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Hit an animal on my way to work this morning...


Ziggy

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So I was running down a back road on my way to work this morning at a reasonable, but none the less super legal speed, when this furry thing darted from the side of the road just in front me. I saw it just long enough to register that it was an opossum, and I was going to hit it. I braced for the inevitable impact, and was pleasantly surprised to find the impact wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. I felt the front tire hit, then I guess it kicked off of my fender, then the bottom of my frame and right floor board. When I realized for sure I wasn't going to wreck, I checked the mirror and saw the oversize rat tumbling down the road and back into the ditch. I rode on in to work, and haven't checked the bike for any carnage yet... Just glad to be able to continue the ride with no big issues. Fat tires, full fenders, and a heavy bike FTW!

It got me thinking though, this is the first (ground based) animal I've hit in all my years of riding, what have you guys hit on your bike, and how did it turn out? I know Kawi Kid bagged himself a deer, hopefully he's in the minority.

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i had a HUGE woodchuck run in between my front and rear tire bout 5 years ago on my 05 gs500f. i had been riding for maybe 2-3 months. popped my back tire in the air about a foot at about 40-50 mph. this woodchuck was friggin HUGE. lol.

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In 2004 I ran over a rabbit. They are fast. At last second he darted into my path and I smashed him...front tire and rear. Was like a big speedbump. Scared the shit outta me..haha. Did an ENDO once in 2004 too because 2 dear jump in front of me and I BARELY avoided it. They were about 2 feet from my wheel when I was braking.

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Wow, you guys get to have all the fun. I've only had a bird take off from the side of the road and fly into my clutch lever (happened Monday). No damages, but freaked me out a little.

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Wow, you guys get to have all the fun. I've only had a bird take off from the side of the road and fly into my clutch lever (happened Monday). No damages, but freaked me out a little.

Years ago, I was taking my wife (girlfriend at the time) for a ride on my dad's '86 Intercepter 500, and caught a robin in the chest at 60. Talk about a nasty bruise! That experience turned her off of motorcycles for years, lol! She said it was one of those things that you don't think about even as a possibility until it happens.

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Wow, you guys get to have all the fun. I've only had a bird take off from the side of the road and fly into my clutch lever (happened Monday). No damages, but freaked me out a little.

:lol: That reminded me in 2006 in the middle of nowhere with pure EMPTY road my friend and I were haulling ASS. Well a fricken buzzard/hawk whatever it was because it was MASSIVE...decided to take flight off the side of the road when eating his roadkill as I am doing about 140mph on my 636. I was laying on the tank, but he flew right over me. I ended up sliding my chest off the tank and hung myself on the side of the tank to get lower to avoid it. We stopped not too much later and took a break and wiped my ass. :lol:

Edited by NinjaNick
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Had a bird fly into the side of my helmet once. Scared the crap out of me, but I think the European hornet into my shirt at 35mph in tight traffic sucked the worst. Stung me 14 times before I could pull over and kill the f#cker. Those are some big bee's, and hurt for like a week.

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Birds loved to commit suicide on the forks of my old 750. I also got a grapefruit sized rock and a 2x4. The rock was the only thing to make me shat myself, it kicked the back wheel out to the side and bent the wheel.

This bike I got only one bird so far. I hit a raccoon shortly after I got it, scratched my plastic. I wasnt far from the house and was so mad I went back in the truck to run it over again.

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2 birds, a chipmunk, and a raccoon, the raccoon hit my foot, it hurt pretty bad...i watched my friend PUNCH a bird at about 50mph, said it was going straight at him, hes lucky he didn't break anything :lol:

we talking foreign objects now too? in that case, the biggest object i ran over was a mattress...i watched e-flores almost get hit with a flying hubcap once in that crazy windstorm in Columbus at the OR 2nd year anniversary

Edited by jermattak
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but I think the European hornet into my shirt at 35mph in tight traffic sucked the worst. Stung me 14 times before I could pull over and kill the f#cker. Those are some big bee's, and hurt for like a week.

I feel for you, that's alot of stings!:eek: I had a yellowjacket get stuck between my neck and neck padding on the bottom of my helmet and stung me at speed. I didn't know what was going on. Just thought why the hell is my neck burning so bad. :lol:

in that case, the biggest object i ran over was a mattress

:lol: A mattress? How did that happen?

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I had a buzzard try to take me off my bike too on the way home from MSF course had to hang off the side of the bike to avoid it and my buddy following me said it barely missed me even hanging off the side.

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Multiple bird strikes. One rat ran between front and rear tires. I've zipped past deer at night before I could see them. Been lucky. Scooped a hornet into the back of my helmet on the freeway. Took the helmet off with one hand while stopping with the other. I got hit square between the eyes by a rock off a truck, the size of a quarter round. Almost knocked me out. It hit on polycarbonate shades, no damage, big bruise. I stopped wearing sunglasses that would break, after that.

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I hit a large raccoon on Groveport Rd last year...2 weeks after getting the new E Glide...hit it at 55mph..it crossed the road..then darted back...was a pretty good jolt..no damage..but a heck of a mess

Funny about the bee thing...I was on 317..stopping at the light at Rohr Rd..had a half helmet on..going about 5mph and I see a bee...big hairy one.. floating my way...pop... bounces off the windshield..and into the corner of my mouth..and stings the hell out of me...felt like he punched me. Had a fat(fatter...lol) lip for a few days..lol

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it crossed the road..then darted back...

Don't you HATE that?! :lol: They AWAYS seem to come back.

Funny about the bee thing...I was on 317..stopping at the light at Rohr Rd..had a half helmet on..going about 5mph and I see a bee...big hairy one.. floating my way...pop... bounces off the windshield..and into the corner of my mouth..and stings the hell out of me...felt like he punched me. Had a fat(fatter...lol) lip for a few days..lol

:lol: This story made me laugh Johnny. I have seen big fat bugs/bees coming right at me and it's like slow motion and they go SPLAT. :lol:

The fat lip --> :lol:

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My buddy had a bird hit his tank and it exploded on impact.... and somehow we managed to miss a herd of deer we come over a small hill @ 60mph and there was a huge herd crossing the road and somehow we missed every last one.

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And now for the truly bizarre...

I was in Okinawa, at night, at the top of a little mountain, with one other bike, and we found a paved path down an old tank trail. Very narrow, more like a foot path down through jungle. Nothing said don't go driving here, so we did. Engine braking down this steep path, winding down the mountain. Half way down the mountain, the air changed from cool to warm. At the divide of temperatures, various critters were trying to move from one side of the path to the other. We come around a corner, and the road is nothing but worms, moving to the left. We squish through those, and find nothing but cockroaches, thousands and thousands, moving to the left. We squish through those, and run into thousands of big snails, all moving to the left. Yes, squish... but with a nice crunch sound. One of the most surreal experiences of my life. It took a while to clean the bikes the next day.

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I feel for you, that's alot of stings!:eek: I had a yellowjacket get stuck between my neck and neck padding on the bottom of my helmet and stung me at speed. I didn't know what was going on. Just thought why the hell is my neck burning so bad. :lol:

:lol: A mattress? How did that happen?

probably fell off someones roof on the highway, i just rolled over it, barely felt it!

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