FJR vs Deer

[Ari Rankum]

What I did with my 05 ABS during winter vacation.

https://www.bikenorthamerica.com/deer/

Deer killed on the spot. Gear killed on the spot. FJR euthanized by insurance company. Rider uninjured after 65mph getoff through the windscreen.

 

[raclow]

WOW, first I hope you are OK. Second, did you have that processed and put in your freezer or did you stomp the crap out of it after you took the regular pictures? :assasin:

Anyway, I hope all is well and that you get back on the road sometime soon.

 

[rideoc]

...so that's how I get to the damn battery....I gotta find a deer.

 

[Ari Rankum]

WOW, first I hope you are OK.  Second, did you have that processed and put in your freezer or did you stomp the crap out of it after you took the regular pictures? :assasin:
Anyway, I hope all is well and that you get back on the road sometime soon.

Except for a small amount of rash on the heel of my hand where I wore through the glove trying to get off the highway before I got run over, I was completely uninjured. Believe me, that outcome completely exceeded my expectation as I was breaking through my windscreen on impact.

Somebody with a pickup stopped while I was still on the scene and asked if he could harvest the deer. I let him have it in exchange for pictures of it. I'm sure he enjoyed it after I tenderized its whole left side.

 

[benneyb]

Ari,

Very glad to hear you are ok, and still have your sense of humor!

That is a nasty looking result. Best of luck getting back on two wheels again soon.

 

[Ari Rankum]

Ari,
Very glad to hear you are ok, and still have your sense of humor! 

That is a nasty looking result.  Best of luck getting back on two wheels again soon.

I appreciate the sentiment. I'm already back out riding, just sans FJR (I have three other bikes to play on). The replacement FJR is due to arrive in April. So says the dealer.

I'm actually not hurt. I don't understand why not, given that I went through the windscreen and did a 3/4 flip before landing on my back and beginning to slow down from 65 mph. Good gear was certainly part of it. My Gore-Tex and Kevlar jacket got completely used up in the wreck. I'm glad, because I didn't have any rash, or even a bruise where I was protected by the jacket. My steel-toe boots got used up. Take a look at the pic, and you'll never ride in sneakers again (if you ever had). I sanded the toe down to the steel. Much of the boot above the ankle got sanded away. I'm really glad that wasn't skin and bone that got all used up. My gloves wore through, so I put a great deal of research into a replacement pair. All in all, running the FJR through the deer was one hell of an educational experience. I took two lessons from this: 1) ATGATT; 2) even if you've ridden the road for 20 years and never seen a deer once, it doesn't mean there aren't deer.

 

[huron52]

I glad that you faired out pretty good.

You said that the jacket was toast..... What make/ model was it? Would you buy it again?

thanks

 

[Ari Rankum]

I glad that you faired out pretty good.

You said that the jacket was toast..... What make/ model was it? Would you buy it again?

thanks

It was a Cycloak GT Pro. They no longer make them. There are still a few available at deep discount from various closeout shops on line. If you can find one in your size, I'd buy it. I spent close to 400 USD for mine, and I'd do it again at that price. Since my purchase (c. 2003), they've been closed out and various sizes can be found for under $200. That is an honest to goodness bargain for that jacket. I was really, really pleased with the performance of the Cycloak GT Pro in a 65mph getoff. It was also one heck of a foul weather jacket. I rode it through 50 mph winds and all-day-long rains from Seattle to Oregon one day and stayed bone dry.

If you can't find the Cycloak, you might be interested in what I bought instead. I was determined, after my wreck, to buy the same exact Cycloak. When I couldn't find that in my size, I bought the ROADGEAR Xtreme jacket. (www.roadgear.com). I went to look at it at the Washington DC CycleWorld Motorcycle Show in January 2006. It looked a lot better in person than the photos. The build quality seems to be on par with the Cycloak with a few issues. In place of Gore-Tex, roadgear uses a third-party Gore-Tex knock off. In place of Kevlar, they use something called Keprotec which they claim is as good. I've had no opportunity, via crash or rain, to evaluate either claim. I'll say that the roadgear jacket fits a little better, and feels a little beefier than the Cycloak. To my ability to evaluate the two, the roadgear xtreme seems very similar.

(OB Disclaimer - I have no financial interest in *any* moto gear companies).

 

[Rogue]

I glad that you faired out pretty good.

You said that the jacket was toast..... What make/ model was it? Would you buy it again?

thanks

It was a Cycloak GT Pro. They no longer make them. There are still a few available at deep discount from various closeout shops on line. If you can find one in your size, I'd buy it. I spent close to 400 USD for mine, and I'd do it again at that price. Since my purchase (c. 2003), they've been closed out and various sizes can be found for under $200. That is an honest to goodness bargain for that jacket. I was really, really pleased with the performance of the Cycloak GT Pro in a 65mph getoff. It was also one heck of a foul weather jacket. I rode it through 50 mph winds and all-day-long rains from Seattle to Oregon one day and stayed bone dry.

If you can't find the Cycloak, you might be interested in what I bought instead. I was determined, after my wreck, to buy the same exact Cycloak. When I couldn't find that in my size, I bought the ROADGEAR Xtreme jacket. (www.roadgear.com). I went to look at it at the Washington DC CycleWorld Motorcycle Show in January 2006. It looked a lot better in person than the photos. The build quality seems to be on par with the Cycloak with a few issues. In place of Gore-Tex, roadgear uses a third-party Gore-Tex knock off. In place of Kevlar, they use something called Keprotec which they claim is as good. I've had no opportunity, via crash or rain, to evaluate either claim. I'll say that the roadgear jacket fits a little better, and feels a little beefier than the Cycloak. To my ability to evaluate the two, the roadgear xtreme seems very similar.

(OB Disclaimer - I have no financial interest in *any* moto gear companies).

https://www.helmetharbor.com/estore/product...k+GT+Pro+Jacket

 

[Ari Rankum]

https://www.helmetharbor.com/estore/product...k+GT+Pro+Jacket

Yes. The website looks great, doesn't it? When you actually call them, the conversation ends something like this:

customer: yebbut, your website says you have all colors and all sizes for this jacket.

helmetharbor: It does? Where?

customer: Go to main page. Click this. Click that. There you are.

helmetharbor: Huh. Well, that's an old web page. We're out.

customer: Thanks. Maybe you can update your website and save a brother a dime?

helmetharbor: We'll do that. Sorry about that.

That was over 3 months ago.

 

[toophast]

Yeah but what type of pants? Are they "Dragin" (sp?) Jeans or regular old denim?

They seemed to fair pretty well also.

Damn, a 65 mph get off--glad you're okay!

Toophast

 

[Ari Rankum]

Yeah but what type of pants?  Are they "Dragin" (sp?) Jeans or regular old denim?They seemed to fair pretty well also.

Damn, a 65 mph get off--glad you're okay!

Toophast

That's the embarassing part. But in the spirit of full disclosure: yes, those are plain ol' cotton denim. They parted in a few places. They held up way better than I had any right to expect. Where you see the abrasion through the rear pocket, I've got a matching scar in my synthetic wallet, where it actually melted. Given the damage to the boots and the jacket, I'm really surprised at the shape the jeans are in.

I didn't get any rash under the jeans, but I had significant bruising of both thighs where they crashed into the bars as I went through the windscreen. There's a boot scuff on the right side plastic just above the footpegs that you can make out. Smashing the bars with both thighs at 65 gave me just enough rotational velocity to land pretty much flat on my back once I ran out of altitude. So, while it was painful, that particular aspect of the wreck was probably the most fortunate of all.

I'm actively looking for a good set of work-compatible riding pants. By work compatible, I mean easy on/off and suitable for wearing over work pants. I have some Joe Rocket Phoenix pants that don't do too well as overpants - though they're pretty good as summer riding pants. If anyone has any recommendations, I'm listening.

 

[Scab]

Showed this post the the missus. She bought me an armoured jacket today. Not a high-dollar one, but better than what I had for sure.

As far as pants go, I have the same issue. I work in an office, so I have to wear somewhat fancy-pants. I use the new Dickies-they have reinforced knees and a cell phone pocket on the side. Take off the Dickie label and everyone thinks they're dress slacks. For the daily FJR commute, I bought a pair of Carhart jeans-a size to large in the waist and a size longer. Then I surgically un-did the outer seam and installed 36-inch zippers down the legs. Fairly easy on and off. Don't know for sure how they will fare should I exit the bike as you did, but I know it is definately better than with just the fancy-pants. And it keeps the bugs off the knees of my fancy-pants.

If you decide to do, use nylon thread. You can find the heavy-duty 36-inch (or whatever size you need) zippers at Wally-World. They are made for parkas.

If you can't sew, I am sure this would be an easy mod for anyone doing alterations. Heck, if I can do it, it can't be that hard.

 

[MrT]

Believe me when I say that we know and fear deer here in Pennsylvania, #1 state in the Land for crashes with those rodents. I contributed more on this topic in another thread so won't repeat here. We usually figure they move at dawn and dusk, but i saw a couple herds crossing the road yesterday around 9am.

Re: riding pants

The old saying is "cover your ass" but after trying on a few different pairs of uncomfortable riding pants I bought a pair of leather chaps for about $100. One friend is happy with his draggin jeans, and another rides full leather. For boots, I like my 4-velcro-strap SIDI boots (~$200) if you are switching.

After hitting a deer in my Fiat years ago, it slowed me down for at least 6 months. :erm:

 

[colin]

Does that jacket have a back protector built in? If so, is it full length or just the middle spine part? (my dainese jackets only have the smaller protector... wish they had the older style where it goes all the way down to your tail bone).

Would be nice to find a jacket that covers the whole thing. I just had a pretty bad snowboarding accident and landed on my ass. It's pretty messed up and my lower back is not doing well..... don't remember much but i apparently flipped a couple of times. Can't imagine catapulting over the handlebars at speed and landing on my ass and what it might do......

anyway, yeah, just curious about the jacket....

Good to see you are OK.... not a happy experience from the looks of it....

-colin

 

[Ari Rankum]

Does that jacket have a back protector built in? If so, is it full length or just  the middle spine part? (my dainese jackets only have the smaller protector... wish they had the older style where it goes all the way down to your tail bone).

The back protection is nothing to write home about. It's just a small amount of foam around the center of the shoulder blades. It's definitely not CE approved. The roadgear jacket is better, but still not approaching serious spine protection. I've seen some third party rigs that I'm considering. They're basically strap-on (man I wished to avoid that term) devices that can fit under any jacket. If you're specifically interested in spine and lower back protection, the Cycloak GT Pro is probably not for you, unless augmented with some third party gear.