ATGATT and a Crow!

[Pappy!]

Think about it after reading this...................

On the way home from Inzane, early in the morning on Friday. Bronxboy and I had gone through what was left of the storm that hit the night before. The day was cool and clearing.
We were running right on 85 mph indicated. I was in front.
I wear a Nolan N104 modular helmet. Visor down and locked.
Out of nowhere I was hit hard on the left side of my visor by what Bronxboy said was a Crow. Saw it at the last split second and it never touched the windshield.
It felt like a fist to the visor.
With no helmet or anything less the impact would have been to my left eye. I can only imagine what would have happened if I had a half helmet and sunglasses.
Bronxboy said it looked like an explosion of feathers on impact. Blood on the left side of the helmet was the only damage on what could have been much much worse.
Think about it!

[Jess from VA]

Thanks for sharing.   

(Your membership in the Audubon Society has now been revoked)   

[The emperor has no clothes]

Guardian Angels my friend 

Thanks for sharing.   

(Your membership in the Audubon Society has now been revoked)   

[BCoy]

WILD HOGS!  WILD HOGS!  A great movie, that was my first thought when I read this post Pappy. Glad you are ok, that is no laughing matter as the ending could've been fatal w/o your gear.      Funny how we become more mortal as we age.
Bill

[..]

There are those that will read your post and continue to be less than ATGATT.

Many of us can tell the same sort of gear protected stories.

Those who are invulnerable will continue to be so until that moment..............

[WarrenH]

I wear a half helmet, because i like to hear things, and it keeps me cooler in our Texas heat. I accept the fact that it's not as safe as a full helmet in an accident, but maybe I can hear something earlier and react to it. My windshield is about eye level, so there's some protection there. I've been hit on top of my helmet by birds before, and it's startling.

Glad you are OK. It's a good reminder to think about safety every time we toss a leg over the seat.

[Jess from VA]

I wear a full DOT half, with half visor I use much more often than I thought I would behind a big IS fairing and shield.  

On the way to Morgantown, at 70, I ran through a migrating cloud of yellow jackets, and killed like 70 of them in one instant (all over the front of the bike).  The impact was not bad, but the sudden snap and pile of guts on my shield and visor startled me, and the thought of pissed off survivors in my clothing scared me (my last few yellow jacket stings have caused me much more pain and swelling and grief than in my childhood), so I took the first quick pull-off into a MD welcome center, and checked carefully.  Met Shortleg Dave from MD there and rode on to Morgantown with him.  Several other cagers in the visitor center reported just having run through bee clouds too.

I've been hit by a zillion bugs, but never a cloud of bees like this.  I was very very happy I had my visor down, all those 10-15 would have been right in the face (or crawling around in my helmet wounded, which I've had before too).

Years ago, I ran through clouds of migrating Monarch butterflies on the early Spring Laughlin Run (#10) across the Mojave desert.  They taste really really bad, and the cooking streaming bug guts are no Channel #5.  But they don't sting. 

[Willow]

Think about it!

No, thank you.  That was a spooky few thoughts.

On second consideration I did for just a moment.  You would've been even more safe in a fully enclosed cage at sixty mph.  We each choose what we are willing to risk for what we choose to enjoy.  Apparently the crow chose poorly.    

[The emperor has no clothes]

Think about it!

No, thank you.  That was a spooky few thoughts.

On second consideration I did for just a moment.  You would've been even more safe in a fully enclosed cage at sixty mph.  We each choose what we are willing to risk for what we choose to enjoy.  Apparently the crow chose poorly.    

Apparently ? He most definitely chose poorly ! 

[Chrisj CMA]

I wear a half helmet, because i like to hear things, and it keeps me cooler in our Texas heat. I accept the fact that it's not as safe as a full helmet in an accident, but maybe I can hear something earlier and react to it. My windshield is about eye level, so there's some protection there. I've been hit on top of my helmet by birds before, and it's startling.

Glad you are OK. It's a good reminder to think about safety every time we toss a leg over the seat.

I was preparing a response to the OP but I think it fits here.  My wife and I (on the red and white)were lowsided by a rider that was lacking in basic skills.  Traveling at 35MPH you'd think a simple lowside cant be that bad.  Really!  When the bike layed down the right engine guard, doing its job, grabbed the road and the bike stopped NOW.  Our bodies were still traveling at 35mph.  Thank God Judy bounced off of me and went off to the side.  I kept going straight and did actually go through the OEM windshield face first.  Luckily it was in the winter so we had all the gear on, and I was wearing a full face helmet.

Im not that handsome a guy to begin with, but cannot imagine what I would look like today if I was wearing my 3/4 helmet.  The full face helmet was destroyed completely but it saved my face.

[Fazer]

It was over 90 here on Monday when I was riding home from work.  I had thought about stowing the jacket in the bag and just riding home in my shirt, but it's posts like Pappy's that makes me think about the split second it takes to wish you had the jacket on when the skin is pealing off your elbow--not sure it's worth the relative comfort of riding in shirtsleeves. 

I hit one of the cicadas just outside Morgantown on Wed and it made a huge mess on my dark visor.  I did not have the clear down, but am glad to at least have been using the sun shield.  Crow would have been disastrous.

[Wizzard]

It could have been worse,, you could have been "eating crow" 

I had the same thing happen only it was a wood pecker.

[baldo]

It could have been worse,, you could have been "eating crow" 

I had the same thing happen only it was a wood pecker.

Oh...I can't.....

[The emperor has no clothes]

It could have been worse,, you could have been "eating crow" 

I had the same thing happen only it was a wood pecker.

Oh...I can't.....

Wizzard is channeling Ed McMahon. 

[solo1]

I almost always wore a full face helmet but occasionally a open face.

I was wearing a full face helmet driving my rig, just north of town.  I had the visor partly open (hot!) and a big juicy yellow gutted bug came past my windshield, past my visor, past my sunglasses, and hit me in the right eye.

Wow,! that hurt.  I pulled over and immediately washed my eye with water from my canteen, got back on the bike(couldn't see very well)and drove to my family doctor.  The eye wasn't damaged, but , after a lot of irrigating it finally started working again but bloodshot bad.

What are the odds?

[Master Blaster]

Many years ago I saw what a Crow could do.  I was flying Air Rescue on s tight approach to a scene in Monroe Louisiana just about dusk, still some light but dimming  when Bam, and the whole windscreen went dark.  I had to kick it out of trim and finish my approach sideways.  Once on the ground while the Paramedics were doing their thing, I shut it down and worked on clearing the screen, it was covered in blood, guts, and feathers.  Was sure glad that we still had a little daylight left and things worked out ok.

[mike72903]

Crows are serious big ass birds.  Glad you're okay.  Have to admit, in the summer not wearing a helmet is tempting. So far I've avoided the temptation.  Id like to get a switchblade screen so I could take it off easily and get more air on hot days.

[Gryphon Rider]

I used to have the attitude that I would wear my half helmet unless the weather was just too cold or wet to be comfortable.  I've changed my attitude so that I will wear my full face helmet unless it is unbearable hot.  I haven't ridden in weather that hot since switching my attitude.  When I bought my last full face helmet, I used webbikeworld's ventilation ratings on their helmet reviews to choose a helmet, then bought one in solid white for maximum heat reflection and conspicuity.

Everyone has to make their motorcycle apparel decisions based on a balance of crash protection, comfort, convenience, and style.  I don't have a problem with people who make an informed decision that that values crash protection less than I do.  I'll admit that in some cases I do judge their intelligence/wisdom according to their choices, however, especially if they encourage the uninformed to take the same risks.



I suggest you don't do a Google image search of "motorcycle flip flops" unless you have a strong stomach.  I just made that mistake.

[Rams]

I suggest you don't do a Google image search of "motorcycle flip flops" unless you have a strong stomach.  I just made that mistake.

That picture sent chills down my just looking at it.   I haven't had my Valkyrie up that high but, the thought of doing that scares the heck out of me.   I've seen the motorcycle flip flops pics you mentioned.   Not family or foot friendly at all.

[czuch]

Full face all the time here. I got caught in a micro burst once and had rain and hail coming from all directions. I hadn't wanted my Mommy so bad for at least 20 years. It just sucked.
------------------------
Were those my daughters,, Jr. and I would have short conversation.
Even if I saw the pic a year later.

[Mr Whiskey]

....then bought one in solid white for maximum heat reflection and conspicuity.

Careful with that!
(I hear the 'gulls do this to white helmets on the Ambassador Bridge too....)
https://youtu.be/acEwHwpKilQ