ABS--Thank You!

[Spud]

Hit a deer, ABS made it much better than it should have been. Split the cowling right between the headlights and broke it in 2 other places under the headlights. I stayed up. Big Montana doe probably 170 pounds on the bottom of Beartooth. Went from 60 to about 25 at impact in whatever a 2008 ABS will do it, smelled burning rubber after the event. Total damage one piece of tupperware.

Seeing a large hoofed wild animal right ON your windscreen is something you do not forget. I was unscathed and thank the Lord above for that.

 

[Surly]

Glad that you are okay.

 

[Gmann]

Glad your okay Spud. You did better than I did parking a bear on my front cowling of my 06 (FJR vs. Bear). I would rather see wildlife from a distance.

 

[Teehaml]

Wow that's a big doe. The does here in NJ average around 100 pounds with bucks averaging 150. I still wouldn't want to hit one. Good job keeping it together.

 

[FJRay]

Glad your around to tell us about it. I'm in the process of bike shopping and ABS is a must have.

 

[Bugnatr]

Good on you for being able to have time to use the ABS, my little doe on the run out of the woods left no time for any braking.

Lots of help from above is a good thing during a forest rat encounter.

 

[RacinRay]

Glad you're ok!

 

[lonerider]

Glad to hear you weren't seriously injured or worse. You're correct about not forgetting the sight of a forest rat impaled on the front of your bike. Love my ABS also, it's saved my bacon once on the FJR and once on the Wing.

 

[TomInPA]

I exercised the ABS the same way for a mere 70 lb doe. So did Bob and Joe following me, so it was a triple ABS adventure Cool that this is not a rider-down report! Now that we know you're okay, how's the venison?

 

[El Toro Joe]

Glad to hear the outcome was good, for the most part

 

[escapefjrtist]

Glad you're here to tell us about it Spud. A little plastic replacement sure beats the alternative!

--G

 

[mcatrophy]

Glad you made it out ok. Could have been really nasty.

Bit of a pain getting the Tupperware down to change that front fairing, it's one of those bits that's first on the assembly line then the bike's built around it.

There'll be someone along soon who says you could have stopped sooner if you'd not activated your ABS. Me? No way, squeeze the front brake lever hard as possible, stand on the rear, clench the buttock cheeks, pray just in case there's a god.

[edit]

And shut your eyes, avoids target fixation .

[/edit]

 

[LKLD]

So glad you're ok! All the best, in getting your bike back together and riding again.

 

[Spud]

I exercised the ABS the same way for a mere 70 lb doe. So did Bob and Joe following me, so it was a triple ABS adventure Cool that this is not a rider-down report! Now that we know you're okay, how's the venison?

The venison spun 180 into the oncoming lane, I remember looking in my rear-view and watching her hop off with an injured rear leg. Target fixation is pretty much inevitable when an animal that size ends up broadside directly in your path....

The little piece of broken plastic looks like this

Not at all looking forward to replacing it. Will do that over the winter, tape it up for the rest of the season. Bike is totally fine other than that, in fact I went up over Beartooth that day then up into Canada, and did Waterton and Going to the Sun the day after with no issues.

I take a lot of pride in the old '08 and have over 75K on it, it's never had a boo boo but considering I'm really really happy that this is how it turned out!

 

[Uncle Hud]

Man, your story turns out to be a great one: you're undamaged and the bike is mostly undamaged. Yessirree bob. Thanks are in order.

 

[cbviars]

Awesome outcome!

 

[NTXFJR]

+1 on thanks to the Lord. Glad you're ok Spud

 

[RaYzerman19]

Just saw this. Glad you're OK, Spud, coulda been much worse. Relatively cheap part for under $200. I encountered several forest rats on 3 occasions here this past two days, rather rare for these parts. I swear the full sized doe was more than 170 lbs.... lucky they all were askeered and ran off.

 

[Fred W]

Been there, done that, thank god the insurance will pay for the $1600 of tupperware it cost to fix mine. That was just for the upper panels and headlight bucket, no subframes.

If you have comp and collision, you may want to make a claim. Being a comprehensive claim (they do not consider a deer strike as a "collision") the deductible is usually lower and they will not raise your rates for having made the claim. At least Progressive didn't raise mine.

But, right after you nailed that Bambi... how was that for a rush of adrenaline, eh?

You flirted with death, and you won!