Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Animal encounters

I was wondering what kinds of animal encounters forum members have had while on their bikes. Coming home from work last night, I hit an oppossum with the kickstand peg. I was glad that I didn't hit it with the front wheel because it could have dumped me or bent the wheel. My view was partially obscured by an oncoming car lights and when the car passed by, there the little devil was about 25 feet in front of me. The only damage to the BA was a little chrome that popped off from bending the stand peg. The 'possum lost a little hair and skin on said peg!!
In 1975, I hit an Old English sheepdog (100+ lbs) dead center. In an instant, I was sailing through the air like Superman. Cool, but it wasn't pretty shortly after that. I've heard of people who have hit deer with their bikes and don't want to join their club.

I just saw a pic last night of a large owl through the screen of a Honda I think. Looked scary as hell but apparently got caught in there and did not come through.
I once hit a bird with my helmet while riding dirt. It snapped my head back and I had a stiff neck for a month. Nice blood stain on the helmet too.

Once, just as I was passing under an overpass a pigeon swooped down and hit my handle bars. blood and stuff everywhere. I saw the bird and to this day I think it committed suicide. There are so many deer in my area that I will not ride at night.

We have lots of deer. I just saw one in the road yesterday that had been hit in the right lane. I was lucky to have just gone in the left lane because I wanted to see more around the curve. We also have skunk, coons, yotes, and many others.

Dave

A Momma Robin decided to end it all on my Right fork, on Saturday. Luckily it only side swiped because I only had to clean blood and guts off the right fork and pipes. The wife asked me if I had cut my leg because there was red stuff on my knee cap also.
Steve

OK,I wasn't on the bike but last saturday an elk run out in front the car,managed to brake and avoid but,man,there BIG,about 8 feet high and whan your sat in the car they look about 10.

Last week coming home from work a pheasant/grouse/ brown flying critter flew up out of a ditch along the road as I was riding along. Luckily we were going the same direction and he just bumped my leg. Dunno what happened to the little feller though, I couldn't find him in my rear view mirror after impact. Musta did a header back in the ditch.. hope he's allright. Maybe I just ruffled his feathers.. get it? ruffled his feathers (ha ha.. snicker snicker)

I've had some close encounters with deer in my short riding career already. Shiny side up!

I almost hit a drunk on an Aprilla trail bike does that count?

I've had some close ones over the years, but the only HIT was a coyote on Hwy 41 south of Fresno, California (is there any other Fresno?). I was on my '72 BSA 650 Lightning, and hit the dog at about 80 MPH. I thought I was gonna go down with the high speed wobble, but straightened the bike out and stopped. I turned around to get my gun and kill the coyote. I didn't need to, it was dead. I found both of him on the side of the road - cut clean into. I had a really good front tire.
Well, there was a really big copperhead on the Natchez Trace Parkway that I hit. It didn't cause problems for me, but the snake had a very bad day, his last. That sucker was about 6 feet long!

Around 1975, I was riding my '71 Norton 750, when a pair of racoons tried to cross the road in front of me. Instead of hard braking, I downshifted, and nailed the throttle(it had drum brakes, and tons of torque). I made it past the first one, and the second one ran into me, on the right side, behind my leg. He let out a squeell(sp?), tumbled, and I saw him run off in my mirror. I had braced for impact, and kept the bike upright. If I was on my TBA, the disc brakes would have stopped me. Charlie

One evening long ago I was riding my first bike to work. The bike was an old chopped Honda, and work was a drilling rig near Lost Cabin, Wyoming, about 60 miles from my home in Thermopolis. I was coming to the end of the pavement before the last five miles of gravel road into the rig. It was about dusk and my headlight wasn't very bright. I spotted 3 antelope milling around on the shoulder of the road, so I started slowing down. Sure enough, as I approached to about 50 feet they ran across the road in front of me. But to my surprise, I saw a cat jump out of the ditch, swatting at the haunches of the last antelope. I came to a stop just as the cat ran across the road 20 feet in front of me. The antelope disappeared over the hill, but the cat ran up to the top of the road cut and turned back to look at me, crouching down, silouetted against the sunset. When it ran in front of me I noticed the long tail, and at first it looked just like my house cat at home, and it took a second or two to register that, "Hey, that's a mountain lion!' The second thing I noticed was that it looked black, or a very dark color. For a few seconds I just sat there in awe in the middle of the road while we stared at each other. Then I suddenly realized that he could leap and be on me in a split second. I gunned the engine to take off and the cat spun around and disappeard behind the hill.

I was reluctant to tell anyone about my experience for fear that they wouldn't believe me. A couple days later I mentioned it to a local cowboy who I worked with, and he said it was very believable because the local ranches had been having trouble with lions attacking horses. He also said a black cat had been sited near Boysen Reservoir about 15 miles away. Then I knew I wasn't crazy. What an experience!

Cody

I've nailed a cat, squirrel, bat, a couple of birds & a swarm of honey bees.

Is that road kill stew, with honey sauce? Charlie

about 12 years ago, i nearly hit a moose in bethlahem new hampshire. came trotting out of the woods and scared the "bleep" out of me. close call.

Northbound, 72 mph, on-coming 18 wheeler on 2 lane road, enter Mr. Screwy Squirrel. He bolts out in front of me, across the path of the truck, back across the other way toward me, sliding sideways from the wind turbulence of the truck, spinning 360 degrees, then using front paws only (rear paws simply "spinning") scurrys back in front of me, missing him by inches and off where he came from, never even being touched. Had to remove tears from eyes from laughing so hard...