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

[Stew]

Wow, some amazing stories here. Mine isn't so wild but here goes.
Riding on a lovely wee twisty road, on my FJ1200 , with my wife on the back, and we were having a brilliant time, till we hit traffic ahead of us, and I just brushed the brakes to slow down a wee bit, when a deer jumped right across in front of us , leaving a wee couple of tufts of fur on the fairing around the headlight from it's hind leg I assume. We got away with that one.

I had a huge alsatian dog attack my front wheel once, and I tried to accelerate away , and it took another lunge, and I went right over it with both wheels, somehow staying upright. I stopped the bike, shaking like a leaf wondering what to do with a dead dog, and as I turned to look, it got up, like something out of a terminator movie, and started running at the bike again. Man, I never accelerated so fast. That was a monster dog.

My most bizarre one though was on the Isle of Arran, on my vstrom, with my pal following on his bmw gs adventure thingy, brilliant wee twisty up and down bit of road, and I was really getting into it, when I looked in my mirror and no sign of my pal, so I slowed down a bit to let him catch up (he was rubbish on that bike, at 5ft 2" it was just too big for him) , then I went over the brow of a hill, and there in the middle of the single track road , was a freaking peacock, and it instantly fanned up all those big od feathers. I know it's adrenalin and everything, but I swear to this day it almost blocked out the sun. I was so confused I barely managed to stop the bike before I hit it.

Bikes are brilliant, we all have so many stories

[texscottyd]

3 hours ago, jonmue said:

My riding friends and I shudder to think of our youthful rides... I'm sure we're not alone (to say the least).

You're definitely not alone.   My riding is still a bit spirited at times, but the overall intensity is dialed back significantly...

[betoney]

17 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

You're definitely not alone.   My riding is still a bit spirited at times, but the overall intensity is dialed back significantly...

2 thumbs up for the 'Spinal Tap' reference.👍👍

[texscottyd]

Back to the original topic from @davec719 - There are too many of us that have had some type of deer encounter.   Here's what I wrote about mine in a previous thread:  “It was back in 1993 that I had mine, but I still remember it vividly. We were hustling trying to make it back to our campsite before dark, and the wildlife starts getting very active in the Hill Country at dusk. Short version of the story: I center-punched a medium sized doe going maybe 70 mph on my 92 VFR750, and basically split the deer in half.  I managed to get the bike mostly stopped before falling over going maybe 20 mph. I dislocated my right wrist, cracked my sternum, and ended up with a massive bruise roughly the shape of a deer’s hind quarter covering my entire upper chest. To this day we wonder how it didn’t just clean me straight off the bike on initial impact.”
 
25+ years later, it still ranks as one of the scariest things that’s ever happened to me on a bike, because it came completely out of nowhere. My riding partner said it cleared the fence to my right at full run, took one huge leap, and I hit it midair as it was coming back to land... I literally never saw it coming.

 

[whistler]

4 hours ago, texscottyd said:

"25+ years later, it still ranks as one of the scariest things that’s ever happened to me on a bike, because it came completely out of nowhere. My riding partner said it cleared the fence to my right at full run, took one huge leap, and I hit it midair as it was coming back to land... I literally never saw it coming."

 

Ho.  Lee.  Crap.  That is nuts.  The only deer I've pounded was with my Tacoma...twice...3 months apart.  Depressing.

I have managed to survive 3 crashes, though, so I got that going for me.

Ya'll stay safe out there.

[texscottyd]

1 hour ago, whistler said:

Ho.  Lee.  Crap.  That is nuts. 

[Jon B]

I hit a deer on the FZ1 a few weeks ago. Cut the deer in two, and I hit ground pretty hard and slid and then rolled a good ways. Had gear on, except for Levis and Coretech lightweight gloves... hands are sore, broke a finger and a toe/foot, and bike is bring dinged up. Wish I'd worn the armored gloves that were in my tankbag. Now deciding on whether to fix that 2003 FZ1 (been a great bike for ten years) of replace with a DL1000 or FJ-09/Tracer. We'll see...

Edited July 21, 2020 by Jon B

[texscottyd]

@Jon B - Welcome to the Deer Strike Club...  it’s definitely not a club you ever wanted to join.  

Glad that you’re going to be ok, and it sounds like you got away from it relatively unscathed.   That picture of your helmet is rather sobering, and a clear reminder of why I insist on a quality full face helmet.   

The Tracer/FJ is a great bike, and there are a few members here that came from an FZ1 that can give you some insights... @betoney, you had an FZ1 previously, correct?   

[betoney]

32 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

The Tracer/FJ is a great bike, and there are a few members here that came from an FZ1 that can give you some insights... @betoney, you had an FZ1 previously, correct?   

@Jon B - Glad you are doing (relatively) fine, it could have been much worse.  When I look back on the scenario of when I had my deer strike, I shudder to think of what could have happened, I hit the pavement at about 60mph and slid diagonally across the oncoming lane into the opposite ditch.  Had it happened a few seconds sooner or later when there was oncoming traffic, I would be nothing more than a memory.

I had the local Yamaha shop do a damage report on my Gen II FZ1, since there were scratches on the engine and frame, the insurance company deemed it a complete loss.  Both Gen I and II FZ1's are relatively cheap these days, there are days when I miss mine but you would be surprised at how well the 'smaller' FJ/Tracer performs.  The CP3 motor doesn't have the top end pull of the FZ1 but then I don't ride in that range anymore, the flat torque curve and fully usable range of power is a blast to ride.  I have yet to read even one review that didn't praise the CP3 motor.

You really owe it to yourself to take an extended test ride, its a great bike.

[Jon B]

55 minutes ago, betoney said:

@Jon B - Both Gen I and II FZ1's are relatively cheap these days, there are days when I miss mine but you would be surprised at how well the 'smaller' FJ/Tracer performs.  The CP3 motor doesn't have the top end pull of the FZ1 but then I don't ride in that range anymore, the flat torque curve and fully usable range of power is a blast to ride.  I have yet to read even one review that didn't praise the CP3 motor.

You really owe it to yourself to take an extended test ride, its a great bike.

no doubt mine would be totalled fm insurance perspective (no full coverage, I'd have paid for the bike by now in premiums). After fixing shifter I rode it the other day, without crunched fairing and headlight assy. Doesn't feel quite right, things seem loose. 

I've ridden an XSR900, that triple is a delight. 

[Stew]

4 minutes ago, Jon B said:

no doubt mine would be totalled fm insurance perspective (no full coverage, I'd have paid for the bike by now in premiums). After fixing shifter I rode it the other day, without crunched fairing and headlight assy. Doesn't feel quite right, things seem loose. 

I've ridden an XSR900, that triple is a delight. 

The main thing is that you live to ride another day.
As a recent convert to the Tracer 900, it is a superb bike. Far better than my vstrom 650 was.

[Wintersdark]

7 hours ago, Jon B said:

I hit a deer on the FZ1 a few weeks ago. Cut the deer in two, and I hit ground pretty hard and slid and then rolled a good ways. Had gear on, except for Levis and Coretech lightweight gloves... hands are sore, broke a finger and a toe/foot, and bike is bring dinged up. Wish I'd worn the armored gloves that were in my tankbag. Now deciding on whether to fix that 2003 FZ1 (been a great bike for ten years) of replace with a DL1000 or FJ-09/Tracer. We'll see...

Jesus.  Imagine if that wasn't a full face helmet.  That'd be a lot of missing face.  *shudders*

[WKE002]

In our country, no doubt we don’t have deer, we have stray dogs, tortoise , monitor lizard.  the ultimate reminder is to wear full gear when riding, it could b a short 10-50 miles trip, but when one ride 50 miles speed abv and crash, without gear is like standing to let the bus ramp onto you. 
I know Fren’s whom have 650cc bikes and above, can purchase a brand new bike but  using a usd20 helmet and no gear when riding which is plain stupid. 
 

guess it’s like insurance, why pay so much and yet nothing gonna happen coz one is healthy = stupidity at the highest level. 
 

when i own a Harley last 2 years, I wore a full face helmet and seen other Harley riders wore half helmet, they wud b thinking this newbies is some kind of noob. 

[com3]

21 hours ago, Jon B said:

I hit a deer on the FZ1 a few weeks ago. Cut the deer in two, and I hit ground pretty hard and slid and then rolled a good ways. Had gear on, except for Levis and Coretech lightweight gloves... hands are sore, broke a finger and a toe/foot, and bike is bring dinged up. Wish I'd worn the armored gloves that were in my tankbag. Now deciding on whether to fix that 2003 FZ1 (been a great bike for ten years) of replace with a DL1000 or FJ-09/Tracer. We'll see...

 

were you knocked unconcious at all?  that's a LONG looking face slide witout making any effort to lift your face off the ground.  

glad you're relatively alright!  also, i'm currently in NC as well. i'm surprised by how few deer there are out here. I saw 2 on a 450 mile ride yesterday....prior to that, in the 4k miles or so i've been riding out here in the BR mountains, i'd only seen ONE.

[betoney]

1 hour ago, com3 said:

i'm surprised by how few deer there are out here. I saw 2 on a 450 mile ride yesterday....prior to that, in the 4k miles or so i've been riding out here in the BR mountains, i'd only seen ONE.

They don't reveal themselves until its time to make you crash. 🤣