Deer and motorcycles

[Scrambler81]

I just about got T-boned by a deer the other morning. I'm used to them running in front of me, I've dodged a bunch of them in the car and on the bike, so it doesn't get a rise out of me. But this time she came out next to me, and I didn't see her til she was almost under my handlegrip. I could actually hear her hooves scraping the pavement as she hit the brakes and turned away from me. That scared the crap out of me. As much as I enjoy my normal route to work, I'm going to start sticking to the main highway for a while. They're getting more plentiful out there the last couple of weeks, so I'm not taking any chances.

[cjp91068]

Years ago when I was learning how to ride on a friends dirtbike, he told me about a cousin of his that was riding his streetbike. Apparently a deer jumped out beside him and it's hoof caught his cousin under the helmet somehow and killed him.

[Guitarosaur]

Deer whistles are crrrap. All of them. Period.

Learn to watch for deer. Learn HOW to watch for deer. Learn WHERE to watch for deer. Learn WHEN to watch for deer.

You're seldom going to see an entire deer at a glance. But program your eyes to look for the color of deer, which CHANGES with the season! In summer, they'll be a reddish color that contrasts with green grass if you're not red/green color deficient. In the fall, they'll be more of a grey-brown, and in late winter, the brown gives over to mostly grey. Learn to look for the right shapes" Proven fact: ANY horizontal line three feet long can morph into a deer's back in a second. Look for "bobbing" motions. Even at night, deer will often drop their heads, then quickly raise them again when trying to figure out what you are. If you see a glowing orange yo-yo by the road, SLOW DOWN! Early morning and late evening are most dangerous. Deer move and feed (inattentively!) more when the sun is just below the horizon. HOWEVER, if you live in an area that has lots of predators like cats, coyotes, and wolves, they prefer to hunt at night, and may well run deer in front of you. And, regreably, in farm communities, lots of people let their dogs run deer at will too. If you hear dogs barking feverishly on the run, SLOW DOWN.

You'll be a lot better off if you rely on your own instincts rather than a piece of plastic reputed to make a noise that you can never hear to determine whether it's even working or not!

[tooeagle]

I came across a deer a few weeks ago up on mt hood in Oregon. Fortunately, I was paying attention and was able to avoid a mess. I decided to try those cheap little Bell units - You can't hear those at all, because supposedly they are pitched too high to hear, like a dog whistle. Then, not sure it was working, I decided to try the hornet and put out a few more bucks. I thought it would be silent as well, but it just sounds like a better unit. Without installing it, I applied power to it, turned it on. Now I know why there's a toggle switch. I figured I'd have it on all the time, not realizing how loud they are. Again,I thought it would be relatively silent. Glad there's a switch to turn this ear piercing piece of crap off! Whether they work or not? time will tell, I suppose. But i know when I turn it on, my dog disappears! Not sure what that means!

But one thing I can't figure. How can the Bell unit, which is super sonic, and the hornet, which is subsonic, both advertised to work because they both are at the right pitch?????

Marketing!!!!! I hate Marketing!!!! And that's all this is. My advice? Don't waste your money, slow down especially on rural roads, and keep your eyes open!

[KawiFan10R]

Hello
I do like to ride after dark and we were talking about deer casually when an experienced rider said, "just follow another vehicle of your choice" in the deer country. So, i did just that while riding back home. I found a semi that was going roughly around 75-80 mph and i just trailed along until i got to my ramp where i live, another place where deer are everywhere. I saw about five of them, scared them away with my throttle.

All in all, i found trailing another vehicle affords some super protection from running into deer. On the I-80 section i rode, there are usually 2-3 dead and bloodied deer seen at night. USE A SEMI FOR YOUR SHIELD!
Best,
Mike

[firecaptp7]

Sorry guys. This all seems like good advise. But please trust me on this. I don't want to be a fatalist.... we want to do everything possible to keep ourselves from harm. But that one deer can come from nowhere in a split second even if you're blasting horns, revving noisy exhausts, and following the biggest damn semi rig in the world. Deer don't seem to understand the world in the same way as you or I. And when they get spooked.... they REACT .... not think. You will never see it and there will be no warning!

I know this sounds terrible. But it did happen to me.

[lynn]

Deer are a huge problem for myself. I have a 14 mile comute to work and 14 miles back home. It's like running a gauntlet twice a day . Wheat and soybean fields provide and endless food supply and 500 acres of military property provide a safe haven. I have been very fortunate, in 17 years of living in this area I have only ever hit 1 (in my truck) They seem to have certain areas that they cross the road, but you can't count on that. I guess all we can to is watch and pray we have chance to react when Bambi pops out in front of us. I can't say if the anti deer devices work or not, I personally don't use them. I can tell you that they don't tell a deer which way to RUN. Be safe and keep your eyes open

[aKorn]

Originally Posted by KawiFan10R

Hello all, I live in an area that is heavily inhabitated by deer. I wonder if some of you have a take on this. The rutting season is about to start. In doing some research on this, I ran into a device that is supposedly much better than the traditional deer whistles that have a very limited application on a motorcycle. The following Website illustrates a sonic generator that can be mounted on a bike and it purportedly "notifies" deer and other animals that your ZX is nearing them and that they should take cover because they are known to be skitttish, a wishful thinking that happens to be more near the factual efficacy of the device:

The Hornet Deer Whistle - Electronic Deer Avoidance System

I am planning to mount this sonic generator on my bikes. When i see deer in my neighborhood, i generally roll the throttle and they run away. So, i believe that any unnatural sound will make them stop or make them run. The deer accidents seem to be occurring mostly at dusk and dawn but these animals are plentiful at night. Reportedly, more people die from deer related accidents than those who die in Iraq.

I see frequently dead deer on the highways. At least 2-3 per week. Some rural counties have many more such happenings. Your thoughts?
Best,
Mike

So, did the hornet unit seem to work? I hit a small deer last night, luckily no real damage to the bike other than hair and deer-poop. I would like to try a hornet unit, if only to run durring dawn / dusk riding.

thanks

k

[KawiFan10R]

Hi
I have not yet installed the Hornet device due to having no time. I plan to do this soon. I have the unit in the shop already.

I think that the Hornet device is a viable investment but i cannot prove it. I can at least say that the bleep it emits will most likely stop deer for a second and not attract the deer to come to us.

They need to test the Hornet in Australia where Kangaroos jump the bikes. In short, they need to do a large study but that is not going to happen any time soon. Just get one.
Best,
Mike

MAY I ASK WHAT TIME YOU HIT THE DEER? MOST HAPPEN AT DUSK.

[aKorn]

Yep, about 9:30 at night. 45 minutes after sunset. It's tough because the mornings and evenings are about the only time, in August, that I can ride w/ gear and stay cool. We live in a deer infested area and I regularly see them. I even had one jump into the side of my car about 6 months ago when I had slowed down to 10mph to pass it.

This deer was a small doe and I was looking around for the big buck that was going to nail me. (didn't see one). Usually I use my Stebel air horn to scare them as soon as I see them but for some reason I didn't on this one.

I went ahead and bought the Hornet today. For $75 if it helps at all I'll be happy. It's wired on a switch so I can control when it's making noise. All of the reviews on this site and online say the passive air whistle type are worthless but I haven't seen anything on the active types like the hornet. But what the fick I'm not going to stop riding in the mornings and the evenings.

It's interesting, when I hit the deer I didn't want to do any crazy evasive maneuvers because I wanted to be upright and braced for impact. I didn't want to hit while I was in a counter-steering lean angle. I'm an old dirt bike rider and I've went through some crazy sh|t back in the day. One thing I learned is that if you are braced and focused, most of the time you can keep the bars straight and stay upright. Next time I see a deer, I'm going to lay on the horn and slow down as much as possible.

That said..... "oh lord, may I never hit a big buck".

K

[SilverBullet]

Its funny Monday I almost hit a doe right in town when leaving for our day trip at 3pm

Carie was on the back of the bike and it was so close I could have kick it's *** with my boot and you heard it's hoofs scraping on the road as it scrabbled. Probably realised it screwed up

I just laughed and said now if that happens again during the trip it is time to trun around and go home. Carie couldn't belive how close it was. I asked her where was she with the camera.

They suck but it is just something more to be aware of. That is the 3rd close call for me since summer of 2005. I never panic infact this one, once it cleared, I just powered up and continued on.

[Carl722]

All the more reason to increase bag limits and make deer season longer. At least if you shoot it there is more edible meat. Road Kill deer has a lot of runined (tenderized) meat. I say even better than the deer whistle mount a mini 5.56mm gun that will automatically track the deer and shoot it. They had guns like that in the movie "Congo" I think on a tripod. Someone should make a bike application.

[Carl722]

I have hit at least 4 deer in 3 years while I lived out in the rural parts of TN. All in cars and trucks not on a bike.

I also had an aircraft from my last squadron that hit one on landing at 160 knots. It disenegrated the deer nothing but hoofs and antlers left. No damage to the aircraft but it was a bloody mess. We had a fire truck hose all the blood off.

[HoopleHead]

Originally Posted by JasonFMHS

Move to Texas... we have about 1000 deer in the whole state

And every danged one of them has run out in front of me at one time or another. I don't ride my bike much at night around Utopia.

I'm hoping my stebel horn modification, with bright white strobing LEDs all around and fired by the horn, will help with this, but I'll still be pretty paranoid. I've seen a deer stuck right through a guy's windshield (car).

[aKorn]

Originally Posted by Carl722

I say even better than the deer whistle mount a mini 5.56mm gun that will automatically track the deer and shoot it.

+1000

[fitbmxseries1]

instead of the whistler or a gun get one of these

Deer defense unit

[A2rider]

Originally Posted by firecaptp7

Sorry guys. This all seems like good advise. But please trust me on this. I don't want to be a fatalist.... we want to do everything possible to keep ourselves from harm. But that one deer can come from nowhere in a split second even if you're blasting horns, revving noisy exhausts, and following the biggest damn semi rig in the world. Deer don't seem to understand the world in the same way as you or I. And when they get spooked.... they REACT .... not think. You will never see it and there will be no warning!

I know this sounds terrible. But it did happen to me.

I only lost a week when I highsided avoiding a deer. Can't imagine losing 3 months. I will agree it doesn't matter what precautions you take, they go where they want. And I still don't ride with the same confidence I did before I went down. Glad you got back on the bike, but totally understand your wariness.

[KawiFan10R]

Originally Posted by aKorn

Yep, about 9:30 at night. 45 minutes after sunset. It's tough because the mornings and evenings are about the only time, in August, that I can ride w/ gear and stay cool. We live in a deer infested area and I regularly see them. I even had one jump into the side of my car about 6 months ago when I had slowed down to 10mph to pass it.

This deer was a small doe and I was looking around for the big buck that was going to nail me. (didn't see one). Usually I use my Stebel air horn to scare them as soon as I see them but for some reason I didn't on this one.

I went ahead and bought the Hornet today. For $75 if it helps at all I'll be happy. It's wired on a switch so I can control when it's making noise. All of the reviews on this site and online say the passive air whistle type are worthless but I haven't seen anything on the active types like the hornet. But what the fick I'm not going to stop riding in the mornings and the evenings.

It's interesting, when I hit the deer I didn't want to do any crazy evasive maneuvers because I wanted to be upright and braced for impact. I didn't want to hit while I was in a counter-steering lean angle. I'm an old dirt bike rider and I've went through some crazy sh|t back in the day. One thing I learned is that if you are braced and focused, most of the time you can keep the bars straight and stay upright. Next time I see a deer, I'm going to lay on the horn and slow down as much as possible.

That said..... "oh lord, may I never hit a big buck".

K

YOU DID THE RIGHT THING; I HAVE A HUNCH THAT THIS hORNET DEVICE IS WELL WORTH THE INVESTMENT IF YOU (AND ME) LIVE AMONGST SO MANY DEER. THERE are NO GUARANTEES, OF COURSE BUT THE GUYS WHO SELL THEM, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM HAVE IT ON THEIR VEHICLES/BIKES CUZ THEY LIVE NOT TOO FAR FROM ME HERE AND THEY BELIEVE IN IT. THIS IS NOT A LIGHT SUBJECT TO ME CUZ I ENJOY, JUST LIKE YOU, RIDING WHEN ITS COOL ETC. I AM DELIGHTED THAT YOU SPENT YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY FOR YOUR SAFETY AND SAFETY OF YOUR BELOVED ONES.
Best,
Mike

OH, DON'T FORGET TO TRAIL A VEHICLE WHILE IN DEER COUNTRY; I THINK THAT THIS LIL TIP CAN BE VERY VALUABLE. TODAY ONLY, I SAW THREE BLOODIED DEER ON A ROAD I USUALLY TAKE AND SHUDDERED A BIT. THIS SH&*T CAN OCCUR IN BROAD DAYLIGHT, DO NOT FORGET.

[littleguy88]

I found the perfect solution on the 10r, if i keep it in second gear i figure by the time i see him running across the street and i hit the throttle i will be about a mile away

[Ituen]

The only thing you can do is wear all your gear every time you ride and be alert. A fawn ran right out in front of us somewhere between Laconia and Tilton, NH earlier this week in the afternoon on a sunny day. It really shook my girl friend up. (We pulled the bikes over at the nearest gas station and counted our blessings no one was hurt or killed). Wear your gear and ride safe.