Down in Chicago, the only deer you are likely to see are at the Lincoln Park Zoo, but since moving to S.W. Wisconsin they're all over the place.
I ride until the road dictates that riding is dumb. Late Nov.-early Dec. is about average, and November is really deer heavy around here. I've had a lot of guys tell me to keep an extra eye out for 'em, but I never see 'em. Everyone around here has a horror story about hitting one or his buddy hitting one, etc. Now, if I'm in a car, there they are, but on the bike, nothing. And I'm out every day riding until well after sunset.

Does anyone else out there think that the frequency of an exhaust system could keep 'em off the road when you're going by? I know how goofy this sounds, but I'm not the first guy to bring this up. Can loud pipes do something like that, and I don't mean just loud. Could it be a cam/pipe combination?
I've got a Shovel with an Andrews B and 38" open drag pipes (1.875").

 

There are plenty of deer in the forest preserve areas in Chicago, and you really have to watch out for the cougars in the city itself.

 

Well, I was running the same setup down there too. No deer, but the cougars kept clawing up my back.

 

You might have something there alright, our area is crawling with deer and moose and there are cage strikes almost weekly. I can't remember a bike or semi having hit one. maybe loud exhausts save lives?

 

It's highly unlikey the exhaust will repell deer as you approach since the majority of the sound is thrown behind the bike - Unlike you're running 200 db and that's another issue all together!

I've read of many bikers hitting deer, many of the accidents resulting in a fatality.

 

I've known a couple of guys who have had accidents caused by deer, either hitting a deer or laying the bike down trying to avoid a deer. Mule deer in Colorado can get to be 300 lbs. It can't be fun to hit one w/ a bike.

Just wondering, do the deer repellent whistles for car bumpers really work?

 

I guess that you've never heard me coming.
I've heard of a lot of bikers hitting deer too. That's why I'm asking. Why do some bikers see a lot of 'em, and some don't.

 

During the rut, deer have no logic or reason. Years ago, I was running straight pipes on a hardtail southwest of Madison. A buck popped out of the woods, and I hit the brakes hard. The back end skidded to the right, and I hit him with my side and shoulder. He slapped sideways against my back fender and flipped over the back of the bike.

The impact straightened the bike back up and I was able to roll to a stop. The carb was hanging by the throttle cable (deer's leg caught it), and there was a lengthwise crack in the fender about 2 feet long. It felt like I had a cracked rib. The deer's neck and one front leg was broken.

Two other incidents killed one rider north of here and the other cut the deer in half with a bagger. Gun season really gets them moving, but it's usually too cold to ride then. Just be careful.

 

I hit a deer back in Sept. 4 broke ribs, a shattered shoulder blade and colapsed lung. 6 weeks later I was in the woods hunting them. I was back at work 2 months later.

A trick I do is when I see deer just standing along the roadway, when I get fairly close, I blip the throttle. The result is they run the opposite direction. If you are far enough away from them, they may try to cross in front of you, which is what happened to me. I was looking at a deer to the left instead of looking ahead. When I looked back up, I was already on top of the deer. It was my fault for not looking ahead as I knew that was a spot that deer hung out.
If a deer is committed to crossing a road, they are gonna cross and usually there will be more deer following. If the deer are just grazing or standing along the roadway, they will usually just watch you as you pass by. When you get on the throttle or do something different, it tends to spook them. I always just take it easy and try not to make a lot of fuss when I'm riding at night and just maintain a constant speed. I always scan up ahead for glowing eyeballs and I'm pretty good at spotting deer, as I'm an avid deer hunter. My lesson was to not take my eyes off of the road in front of me for long.

 

I've read of several tests that indicate the bumper whistles do not work.

I'm planning a ride from Key West to Alaska this summer and as a part of my research I ran across this product that supposidly works:

http://xp3hornet.com/

They sell mostly through distributors:

http://www.kuryakyn.com/index.cfm/go...tail/IMID/1064

http://www.safehomeproducts.com/shp2...-repeller.aspx


I'm probably going to buy one because the last thing I want to deal with is a deer trying to mate with my bike at 70 MPH.