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Argument with a deer........


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Don't worry about what anyone besides your family thinks about your decision. Always do what's right for you and your family. 

I can't agree with the "Don't ride bicycles" comment, because bicycling is a lot of fun and great for fitness. But I do agree that bicycles aren't any safer than motorcycles. I've had way more close calls on bicycles than on motorcycles. Visibility and speed differential are big problems, and as mentioned you can't wear full coverage gear. They are a lot of fun though, and bicycling has made me a better motorcyclist.

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I driven Spiders and Slingshots and enjoyed em both.  Wind in the face and bugs in the teeth machines.

It's a different experience than two-wheels, but fun and freeing nonetheless.

If I had to choose one to hit a deer,  I'd go with the Slingshot!!

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6 hours ago, keithu said:

Don't worry about what anyone besides your family thinks about your decision. Always do what's right for you and your family. 

I can't agree with the "Don't ride bicycles" comment, because bicycling is a lot of fun and great for fitness. But I do agree that bicycles aren't any safer than motorcycles. I've had way more close calls on bicycles than on motorcycles. Visibility and speed differential are big problems, and as mentioned you can't wear full coverage gear. They are a lot of fun though, and bicycling has made me a better motorcyclist.

In my yute, I rode bicyclettes to and from work until I got a motorbike and never looked back (except for vehicles and Gendarmes behind me).

I started riding bicycles for health and cross training again around 2003 but not for enjoyment.  Who likes to work hard for fun?  Well, OK some people do but not me.

I ride motorcycles for all the usual reasons but now could not ride a bicycle if I wanted to due to that fateful New Years Day ride.  As a result, over 13 years later I am having difficulty just walking due to that last bicycle crash (which was no fault of my own and caused by another bicyclist).  I got the FJ-09 because even tourerized sport bikes became very uncomfortable after more than 150 miles.  Once I'm ON the FJ I'm OK (with the use of the highway pegs, higher more sweptback bars, Sargent, CC, etc. and needed stops) IF I take Tylenol religiously every 4 hours and my Celebrex morning and night.  It's getting ON and especially OFF that is very problematic, compounded by the FJ's high saddle.  I'm going in for more MRI tomorrow and am facing an SCS implant and/or hopefully only minimally invasive lumbar surgery, all a result of riding bicycles for my health!  Not LOL.  I had a concussion (split my Bell), facial road rash, 4 damaged discs, a torn rotator cuff, torn elbow tendons, a dislocated thumb and more, all from that one crash.  In 3 years of motorcycle racing and 47 years of road riding I never broke or tore anything.  So while I've considered getting a recumbent, She Who Must Be Obeyed (SWMBO) has stated no bicycles.  Nuff said...

And SWMBO keeps up on at the least my accidental death life insurance like clockwork, and has been known to say when I depart for a ride, "Have fun and make me a rich widow".

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  • 3 weeks later...

Glad you're on the mend! Sorry to lose you from the sport. 

I had a small deer jump on my lap once...it went for a brief ride with me until it fell off and scampered back into the woods. I nearly shat myself in the process. I had a flat rear tire and was loping along slowly trying to make the last few miles home when it happened. Haha.

Sadly, I did hit and kill a large coyote at the track...I was doing a 4th gear wheelie on the fz10 down the back straight at about 110-115mph when it came running out... I immediately set the front down and less than a second later I made contact with it on the front tire. Bit of a tank slapper, but I kept it upright. 

I was the only person on track at the time, so I made an immediate u-turn to go make sure it wasn't suffering. It wasn't. :'( I borrowed a shovel and buried it in the field. :'(

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  • 2 weeks later...
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On 5/11/2020 at 12:44 PM, nhchris said:

I driven Spiders and Slingshots and enjoyed em both.  Wind in the face and bugs in the teeth machines.

Yep, totally agree.  

If it can't be 2 wheels, why not make it 3?  Only you can make that call.  The rest of the world's opinions just don' t matter.

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6 minutes ago, whistler said:

Yep, totally agree.  

If it can't be 2 wheels, why not make it 3?  

I've often thought that 3 wheels means that your chance of hitting a pothole increases dramatically! 

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32 minutes ago, maximo said:

I've often thought that 3 wheels means that your chance of hitting a pothole increases dramatically! 

We ride motorcycles.  In our world, anything is possible.  We all make our own choices and decisions based on...us.  It's all we can do.  

I've survived 3 divorces, 3 motorcycle crashes, cancer, and a heart attack.  If one day I have to go from 2 to 3 wheels due to age or injury, I'll happily do so.  My choice entirely.  My outlook on life is not exactly what others may share, but that's what gets me through my day.  Gotta keep moving forward...

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2013 Suzuki V-Strom DL650 (Juliette)
2013 Yamaha FJR 1300 (Rachel)
2008 Suzuki Bandit 1250S (Fiona)
2006 Honda VFR800 (Jenny)
2005 Suzuki V-Strom DL650 (Hannah)
2003 Honda Shadow Sabre VT1100 (Veronica)
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3 minutes ago, whistler said:

We ride motorcycles.  In our world, anything is possible.  We all make our own choices and decisions based on...us.  It's all we can do.  

I've survived 3 divorces, 3 motorcycle crashes, cancer, and a heart attack.  If one day I have to go from 2 to 3 wheels due to age or injury, I'll happily do so.  My choice entirely.  My outlook on life is not exactly what others may share, but that's what gets me through my day.  Gotta keep moving forward...

Oh, I wasn't arguing that 3 wheels is a bad choice - point in fact, I'm actively looking for a Vanderhall Venice - I was simply observing that with 3 wheels, one in each track, avoiding potholes is probably difficult. It's just a consideration that should be in the mix. 

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’70 Yamaha 125 Enduro; ’75 Honda CB360T; ’81 Yamaha XS650SH; ’82 Honda GL650 Silver Wing Interstate; ’82 Suzuki GS650L; ’87 Yamaha Virago 535; ’87 Yamaha FJ1200; ’96 Honda ST1100; ’99 Yamaha V-Star Classic; ’00 Suzuki SV650; ’07 BMW K1200GT; ’12 Suzuki DR200; ’15 Yamaha FJ-09.  Bold = current

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1 minute ago, maximo said:

Oh, I wasn't arguing that 3 wheels is a bad choice - point in fact, I'm actively looking for a Vanderhall Venice - I was simply observing that with 3 wheels, one in each track, avoiding potholes is probably difficult. It's just a consideration that should be in the mix. 

If you get that Vanderhall, you GOTTA post some pics!  

2019 Yamaha Tracer 900 GT (Annabelle)
2013 Suzuki V-Strom DL650 (Juliette)
2013 Yamaha FJR 1300 (Rachel)
2008 Suzuki Bandit 1250S (Fiona)
2006 Honda VFR800 (Jenny)
2005 Suzuki V-Strom DL650 (Hannah)
2003 Honda Shadow Sabre VT1100 (Veronica)
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16 hours ago, whistler said:

If you get that Vanderhall, you GOTTA post some pics!  

I'm just waiting for someone who got the '19 model and wants all the '20 model upgrades... 

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’70 Yamaha 125 Enduro; ’75 Honda CB360T; ’81 Yamaha XS650SH; ’82 Honda GL650 Silver Wing Interstate; ’82 Suzuki GS650L; ’87 Yamaha Virago 535; ’87 Yamaha FJ1200; ’96 Honda ST1100; ’99 Yamaha V-Star Classic; ’00 Suzuki SV650; ’07 BMW K1200GT; ’12 Suzuki DR200; ’15 Yamaha FJ-09.  Bold = current

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Oh man wildlife is easily my biggest fear.  Glad to hear you're on the mend.

2015 FJ-09 / FJR touring bags / oil plug mod / Evotech rad guard / SW Motech bash plate / VStream touring windshield / Seat Concepts:  Sport Touring / Vcyclenut ABS rings (speedo correction) / Cosmo RAM mount

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Hi all, 

     I had a deer t-bone me last fall.  I was going about 50 on a Maine coastal back road and came around a corner/dip in the road.  There was a large doe just leaving my lane that I swerved to miss... I then remembered the old saying "where there's 1 deer, there are more."  I vaguely saw a shadow moving to my left and just caught sight of a deer diving under my front tire.  Into Maine Medical I went, 2 broken ribs, punctured and collapsed lung, fractured kneecap with 8 stitches.   I am thankful, especially, for my full face Shoei.

     The critical care nurses thanked me for wearing my (good) gear.  The bike needed a bunch of cosmetic work, new front wheel, forks, etc.  There was deer fur wedged in between my tire and rim. 

      Just now riding again, tentatively.  I went down the same road and at the exact spot a chipmunk ran out... PTSD!

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4 hours ago, jonmue said:

Just now riding again, tentatively.  I went down the same road and at the exact spot a chipmunk ran out... PTSD!

It has been almost 4 years for me and even though it happened on one of my favorite twisty roads, I have never been back.  It's kind of a superstition/ bad luck feeling for me but I have plenty of other good roads to ride.

***2015 Candy Red FJ-09***

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 6/13/2020 at 11:39 AM, betoney said:

It has been almost 4 years for me and even though it happened on one of my favorite twisty roads, I have never been back.  It's kind of a superstition/ bad luck feeling for me but I have plenty of other good roads to ride.

I don't think I'll ride the road I went down on much, either.  I've slowed down on the back roads a lot.  My riding friends and I shudder to think of our youthful rides... I'm sure we're not alone (to say the least).

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