I hit a deer two summers ago while riding my Road King. I had a deer whistle that my insurance agent gave me on the bike.

 

How about a loud azz horn that sounds like a crazy freakin moose...

 

Well, down here in Australia, wild deer are non-existent but .... we have heaps of kangaroos and I hit one on my Heritage a couple of years ago. Amazingly i didn't come off, killed the roo. For $5 Aussie dollars (about 10 US cents) I fitted the 'shoo roos' which is probably the same whistle as is mentioned here, marketed slightly differently for our country. Either way a little asian chap is laughing all the way to the bank with my $5. But I aint hit a roo since, nor a camel nor water buffalo, so I guess you could say they work for me, and I'm happy for the little feller to have his money (made in Taiwan) .... and they look cool, cheapest accessory yet!

 

Ha ha My dad had them on one of his cars, and he didn't hit a deer either, the deer hit him. Ran right into the side of his car, he now believes that they attract deer, none of my parents cars has them on now!

 

I ride at 4AM near Park City, UT. Lot's of deer. I hit a deer last July at (AM in broad daylight so you can understand my concern at 4AM.

I would recommend the HID and PIAA Crystal Ion Yellow bulbs in the passing lamps. Here’s why:

The HID emits a low wide beam and from my experience that keeps it down and does not blind or spook the deer.
The downside to the HID is less visibility to on coming traffic during the day
The PIAA Crystal Ion resolves the daytime visibility actually improving well above any white light that just blends; the yellow really stands out
The PIAA Crystal Ion Yellow is great in that it reduces glare from the road signs, does not appear to blind or spook the deer and actually makes the deer stand out better.[/ol]

Here’s some more information:

I started out by replacing the headlight with HD's Dual Beam P/N 67864-04. To further improve the lighting I replaced the low beam bulb with PIAA's H11 55W. I also changed the wiring on my passing lamps to keep them on when I have my High Beam On.

I later decided to replace the Dual Beam with HD's HID P/N 68094-06. Since I did this during the winter shutdown I'm having a hard time justifying the $400 for the HID. Mainly because I can't remember how good the Dual Beam was (in November). I shortened the adjustment spring on the top to get more height. As you know HID's have a flat beam. As such if it isn't raised the oncoming traffic might not see it at all. Scary! Don't get me wrong, the HID puts out plenty of light but insufficient by it's self and I'm just not sure how much better it is than the Dual Beam with the PIAA. Both the Dual Beam and the HID use similar lenses and disperse a wide beam with separate H8 high beam that shoots up the road. The big difference to me is the HID does not spook the deer. The Dual Beam is like any other beam and does spook the deer.

The 05 Ultra had crappy passing lamps so I replaced them with HD P/N 68208-98A Halogen's. I tossed the bulbs and replaced them with PIAA Ion Crystal Yellow Bulbs 55W - H3 - 13556. Got these on eBay for $44.99 delivered. I could have gone to a higher wattage bulb but I have concerns about heat dissipation. The Yellow is great in that it illuminates and reduces glare from the road signs. They also are more noticeable in the daytime by oncoming traffic.

I am very pleased with my current setup. I'm just not sure that how much the HID improves the Dual Beam. I do know that I will no longer even consider riding in the day time without my passing lamps on because I'm afraid the HID my not be visible.

Get the PIAA Crystal Ion’s. I was apprehensive about the yellow but came around after a few emails. The Yellow is not that noticeable. More like a hint of yellow and it really reduces the glare from a bright white lamp. The PIAA’s made the road look like a parking lot. Great width. Bought them on ebay for $44.99 delivered. Careful as others want much more. I got the pair for $44.99. Also, you may want to wire the passing lamps to stay on with High Beam. The HID and it’s high beam are worthless unless you’re in deer country and then I believe they are safer but require the PIAA passing lamps.

 

Would that attract the deer? [8D]

 

Here in the northwoods of WI deer are arguably the number one road risk. When I'm riding on roads where the woods is VERY close to the road on both sides, I step up my vigilance as it relates to watching the road and I slow down a bit.

 

Yeah ... like ride bells prevent breakdowns and accidents.

 

Had them on my 76 coupe de'ville , hit a deer . No they don't work at all. ..Mark...

 

The conflict in reports of effectiveness may be nothing more than deer getting used to the sound. Used to be that deer were spooked by cars. Now they graze on the side of the road. Deer whistles introduced a new noise that probably scared deer at first...then they got used to them. That would explain whythey are not effective today.

That's my theory anyway!!

Andy