R100S vs Deer....

So.... leaving Eldo Canyon last week, it was an hour or two after dark..

As I'm doing 50-60 mph down the road, all of a sudden I just see a deer leaping into the light of my headlight-
I'm assuming he was being chased by something, like I said he was leaping! Not just standing in, or walking into, the road, he was mid-leap when he first appeared in my light-

His arc sent him right into my left side. He didn't even touch the ground in between his leap and hitting me. BIG IMPACT!

Somehow I kept the bike upright and moving- but I thought my leg was broken.. I kept going because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to support the bike/unfold my kickstand/shift back into a gear, if my leg was, in fact, broken... As I continued down the road in PAIN- I felt my leg searching for any compound fractures (that's what I thought I'd find judging from the pain..) But my bones were still intact.. (whew!) and by then I could start to wiggle my toes, flex my ankle a bit... At that point, I had to pull off the road cuz I was starting to feel real shocky..

I pulled over, half slid off the bike, it took a few minutes before I could put weight on my left leg... Then laid down in a field for 10-15 min to collect myself.....

Final damage tally: one lost blinker, a dented/scratched up fuel tank, and a swollen knee/limp for a week.....
Went back to the site the next morning to see if my blinker was still around/salvageable... it was shattered and scattered...
Also found the deer... dead as a doornail.

So long story short:
R100S - 1
Deer - 0

And be careful out there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, glad you and the bike are mostly OK.

This is why I rarely ride anywhere after dark.

Didja gut it out yet?

Seriously, glad you're OK!

What a great first post. Welcome to the forum!

Sure glad you are ok, bikes can be repaired/replaced.

Wayne

Ditto, ya lucked out ....had close deer calls & a glancing blow from a turkey.
Moose are the worst thing at night around here, thousand pounds of road black stealth. They don't walk across the road, they linger to escape biting fly's. Moose eyes donot reflect either. Many injuries & fatalities every year involving cars, motorcyclist's.
Be carefull out there!

?Are ya enjoying venison tenderloins tonight?

I got stopped by a Colorado State Patrol once; among other warnings... He wanted to warn me of the moose on the highway in the direction I was heading. He implored me to stop and stay off the road during early evening and morning hours near dusk and sunrise. Judging from the number of carcasses on the side of the road I was happy to agree. They were wandering all over the road during daylight hours too, but they were a lot easier to see.
Glad you'r OK.

Same problem almost everywhere you ride. Ie, not enough hunting, and the strange feeling, "aren't they cute?" A while back, riding the bicycle in a protected 5000 acre local park, counted twenty seven deer crossing my path. Beautiful but gave me the chills thinking about the bike. There's usually more than one.

Anything like this?

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cZAjJ-g0UDw

Doug

Yeah... it was JUST like that!!!
Except the deer that hit me was a bit bigger- I'm guessing 150-200lbs....
And the airhead didn't sustain as much damage (+1 for not having a plastic full fairing!)

But apparently I logged in under another name when originally posting this... Hmmmm...
I'll just attribute it to the re-do of the forums......

WOW! What a story and so glad you survived. Makes me rethink my night riding habits.

Also, thanks for the clue about moose eyes no reflecting light! Last July I rode from the Soo up to Waa Waa, ON in the dark all the way. Border guard asked me, at 9:30pm at the Soo crossing, "where you headed?" "Waa Waa." "Tonight YET!!??" "Yeah, so do I worry about deer?" "No, MOOSE." "Do they dart into the road like deer?" "No, they just stand there, and they are black!"

THAT was a tense 3-1/2 hour ride, fingers on the clutch and brake lever almost all the way. Not one moose though. Thank god.

Glad too;

Living to tell these stories is a good thing, glad you made it thru. My biggest is Coyote strike on my Airhead R100/7. Scared me good, dead Coyote, no injuries to me or bike but HIT hard(center punched that guy, front wheel) at speed at night. ALL my bikes for decades now wear DEER WHISTLES, no matter if they work or not. Cheap to buy and I feel good having them on bike. WalMart even sells them. Randy