deer avoidance
Club Member
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 112,202
Likes: 1,316
From: On a hill among the hills, PA
Here I usually aim at them on the brakes... they almost always run but ya don't know which way they may go, trying to out guess them or swerve aroung them usually ends up a disaster. The worst ones are running from the side head down hell bent to get across the road whether your in the way or not. I never had deer whistles or any of that, crack the pipes a few times they usually run the other way but sooner or later you will find a retarded one that runs right in front of you. I have had many close calls but I found that slowing down in the areas I know are bad for them usually pays off. I can't figure out the deer crossing signs though, how do they know??
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 7,217
Likes: 3
From: Southern Ohio
I'm convinced that all you can do is stay alert...sometimes you CAN avoid one by maneuvering, sometimes you just plain CAN'T...
I've known a bunch of guys who've had the bad luck to hit one over the years...I don't recall any of those guys ever saying "Well yeah, I COULD have avoided it, but decided to go ahead and hit it." They hit it because there was no way out...
Deer are like a lot of things we face when riding, it's a risk and comes with the territory...
I've known a bunch of guys who've had the bad luck to hit one over the years...I don't recall any of those guys ever saying "Well yeah, I COULD have avoided it, but decided to go ahead and hit it." They hit it because there was no way out...
Deer are like a lot of things we face when riding, it's a risk and comes with the territory...
6th Gear
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 12
Likes: 1
Banned
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 2,492
Likes: 10
No crash.. Buckled the front fender, and he went down the left side,through the crash bar knocking the lower off. The crash bar dented the tank, I had straightened the bar somewhat before the pic.
Deer ran out right behind a passing RV going the other way, didn't even see him coming.
My buddies and I pried and straightened all we could, cleaned the guts off and rode to Lewiston Id. to get it cleaned and checked. Actually finished the ride.
I'm glad we were so far away from anywhere. It kinda forced my wife to get back on (hell me too)......
Mark
Deer ran out right behind a passing RV going the other way, didn't even see him coming.
My buddies and I pried and straightened all we could, cleaned the guts off and rode to Lewiston Id. to get it cleaned and checked. Actually finished the ride.
I'm glad we were so far away from anywhere. It kinda forced my wife to get back on (hell me too)......
Mark
Last edited by user 8373900; Feb 1, 2010 at 07:03 PM.
Road Captain
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 561
Likes: 0
From: Amelia, Virginia
Like it was said in an earlier post, if the deer are just standing/grazing on the side of the road, they won't be a problem unless they get spooked. They will usually just watch you go by. However, if you see a deer crossing, there are usually more deer behind it, especially if its running. If they are crossing, you won't stop them. With that being said, I constantly scan ahead for anything that glows from the headlights and keep my eyes on it until I've confirmed what it is and I'm safely past it. I hit a deer this past Sept. And it put a hurting on me. It was my fault tho. I spooked the deer by blipping the throttle and didn't see the deer up ahead. I was watching a deer move away on the left and when I looked back up, I was already on top of a different deer. Oooops! That's gonna leave a mark!
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Elite HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2009
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Likes: 3
Only one thing will take care of deer....a big sound system blaring Ted Nugent out of your bagger speakers....deer fear the Motor City Motor Mouth.
In a more serious note....I've known a number of people who've hit deer, moose, turkeys (they will sometimes take off low and fly across a road at chest height, and if you hit one you're going down), and I was once behind another rider who had a black bear run downhill out of the woods and smack into him. In every case there wasn't much time to do anything. Every year we get a few motorcyclists killed in these sorts of accidents around here.
They can be out anytime, but of course the evening is the worst....and about all you can do is ride close to the centerline, and you don't want to be riding staggered or too close in a line (forget about the BS about riding side-by-side). Of course, if you see one deer coming out on the road it probably means several might be following.
Deer can be bad, but they're still nowhere near the hazard posed by the cell talking/texting idiots behind the wheel of a cage......and we're surrounded by them every day, all day.
In a more serious note....I've known a number of people who've hit deer, moose, turkeys (they will sometimes take off low and fly across a road at chest height, and if you hit one you're going down), and I was once behind another rider who had a black bear run downhill out of the woods and smack into him. In every case there wasn't much time to do anything. Every year we get a few motorcyclists killed in these sorts of accidents around here.
They can be out anytime, but of course the evening is the worst....and about all you can do is ride close to the centerline, and you don't want to be riding staggered or too close in a line (forget about the BS about riding side-by-side). Of course, if you see one deer coming out on the road it probably means several might be following.
Deer can be bad, but they're still nowhere near the hazard posed by the cell talking/texting idiots behind the wheel of a cage......and we're surrounded by them every day, all day.