I had an enounter of the weirdest kind.

[dbarkdoll_imp]

I had a pretty close call not too long ago with two vultures while riding. It definitely prompted me to exercise more caution when approaching them on the road. They do not get airborn and out of the way nearly as quickly as a smaller bird would, so I would advise anyone who doesnt already know better to slow down and give them plenty of room during an encounter. Smacking into one could definitely cause a crash at high speeds. Be safe out there y'all.

[Stichill_imp]

^ +1 dbarkdoll

[Pauley]

My roadkill count:
- 1 Bluejay, bounced off my shoulder, saw a cloud of feathers in my rear view mirror
- 1 medium size female wild turkey, hit her with the right side of the frame/pipes/foot/footpeg, saw motionless form on the side of the road in my rear view
- 1 squirrel. Thumpthump.

No damage to the bike or me!

1 REALLY close call with a female deer. That one scared the heck out of me, I don't ride in the dark any more if I can avoid it.

[flynrider]

I've had plenty of close calls with large birds on the road, but fortunately I've been able to avoid them. My first encounter was with a large golden eagle eating a dead rabbit somewhere in NM. I expected the bird to fly away as I approached. What I didn't expect was seeing this bird's 6-7 ft. wingspan suddenly block my entire lane. I ended up running off the side of the road (fortunately upright). Now when I see a large bird up ahead, I slow down to walking speed to give it time to take off.

Hiram, sorry to hear about the tank ding. Maybe this might be a good time to go for a new look. Samurider has about 20 different tanks available :

https://www.samurider.com/?cat=269

[Slow Poke_imp]

About ten years ago I was bombing down a long straight section of two lane rural highway at about 90 on a 1200 sportster. I saw something small and motionless on the shoulder. As I got closer I recognized it as a grouse. He took flight right as I got to him and struck me on the shin. It hurt so bad I thought it broke my leg. There were feathers, blood and bird cuss all over the side of my bike. (poor guy pretty much exploded) I slowed down some and continued to the next town, about fifteen miles. I wheeled into a gas station parking lot and put my good leg down. Long story short, leg not broken but badly bruised. I limped a little fo a day or two. Bike looked disgusting. I no longer ride that fast on back roads. I figure I got off cheap by hitting a bird, could have been a deer.

[Knave_imp]

My closest animal call was a few years ago on a back road on my DR650, a large black bear ran directly in front of me, not more than ten feet from my front wheel. I'm very glad we didn't collide!

[jdinaz_imp]

Good thing you guys don't fly airplanes! We have a lot of elk around here, I avoid night time riding because of that. Mainly.

[flynrider]

Good thing you guys don't fly airplanes! We have a lot of elk around here, I avoid night time riding because of that. Mainly.

Some of us do!

I've had two bird strikes in the air. One was a small bird that impacted the center metal strip at landing speed. No damage. The other was last year at cruise speed. Must've been a small one because I didn't see it, but it left an ugly dent in the leading edge of my right wing and made a very unpleasant noise (any loud clunk at cruise speed is very unpleasant).

[activedirt_imp]

It's been over a year since I've ventured to make any posts on this Forum. For one I don't have a connection for my laptop (I'm at my local library) and have not kept in touch as I did in the past.

I'm writing this in hopes of hearing from anyone that may have had a similar experience. I ride my bike every Saturday and Sunday (rain permitting) and usually put over 250 miles in a weekend. My bike is nearing the 30'000 mile mark and so far she runs like a Swiss watch. A about a month ago while on the Tamiami Trail about 20 miles east of Naples Florida I noticed a dark shape heading at me while motoring along at about 65 miles an hour. In less time than I could manage to avoid the impact, I struck a vulture that had been feeding on a dead animal on the side of the road. The giant bird struck my left turn signal and my left knee. I thought of stopping and reassessing what damage that may have been done, but I pressed on. When I did stop to look at the bike I found that the bird had not only broken off my turn signal, but that it had dented my fuel tank. My knee was sore but nothing compared to the hurt I felt for my beautiful machine.

I contacted my insurance company ( I have a full cover policy on the bike) and found out that I have a $1,000.00 deductible. The cost of the tank is about a $1,000.00 and the turn signal is about $60.00. My bike is now riding around with a dent, and a missing turn signal. I've passed the spot of my vulture encounter, and the carcass is now gone. Only my scars on my beautiful Honda remain. Has anyone here ever have a similar incident? When I do all my repairs, I'm thinking of putting a decal on my new tank of a turkey buzzard. I just hope that I don't become the first vulture ace in South Florida.

For my two bits I can say that I'm thankful that you posted this. I had a very close encounter with a large bird of prey that missed my helmet by inches. If I had been going faster I think I would had made substantial contact. I have often wondered if others have had similar experiences and what were the results. So now I know and as always it does seem to be the case riding slow(er) has its advantages.

[Mandrau_imp]

Keep the dent, its one of a kind and makes a great story.