Deer Strike

[RacinRay]

On my way to tour the Adirondacks this morning I hit a deer on I-87.

I'm okay. The deer was killed. The bike has a lot of broken plastic.

The LED turn signal, right side fairing, tail plastic, rear fender, tail light and reflectors are all broken. The saddlebag is gone (ripped off by the deer) and the exhaust can is dented. All of the damage on the back of the bike appears to have been caused by the saddlebag being torn off.

I need to check out undeneath the plastic for hidden damage.

I saw the animal coming from my right and got on the breaks hard, slowing from 70 mph before impact. My right leg took a pretty good hit below my knee. It's sore and swollen.

Looped around to look for the saddlebag without success but I did see the deer dead in the road.

 

[bruinFJRguy]

Dang. Glad you're ok! It seems like most folks I've read about that have hit deer have mostly walked away unharmed. Not so true for the bikes, I guess. At least those can be replaced.

 

[petey]

Damn Ray glad you were able to walk away...

 

[RacinRay]

Thanks guys. It could have been much worse. Even with all the gear on a shudder to think about sliding down the interstate in traffic.

 

[art miller]

Ray, glad you are OK!!! Deer on the highway is one of the highest dangers to motorcyclist. Distracted cagers is ranked up there too.

 

[lonerider]

Glad to hear you weren't seriously injured or worse. Hope you have comprehensive insurance - mine has been a big help paying for bike damage from kamikaze forest rats.

 

[JamesW]

Glad you were able to stay upright that was a big plus and says a bit about your skills.

 

[RacinRay]

Glad you were able to stay upright that was a big plus and says a bit about your skills.

A big plus in my mind was that I was able to keep the deer from hitting the front wheel.

 

[JSaul]

There is no such thing as good contact with an animal and a bike but one you can walk away from and talk about is close. Glad you are all right for the most part.

 

[Craigar]

Great to read that you were able to walk / ride away without serious injury.

 

[Dodahdude]

Wow....

Welcome to the club. I hit one four years ago. Something in the back of my wee little brain said to read up on animal strikes. I did!!! Dang glad it did. I throttled in to his vs it jumping on me. It was the only morning that I didn't have my gear on. The only thing that kept me from going down was the vision of asphalt slowly riping my fleas off.

I'm glad your ok. Get the bike fixed and get back on.

 

[bamanerd]

Holy crap dude.... So sorry to hear that. Glad to hear that it was only minor scrapes and bumps. We all know that it could've been much worse....for you and the bike. Sending good vibes your way.

 

[RacinRay]

Surveying the damage this morning is reaffirming my initial assessment: this is gonna be expensive. Parts list includes rear fender assembly, tail light assembly, right side tail cover, saddlebag, exhaust can, fairing, turn indicator. Sub-frame looks good, I hung a bag from my '06 and it sits where it should. I'll be starting an insurance claim tomorrow.

On the plus side, I'm okay (right leg is sore but not terribly painful) and I have the '06 FJR for Fall riding so I won't miss out on the rest of the season. Now I just need to figure out how to get the deer strike icon into my signature!

 

[El Toro Joe]

Sorry to hear of your deer encounter, glad you made it without any serious injury.

 

[garyahouse]

Ray

How fast would you say you were going when you collided? You said you were going about 70 when you got on the brakes. I'm guessing you stayed on the bike throughout this ordeal?

Gary

 

[RacinRay]

It's hard to say how fast I was going. I remember considering hitting the gas or the brakes and I went for the brakes. I'd guess I slowed to maybe 60 mph but I'm really just guessing. I also remember ducking down on top of tank right before impact.

I think the deer's head hit right in front of my knee and the shoulder hit my shin. I also remember looking in the mirror and seeing plastic flying.

 

[puppychow]

Glad you are okay. Forest rodents can cause a lot of damage. DAMHIK.

However the damage to the bike is much less important than any damage to yourself. Glad you are fares much better.

Yes the repairs are expensive, I have had to do them as well, but they are doable, and it was somewhat cathartic raising the bike back up again. If I could do that anyone can..

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

Wow Ray! That was a horrific experience I'm sure. Glad you made it through without too much pain. We were just talking about you at Andy's Tech Day yesterday. Hope you're able to get her all pieced together soon.

 

[Gurock]

I've been thought the same thing with a little different result. I slowed for the deer as I was racing through a turn in Kettle Morraine State Park (Wisconsin) near dusk and there she was. I hit the brakes and she had gone by so I let up and she turned around and ran back in front of the bike. I was probably going about forty when we hit. I was on my Suzuki Burgman 650 and not the FJR at the time. The deer hit my left knee and front fairing, then pushed around hitting the front wheel, my right knee and right fairing. Somehow I stayed up on my wheels and the deer went down. At the end there was some fiber glass damage and a piece of deer fur stuck in the left fairing. I considered myself lucky.

Any ending where you stayed on the bike and didn't need an ER is a good ending. Damage is what insurance is for. If insurance wants to total the bike, let them and then the fun of replacement shopping begins.