Just got home from a friends house. We went riding this evening, he on his Heritage Classic with his wife 2-up. Me on my Ultra and my wife 2-up. Went back to his house for a couple of card games. Gets to be 11:30, so the wife is sleepy and we head home. We had seen several deer tonight so I was driving the Ultra very slowly. My friend lives about 10 miles off the main highway on very rural roads. After getting on the main highway off the country roads my friend lives on, I spot a deer making a bee-line for the road in front of me. Another deer is also there. I am going slow anyway, so I have plenty of room to miss the deer. A large truck like a ton flat bed is coming the opposite direction, the deer and truck are on a collision course. I slow even more, and then it happens. WHACK, the deer hits the side of the truck. The truck was probably going 60 mph at impact. The deer is now hurtling back across the highway diagonally toward me. I quickly countersteer to the far right side of my lane, and the deer passes me sliding on its side probably moving faster than I was at the time, right in the center of my lane. Missed it by several inches, but it was definately a neck hair raising experience. My wife says "OH ME!! Go no more than 30mph the rest of the way home." I tell her I saw the deer in plenty of time to miss it, then the second deer heads for the highway and crosses in front of me. When I got to town, I stopped the local cop and told him what happened and to check and ensure the dead deer is not still in the highway. I did not let my wife know, she is a nervous passenger anyway, but that scared the crap out of me too. I guess the truck has some bad damage on the drivers side, but we are fine.
Practice countersteering if you don't do so already, it might be a lifesaver or at least a road rash prevention sometime, like possibly tonight for me and my wife. Be safe...and watch for deer.

 

Yikes.....glad you guys are OK....thanks for sharing

Karl

 

Glad things worked out for you and your wife. Congrat's for being alert and then having the wisdom to slow down. Too many times it goes the other way.

 

WTG & glad you managed to avoid the deer, hitting one would definitely mess up your day! I had a spotted yearling hit me broadside the other day. Like you I knew I was in deer country & was going very slow, scanning the roadsides on full alert. Even so, the deer instantly appeared from nowhere & was upon me almost before I knew it. I instinctively kicked at it & it veered away from my foot, then luckily only grazed my hard saddlebag. I felt it hit, but luckily nothing was damaged. I'm glad the animal didn't appear a couple seconds ahead of where it did & that it wasn't a much heavier adult deer. As in most places, there are way too many of em here in KY & deer/vehicle collisions are becoming much too common.

VicW.

 

Nice move. That's how you stay alive on a motorcycle in deer country. Always watch for the accident, don't wait for it to happen. Glad you were able to anticipate the danger and tell us about it. It much rather read about the accident you avoided instead of the one you were in. Nice job.

 

Jeeze! You're not joking that was close! Your skills and riding instincts/reflexes were certainly put to the test and definitely up to the task, way to go!!

 

Since a lot of us ride in deer inhabited areas, has anyone ever tried to put on the little "whislter" devices that they make for cars on their bikes? I've never tried them period but I've thougt about it a lot when I go into areas that hold more deer. Funny how you think of preventitive things when you get in those types of positions. Here's a link to just one of what I'm sure is 100's of devices you can find?

I always wanted to put some of these on my buddies 4 wheeler when they went out to the stand just to jack with them but never knew if they really worked. Might be just the thing for that A-hole at the deer camp.

http://www.sav-a-life.com/Sales.htm

 

Ive seen several studies on the little "whistler" devices, proving they DO NOT work, Best way to avoid deer is to not ride at daw or dusk, I leave for work at 4:00 A.M. and see deer a couple times a week. Deer are the thing that worries me most about riding.

 

04ultra,

Glad you and yours are ok, good rideing and precautions.

 

Good job! Here in Alabama, deer are a real threat to motorcyclists. You learn to keep your eyes peeled....especially at dawn and dusk. This time of year, the newborn fawns are getting a feel for their legs and are quite adventurous. Even a 40 pound fawn can give you a bad day on a bike......


nogood o~`o