What did you hit, how did you do?

[dmlaherty01]

I was talking with my son last night. He lives in northern California. He told me that he was making a transition from one freeway to another on one of those high, sweeping highways in the sky. He said, "you wouldn't believe what it's like to hit a pigeon at 75. It was like hitting a feather pillow. I had feathers coming out from my bike for the rest of the way home." He said that there was an initial jolt but he tracked well. So what have you all hit and how did your bike handle it? I have no doubt there are many more significant items out there than low flying, unfortunate pigeons.

[tkramer]

Last month on HWY 33 North of Ojai, CA: nailed a ground squirrel at 60mph. Just a swift crunchy/thud sound. The LT didn't even flinch. The view from my mirrors confirmed that it was instantly dispatched. That's really my only known vertebrate collision on a motorcycle in all my years of riding. I've managed to steer clear of a turtle and a couple of snakes along the way. The feathery things have always managed to steer clear of me.

I did once boot a cat in the ass clocking 40mph downhill on a racing bicycle.

[DarrellM5]

The only thing I've hit so far was a very large tumbleweed that ran out in front of me. Nailed it dead on. I was picking pieces out of my bike for a week.

[motorhead]

Tagged a cat doing about 50 :eek: Bike went bump, ass puckered before the event, with the actual hit being non eventfull. Bike barely wiggled , but then neither did the cat after the fact :(

2 grey squirles so far as well ... No big deal.

Scott

[scottydawg]

You can check this thread if you would like to see what I hit last month.
http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1816

[rpptn]

On some back road in Ohio, a dog tried to take a bite of my front tire at 65mph, never knew what hit him. Nailed him up side the head with the cruisin' foot peg.

On US 89 between Flagstaff and Cottonwood, AZ oh dark thirty in the morning a hawk? or some other big flyer took out my windscreen on my Venture Royal.

No control problems at all, just had to iron out the BIG pucker marks on the seats.

[RoyvL]

Hit a few small birds, squirrels and a snake - never any problems.

A large deer took me off my cruiser 6 years ago- luckily at low speed. I had a few scrapes - bike and deer were write offs.

Once hit a large dog a side on, glancing blow while he was trying to bite my boot. After impact we both wobbled a bit and went our ways.
Only when I got home I found that he must have, on impact, ...... er .....vacated his bowels....eeurgh! - was a clean up job I never want to do again. You would not believe the places I was removing poop from, it got in everywhere.

[WFZone]

Met a suicidal ground hog last summer. The guy ran from the grass right into the bike behind the front wheel. Rear wheel up and over him. Wife was a passenger.

The bike never waivered.

Also a suicidal rabbit on the way to work. Looks like my bike likes small varmits!!!

I am glad because a deer would scare the crap out of me.

[DaveDragon]

Hit several birds on my trip out west this summer.

One in North Dakota took shattered the lense of a Moto-Light but the light continued to work.

http://www.davedragon.org/Photos/Trips/Ride-About-2005/Dave-Deadwood/images/TN_cime0128.jpg

Tapped the heads of several Prairie Dogs in Wyoming on the way to Cody.

Hit another bird on the way to Lolo MT. ;)

Took out a hawk that dove in front of the LT after another bird in New Mexico.
It hit the windscreen and almost peeled the Laminar Lip completely off.

[jeffklt]

Just north of Charleston SC last year I had a seagull hit my leg while I was traveling about 55. At the next stop light, a tractor trailer pulled up next to me and said he had watched it and it looked I had hit a pillow with all the feathers flying.

[carl_faller]

On two occasions I have struck birds. One a pigeon flying out of an underpass on I-95, and a the second was a crow or raven if you come from over the pond on the Blue Ridge. This one happened on the way home from the CCR in Gatlinburg. The crow just flew into my windscreen. Lots of feathers no damage.

This year I struck an elk at zero dark thirty in the AM. It was a glancing blow, but Patti was damaged and so was I. We are now back riding together and all is well except for some scars and a complete loss of faith in the lights on Patti. No more night riding in critter country!

[bowlesj]

The first road hazard I ran over a long time ago was a 4 x4 at freeway speed on a 750K Honda. Since I survived that with just standing on the pegs I have hit several small sparrow size birds with the old Cavalcade along with one racoon. Just last week on a 28 degree ride to work I hit a disoriented sea gull at about 40 mph. It impacted the LT at the left window mount and literally knocked the crap out of the thing. Riding back home that afternoon confirmed the demise of the gull as it was dead at the curb.

The slipperiest thing I have encountered is turtles. I've had 2 take me down during 24 hour races at Nelson Ledges in Ohio during the night hours. The shell just slides right out and takes the front with it.

Typically seems that if the animal is smaller than the radius of the front tire you can usually ride over it. I hope I never hit a deer. I've seen some really gory incidents between bike and deer at Pocono Raceway.

[ATLDB]

Took out a cardinal with my RT one time Hwy 18 heading south to Pine Mountain GA, love cardinals, but poor guy flew right into the air intakes under the windshield on the RT's I spend two days taking pieces out. Bike got hot 10 miles down the road since the bird was covering the oil cooler.

Took out what I call the Evil Dog, riding on my 76 GT750 water Buffalo, PoBiddy Road connects Talbotton GA to Thomaston GA, dog came running towards me all I did was open my leg out. The speed I was going and the speed he was coming the bottom of my boots meet the side of his head dead on, the people on the side of the road told me the dog did like two 360's before landing on his fours. I actually stopped walked towards the dog which looked dead, man when I was about 6 feet from the thing it woke up and CHARGED....I berely made to the bike and off, I think the initial noise that 2 cycle engine makes starting scared him off. Hence the evil dog, sometimes I think that dog died, and it was brought back to avenge himself. I have never driven through that road again........LOL.

[ibbones]

I hit a coyote once and hit him fast enough that it ripped him a new one. Took off a BUNCH of plastic from the bottom of my bike but I did not go down. The thing I hit that caused the MOST pain was a yellow jacket and he got between my helmet and ear. Boy he was mad. I went from 45 to about 2 mph and was trying to jump off the bike at that time. I finally got my helmet off and he flew away. My ear was the size of my foot by the time I got home.

[Bayliner2052]

In over 43 years of riding, I’ve hit a few animals. But just 2 weeks ago I hit a deer. Luckily it had just been creamed by a car going in the other direction. The flattened deer came sliding into my lane and I rose up on the pegs and crossed it as if it were a speed bump, aimed for the rib cage to miss the shoulders or hips. LT handled it well.



I got hit in the back of the helmet while sitting at a stoplight (on pillion on this ride). WTF? Looked down and there was a bat flopping on th ground on my right side.



Running down a straightway in Sam’s Valley this summer, a red-tail hawk takes off in front of me and drag races with me. The damn thing just kept getting closer and closer until I reach up with my left hand and touched it. Freaked it out and all I saw were really big talons come out like switchblades. Missed my shoulder by inches.

[mostlyirish]

Hit a cat at about 60 mph on my way home from work one day. Small bump over was all I felt.

[Lzyellodog]

I got hit by a yellow jacket or something similiar on my R100 this summer. I had just left my buddies house and had not zipped my jacket all the way up because it was like 90 degrees. The bee got into the jacket and down the back of my shirt. I could feel it moving around until it stung me in the shoulder. I pulled the bike off on a side street thinking about just dropping the damn thing to get rid of the bee but I was able to get the side stand down and kill the motor before I jumped off. After I got off I started to strip. Helmet gloves jacket and shirt. I was dancing around looking like a big fool. Can't imagine what the passing cagers were thinking seeing this 270LB Man stripping and dancing on the side of the road. I still laugh to myself about the whole thing. Learned a lesson though Always zip the jacket.

Have a good one.

[hmmmm90s]

two words.

kangaroo rats.

on my first transcontinental blast on my toaster tank /5, my riding buddy and i were in the home stretch of a nearly 800 mile day planned to end in socorro, nm. we were crossing the mountains on US60, i beleive, when we encoutered the strangest on the road sight i have EVER seen.

from the saddle, it looked like a million sets of cat's eye reflectors, except they were making tiny orbits at ludicrous speed. the sight was so arresting, that both of us pulled to the shoulder immediately, which pretty much ruled out the possibility that one of us was experiencing some sort of halucinogenic flashback from the 60's. if we WERE halucinating, it was happeneing to both of us. ;-)

as our eyes adjusted, we quickly made out what was producing the orbiting reflectors... kangaroo rats... THOUSANDS of them!

apparently, when frightened, a kangaroo rat will run in small circles. once whatever is threatening it closes to a range and vector that tha KR judges to be committed, the lil feller picks a good tangential course and zooms in the other direction.

my buddy doug and i had a good laugh and brought the bikes back onto the highway, and slowly worked out way back up to travelling pace.

amazingly, the KRs are really practiced at this, because even at 65-80 mph on this excellent mountain road, one could look down past one's boots and see 'em scattering, but i don't think i struck a single one in maybe 25 miles of high density KR habitat. it took more than a few minutes to learn to filter 'em out and stay on the gas and set up for corners properly with all the visual "noise", but when all was said and done, it was like they weren't there. ;-)

so, i DIDN"T hit any of them, and that's the astounding part.

groundhogs, are, unfortunately, another matter. ;-)

[Tbird]

2 Rabbits both named Jack. One with front wheel...just a momentary jiggle of the handlebars. The other with the left footpeg as he tried to T-bone me from the side.

1 yellow jacket up my right sleve. Of course he stung me on the shoulder before I could get stopped and remove him from my presence.

Almost spuds. In Utah, on the K1200LT. On a two-lane, I came into a left hand sweeper with a big potato hauling truck (with potatos mounded above the bedbox) traveling towards me in the opposite lane. Just as I was approaching him, potatos started falling off the truck (into my lane). Becky and I had only time to duck. It was like a Star Wars movie where the space ships fly at warp speed through an astroid field hitting nothing. I had spuds whizing by on both side...but we never hit one. It made me laugh when Becky complimented me on "missing" them. :D

[charlieg]

Had a doe running at full tilt try to jump across the road I was traveling on at about 50mph on my first 05'. All I saw was a flash of fur as it hit my front wheel from the side. The bike and I did several endo's totaling a brand new (700mi.) bike and landing me in intensive care for three days. All's well that ends well, two months later back in the saddle with another new 05'. NOMODOE for me. -Chuck-

[SilverBuffalo]

While riding through South Carolina I was the lead bike of three.
There were a group of turkey vultures eating something in the road up ahead, most of em flew away except the last one who flew right at and into the bike, what a mess. My buddies said it was an explosion of feathers, I didn't see it cause I was laying on the gas tank.

Coming back from the Alabama chicken rally I was alone at daybreak on US 19 in north Florida, it was warm and I was sleepy, hadn't had any coffee yet, so I dropped the windshield all the way down letting the wind wake me.
Went into an extended and wide open yawn when this bumblebee flew into and through my mouth and throat, I puked instantly and at 70 mph.
Had a terrible sore throat for a couple of days.

Going down I-95 at first light I saw a few deer run across the road just ahead, what I didn't expect is what happened next, a pack of dogs ran across the interstate after the deer. The first 2 dogs got killed instantly, the third one hit, there were cars going every direction with tires squeeling and smoking I barely made it to the side, had to stop and catch my breath for a minute. A truck pulls up takes the collars of the dead dogs and throws them in the ditch, puts the hurt one in the truck and drives off.

[rspyder]

I have had two birds hit me in the helmet and I have rolled over a couple of rattlesnakes. A bird's beak left a nice gouge in my helmet. The biggest gouge in my helmet came from a nail, screw, whatever that was thrown from the tire of a truck across the median. It was one of those things you see coming at you but you can't do anything about. Was so glad I was wearing that helmet and face shield.

I did have a face shield cracked by a rock thrown from a truck tire.

There was a flock of sheep on the highway as I came around a corner, but I managed to stop. Then there was that bison in Yellowstone that just wanted to slowly walk across the road...I stopped.

[schutz2]

I hit a black lab one day at about 70 bike stayed straight as an arrow the next thing I hit was a deer on route 50 just outside of upperville va at around 4 am
was running around 75 normal sped for cruise to work radar detector went off so I slowed down to 60 crested the hill and there was an 8 point in my lane nose to the ground walking straight at me and a loudoun county sheriff in the only other lane also coming at me the deer saw me and dodged rt and I dodged left hit in the hind quarter and spun him around in the road busted the fairing and the rt turn signal and mirror but luckily did not go down and to top it off the leo didn't even stop.

[BobShirley]

Slowed to about 40MPH to go around a corner and a doe came up out of a ditch and ran into the left side of the bike. I didn't see it coming until impact with its head under my left hadlebar and the rest of it crashing into the side of the bike. Its hindquarters pinned Shirley's ankle against the chrome plate and did some damage to her ligaments. Since I didn't see it coming, I didn't do anything stupid like trying to take evasive action. The bike lurched a bit and then I recovered and brought it to a halt. Killed the deer and did about $5,000 worth of damage to the bike. Told the story to the insurance adjuster and was told that hitting the deer would not affect my driving record, but, if I had tried to avoid the deer and ran off the road and hit a tree or something that damaged the bike, it would have been classified as an accident. So that information has altered how I will approach any future encounteres.


Bob Schrader
Wentzville, Mo.
'00LTC

[gunny]

Have hit a few bird, biggest being a pigeon. A couple of dogs, biggest of them a sheppard, just made me wobble a little, almost got myself in trouble trying to slow down/avoid him. A few rabbits. Many years ago while living in Yuma, Arizona used to hit a Colorado River bull frog or two warming themselves on the road at 0400 in the morning. Used to send them flying with a little nudge with a boot. Stopped that when one day nudged a chunk of asphalt at 70 or so and broke 3 toes for my efforts. Been lucky to have not encountered deer, cows, pigs, moose (or is that Mooses, Moosen or maybe Meese?) elk, buffalo or any of the big critters in my travels.
Was riding with a buddy in Georgia in '90 when he got a wild turkey at about 30 mph. Took him right off his RT. Lucky we were going slow so it wasn't bad. It was almost Thanksgiving so guess what happened to the turkey?

[tmgs]

Hit several birds on my trip out west this summer.

One in North Dakota took shattered the lense of a Moto-Light but the light continued to work.

http://www.davedragon.org/Photos/Trips/Ride-About-2005/Dave-Deadwood/images/TN_cime0128.jpg

Tapped the heads of several Prairie Dogs in Wyoming on the way to Cody.

Hit another bird on the way to Lolo MT. ;)

Took out a hawk that dove in front of the LT after another bird in New Mexico.
It hit the windscreen and almost peeled the Laminar Lip completely off.

dang Dave you got a thing for birds<g>, you should be out getting dragon's! I guess birds is all we have nowaday's huh <grin>

[Lynn_Keen]

Back in the old days when I used to ride naked, bikes that is, I was motoring along at night wearing my typical safety equipment, a 1/2 helmet and safety glasses. Suddenly I felt an impact and could not see out of my left eye and had something wet and warm streaking down the side of my head. OH shit I thought, something hit me and I'm blind in the left eye. I pulled over onto the shoulder and finally realized that there was no pain. Removed my safety glasses and finally realized that some very large bug or very small bird had hit the left lens of my glasses and splattered all over the lens and the side of my head. It was a relief to realize that no permanent damage was done but had to go home and shower to get all the "stuff" out of my hair and ear!

[tmgs]

Back in the old days when I used to ride naked, bikes that is, I was motoring along at night wearing my typical safety equipment, a 1/2 helmet and safety glasses. Suddenly I felt an impact and could not see out of my left eye and had something wet and warm streaking down the side of my head. OH shit I thought, something hit me and I'm blind in the left eye. I pulled over onto the shoulder and finally realized that there was no pain. Removed my safety glasses and finally realized that some very large bug or very small bird had hit the left lens of my glasses and splattered all over the lens and the side of my head. It was a relief to realize that no permanent damage was done but had to go home and shower to get all the "stuff" out of my hair and ear!



when I hear mention of "back in the old day's" and See Lynn's name, I'm thinking this happened before i was born!

hehehehe Hi Lynn! it's cold up here! (trying to get out of that comment ya know)

Tom (running and ducking for cover)

[meese]

That's OK gunny, I'm sure I'll run into you out on the road somewhere. Well, I'll try not to actually run into you, but you know what I mean. :)

"There I was riding along, when all of a sudden there was this huge ex-marine comin' from the right and aimed right for me. I moved as far left as I could in an attempt to avoid the inevitable collision, or at least minimize the damages. Fortunately, my skill and quick wit allowed me to stay true to my course." ;)

[BudCesena]

I hit a Phesant on my way out west a couple of years ago. He came at me at about a 45 degree angle from my right. Hit right on the headlight. I had a plastic cover on it and had no damage. It was the first thing I ever hit and it scared the crap out of me. Id rather hope that its the last thing that I hit.

[EdBruce]

When I had my Harley and use to use a "Brainbucket" as a helmet, I had a dragonfly hit me square in the middle of my forehead.

Had a lump there for about 3 weeks

Cheers

[Dezrae]

When i had my VFR800 i spent a lot of time and money on it polishing it and making it look nice.

There was plenty of birds that were attracted to the front wheel of bike bike and regularly when riding they would fly stright in to the wheel and explode on impact. sure did make the front wheel wobble a bit and man did the front end stink from the remnants till it got washed.