%&*#ing #%^$&ed @*&$%ing DEER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CajunRider]

I hate deer... I really do...

A whole 4k miles on the odometer...   





From what I can see:

- Front fender broken
- Lower & Upper Engine Cover broken
- Right side radiator cover questionable
- Right side radiator is toast (crushed and bent)
- Right side radiator fan shroud and grating broken

On a good note... we did NOT go down.  It was only a glancing blow. 
No injuries (except for the deer and Wing). 

If you're ever running through Texas Hill Country (Junction City, TX)... I would avoid riding at night!!! 

Had to tow the wing home due to radiator damage (coolant was leaking BADLY).  Other than that, the bike is mechanically good and drives perfectly (until coolant is needed). 

[MAD6Gun]

 That sucks dude. Good to head you didn't go down. Could have been a lot worse. The bike can be fixed......

[Xtracho]

Too many deer....hell there are more deer in Alabama than there are people. Glad you did not go down. I hit a doe January, 2013 at night while headed home from St. Pete. Two of them ran across in front of me....first one made it....I sideswiped the second one with the left side of the Valk, buut managed to keep the bike rolling and did not go down. Damage was pretty much like yours. Busted radiator and left radiator cover, dented front fender, busted left turn signal, and cracked my saddlebag on that side as well. Had they been a microsecond later crossing it would have been really bad. I was able to brake and downshift from 80 mph down to about fifty or so before impact.

[Misfit]

Bummer. Glad you are ok. 

[Grumpy]

Sorry to hear you tangled with one, glad you were not hurt.  I drove south on I-10 to 90 and south on it a few years ago. was late at night, I lost count of all the deer we saw, well over a hundred with in feet of the shoulder. Thank fully I was in my truck, not on a bike. Texas hill county is crawling with them.

[WNGD]

That's a drag....Obviously you didn't have Super Deer like a group of us missed a few weeks ago in NY.
The prayer for protection we had worked wonders.....you should try it 

[john]

      "I would avoid riding at night!!! "    
                 my sentiments exactly  
                     " A whole 4k miles on the odometer...     "     B I T C H  !

[cookiedough]

that is what insurance is for.

I'd thank my lucky stars you did not get hurt more than the bike, but am sure would tick me off as well.

The deer up here in WI are corn fed and up in the midwest are usually bigger than most deer down south on average.  Couldn't imagine hitting one with a bike but have been close a few times makes you WAKE up riding at night in a BIG hurry hardly able to believe our bikes can slow down that fast.

[Daniel Meyer]

Yeesh! Glad you're okay though!

[Dave Ritsema]

That stinks! Glad you were able to keep your Wing upright and you were not hurt. I hate those danged forest rats too and as was said above our corn fed examples can easily go over 150 pounds. I rarely right in the dark anymore for this exact reason.

[Otus]

We've got the big corn fed up here in Michigan too. While up north at my friends property we were visiting his mother and stayed past dark. Usually don't like riding up there at night because they run around like cockroaches. Luckily it is only about a 7 mile trip,  we were averaging about 30 to 35 mph and of course a group of them ran right out in front of us. Glad to hear you kept it shiny side up.

[Felonious Thump]

Running through western Montana recently I had a black bear cross the road between me and the car I was following. Can't see anything but eyes until the lights hit them. Luckily I did not. Hit deer and elk before, but bear are so much more dense muscle.

Of all the things I lost, I miss my mind the most.

[Valker]

Feral hogs are what worries me most here. Man I know had the front axle ripped out from under the F350 4X4 Dually with Front Brush guard he was driving. That hog weighed out at 675# after he hit it.

[Daniel Meyer]

Feral hogs are what worries me most here. Man I know had the front axle ripped out from under the F350 4X4 Dually with Front Brush guard he was driving. That hog weighed out at 675# after he hit it.

And they're usually in packs too...so if ya hit one and go down...all his buddies will drag your butt off and eat you.

I think most folks vastly underestimate how dangerous they are...

[CajunRider]

Thank guys! 

We were lucky in that it was a small deer (I'd say between 70 - 90 lbs).  Also, I was able to slow down enough to avoid a direct hit... it was more of a glancing blow on the rear end of the deer. 

What pissed me off more than anything is the fact that I JUST bought the bike... but in the end, I'm VERY grateful that we didn't get hurt.   

In any case... I figured I post it here as a reminder to everyone to be careful out there!!  Also, eat more deer!  They are tasty!!! ... ... ...  and hard on bikes.

[Ken Tarver]

glad ya'll weren't hurt

[saddlesore]

I was in Upper Michigan yesterday and noticed several semi tractors had several 6 inch bars running across the front. Not one, but four!  They could go head to head with a locomotive.  
Now I know what causes  the blood smears for a quarter of a mile.  

[Otus]

Don't know what the laws are in the rest of the country, but here in Michigan we are free to shoot the feral hogs on sight. Wouldn't mind a couple hundred pounds of pork in the freezer.

[CajunRider]

Don't know what the laws are in the rest of the country, but here in Michigan we are free to shoot the feral hogs on sight. Wouldn't mind a couple hundred pounds of pork in the freezer.

After seeing the damage from hogs in TX, Louisiana decided to allow 24 hr hunting.  The only stipulation being that you have to notify the local police department of where and when you'll be hunting after dark in order to reduce "false alarms" from people calling in gun shots. 

Also, silencers are now legal in Louisiana for hog hunting.  Reason being, you can hunt at night and disturb/scare less people.