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Just smacked a deer tonight on my 02. Hit the brakes and hit him at about 25 mph. Kept the bike up and struggled to the side of the road without a rear brake(The deer smashed my leg against the side of the bike and temporarily paralized my right foot). Took out the front fender, damaged the tank(badly) headlight, sidecover, right exhaust and windshield. I'm okay, with just a badly bruised right leg. Rode it home, man these bikes are tough!
I just repainted the bike 2 months ago, so here I go again. Have full coverage and a good agent. I guess this finishes my ride on this bike for this year. Still have the 57 to ride, so I'm still good. Funny thing, I did the same thing 22 years ago on a 650 Yamaha. Came out a lot better this time. Oh, the final thing. It's my birthday today, Halloween, the big 50! Could have been worse!

Wow, whatta story - .... but your okay and the bike is rideable and fixable!

It's amazing that you can have a collision like that and keep the bike up! I live in central IL and try to avoid riding at night. I think I am more scared of deer around here than cars Glad to hear you are OK. Oh, and happy birthday!

Glad you're alright Richard... has always been a worry of mine when riding down there. I've hit them before in my car and truck but knock on wood, not on the bike. When I was home earlier this summer I must have seen five deer on the side of the road (dead) on that little stretch between Burlington and home, what's that, like one every 3.5 miles?

Oh and by the way, Happy Birthday!

I'm glad we don't have them running wild here, when we visited the US, you could see them on the side of the motorways - scary stuff. Glad you are alright..

Sounds like it could have been much worse. Glad you're OK. They're out there and moving. I ride into work at 6am before it gets light and this time of year I slow way down and watch way hard.

This time of year they're out all over north Alabama...it's mating season and you just have to crank that internal radar way up.

Glad to hear that you're alright and that the bike is fixable.

I almost ran over a recently killed one, two nights ago. Glad you are okay. Happy birthday one day late.

Dave

Richard,

Had a hard time figuring out how a deer deals smack...then I read the post.

Happy belated birthday.

The big question is.....

Were you able to haul the deer home for dinner?
Glad you came out OK, that's a lot of mass to run into.

A friend of mine nearly hit a MOOSE in town this year! That would not be pretty.

Man! I sure don't envy you guys who live out there in the sticks.

You see, HERE in L.A. the random gunfire from all the gangs around here takes care of any wildlife(four-legged, that is) that my wander down from the fire-scorched hillsides!!!

80-100 years ago deer were scarce in most of the US due to overhunting. Actually seeing a deer was a rare occasion in most places. Measures to restrict hunting were taken and the deer rebounded to levels they never achieved before. Deer live comfortably in wild, rural, suburban and even some urban environments. They are still protected from hunting most of the year and many more are likely killed on the highways than by hunters. Wild eyed animal rights activists and unhinged greenies, joined by sentimental Bambi lovers, have fought every effort to cull the herds to a reasonable level. In the meantime burgeoning populations of deer are causing auto and motorcycle accidents and killing people. They are eating farmers corn and homeowners ornamental plants. Without predators or sufficient hunting they have bred like the rabbits of Australia. Until we reverse or overcome the silliness that manifests every time an effort to manage the problem is proposed we will continue to see large numbers of collisions with deer resulting in human deaths and property damage.

glad you're ok and amazed you kept it up.

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...The deer smashed my leg against the side of the bike and temporarily paralized my right foot). Took out the front fender, damaged the tank(badly) headlight, sidecover, right exhaust and windshield. I'm okay, with just a badly bruised right leg....

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so he sort of slid(?) down the right side of the bike? amazing amount of damage.

You're right on, ladisney. Deer populations have always been a pet peeve of mine. (for obvious reasons) In my county, Lee, deer account for 25% of ALL car accidents!
Deer were reintroduced into our part of the country in the 40s. They serve no ecological purpose except as targets for deer hunters, who are less than 2% if the population. Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against hunters, some of my family and friends are hunters. But a huge roaming population of hundred pound mammals, kept artificially high for this small population of citizens hunting enjoyment is just plain irresponsible! Millions of dollars of damage are done to vehicles every year, thousands of dollars in crop damage (deer really like corn) and plenty of death and injuries are the result of this misguided state policy. Think about it, If I got a few hundred people interested in stocking elephant all across the county for hunting purposes, would the public think it was a swell idea?

I was driving west across I-80 in Pennsylvania and for shites and giggles, my buddy and I decided to count the dead deer. We counted 139 before we decided to quit and we were only halfway across the state!!!

no one want to shot a doe and eat it, they all want a big rack for the wall you should have to get a doe before you shot a buck

I just saw an article in the Locust Street Liar (otherwise known as the Des Moines Register) about there being TEN deer related motorcycle fatalities in Iowa alone this year. Imagine the outcry if ten people died being stung by killer bees or rabid dogs or flesh eating fish. That's not even counting the fatalities in cars! What ARE they thinking? Stupid question, it's the government, they don't have to think.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007711020375

Yeah but '59er, it takes a heck of a lot more doe..er..dough than just a buck nowdays ta even get a huntin' license!

And speakin' o' "racks"....did I ever tell ya about this girl Gloria I hunted down once at this one pub?

(bada CHING)

here iowa you can shot 3 and bow 2 for $55 each i just donot want to kill but hunt up

For data concerning deer crashes;

www.deercrash.com

Deer account for more fatalities in the US than lions, and tigers and bears (oh, my) or wolves making them the second deadliest animal in North America.

In that case, we need to save more lives by declaring permitless year round deer hunting season.

Soren

A friend of mine says that the DNR is looking at reintroducing black bear into Iowa. I'm still holding out for wild elephant or maybe a real scoot stopper, Rhino! ( I could really dig that horn sticking out of a radiator or my chest!) What in Hades does it take to adress this problem, a governor's or a senator's son getting killed?

Ed, sorry that was some bad sarcasm. I live in Oregon where they would rather outlaw people than use common sense.

Soren

+1

However, Chronic Wasting Disease is going to make controlling the population even more difficult as who wants to eat a mad deer?

Deer hunting is the number one industry in the Texas Hill Country. Raising cattle is a money loser so the ranchers build very tall fences to keep their deer in and sell leases complete with guides and deer that have been corn fed all year.

You ride your ATV out to the blind and wait until the deer come looking for food and decide which one you want. The ranchers even have the deer cut up and the trophy mounted-if the hunter wants.

If they allowed the deer to shoot back, there might be some sport in it but...

Riding up to Kerville for the RAT Raid this week, I saw trucks by the dozen pulling ATV's, carrying blinds, etc.

The owner of Texas Speedway was complaining in the paper this weekend that the opening week of deer season kills his NASCAR attendance-loss of millions of dollars.

To each his own.

and let's not forget about the deer ticks and Lyme's disease ..... not to mention they eat the pansies I've planted for the fall colour.