Hit a deer today

[Pterodactyl]

When I had a meeting engagement with a deer in Idaho last August, the critter hit me square on the front forks at the axle area. Destroyed the fender, mangled the auxilliary light mount and bent the fender mounting points on the left lower fork tube. I did not go down, but the impact threw me into the oncoming lane of traffic momentarily. The suspension, brakes and general handling of the bike were unaffected and I was able to continue on my ride and put over a 1000 miles on it before getting home and replacing the fender and light mount. I rode another few thousand with a new fender attached using a jury rigged system. Replaced the fork tube last winter.

 

[EricV]

Just an update. I did hit it with the front wheel and bent the rotor.

That sucks. Is it a visible bend or what you're feeling when you apply the brakes? Sometimes you get a pad build up on the rotor after an event like this. Extreme braking, heat, and sometimes us forgetting to let go of the brakes when we come to a stop with hot rotors and are a little distracted by the deer impact.

 

[bob dirt]

Do those deer whistles work? I have two of them on my motorhome I bought last year.

 

[EricV]

Do those deer whistles work? I have two of them on my motorhome I bought last year.

Opinions vary. I've seen many with deer hair and blood on them, so am of the opinion that they are less than effective. Google Deer Whistle Study for some interesting reading.

 

[Scubatech]

I used to run big plows & graders with a wing and we had those whistles on all the trucks and they did nothing as far as we could tell. I think it's just a Shitty Day when we hit one!

 

[bob dirt]

Talk about shitty...I hit a dog at night with a snow machine once and had frozen poop all over it in the morning when I could see. We don't see many deer near where I live, but they are here. Just don't see em near paved roads. The big herds are in the mountains. I missed a big elk 1 1/2 hours from my house this spring. My buddy was riding behind a Harley and had a deer hit his goldwing the day after I split off from the pack last fall. We have large mule deer here and they could do a lot of damage to a bike