[f100driv]

I normally never ride at night but I worked all weekend and wanted to try out my new highway pegs that just installed and also see how good the LED headlight was going to work. I was heading home on a 50 MPH 6 lane road with no other traffic in sight. I only had the low beams on, which ended up being a mistake because it was fairly dark but even so the headlights seemed to work pretty well. All of sudden, directly in front of me centered squarely in the center lane where I was , was the deer. I decided to make a quick counter steer to my right and hope the deer didn't decide to go that way. I didn't think there was any way I could miss him since he was so close when I realized what was happening. Anyway, as I swerved to the right my left leg brushed and bounced off the deer. I rode home and checked out the bike and couldn't find a scratch on it. I am one lucky son of a gun and I'm pretty sure the deer is still in one piece also. Hopefully we will have both learned from this. I'm not doing any more night riding and hopefully Mr. Deer will learn to stay the **** off the highway!

 

[Hoosierman]

WOW!!! You are very lucky. Glad you and your bike made it through unscaved. That's is exactly why I don't typically ride at night. Too many freekin deer around here.

 

[donutninja]

Scary stuff, glad man and deer and bike are all unscathed!

 

[bruceb]

Luck and skill = happy ending.

I wonder if the deer's life flashed before his eyes. Maybe that's the basis for the "deer in the headlights" look.

 

[cjm76]

All of sudden, directly in front of me centered squarely in the center lane where I was , was the deer.

I also hit a deer once (back on my 88 Magna). I was on a back road somewhere in VA, it was pitch dark, and Magnas had really poor headlights. The deer jumped directly in front of me - absolutely no warning - in fact the deer was still air-born when we connected. I hit it dead center, the deer wrapped around to my right side and smashed my foot and leg against the bike, the bike wobbled a bit - and I kept driving on... I thought something like, "huh, wasn't that something". My front forks were tweeked out of line and my headlight was now shining up into the trees (I later found that the decorative cover on the side (the one that had the "V45" on it) was flattened). Then I began to think a bit more... and it began to dawn on me exactly how serious what had just happened could have been. And I started to slow down (I had been going 45-50 when I hit), and the more I thought, the slower I went, and the more scared I got, till finally I was creeping along at 15-20 mph. I still had 50 miles to go before I got to the hotel I spent the night in, and by the time I finally made it, I was a basket case. I spent the night praying and thanking God for sparing me.


Moral of the story is, as much as we all love motorcycling and are willing to accept the inherent risks, you better be "prayed-up" and ready to meet your maker every time you swing your leg over the bike.

 

[shane]

Yikes! Glad you are okay. I'm fairly paranoid of hitting a deer because there are just so many of them around here. Also, I need to adjust my headlights. They are throwing light just a little too short for my liking. I'm really just being lazy; I know all about the little knobs under the fairing and everything. As much as I hate to be annoying, I will probably bump them up to allllllllmost illegally high levels.

 

[shane]

Moral of the story is, as much as we all love motorcycling and are willing to accept the inherent risks, you better be "prayed-up" and ready to meet your maker every time you swing your leg over the bike.

This.

 

[willajabir]

And I'm imagining the deer (like the farside comics) going back to the trees and getting high fives......
Easy to have funny thoughts when the participants are all ok. @f100driv, I just wonder what your pucker factor was. Maybe zero because you didn't have time to think?
5 minutes later, were your handle bars shaking? Mine would have been.

 

[bruceb]

Moral of the story is, as much as we all love motorcycling and are willing to accept the inherent risks, you better be "prayed-up" and ready to meet your maker every time you swing your leg over the bike.

"Practice [your religion] as if your hair is on fire." One day it will be.

 

[gtmn]

I don't recommend hitting a deer
it cant end well
good to here that you made it through it
what ever you do don't try it again

 

[bob]

Forest rats are not very smart. They keep showing up on the road where they don't belong!
I've been told never to try and steer around but just brake hard and keep it straight. I think this time it would not have worked out for you doing that... but fortunately you hit the jackpot on which direction to (near) miss. That was closer than anyone wants to be to a deer.

 

[f100driv]

Luck and skill = happy ending.

I wonder if the deer's life flashed before his eyes. Maybe that's the basis for the "deer in the headlights" look.

That is exactly what it was like! I don't know if he was as scared as me and if he was, there was probably a pile of deer doo doo that marked the spot!

 

[f100driv]

And I'm imagining the deer (like the farside comics) going back to the trees and getting high fives......
Easy to have funny thoughts when the participants are all ok. @f100driv, I just wonder what your pucker factor was. Maybe zero because you didn't have time to think?
5 minutes later, were your handle bars shaking? Mine would have been.

The 'pucker factor' was way up when I realized that deer was right there in my lane and didn't appear to be moving. It really was a deer in the headlights moment that I hope to never see again. I didn't have time to think but I'm fairly certain if I had tried to do an ABS brake emergency stop, I would have hit the deer. I did slow down but no bars shaking on the way home. I think I was more nervous about it today as I flew to Cozumel and back and thought about how close I was to wrecking that new CTX <S>

 

[sdfamt]

Holy Cow- Near Miss, I T-boned My Deer

Well, Had the bike for three weeks and Tuesday nite I did T-BONE a 100 lb doe. Basically I was lucky. Taking the freeway off ramp near home at 2 a.m. after work and deer jumped over a 4 ft concrete barrier wall and landed right in front of me. Was able to keep the bike up but everything from the center console buttons forward is destroyed. I guess if you have to hit one mine was the right size. Any bigger/ or smaller and I wouldn't have walked away. My front wheel and fender slipped right under the doe's middle and lifted it up into the light assy. Allowing me to stop the bike. The ramp is a 270* 3/4 turn back under the freeway and any other nite I usually take it 45-50 MPH. That night I was only going about 35 and hit the deer at approx 25 mph. Insurance man took pics today and Dealer will pick it up tomorrow. I don't think its totaled. But wont really know until they tear it down. I can say handle bars and folks are bent. and most of the front and mid cowls are broken. I only live about 2 miles from the accident site so yes I putted it home at 5/10 mph.

 

[bob]

Can only say "WOW." Glad you are OK. Kill the forest rat? Or did he/she also limp away? Hope the bike gets put back together quick and right. Sounds like it might be close to totalled with bent forks and who knows what else under the covers.

 

[menosabe]

The thing about deer is people hit them all the time no matter what you're riding or driving. I have a buddy driving a sports car hit a deer and it ended up in the passenger seat in pieces. Deer country locals put grill guards on because 'they have been there, done that'. Since grill guards don't work on motorcycles, a set of extra bright lights just may give you an extra second or two to decide your plan of escape.

 

[Barrettmusicman1]

The other night the wife and I decided to take an early evening ride (still light out). Well, as usually happens, we didn't want to stop riding so we ended up on hwy 19 in the middle of the Ocala National Forest. Beautiful place to ride, however night time snuck up on us and we were suddenly driving down a long two lane stretch of road going 60 with woods right off the road on either side. Then, there they were...DEER! Lots of them. One, two, three, four...about every few miles. Makes it real exciting!!! Not the type of excitement you want though. I had the high beams on and was sitting upright waiting to make any necessary evasive maneuvers. By the time we made it off that stretch of road I had counted 10 deer right on the edge of the road. My heart skipped a beat with each one!

 

[Danny Boy]

In this state, Wisconsin, a ride at night is a chancy proposition especially north of the 45th parallel. I have 4 riding friends who have hit deer, all at night or dusk, and survived the experience. Two are now former riders due to their collision, and the other two gave up nocturnal two wheel travel. I won't head out on a ride that could end in miles on dark roads. As Barrettmusicman1 suggests, it's just too hard on the nerves.

 

[sdfamt]

Update- I got my bike back last week but didnt get to ride until today. (raining and more rain) Well I got lucky. Approx 2600 in parts and labor, there was NO fork damage or handlebar damage. Shop replaced everything from footpeg to footpeg. Looks and rides like new. Ins picked up the tab. Bless them, HAHA.