The Birds  [and other small animals]

WWJD

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I have a lot of birds come out of ditches while I ride.. squirrels, skunks, rabbits, dear crossing roads... we could start a cable channel called ROADKILL LIVE 24/7 here in Iowa.

Anyone ever hit or get hit by a bird? My day is coming, I can FEEL it. Wot's it like??? Will it break my shield, get lodged in my eye and still be kicking and flailing feathers all about or just go 'THONK!' and land limp on my tank?

Anyone hit any other animals and live to tell about it? Bugs don't count. What happens? Much sliding and swearing or is it like a speed bump that spirts blood?
 
I hit a bird while riding my cruiser (wearing jeans & joe rocket jacket).. came zipping out of a cornfield.  Looked like just an ordinary blackbird.   It hit my right leg just below the knee, bounced in front of the radiator, then hit my left shin.  The bird itself was surprisingly soft - not much in the way of impact, although I wouldn't want to take one in the face or at high speed.  The bike was covered in birdcrap, though.  Not much blood.. just birdcrap and feathers all over the engine and my legs.

Bugs hurt worse.. try taking one of those BIG Green June Beetles at high speed in the neck.. it feels like you've been shot.  

THIS is the enemy!  
http://www.ivyhall.district96.k12.il.us/4th....le.html
 
A friend of a friend hit a sparrow on the highway and it broke his collar bone
 
Had a bird hit my headlight, feathers everywhere, bird just exploded. Happened so fast I didn't even know it. Guy behind me told me about it. Didn't do any damage to the bike.
 
I heard of a guy got hit by a bird under his helmet... in his neck, killed him. Could be one of those "stories" but you never know.

On another note, on my way to work few months ago in my truck, bird came out of nowhere and hit my windshield right in front of my face, 60mph impact, skared the holy hell outta me! Wierd thing is, one week later, same spot, same time of day, same spot on the hiway, how weird is that?!?!?!! Just hope it doesnt happen to me on da busa.
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Wild. Cache, I'd avoid riding Busa thru THAT area again! They're after you now.
Any small animals? I had 4 deer jump in my line in broad daylight once. I saw them startign to be stupid, waved a slow down to riders behind me and started heavy breaking, at 60ish, Prancer was dancing back and forth in front of me, while casually deciding which we he wanted to go. I think he was 6 feet in front of me at one point, but we never impacted, but I had to pull over and shake it off. Kinda scarey sometimes.
 
A friend of mine hit a pigeon once. He was going faster than 125 km/h and he told me he had blood stains all over. The bird crashed at his chest (we was wearing a jacket!) and he said he got scared but didn't affect his driving.

Myself, I've never hit anything larger than bugs...
 
Squirrels mostly just make you feel bad.
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  Armadillo's are supposed to be pretty dangerous though, I guess they are pretty tough.  Took a bird in the chest at about 65 in Colorado on a stretch of 287.  Hurt allot, destroyed the poor bird, but was otherwise just a bit gross.  I was really glad I wasn't wearing perforated leathers.  Feathers and crud everywhere.

Just pray that yu never catch a Goose, Duck, or something like that. An eight to ten pound bird at 65-70 MPH will allmost certainly clean you right off the bike.

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This sounds wierd, but is very true. I think i told this story once already. I have had an eagle follow me twice, in MA.. ten feet above me. Right down the middle of the road for about a mile. Now i do have Falcons on my tank but it was actually scary. The guys at a shop near by tried to get a picture but never did. I guess animals just love a Busa.
 
I hit a skunk at a 130mph washed the front tire out on the bike sent me for a 385 foot tumble was not fun.
 
Mikey,

Dude that picture is sad as hell...poor R1 man...Kidding kidding, poor damn owl. At least he sure as hell didn't suffer much.
 
Hey WW........here's the thing.....Birds have them big damn beaks out front, and usually they know when they're bout to hit something a split second before they hit, so they usually try and pick what looks to be a clear spot, ie; a peice of glass or anything that' s clear like a helmet visor or the bike's shield or headlight, ie; the owl will prove that.
Just make sure ya duck (no pun intended) when ya see one comin so it don't lodge it's poor lil beak in yer eye.......OW
 
Totally of topic: This reminds me of the practical testing of the High Speed Train here in BeNeLux/France/Germany ... They tested the front windshield for high speed impact with poultry, but couldn't get it right. They fired dead chickens with a cannon at 200mph at the windscreens and the little f###ers kept flying right through them. They needed some help so they called in the guys from Airbus (airplane builder). They found nothing wrong with the glass or the setup, just one thing about the test: they forgot to defrost the chickens
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The suckers were launchin rock-solid 2 pounders at the screens and didn't realise that it would affect the test ... now there's french intelligence for ya.

Back on topic: Birds don't like, they stay away ... dogs on the other hand seem to like me a little to much:
- Hit a stray one going 45 (went down like the sack of potatoes I am)
- Near miss on the f###ing freeway at 75 with the misses on the back (quite a scare)
- While doing twisties with an old friend: two inch dog tried to attack my rear tire ... the tire won ...
 
Last weekend I must have had 10 near misses [5-10 feet guess] with birds launching from the sides of the road, cuz they hear me coming. No WONDER everyone wants me to lead!!!! NOW I GET IT! Dang!

My 1000 Ninja had a Kerker pipe on it that seriously pissed off ALL dogs, all sizes would come after me and leave eveyone else alone. Yet another benefit of my new Busa
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- No crazed dog chases
 
Had a head shot with a starling. Damn bird came out of nowhere. I put my head down and he hit the top of my helmet at about 60 miles an hour. Got covered with feathers and crap, big mess, had a headache for about two days. Almost got a hawk one time too. He's flying down the center of a back road with a wing spang that almost covered the width of the road, I had to pin my chest to the tank to avoid him. Just missed a skunk the other night by a couple of inches, that would have sucked.....
 
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