What about rabbits?

[TomZ]

On a recent ride through the western US, I went through an area infested with rabbits. We're talking about big jackrabbits now, not little bunnies. They were running everywhere, sometimes jumping out so close there was no time to react. So my question is, what happens if the ST runs over one of these critters? Is it just a thump, thump or something more serious, like hitting a deer?

 

[Dogdaze]

Only one way to find out, drop a gear and plough on ::008::

 

[klunsford]

As long as you are sitting straight up and not trying to avoid them, it is a thump thump.... Now if you try to avoid them and catch one when you are at a lean, it will be much much more....

 

[barkingllizard]

depends, TomZ, if a side impact, could be enough force to wobble the bike and could one correct from that?, iffy...
while if under the tires, there loss of contact between the tire and the road which depends on speed could be quite dramatic,
or it could just a squished speed bump, squirrels and small birds are like that...
deer on the other hand, being taller, is more like hitting a brick wall...
best to try and avoid as safely as possible.....

 

[klunsford]

Talk about brick walls, we have Ferral hogs here in Oklahoma. They are like hitting a wall for sure.

 

[WJBertrand]

I haven't hit any on my Tenere, but I've nailed two of them running straight with no drama at all. First time when I realized impact was eminent, I braced myself and thought some how I'd missed him, Couldn't see him in my mirrors either. It was as though he vanished. When I later stopped however I discovered my by was draped in rabbit jerky. Hit another one a few years later on a different bike and the sensation was similar, felt a little tiny bump and ended up with severe rabbit splatter all over the bike. No damage in either case.

There doesn't seem to be much substance to them vs. their apparent size. Hitting sea gulls is actually worse I think.

 

[2112]

I hit a cat once at about 40 mph on a little 250 Honda I had at the time, no big deal (well it was for tiddles) and it just rode on over without drama. It must have been on it's last life sadly...

 

[Use2btrix]

I hit a raccoon going about 60 a few weeks back. Gave me a pretty wild jerk but was able to ride through it. It was minor my refreshing to know what would "likely" happen as I always wondered that. Could easily turn out differently I'd imagine as well

 

[78YZ]

On a recent ride through the western US, I went through an area infested with rabbits. We're talking about big jackrabbits now, not little bunnies. They were running everywhere, sometimes jumping out so close there was no time to react. So my question is, what happens if the ST runs over one of these critters? Is it just a thump, thump or something more serious, like hitting a deer?

How big can a jack rabbit get? Around here, rabbits are smaller than cats.

 

[dietDrThunder]

Get your ass up off the seat and back as far as you can, and pin it...all you can do.

 

[Don in Lodi]

Talk about brick walls, we have Ferral hogs here in Oklahoma. They are like hitting a wall for sure.

Damn, another animal I'd never given any thought to. I've thought of deer of course, antelope, moose, bear, sheep, cows, horses, those damned little suicidal ground squirrels, turkey, roadside vulture, random birds of prey... never gave any thought to a hog dashing across the road. And Seagulls! I guess they could fall under random birds of ... Jeez. ::010::

 

[Kevhunts]

On a recent ride through the western US, I went through an area infested with rabbits. We're talking about big jackrabbits now, not little bunnies. They were running everywhere, sometimes jumping out so close there was no time to react. So my question is, what happens if the ST runs over one of these critters? Is it just a thump, thump or something more serious, like hitting a deer?

Depending how big the rabbit is...might look like this! ::025::

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89-yq2jlnnc

 

[rem]

I've never hit one, but I've missed several by just a hare ........ ::014:: Up here, it's the caribou, sheep and moose you have to watch out for. ::024:: R

 

[Sckill]

I hit a bird on the highway a couple of weeks back. I didn't feel a thing and kept on going. I haven't washed the blood off yet since all the reviews say this bike is "gutless".

 

[rotortech71]

I hit a rabbit on my old V-Strom several years ago. One of the cotton tails that like to hop around the shoulders of the road sometimes. I was going about 60mph and it darted right between my wheels. I felt a slight "thump" in the bars, and looked in my mirror to see it rolling and tumbling down the road. (Poor little guy). When I got to work, I found a tuff of rabbit fur hanging down from one of the welds in the header pipe where it passes under the engine.

 

[Cycledude]

Lots of close calls with rabbits but don't think I've ever actually hit one. Have hit quite a few raccoons, skunks they mostly just startle me. It's those darn deer that have caused the most trouble, the last one totaled a very nice low mile wing and put me in hospital for a couple days, almost a year later and I'm still suffering from that one.

 

[Checkswrecks]

On a smaller bike (iirc 700 Honda?) years ago I hit a dog about the size of a big jackrabbit and it was a pretty solid impact, but I did ride through and come to a stop. For the ST it'd probably just be a solid bump. Also hit a deer with a Ducati ST2 and made it without falling but that was like hitting a brick wall. If I'd had one hand on the bars it would've been ugly for either.

 

[Z06]

Talk about brick walls, we have Ferral hogs here in Oklahoma. They are like hitting a wall for sure.

Hit a hog on a 305 Yamaha when I was a teenager. Bent the forks so bad that the front wheel was in between the pipes up against the engine. Launched me over the handle bars like I had been shot out of a cannon. Damn sure like hitting a two foot high wall.

 

[talonboy]

A few years ago, myself and two friends were in crossing Utah, near Escalante, at night, on a fairly remote gravel road. I was out front as I had the best headlight. We all had Honda XR600R/XR650L's. It was like a gauntlet of seemingly hundreds rabbits, they were lined up on each side of the road, and one would run out either right in front of me, or next to me. Some would turn and try to run the same direction as we were traveling, others seemed trying to cross the road. We were doing about 50mph, I must have swerved and missed at least a twenty, but did hit 3 or 4. I tried not to brake too hard, as there were two guys behind me. Hitting the few I did, some front tire only, some rear only, some both tires, didn't upset the bike much at all. Very strange experience!

 

[EricV]

I hit rabbits all the time here in UT. We have bunnies and Jacks. The Jacks can get as big as a small dog and weigh 30 pounds or more. It's generally no big deal. If you catch one in the wheel on an alloy wheel bike it can get sucked into the spokes and that will certainly wake you up, but not cause a crash. Running over one is not a big deal as they deflect pretty well. I've had a sore foot from catching one right in the boot that ran under the bike, somehow between the front wheel and the engine, only to catch my boot toe. Good boots, so no damage to me, just a little stiff and sore for a couple of days.

I've had those feral hogs in OK actually chase me out on the road! One charged me as I went by at 45-50 mph, then turned and tried to go after my wife that was riding her bike behind me. Never seen that behavior before.

What you don't want to hit is an Armadillo. Crunch thru the shell with the tire, then stick an slide! Thankfully, they move pretty slow and it's nearly always easy to just ride around them.