Forest Rat Dead, Bike Dead, Rider OK

[Silver Penguin]

Dear Mr. Carver,

It is with regret that I must inform you that your membership to the Candy Butt Association has been revoked. The events of this weekend show that you were riding your motorcycle when it wasn't quite daylight, AND cold outside. As you well know, CBA members are only to ride between the hours of 10am and 2pm and then only when the temperature is between 65-75 degrees, with a 0% chance of precipitation.

The way in which you handled the deer strike is, quite frankly, disappointing to the CBA. Where was the mandated display of hysteria, with uncontrollable screaming and crying? To think ahead, plan the braking, the positioning and then to keep the motorcycle upright are actions unworthy of a CBA member.

It is considered that there may be other motorcycle organizations that would accept you as a member. Sadly, this display of extremely skilled riding, calmness under duress and utter lack of histrionics must disqualify you from the CBA.

Regards,

The CBA management team.

 

[spklbuk]

Ya had to be different, coulda just used a bullet but nooo... :lol:

All that MX paid off, those dirt reflexes are the ones that took over I'd bet. So very glad you OK.

 

[weekend rider]

That was a good save and no injuries and you walked away, also a good kill on the deer.

Thanks for clearing the way and making one less deer I have to worry about when I am riding down that way next friday and home on sunday.

 

[WW'sFJR]

Don,

Very glad to hear that you came through his encounter unscathed. Wow!

You had me there for awhile (on or off bike) until I figured out that you must have

had time to duck down a little and carry a lower profile..........or did you?

This must not have been the bounding Bambi I've seen. Seems here it's

best in this situation to be the hitter rather than the hittee.

The old "When in doubt gas it" syndrome.

No blood on Bambi indicates a rather blunt clobbering demise. These FJR's musta'

be built with tough stuff and tough riders. Glad to hear your OK.

WW's FJR

Larry

 

[petey]

WOW, :blink: Dan, all I can say is you did a great job staying with it and saving it. Sure glad your ok and being able to ride with me another day. I'm almost sure the bike will be totaled, see you on the '08.

 

[tcfjr]

Just like having the EOM/WFO/CFR/CrashClub/ETC emblem, we need to have a deer silhouette.

 

[7xray]

Thanks Don for the great story. As a FNG I'm soaking up all I can and have to say the deer are one of my biggest worries. I think one of the things (among many)you did right was to ride it through the bugger. I'm on a fire department and some of the worst wrecks we see are the ones where the driver tries to avoid the critter. I like the words "ride the bike"and hope I can remember them if my day comes.

Thanks again.

Fred

 

[ponyfool]

I for one am a little disappointed. You had a chance to prove the wonderful theory that if you go fast enough, you can slice a deer in half, but nooooo, you took the unique route of trying to give Bambi a ride!

On a serious note, I'm glad you are ok. Enjoy the venison.

 

[Toecutter]

Nice garage. No wonder you live in a trailer. Got your priorities right, anyway....

Hey Brian, got any rabbits?

 

[dcarver]

You had me there for awhile (on or off bike) until I figured out that you must have had time to duck down a little and carry a lower profile..........or did you?

No blood on Bambi indicates a rather blunt clobbering demise.

Larry

Larry - I never ducked, no thought of ducking crossed my mind. This doe was flat-footed when I T-boned her. And, yes this leads to the question of 'well them dum ****, why didn't you see her?" and to that I don't have an answer. I can tell you I was NOT fiddling with the gps, xm radio, or the daily cross word puzzle. And yes, I broke lots of her ribs.. I pressed on them and they were all soft.. the entire rack.When I walked back to Bambi, she was still alive, and I, forgive me hard core riders, thought of what it would take to put her out of misery when I heard the death sigh.

WOW, :blink: Dan, all I can say is you did a great job staying with it and saving it. Sure glad your ok and being able to ride with me another day. I'm almost sure the bike will be totaled, see you on the '08.

Petey, I look waay forward to riding with you again! At least on the same road, probably waay behind though! I appreciate your kind words and sure did have fun riding with you and rest of the Hooligans last WFO..
Another thought, which struck me much later, is the audible portion of the crash... it almost derailed my 'ride the bike' train of thought and I present this so that others may do better with it than I did.

Prior to impact, the brakes were into ABS, which presents a thunk thunk thunk sound and feel. I released front and rear, then hit. And the hit was loud, overwhelming because I've not heard it before. I was listening to XM radio via zumo 550, StarComm and ER6 ear buds, but the hit was LOUD. It completely overwhelmed vision and feel; almost disorienting.

The sound of Bambi's body compressing, pop, pop, a rib or two, then a sound lower in frequency than glass breaking, but very audible, most likely the plastic tearing from bolts and attachment points. I only mention this so that perhaps somebody else, when in the 'moment' will recall reading this and know to ignore the audio, fascinating as it may be, and just ride the bike.

I may start a separate thread asking others about their crash auditory experience; this was very new to me, completely different than MX/SX sounds of destruction.

 

[Ari Rankum]

The sound of Bambi's body compressing, pop, pop, a rib or two, then a sound lower in frequency than glass breaking, but very audible, most likely the plastic tearing from bolts and attachment points. I only mention this so that perhaps somebody else, when in the 'moment' will recall reading this and know to ignore the audio, fascinating as it may be, and just ride the bike.

Good point. I spent waaaaaaay too much time pondering the incredible volume of all the glass and plastic sliding down the road with me at 70 mph, processing power that would have been better spent focusing on not being run over. I had time to wonder whether the deer I hit was made of plastic and glass, cuz there was no way all that noise was coming from pieces of my bike. The sound of a large piece of aluminum catching up to me helped me to snap out of it.

 

[dcarver]

The sound of Bambi's body compressing, pop, pop, a rib or two, then a sound lower in frequency than glass breaking, but very audible, most likely the plastic tearing from bolts and attachment points. I only mention this so that perhaps somebody else, when in the 'moment' will recall reading this and know to ignore the audio, fascinating as it may be, and just ride the bike.

Good point. I spent waaaaaaay too much time pondering the incredible volume of all the glass and plastic sliding down the road with me at 70 mph, processing power that would have been better spent focusing on not being run over. I had time to wonder whether the deer I hit was made of plastic and glass, cuz there was no way all that noise was coming from pieces of my bike. The sound of a large piece of aluminum catching up to me helped me to snap out of it.

Ari, EXACTLY. There are so many other, more important, things to be attending to than being fascinated by the event sounds. Yet, when it's the first experience, audio input is right up there with visual; very easy to loose focus on what is important, what needs be paid attention to. This experience has led to many hours of thinking.

 

[borrec]

Glad you weren't damaged. The bike is easier to fix.

 

[HaulinAshe]

So tell the truth my dirt bro. At SOME point you seriously considered "If I can just get the front wheel up a few inches, maybe I can double over the top of Bambi."



Would you say the ABS allowed you to loose substantial mph and thus may have saved some of your hide?

Sooooo glad you are okay. Way to go with the cool thinking. You loading music from Jungle Book in the MP3 now?

 

[Warchild]

These mangy-ass forest rats suck The Bone, without a doubt! :angry2:

Good luck to all hunters in the coming weeks!!!! Blow their shit away, gentlemen!!!! May the earth run red with the blood of these motorcyclist-killing vermin! :yahoo:

<hijack alert> Holy fucking shit, I need to find a large poster of this image.... B) </alert>

 

[Groo]

Dang Don...

Major suckage on the bike... really glad you held it together and rode it out without any serious injuries. Thanks for thinning the forest rat herd a small bit.

 

[UHOH]

... First deer strike with a bike. I have 120k on a 79 kz1300, 135k on an Ultra, 50k on 74 CB 750, 40k on the Feejer, so I guess I was overdue.

well, 345,000 miles on a very few bikes says that you are experienced and know what you ride.

Congrats on collecting the venison w/o getting hurt.

 

[dcarver]

So tell the truth my dirt bro. At SOME point you seriously considered "If I can just get the front wheel up a few inches, maybe I can double over the top of Bambi."
Would you say the ABS allowed you to loose substantial mph and thus may have saved some of your hide?

Sooooo glad you are okay. Way to go with the cool thinking. You loading music from Jungle Book in the MP3 now?

Thanks, my dirt bike brother.. you truly understand the 'I can save this shit mentality...' but no, I never gave a thought of doubling Bambi.. I *honestly* thought it was going to be a nasty hit for me, over the top, was looking at barb wire fences, the road,and thought I had a fair to good chance to stay out of the barb wire...
I don't *always* wear ATGATT, and my a very early thought was that I was fortunate to have all my best, not THE best, but all MY best gear on, because the situation was NOW. I can't begin to describe the immediacy of it all. But, and I don't know how to express this, but these situations are what I try to prepare for; reading other folks experiences, relying upon basic human instincts, carefully examine personal crashes, dirt and street (I've many broken dirt bones to draw upon)

ABS? I hate to say it, because I'm such a fundamentalist, but yes, ABS helped. I can't begin to describe how FAST the event unfolded. Essentially, shamefully, I grenaded the brakes, felt the bump bump bump of ABS, but the mind said 'it's a hit' then released front and rear.

It occurs to me that maybe I'm communicating too much of this event in a public forum. Then again, maybe not. Sooner or later, all will experience their moment of 'opportunity' and I sincerely hope that what you have read, experienced, practiced and become instinctual will help you in your moment of crisis.

 

[HaulinAshe]

... I grenaded the brakes, felt the bump bump bump of ABS, but the mind said 'it's a hit' then released front and rear.
It occurs to me that maybe I'm communicating too much of this event in a public forum. Then again, maybe not. Sooner or later, all will experience their moment of 'opportunity' and I sincerely hope that what you have read, experienced, practiced and become instinctual will help you in your moment of crisis.

Oh contrare. Communicate away.

I was thinking that it has never occurred to me to unload the front end just before impacting Bambi, other than possibly to avoid dumping the steering angle if she smears underneath. That was some awesome fast thinking you did!

As to "grenading" the brakes. What else would you do if you know there is no chance of killing off enough speed to avoid a severe impact. That's why they make ABS. I did the same thing at EOM last year while suffering target fixation on the cliff edge. I think the "chatter" of ABS helps you realize that you now need to do something different because Plan-A ain't workin'!!!

If you need any help attaching that Bambi plow to the front of the new 08 scooter, just give me a ring. Have welder will fabricate.

 

[Slow Ride]

because Plan-A ain't workin'!!!

Gunny