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Better Than Any Deer Whistle!!

Paul_F

RK Ryder
Took the K out for its' first ride of the season this afternoon. On one section of a two lane highway that was elevated between farm fields, had eight deer cross the road about a tenth of a kilometre in front of me. Of course I greatly reduced my speed. Looking from where they came, I spotted possibly another eight, slightly ahead of me looking in my direction, ready to join their buddies. Applied the brakes even harder, which caused the remaining deer to take off in the opposite direction from the road. :dance

This has happened a minimum of four times with my old K100. Once the brakes are firmly activated, deer take off away from the road. Every set brakes I've had on this bike squeal when applied and every time there are deer present, they take off. Bet deer whistles don't have that average.

Anyone else had this happen with their "Bricks"? :dunno

Now if I could just get the R1100's brakes to start squealing!
 
I have many miles on K75s. They are often called K Whiners. The gear train does have a distinct whine. Deer don't like that whine. It startles them. The good: usually they run away from that sound. The bad: sometimes they jump in front of you.
 
I have many miles on K75s. They are often called K Whiners. The gear train does have a distinct whine. Deer don't like that whine. It startles them. The good: usually they run away from that sound. The bad: sometimes they jump in front of you.

So far I have had many lucky experiences. But having said that, I always slow to a walking speed, totally prepared for a complete stop just in case the squeal of the brakes or the engine's whine proves not to be a deterrent at that particular moment. :thumb
 
Understand that normal human hearing ranges between 20 - 20,000 Hz (hertz). Deer are 20 - 30,000, though most of their attentiveness is in the same 'normal range' (250 - 7,000) we humans experience in normal conversation and daily tasks.

Dogs zoom up to 45,000 (Ultra-sonic), and detect frequencies we ignore. Hence, the effectiveness of hyper-sonic signaling devices for man's best friend.

Ergo, 'deer whistles' are a myth, regardless of whether or not you think it had anything to do with those forest rats running the other way. Like Paul said, they are sometimes startled by the whine of certain model bikes. Good for you. Sometimes, horns.

I have had success with the very loud horns that both my R1200RT and Gold Wing came equipped with. If I blew them, deer near the roadway have always taken notice and ran back to the tree line for concealment. Works well.

Ironically, deer do not perceive all colors strongly. They do not notice red or blaze orange very well - the colors of hunters. Too bad for them. :dunno
 
Don’t forget about the Deer that have poor eyesight and those who are hard of hearing or deaf.
And ALWAYS look for more.

Charlie
 
I like the "forest rats". Good term.

Remember that dawn and dusk are the most likely time deer venture out. So going to work at 6am, good chance. Going home at dinner time, likely again.
 
Applied the brakes even harder, which caused the remaining deer to take off in the opposite direction from the road.[/I]

The brake squeal may be a red herring. It's possible as your bike slowed down, or perhaps even the deers' perceived rate of slowdown of your bike, the deer could then make the *correct* decision to move away from the road (and you), versus being spooked into a panic or evasive maneuver going every which way. When your moto is traveling slow enough deer have enough time to make sure they improve their odds of avoiding a potential threat. I've read that speed is around 35mph which might approximate what they've evolved to cope with--charging mountain lions and wolves etc. Whenever I see the deer x-ing signs out there I slow to about 35mph or so and put my flashers on of course being also mindful to keep an eye on my rear. I watched my brother hit a big buck in Wyoming and this has made me especially paranoid about these critters. In fact I often ride in the opposing lane if it affords better side-to-side visibility and it's otherwise safe. This is where bro hit the deer and he was inside our lane, near the dashed yellow middle line. We have perfect visibility on the left side of the road where my RT is parked post-crash, and the deer were obscured behind taller vegetation on the right side.

IMG-0974.jpg

I think if we had been near the left side of the oncoming lane he may well not have hit the deer. We were only going 58mph or so and had we been doing 100 we also may well have missed the deer! There may well be an optimal speed on the high end at which you've gone by the beasts BEFORE they have time to spook. But if you guessed wrong on that the outcome will most assuredly be worse.
 
Deer are stupid. The only thing that'll stop them from making dumb decisions is a rifle - and I'm not a hunter. :laugh
 
Deer are stupid. The only thing that'll stop them from making dumb decisions is a rifle - and I'm not a hunter. :laugh

When I saw the OP, “better than a deer whistle” I expected a picture of a shotgun.

To paraphrase Mark Twain, I have never wished a deer dead, but I have heard some deer obituaries with great pleasure.”
 
The best way I know to avoid deer is to go deer hunting. Every other behavior i have seen in deer country seems likely to attract them. Drive a log skidder, they show up. Run a chain saw, they want to see what you are doing. Have a target shooting session at the rifle range, they'll come and watch. When November comes around, and they are legal, the deer all vanish.
 
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I call them “forest carp”. Here in Wisconsin we’ve got them in spades. I’ve not really had a close call with them on my bike but did have one run into the side of my car when I was moving at a walking pace. Car was running, lights on, clear morning.
Ah, a majestic forest creature. Superior eyesight, amazing hearing, phenomenal sense of smell, but the IQ of a fence post. Go figure.
 
Ah, a majestic forest creature. Superior eyesight, amazing hearing, phenomenal sense of smell, but the IQ of a fence post. Go figure.

Well let's see deer first appeared some 10-20 million years ago and made it this far, and they've only dealt with moving vehicles operating at any kind of speed for maybe what, 120 years? Not too surprising they haven't quite adapted to this threat well. Oh, shoot this might be construed as a political statement. I take it all back, deer are dumb as posts, kill them all!
 
The one thing I taught my sons when they learned to both drive a car and ride a motorcycle is “there is no such thing as just one deer”...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
When I lived in the Texas Hill Country (Utopia, TX) I used to tell visiting riders that the first thing you needed to do to prep your bike for Hill Country riding was to disconnect the headlight in order to remove all temptation to ride anytime between dusk and dawn.... of course the javelinas, feral hogs, and Russian boar stay on duty 24/7 :banghead
 
One can rail all they please against wild critters entering the roadway but you're pissing against the tide. You are the intruder, they are the constant. Hyper awareness and appropriate speed for the conditions are your tools for being smarter than that fence post. The fact that "lightening strikes" is unavoidable. I had an elderly relative struck and killed by a doe running at full speed as she slowly walked down a forest path.
 
Saw two in my yard last night,bout supper time. Headed out [for] super, two more on the road behind my house .. mom & fawn. Traffic stopped for them, myself as well. We watched them, they watched us :) Then they jumped over the guard rail .... with ease ........ And i went to supper.

I understand hunting & do not speak against it but ........... I do not want to kill them.
 
I understand hunting & do not speak against it but ........... I do not want to kill them.

Nor I but hunting pressure by humans helps control populations. In spite of this, large populations exist most places so it's up to the rider to try to avoid them. Any discussion regarding "other" apex predators is a can of worms but.... Humans generally don't appreciate large predators (Wolves for instance) and eliminated them from much of the range which has contributed to the Cervidae population. Coyotes are now widespread in North America and do take deer, primarily fawns in good weather and adult deer when snow slows everyone down. Bottom line as far as eliminating problems with naturally occurring wild things is be careful of what you wish for. I have no experience with feral hogs but from what I read, Wild Boar should be on everyone's menu?
 
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