Oh Deer! Oh Sh*t!

[MR Q.]

First and foremost I was not injured in any way when I hit the deer this morning and did not put the bike down either. Now the rest of the story...

My friend Tammy wanted to visit her Dad's gravesite near Preston MN and asked if I could join her as she wanted to go on her bike but felt better having someone tag along. We stayed overnight in Richland Center and left from there this morning. About 30 minutes after leaving and reaching Hwy 171, after Hwy Q and E, a nice easy twisty highway which was recently blacktopped a few years ago. We were cruising along at 50-55 mph as the weather was great and we were in no hurry to get to our destination for the night. The location of impact was just after an easy curve with a 10'-12' drop to the right, no visibility to anything that may be lurking in the weeds or the bottom of the ditch. The doe popped out of the ditch at what I presumed was a run or at the least a trot to get up the embankment, this left me with 0.0 seconds to react before I believe what was a was a square impact to her torso. I remember OH *****! and then the impact. I thought I must have ran her over as it didn't feel that "bad" of an impact. But reality I think I hit her square on. There is damage to both left and right side of the bike. 1 or maybe both radiators were punctured as I seen the steam rolling off the bike in the rear mirrors. Either way both radiators are trashed. The right front fairing was off as well as some internal fairing damage, auxiliary light brackets and the engine guard appear to have been bent back. The left radiator is toast along with the fairing and most likely some internal plastic parts. The front tire fender is toast as well and I did not find all of those pieces. In the 50 or 60 yards it took to slow down and find a place to safely park, the bike seems to handle just fine. Again I believe hit her square that it did not upset the stability of the bike. I called @Kevin_56 for a trailer and ride back home. I did call the county sheriff just to do a report in case the insurance company needed one. 15 minutes after the Sheriff's arrival he departed and let Tammy and I to wait for our Kevin Uber and Trailer Service. Once Kevin arrived we loaded my bike up strapped it down and headed for home, while Tammy being disappointed headed for home as well.

Things I'm thankful for..
Gods blessings
I was leading our ride, Tammy's bike is much lighter then the RT so I'm not sure of what the outcome could have been.
I didn't have time to think, not too mention react. I had no chance to avoid the collision.
I did not have on coming traffic, although I didn't have any time to react to begin with.
I didn't feel like I needed it to lay the bike down, never gave it a thought, although at impact I was wondering how this will end.
Family and friends of this forum.
No trips to the hospital and I am healthy and un-injured sitting in my garage relaxing.

I am bummed, I really enjoyed this this bike and won't know if a new, gently used bike is in the future until after the insurance company is notified.

 

[Mellow]

Man that sux!...but glad you're ok, that's all that really matters.

 

[Mark B]

The Elliott Foundation will buy you a new bike. Glad you are Okay.

 

[rjs987]

Glad you're OK. Hope no hidden issues/injuries. Still it's a shakeup to have that happen.
Sorry to see that happen to the bike. That was a really nice bike.
Looks like possibly there are some bambies that will go hungry tonight.

I think that location failed to manage their deer properly and keep them off the roads!

 

[Darth rider]

Glad you came out unscathed buddy. Hopefully the insurance company will pull through for ya! That sux for sure.

 

[Erdoc48]

Sorry to hear about the collision. I’ve had a few deer run out in front of me (as well as nearly hit turkey vultures in flight or the occasional coyote that runs across the roadway) from time to time but happily never collided with one. The bike is a tough call because it’s a 2023 so still worth quite a bit. It is possible they may elect to pay for repairs. If it was one of the ST’s whether it be an 1100 or 1300, it would likely be considered totaled because of depreciation over time. Happily you were able to navigate to a stop without getting thrown off the bike. You can always get another bike, but not another you. It still sucks the same to have a collision like that.

I just re-read the part that said you did not lay the bike down. I think that’s always a good practice, not to abandon the bike by laying it down because once you do, there’s no going back. With that, rubber has left the road and even though you didn’t want to hit the deer, you mitigated well, probably by braking fairly aggressively (you may have or may not have because everything happens so fast in the moment) and managed keeping the bike upright, which is always always the best outcome so you don’t get pitched from the bike. You may have also lessened the damage by not letting it go sliding down the road or bouncing down the road.

 

[Firstpeke]

Wow!

Glad you are okay, bike can be fixed or replaced, body parts not so much......

I guess the plastic has acted in a sacrificial manner by absorbing most of the impact along with the more expensive components....

Hope your insurers get it sorted out in good time!

 

[SMSW]

Glad you came out unscathed. But, I'll wager there will be a few sleepless nights in the near future (a form of PTSD). Looks to me like she was pregnant. You tagged two forest rats at once...but it was an expensive tag. Hormones made her run out in front of you.

 

[dduelin]

So glad it wasn’t worse!

 

[Bmacleod]

Wow! Glad you came out mostly unscathed. Hopefully insurance looks after you with the least amount of stress
Oh... and glad Tammy avoided getting involved

 

[Daboo]

That'll buff out.

Glad you're okay.

Chris

 

[SupraSabre]

Dang, that sucks big time.

I'm just glad you are okay!

 

[sTaylor]

Pleased to hear that there was no damage to either of you.

 

[St-Gerard]

Good to hear you are uninjured, from past experiences hopefully you have insurance and you get a new bike. Ever Vehicle I have had that had that hard of a impact never worked as good as before. God bless you, G

 

[Kevin_56]

First and foremost I was not injured in any way when I hit the deer this morning and did not put the bike down either. Now the rest of the story...

My friend Tammy wanted to visit her Dad's gravesite near Preston MN and asked if I could join her as she wanted to go on her bike but felt better having someone tag along. We stayed overnight in Richland Center and left from there this morning. About 30 minutes after leaving and reaching Hwy 171, after Hwy Q and E, a nice easy twisty highway which was recently blacktopped a few years ago. We were cruising along at 50-55 mph as the weather was great and we were in no hurry to get to our destination for the night. The location of impact was just after an easy curve with a 10'-12' drop to the right, no visibility to anything that may be lurking in the weeds or the bottom of the ditch. The doe popped out of the ditch at what I presumed was a run or at the least a trot to get up the embankment, this left me with 0.0 seconds to react before I believe what was a was a square impact to her torso. I remember OH *****! and then the impact. I thought I must have ran her over as it didn't feel that "bad" of an impact. But reality I think I hit her square on. There is damage to both left and right side of the bike. 1 or maybe both radiators were punctured as I seen the steam rolling off the bike in the rear mirrors. Either way both radiators are trashed. The right front fairing was off as well as some internal fairing damage, auxiliary light brackets and the engine guard appear to have been bent back. The left radiator is toast along with the fairing and most likely some internal plastic parts. The front tire fender is toast as well and I did not find all of those pieces. In the 50 or 60 yards it took to slow down and find a place to safely park, the bike seems to handle just fine. Again I believe hit her square that it did not upset the stability of the bike. I called @Kevin_56 for a trailer and ride back home. I did call the county sheriff just to do a report in case the insurance company needed one. 15 minutes after the Sheriff's arrival he departed and let Tammy and I to wait for our Kevin Uber and Trailer Service. Once Kevin arrived we loaded my bike up strapped it down and headed for home, while Tammy being disappointed headed for home as well.

Things I'm thankful for..
Gods blessings
I was leading our ride, Tammy's bike is much lighter then the RT so I'm not sure of what the outcome could have been.
I didn't have time to think, not too mention react. I had no chance to avoid the collision.
I did not have on coming traffic, although I didn't have any time to react to begin with.
I didn't feel like I needed it to lay the bike down, never gave it a thought, although at impact I was wondering how this will end.
Family and friends of this forum.
No trips to the hospital and I am healthy and un-injured sitting in my garage relaxing.

I am bummed, I really enjoyed this this bike and won't know if a new, gently used bike is in the future until after the insurance company is notified.

The DEER MANAGEMENT sign is TOO FUNNY. Not really but........................

 

[the Ferret]

You werent hurt, thats good. There are a lot of good bikes out there to replace the damaged one

 

[Bug Dr.]

Glad you are ok. That looks very similar to Raymond's RT after his deer strike. He knocked the antlers off a buck and that deer took off both panniers and got into his leg pretty hard. Could've been so much worse.
Mike

 

[Uncle Phil]

Believe me - I really feel your pain and frustration and understand!
After retrieving what was left of mine and not seeing any 'deer' parts on the remains, I believe in my case the deer knocked front wheel out from under me since I went down on the right side (where it came from).
Maybe yours can be fixed and sorted out.

 

[Al st1100]

Aren't deer sensors standard equipment on a BMW? Glad your ok but how many deer you hit is not a competition between you and the other Kevin, just sayin.

 

[St-Gerard]

Here in BC I have been told if you kill a deer with a motor vehicle, you just have to report it to the authorities and you get to keep it for food. Don't know if it is true as thank God haven't killed one yet.