Killed a Turkey - Page 2

dhgeyer · 11-19-2009, 11:44 PM

I was on a nostalgia visit to the village I grew up in (East Aurora, NY) back in 2004. I was cruising up Lawrence Ave real slow (thank God) looking for a house some family friends lived in in the 50's and 60's. It was right at dusk, and I was crawling, trying to see house numbers and features. There was a line of pine trees that came right out to the road. A deer had jumped from behind those trees, probably 15 feet back from the road or so, and actually descended into the road directly in front of me. If I'd been going faster I'd have hit it for sure. Since then, I try to avoid riding at night. Larry Grodski, one of the most respected motorcycle trainers in the USA was killed by a deer strike a couple of years back. Also, in the latest issue of Motorcycle Consumer News there's a recap of the 2009 Iron Butt Rally. There were 101 entrants. The winner did 12,000 miles in 11 days! They had 1 fatality - a deer strike. My daughter hit one with the car here in town this Summer. They come out of the brush or trees so fast, all the training and skill in the world won't save you. They're nocturnal, so I'll stick to the car at night if at all possible.

I've hit small birds, not too much of an event. I was doing 70 or so on the NY State Thruway a few years ago and a hummingbird splattered all over my faceshield - just like a big bug. I had a little trouble seeing through the remains till I got pulled over and cleaned it up. A crow tangled with my right crash bar when I was doing 40 or so riding down along the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 2005. Must have been on my 2004 VLX. I stopped to see if I could help it, as it was flopping around by the road. Before I could get to it, it recovered and flew away. Tough bird!!

But, like Alan said, so far no turkeys.

Old timers have told me that, as a rule of thumb, you don't want to hit anything on a motorcycle that you couldn't eat in one meal.

burkbuilds · 11-20-2009, 02:33 AM

I usually never see deer hit on I-75 between Chattanooga and Atlanta, but the last two Monday mornings I've seen 5 carcasses on the road from the night before, crazy! I got used to seeing them in the Rock Springs area last year on Hyw 27 but it's a state highway near a National Battlefield area and you kinda expect to see them there but not on that stretch of I-75. I don't even want to think about hitting a 100+ lb deer at 70mph in the dark! The biggest thing I've hit is a small bird that flew past my bike and then did a U-turn right back into the handlebars a few weeks ago, if that's the worst thing I hit I will consider myself blessed!

11-19-2009, 11:44 PM	#11
dhgeyer Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Merrimack NH USA Posts: 722	Re: Killed a Turkey I was on a nostalgia visit to the village I grew up in (East Aurora, NY) back in 2004. I was cruising up Lawrence Ave real slow (thank God) looking for a house some family friends lived in in the 50's and 60's. It was right at dusk, and I was crawling, trying to see house numbers and features. There was a line of pine trees that came right out to the road. A deer had jumped from behind those trees, probably 15 feet back from the road or so, and actually descended into the road directly in front of me. If I'd been going faster I'd have hit it for sure. Since then, I try to avoid riding at night. Larry Grodski, one of the most respected motorcycle trainers in the USA was killed by a deer strike a couple of years back. Also, in the latest issue of Motorcycle Consumer News there's a recap of the 2009 Iron Butt Rally. There were 101 entrants. The winner did 12,000 miles in 11 days! They had 1 fatality - a deer strike. My daughter hit one with the car here in town this Summer. They come out of the brush or trees so fast, all the training and skill in the world won't save you. They're nocturnal, so I'll stick to the car at night if at all possible. I've hit small birds, not too much of an event. I was doing 70 or so on the NY State Thruway a few years ago and a hummingbird splattered all over my faceshield - just like a big bug. I had a little trouble seeing through the remains till I got pulled over and cleaned it up. A crow tangled with my right crash bar when I was doing 40 or so riding down along the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 2005. Must have been on my 2004 VLX. I stopped to see if I could help it, as it was flopping around by the road. Before I could get to it, it recovered and flew away. Tough bird!! But, like Alan said, so far no turkeys. Old timers have told me that, as a rule of thumb, you don't want to hit anything on a motorcycle that you couldn't eat in one meal. __________________ 54 HD Hummer,64 Honda150,66 Ducati250,01 Vulcan500,02 Vulcan1500,83 Nighthawk650,91 K75,95 VLX,04 VLX,01 GS500E,01 Ninja250, 02 Rebel,04 Ninja500,06 Concours,96 R850R Login or Register to Remove Ads
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11-20-2009, 02:33 AM	#12
burkbuilds Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shannon, Georgia Posts: 1,268	Re: Killed a Turkey I usually never see deer hit on I-75 between Chattanooga and Atlanta, but the last two Monday mornings I've seen 5 carcasses on the road from the night before, crazy! I got used to seeing them in the Rock Springs area last year on Hyw 27 but it's a state highway near a National Battlefield area and you kinda expect to see them there but not on that stretch of I-75. I don't even want to think about hitting a 100+ lb deer at 70mph in the dark! The biggest thing I've hit is a small bird that flew past my bike and then did a U-turn right back into the handlebars a few weeks ago, if that's the worst thing I hit I will consider myself blessed!
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