:eek1They come at you bloody fast, that's all I know!!! :Luckily I steered into it rather than away from it and just caught the back end with the left side of my 2012 DL650, otherwise I would have it it head on. It was a pure reaction as you just dont have time to think. I thought I had killed the deer as the last thing I saw was a fully grown deer somersaulting in the air and landing on its back by the side of the road. I went back but couldnt find it though. The cool thing was that I was expecting a lot of front end damage but it looks like the fairing is tougher than it looks. No damage that I can see apart from one of the headlight bulbs being blown. Here in Northern VA I'm always very wary at dawn and dusk but at 11am you just done expect it. It was also in a suburban area and not out in the country at all. Thank you Jesus!!! I don't think the fairing is actually scratched, the marks are mud from the deer's ass. Just for clarification the deer was running in front of me from left to right, so the deer was thrown completely over my bike.
Mud? Just for chuckles, wipe your finger in it and give a good inhale.... On a bit more serious note, I am WAY more concerned about random deer crossings and interactions than I am cars around here in mid-MI. I can mentally prepare myself and ensure I'm hyper-alert when I'm in congested traffic areas, but on a long, back country road with grown up brush and forests all around.....it is totally random and in a split second. Glad you are ok!
Yeah I am with Storyteller, that's not mud. Glad you are OK. I have hit a couple of deer, but never on 2 wheels. Glad you are alright.
I haven't hit one ... yet! Like the OP, no desire to whatsoever. Sounds like you did pretty darn good with your reactions, bike doesn't look too bad at all. Congrats! Can only hope I fare as well. Cheers
Yes, I crossed MI last year and the number of deer carcasses on the side of the road was scary. I think it was along I69.....it really made you slow down and be 'hyper-alert' as you say but it makes you feel like that wouldn't be enough as there we so many deer. Anyways I'm originally from Northern Ontario Canada and have never seen so many deer as in MI.
If it pooped then it did die. It just didn't die on the side of the road. That's usually the way it works. They run a few yards into the woods and lay down some where.
bad enough they hit you, but do they HAVE to poop on the bike too? dem bastards! Glad it wasn't that bad.
They do come at you bloody fast. I was up on Russel Gulch yesterday and was going relatively fast for my meager dirt bike skills and paying lots of attention to the road ahead trying not to be caught off guard. For some reason hitting a dear never occured to me while dirt biking.... Anyway, I was lucky. All I saw was a brown flash go by in front of me. :eek1 Couldn't tell you if it was a buck or a doe. There and gone. Took a while for my heart rate to readjust!
I hit one in 2004 on my Harley. When I got to the hospital I told my wife that I did not remember ever hitting the dirt as a slid straight down the center line with my helmet stopping right on top of it. I had mud all over my jeans and could not understand where it came from. The EMT looked at me and said, "Um, that isn't mud."
the This is the time of year that you need to keep your eyes peeled for those doe's that have fawns. They are on they're feet pretty much all day feeding and keeping track of the lil' un's.
So that truly is Holy sh*t all over your bike. I read once that the worst thing to do is brake when a deer gets out in front of you. The article said it is best to accelerate and aim for one end or other of the deer and basically try to "flip them out of the way". Whenever I do this and the wife is riding with me (in the car) she just doesn't get it. Usually her screaming is more of the problem! Seems like maybe that is what kind of happened for you. Not sure it is a good tactic for on a bike, but glad it was no worse for you.
Dude, that's one of my biggest fears in Oklahoma riding. We got into three Mule Deer in a Jeep Grand Cherokee in New Mexico one time. Not a pretty sight. I can't fathom that same event on two wheels. Glad you walked away.
Explain to me the logic behind not braking? I've heard that before but can't really fathom why. Amazing how little damage your fairing took!
There's no logic to this. The idea that you'll somehow do less damage to yourself and your bike by not braking is, well, retarded. Because it's impossible to predict what the deer is going to do. It might jump, it might squat and freeze, it might veer off out of your path... Impossible to know. Brake as hard as you can, don't swerve, stay as upright as possible before impact, and just take the hit if it comes. Bikes and parts can be replaced. Risking extra harm to yourself by not slowing down is just dumb.
That makes sense to me! Remembered someone told me - while driving, you don't brake so you don't swerve, lose control and crash more.... But the answer to that is to brake like you aren't a moron.... See dear, brake as hard as safely possible. Makes Sense!
