Notch one for my Shoei

[stellarsteve]

Hey all,

Had weird experience on the bike last night. While Kathy and I were riding home from the Kingsland Catfish Festival then dinner we decided to come home around Fernandina Beach. We were following a couple of cars on a small two lane road (trees on both sides) at about 45-50 mph when suddenly I see a flash of wings and BANG something nails me in forehead on the right side. It suprised me more than anything and it didn't hurt at all. :scare2: My wife heard it hit and asked me what happened. My first thought was it was a bird but since it was pitch black it could have been a large bat. Not sure though. Anyway thank God for my helmet. :thumbsupsmiley: I thought to myself, what would have happened if I didn't have it on? I would have a black eye (if it was still in my head) and I might have lost control. It hit hard.

After 34 years of riding bikes that is the first time I have hit a bird, or a bird has hit me, and hope I don't hit anything larger.

Stay safe.

 

[Dan23]

Sounds like a bat to me. You might want to confer with a doctor... soon. About 1% to 3% of bats are rabies infected. Bodily fluids of the bat may have sprayed onto you.

One of my neighbors was bitten by a bat and declinded treatment with no ill effects. The choice is yours, but I'd confer with the md.

I sincerely apologize for suggesting the worst.

 

[madmike2]

What a great story to have in your repertoire for the next cocktail party or poker night! The really good news is that you didn't lose your focus aaannnnndddd, no broken windshield or human body parts. :thumbsup:

 

[stellarsteve]

No body fluids got on Kathy or myself. Had to clean the helmet but it wasn't a fluid. It was more like a film. Not too worried.

But thanks for the concern, will keep and eye out for trouble.

 

[throttlejockeyTJ]

I have ducked from birds hitting the windshield. At least 3 birds have bounced of the office windows and they are multi pane about 10 inches square. Haven't hit one on a bike yet. Remember it was a bat inside Larry Winters jacket in a crash. TJ

 

[kaitsdad]

What a great story to have in your repertoire for the next cocktail party or poker night! The really good news is that you didn't lose your focus aaannnnndddd, no broken windshield or human body parts. :thumbsup:

+1

You rode it. Good on ya.

 

[odot]

Get any funny feelings when the moon is full? Just checking. Make sure you have a reflection in the mirror, eh.

 

[SoCalFJR]

While riding my dual sport down the road I had a bird hit me right in the chest and land on the seat between my legs! I saw the poor guy coming at me and was thinking...I'm going to hit him, I'm going to hit him, I'm going to hit him...and then sure enough, POW! I'm glad he didn't go down my shirt, that would have freaked me out. All I had to do was stand up and let him blow off the back of the seat...

Then, going down the same road on the FJR with my wife on the back, I hit a rabbit. I saw him sitting on the side of the road and I was thinking "I hope he doesn't turn and run in front of me." Then sure enough, the little guy bolts right into the side of my bike and hit me on top of my left foot...of all the spots to get hit, that one hurt! Although not as bad as it hurt the rabbit...

That road has been bad luck for wildlife when I'm around! :blink:

Like the others have mentioned, good job staying focused on the task at hand...keeping your scooter on the road.

 

[Scythian]

Didn't we lose a forum member to a bat in the riding suit?

Larry... RIP.

Bird strikes have killed a lot of military pilots as well.

 

[stellarsteve]

One thing I keep thinking about, and what everyone says when I tell them the story, is thank goodness I had a helmet on. I can't help but wonder how many newspaper articles that say "motorcyclist lost control" and were either killed or injured, may have been hit by something. Just like Larry Winters. With no helmet, even if you have sunglasses, even a large bug or bee in the eye can lead to a very bad ending.

But with a helmet, like madmike2 said, I can laugh and tell everyone I know.

There is a guy at work that builds choppers and rides a sportster to work almost as much as I do. And here in Florida, it rains a lot. Usually just as we are about to ride home. He hates riding in the rain because he doesn't wear a helmet and he can barely see when he rides in the rain. I on the other hand like to keep it above 65 on the interstate because I don't get as wet and of course I don't feel the rain with the helmet on.

Sorry, I guess I am preaching to the crowd, it just really drove home ATGATT.

Thanks for letting me think out loud. Love this forum!!

 

[NSFJR]

Hey all,Had weird experience on the bike last night. While Kathy and I were riding home from the Kingsland Catfish Festival then dinner we decided to come home around Fernandina Beach. We were following a couple of cars on a small two lane road (trees on both sides) at about 45-50 mph when suddenly I see a flash of wings and BANG something nails me in forehead on the right side. It suprised me more than anything and it didn't hurt at all. :scare2: My wife heard it hit and asked me what happened. My first thought was it was a bird but since it was pitch black it could have been a large bat. Not sure though. Anyway thank God for my helmet. :thumbsupsmiley: I thought to myself, what would have happened if I didn't have it on? I would have a black eye (if it was still in my head) and I might have lost control. It hit hard.

After 34 years of riding bikes that is the first time I have hit a bird, or a bird has hit me, and hope I don't hit anything larger.

Stay safe.

I had a similar experience two years ago when returning home from one of our club's four point rides. A fellow rider and I were covering ground quite briskly on the TCH, about 21:00hrs and sundown, when there was a hell of a bang on my windshield. I swore and ducked down, and when I came up for a look-see, there was a great deal of blood over my large AHAMAY WS, much more than would come from even a large bug. Wedged firmly between my WS and the lower left side of my LaminarLIp, was a small, very dead bat. I simply left it there until I got home. Must be the Shoie helmet, as I too wear one.

 

[rangerray]

In the 3 years I've had the FJR I've hit (or it's hit me) a bird to the helmet, a snake, a squirrel, and a medium sized dog that knocked my foot off the peg and bent my gear shift 180 degrees. Never went down. None of the animals survived.

Scott Harrison

Senatobia, MS

 

[The Professor]

I love those Shoei helmets. BTW does this count as an impact that requires retiring the helmet?

 

[slick001]

In the 3 years I've had the FJR I've hit (or it's hit me) a bird to the helmet, a snake, a squirrel, and a medium sized dog that knocked my foot off the peg and bent my gear shift 180 degrees. Never went down. None of the animals survived.
Scott Harrison

Senatobia, MS

Well,

I got a chicken if that counts. A bunch of them were on the side of the road, I suppose somebody's yard pets, saw me coming and he decided to cross the road in between my front and rear tire. He didn't quite cross fast enough though. I should have gone back and got him for fried chicken for dinner!

:assassin:

 

[DocDanDC]

We had a ride in the SanDiego, CA mountains and I hit a bird. Didnt go down but I'm sure the Bird did. I had Feathers and Gunk all over the right side of the helmet from the right eye, past the temple and around to the shoulder, and on the shoulder too. About one hour later, We almost hit a flock of 20 Turkeys, and a small herd of cows. Missed the cows by about 5ft. We hit a Squirrel, and a rabbit also during the same trip. We officially named the trip the Wild Kingdom Trip. :lol:

 

[SMC]

:blink: I'm glad that you and your wife didn't suffer and harm because of that bird strike or the loss of concentration.

I am a firm believer in ATGATT and practice it rather religiously now.

But there was a time 34 years ago in college that I and a good friend took a ride out in the country on my Yamaha XS500.

Problem was I only had one helmut, so being the chivalrous person that I was, I gave Carol the helmut.

We were cruising down a country road in Illinois with nothing but farms and corn fields on either side of the road, trying to have a conversation...more like screaming to be heard over the wind and engine noise!

When BAM, it happened. I had my mouth open to yell back a reply to a statement Carol made, when the biggest, most disgusting horse fly flew right into my mouth.

Now let me tell you when you are traveling down a country road at about 60 mph and something like that flys down your mouth and windpipe, it totally messes up your concentration, and your ability to breath as it went down the windpipe.

Like I said: ATGATT

 

[tripletango]

Had a bee stuck between me and my helmet strap, that was in CO on way to WFO. Painful that is! Some of the larger bugs in TX sometimes hit you and feel like a bullet not so much on a FJR which will protect you from the worst hits but on naked bikes that I have owned.

 

[Clark Kent]

No body fluids got on Kathy or myself. Had to clean the helmet but it wasn't a fluid. It was more like a film. Not too worried. But thanks for the concern, will keep and eye out for trouble.

If you keep an eye out for the trouble, and it appears,

it WAY too late! If you begin to feel the effects of Rabies, your history!

No cure once you have it! :rip_1:

Sorry, just the truth.

CK

PS If you start feeling symptoms, give me a call. I might want to buy your bike!

But hey, I put my guardian angle on you. He's kind of lazy so you had better keep an eye out for yourself!

 

[spklbuk]

Not just the Shoie. I wear an HJC, but my big blue bug zapper was a big blue bat zapper not long ago. Two up and cookin across a slab late one night and out of reflex, I flinch my head in respnse to an incoming blur that I thought was surely gonna be a world record bug zap but heard nor felt nothing. Glanced down to see WTF and saw a little brown bat wedged between the bodywork and the lower left corner of the windshield. Carcass rode home w/ us. Me thinks the tupperware doesn't give good enough sonar reflections for them to even know they are gonna take a hit.

Glad you rode it out and are no worse for wear.