impact? And did you ask for any bits for taking out the menace? =D

35-40ish - not quite sure cause that part of my commute is into the morning sun and I don't really look at the speedo, going along with traffic though on a 35mph road. (inside of city limits/the major beltway around the city too, not like I was going through a forest!)

They're cooking it up tonight for dinner, I may swing by to drop off the completed police report around supper time and see if they have a plate or two ready.

NSFW Sleepy Deer

 

[raja777m]

GAWD I HATE DEER! Glad you are OK and walking away with minimal damage to you and bike!!!

Not sure its value add (Posting pic), but links are links. The reader can follow picture link or sensibly keep reading and ignore it if sleeping DEER offends them!

Approximate speed at time of impact? And did you ask for any bits for taking out the menace? =D

[MENTION=21887]lawlberg[/MENTION]: glad you're okay, other than the bruise, it could be much worse.
@FI: My friend used to say, Deer is bad on the road, but good on your plate..!
Well, I would like to taste a deer.

I heard they would bury the animal/corpse.

 

[ShoopCE]

Dude!!!

Glad to hear you only suffered bruises. And CONGRATS on staying up.

Chances are good that the forks will be OK. Most of a deer's weight is high, right about at your headlight level. Be happy it wasn't a moose.

This reminds me, now you can replace the chipmunk in your roadkill tally.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/the-bar/51759-roadkill-stories.html?highlight=roadkill

 

[ShoopCE]

Well, I would like to taste a deer.

I heard they would bury the animal/corpse.

Raja - That depends on the state where you hit it. And the palate of the driver or rescue party.

I'm not sure what the laws are in Ohio, They only have puny little deer anyway. But in WV we got a lot of ridicule in the press a few years ago when the State legislature passed a law that said the owner of a damaged vehicle could legally claim the deer, or other critter, for use as food.

 

[raja777m]

Raja - That depends on the state where you hit it. And the palate of the driver or rescue party.

I'm not sure what the laws are in Ohio, They only have puny little deer anyway. But in WV we got a lot of ridicule in the press a few years ago when the State legislature passed a law that said the owner of a damaged vehicle could legally claim the deer, or other critter, for use as food.

Ya, it depends on the state. I found some funny answers too, here:
Could I eat a deer I hit with my car? - Straight Dope Message Board

 

[lytehouse]

I'm happy to read that you're relatively okay and kept the bike up! Impressive.....

 

[major tom]

I'm so glad to hear that you basically escaped the normal fate of a deer strike. I'm an expert I've hit 4! Once on my bike, he hit me actually, T-boned me, never saw it, woke up in emergency 12 hours later, where am I and what am I doing here? You can not imagine how much I hate deer! Here in Colorado the limit is one per season, I've seen herds of hundreds. The dept of wildlife rules over all. Mustn't harm Bambi, after all they were here first the local officer told me. Must have graduated from Berkeley.

 

[yamihoe]

I think I may be one of the few people to be able to say Been there, done that. lol and yes, i needed new pants too.
Glad youre ok!

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Wildlife, my #1 fear when riding. Why, because they are unpredictable when you see them, and known to jump out of nowhere when you don't see them. Too bad about the fatality. Hate to see any harm that comes to any wildlife. Obviously, I'm not a hunter.

There are a lot of skilled riders on this forum, I would say you are one of them. I'm guessing that many of us, including myself may have not been able to keep the bike upright. Too bad it wasn't on Video, you can get a camera that records on a loop for under $100. I think the brand is Mobius or something like that. Lawrence243 has one.

 

[Cloggy]

Please to hear you're OK , Well done for keeping the bike up :thumbup:

I once had a deer run out in front of me and it was more luck than judgement that I missed it, as they are so unpredictable

Sorry to hear about the bike, hope you can get it repaired for a reasonable price.

 

[raja777m]

I ran into a whole deer family, father/mother crossed the road running across, then two kids followed, luckily, my bike didn't kiss any of them.
My horn stopped two more kids Happened near interstate while taking the exit. Luckily I'm at 25mph and all went home happily.

 

[FinalImpact]

I'd be at a loss to count the number of close calls here. All I can say is it's too many. Some wander to the road, some are just there, some spring over the guardrail at speed with intent of taking you out... As if a intercept trajectory was pre-programmed at the factory...

I do believe a turning point in my favor was the addition of Two Bro cans... and with CATs gone it has sharper tone (more of a crack) which **may have** detured some from making their assault run. Seriously, more seem to run a parallel course or turn back vs bolting straight at me. They hear me before getting to the road. Whats strange is hoved farm animals and horses pay no attention while cows seem to look up and watch the bike pass.

Money well spent and something to consider if your main riding area is saturated with them...

/thread return

 

[FZ6_WVU]

Glad you are okay... Hope he is tasty...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Motogiro]

Glad you're okay and sorry Bambi didn't do so well. I was in a snow storm in Colorado, near Vail and there was a dead buck in my lane with no where to go except right over it. Thought I at at least did some under carriage damage so I puledl off on the next exit to a gas station. The van that hit it was there and smashed up really bad. My old Dodge station wagon was fine...

 

[bpchura]

DId better than I did mate. Hit a deer going 65 this spring. Landed on the ground with a bone sticking out of my arm! Similar damage to you though. Luckily all repairable.

 

[agf]

sorry to hear about your wildlife encounter but glad you came through almost unscathed- heal well and quickly!

I haven't had too much to worry about except the odd dog. They have an ability to triangulate exactly where they will meet you if they charge out at you, so the advice I have been given is to always accelerate and put out a foot to connect with rather than a wheel. Not wanting to try this in a hurry.
The only wild life I have experienced is a possum running across in front of me a few weeks back- about the size of a small cat so he would have ended up coming off second best.

critters are worse than cagers, way worse!

 

[lawlberg]

Thanks for the well wishes and stories everyone. Starting to feel like myself again today, once I decided not to keep taking the percocet.

When I got the bike home Monday night I realized why my knee hurt is bad. I've got a huge dent in the right side of my tank and a slightly smaller one on the left, right where my knees grip. Not sure if it was from the sudden change in velocity and sliding into the tank, or the deer pushing on my knee. But now I have another item on the damaged list.

All my hunting coworkers are jealous that I got an early start to the season and probably got something bigger than they will all year.