Deer Season

[Dragonfly]

Ok so I haven't yet, either, but I came close! Two of the effers decided they needed to cross the road at a particularly tasty curve in MN (there aren't many). I was livin' hard and ridin' fast so had to seriously stand the bike up and grab all the brakes I could get. Thank god for ABS or my ass would have been in the ditch.

I hit a deer once before on my GL1800, but the freakin' GL is a mass winner in those fights, so the deer had a broken neck and the bike never even wiggled. Not sure what would happen on the FJR in that fight.

Anyway...has anyone on this board ever smacked a deer on the Feej? Is the bike stable enough to stay shiny side up?

 

[Geezer]

Many have hit the forest rats; some have stayed up. I hit a small deer last year in Ohio and went down. The deer hit the left front corner of my FJR, while traveling under 30 mph, and just knocked the bars out of my hands and sent me sliding. I might have been able to save it if I had been paying more attention. Lesson learned.

If you hit one square on you have a better chance of staying upright.

 

[ionbeam]

...Anyway...has anyone on this board ever smacked a deer on the Feej?

Often enough that this icon is available for the sig line:

There are many tales of strikes and near strikes. Almost all solid hits results in lots of damage to the FJR but usually limited damage to the rider. Also, look for this icon in the sig line as an alternative:

Often referred to as forest rats in this Forum.

 

[rushes]

I've had several close calls but only one kill. The weapon of choice was a Kawasaki tho. Hit it square and stayed upright. Fender, fairing, right side lower, and fairing support was the damage. I hit it less than a mile from home.

I think it'd be nearly impossible to hit one in a corner and not go down.

 

[Bluebullet]

Yep the feej does about as well as the GL1800. I smoked right through the front shoulder of the deer and spun the deer so its ass came around and slammed into the saddlebag. 4800$ in damage to the bike. Bike was stable the whole time and ye ole antilocks were just a buzzin'. I brake hard now at the first sight of any deer and don't wait to see if they will cross or not.

 

[dcarver]

Full thread here.

 

[Bluebullet]

Yep thats what it looks like, Carver you even got fur stuck in stuff just like I did.

 

[RB's]

I have hit one but on a Suzuki Bandit 1200S going about 50 mph. I had a little better luck than dcarver as it was just a glancing blow where the mirror slapped up against the deer's face / jaw, then the deer must have reared back a little but still hit me in the hand on the clutch side, hit me in the arm and chest, and took a little nip out of my upper arm near the shoulder (hoof or tooth ?? not sure). Only damage to the bike is that it bent the bar end weight on the left side and a few minor scratches on the mirror. I did not fall but pulled over less than a quarter mile down the road in pain. It took about 10 or 15 minutes and the adrenaline to kick in and I drove home (10 miles away) got in the Truck and drove to the hospital. I still consider myself to be very lucky that I did not fall or anything worse. Of course it probably helps that the deer was not that big and the bike and I weighed about 750 lbs.

 

[johnny80s]

Do you get to keep the deer if you hit it?

 

[rushes]

Do you get to keep the deer if you hit it?

In AR you do. You're supposed to call the Game and Fish commission first.

I took mine. :good:

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

I know a guy who hit one at high speed with an FZR1000 -- cut the deer in half (two pieces laying on the road). He lived, but didn't fare too well -- was on crutches for a long time (and, probably still has some aches and pains?).

It's been reported that there are more deer now, in the U.S., than when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock almost 400 years ago. And govt. agencies still want to protect them and people feed them....Aaargh....! :angry: :huh:

 

[Harald]

Do you get to keep the deer if you hit it?

Not in Washington! :angry:

I figure that if it runs out and causes damage to me or the bike, then it ought to pay in the form of steaks!

 

[Bungie]

Theirs way more deer in Canada then their used to be. But nothing like States. Riding in Penn, West Virg. was genuinely scary we saw so many.

Up here, the big issue is black bears, at least in Ontario. For some reason about 6 or 7 years ago, they cancelled the bear hunt. Now, the damn things are EVERYWHERE. Not a week goes by somebody I know tells me about a bear sighting. Worse is they've all but lost their fear of humans.

Just last week I went out side to have a butt before bed. My next door nieghbour was outside. About 2 minutes later my neighbour says to me "Got yourself a new bear huh?"

"What?!"

I look around the corner and theirs a full grown black bear sitting up against the side of the house not 5 feet from me.

JEEBUZ!

Now, the municipality wants to supply compost boxes to everybody. Ya, good idea, lets BAIT FOR THEM. Dumbasses.

At least they aren't cranked up on goofball like deer are. Usually you see them coming.

 

[scubatech]

In Colorado, CDOT workers pick them up and call the Wolf Sanctuary. They come get them. Two wolves can have it licked clean in 45 minutes!

 

[ionbeam]

In NH if you hit a deer and are a resident you can keep it. If you are not a resident you cannot!

The towns have "road kill" lists so if an animal is hit and the driver is a non-resident (or resident who doesn't want it) they go down the list and call residents to offer it to them.

Yum, yum, pre-tenderized venison :lol:

 

[Karmak]

They are everywhere, like rats here in upstate NY.

 

[Texan]

I live about 50 miles from the nearest dear lease, but I still see 100 does for every buck in my neighborhood. Either those bucks are more crafty nocturnal creatures, or the does are eating them all when they are young.

If I see even one deer even far off the road, I slow to a crawl. They are unpredictable (except when it comes to corn) and small brained.

 

[happyPuppy]

A friend at Yosemite was on a CBR and was broadsided. The bike was trash , but he was just banged up. In WA with all the trees they sort of peek out and are totally unpredictable. I saw one peeking , stopped and it back tracked, went up the hill behind it and then turned and ran across the road. This was 3 miles for the MSFT main campus in Redmond too, and it is not just a "out in the county" thing anymore.

 

[FastJoyRide]

DCarver's pics are a near twin to my 2004 but we blew a little whitetail into two big pieces and motored on through... Yamaha builds a hell for strong bike to take that hit and keep on rolling. We rode it home over 60 miles - a little slower - as my rake was closer to a trials bike than an ST

To my amazement the first thing Sylvia said after we got stopped was "Are we going to be able to get this fixed in time to ride the 3 Flags? If not, you'd better find us another FJR" Love that gal!