Laying her down and Graduating

[nickjpass]

So today I had a close call in my cage. I almost hit a deer. In the area I live, it's pretty common. My question is, in that situation, if you know you're going to hit it, would you try to keep the bike upright, potentially damaging the forks or worse, crashing? Or would you purposely low side by grabbing a handful?

Edit: If you CANNOT swerve or brake to avoid

Also, today is my last day of high school!!!!

[crazymadbastard]

Bunny hop it over the deer.

[nickjpass]

Originally Posted by crazymadbastard

Bunny hop it over the deer.

Completely forgot about this technique. How could I be so ignorant

[Racer x]

Stay on the breaks till the end. Deer are all about luck but grabbing a handful is throwing the bike out of control. You might speed up if you flip or not slow down of you slide. All the study's have shown breaking and rubber on the ground is the best way to stop. And stoping is what you want. Once you stop the incident is over.

Congrats on graduating. Get a job ;-)

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by nickjpass

.............Also, today is my last day of high school!!!!

Energy at the moment of impact is what harms.
Brakes are the best known way of transforming dangerous kinetic energy into harmless heat.

Braking well can reduce your speed in 22 mph for each second on the brakes, which means that the energy of impact is four times smaller for each second of good braking.

Sliding on the road, the speed will get reduced at an approximate rate of 6 mph per each second that the bike remains sliding.

Please read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_%28mechanics%29

Congratulations !!!

[alex.s]

there is no such thing as "cannot avoid it"

i have zigzagged through a group of coyotes at 50 with only about 15 feet notice (blind hill) almost crashed because of it. but i didn't crash. and i never gave up. never give up. never surrender! a glancing blow to the side hurts your leg and arm but you can keep going

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by Racer x

Stay on the breaks till the end. Deer are all about luck but grabbing a handful is throwing the bike out of control. You might speed up if you flip or not slow down of you slide. All the study's have shown breaking and rubber on the ground is the best way to stop. And stoping is what you want. Once you stop the incident is over.

Congrats on graduating. Get a job ;-)

I think he is trying to avoid breaks.

[Rogue]

Only cruisers intentionally 'lay her down' (ha ha... sometimes the stereotypical bias cracks me up!). Seriously though, if you're braking you're controlling your bike. Once you let it go and it starts sliding you have zero control over the situation. You should always try to retain control of the bike - smooth, consistent pressure on the brakes is the best way to handle the situation. In fact, a good rider will practice emergency braking on a regular basis in order to have that muscle memory when the time comes.

[crazymadbastard]

Originally Posted by Rogue

In fact, a good rider will practice emergency braking on a regular basis in order to have that muscle memory when the time comes.

I am not a good rider but I always practice panic stops, every rider every time.

[Rogue]

Originally Posted by crazymadbastard

I am not a good rider but I always practice panic stops, every rider every time.

Then I would consider you a good rider - maybe not the very best (I'm definitely not the very best either), but I would say that practicing such activities on a regular basis, that you are a good rider.

[nickjpass]

Thanks doods

[Worldtraveller]

Originally Posted by alex.s

there is no such thing as "cannot avoid it"

i have zigzagged through a group of coyotes at 50 with only about 15 feet notice (blind hill) almost crashed because of it. but i didn't crash. and i never gave up. never give up. never surrender! a glancing blow to the side hurts your leg and arm but you can keep going

This. Did you see Moto2 this past weekend (Catalunya)? No spoilers, but when you see it, you'll be amazed. Getting hit by a flying motorcycle's gotta be at least equivalent to hitting a deer.....

[Rogue]

Originally Posted by Worldtraveller

This. Did you see Moto2 this past weekend (Catalunya)? No spoilers, but when you see it, you'll be amazed. Getting hit by a flying motorcycle's gotta be at least equivalent to hitting a deer.....

That was phenomenal!!

[nickjpass]

I'm pretty sure an object that is mainly metal would cause more damage. I haven't watched the race, will do today.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by Worldtraveller

This. Did you see Moto2 this past weekend (Catalunya)? No spoilers, but when you see it, you'll be amazed. Getting hit by a flying motorcycle's gotta be at least equivalent to hitting a deer.....

Link to original page on YouTube.

You be the judge....

[alex.s]

i face palm every time i see that video

[csmith12]

I am racing there in a few weeks. I will NOT be testing this theory out. lol

[Klondike1020]

Always unload speed with breaks! never crash bike intentionally
break hard and avoidance maneuvers

The age old " I laid it down because" is just people trying to provide a reason why they panicked and crashed.

really - PANIC - made them do it. no one thinks... " best option… lay it down like in an action movie! that will work! "

ONLY ACCEPTABLE reason to lay it down.

Tractor trailer jackknifes in front of you while you are pursuing your arch nemesis the wrong way on the thruway.

If that is the case?

After you slide beneath the tractor trailer commander a stopped vehicle and continue your pursuit!

I wish you luck and god speed! I hope you can stop him before he activates the DEATH STAR or whatever.

[capt_bugaloo]

If you can't swerve or accelerate, brake until impact. Most folks don't realize just how well brakes work if you need to use them. Even if you can't stop before impact, if you scrub off some of your speed you will impact with lower velocity and therefore less energy.

A good rule of thumb: the average motorcycle can stop from 30 mph in 30 feet. Your energy increases as the square of velocity, so from 60 MPH (2x the speed) you will stop in about 120 feet, 4x the distance.

[nickjpass]

Just finished school

[Hero Danny]

Congrats on passing high school. I just graduated community college a month ago.

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by alex.s

there is no such thing as "cannot avoid it"

i have zigzagged through a group of coyotes at 50 with only about 15 feet notice (blind hill) almost crashed because of it. but i didn't crash. and i never gave up. never give up. never surrender! a glancing blow to the side hurts your leg and arm but you can keep going

but there is such thing as losing control and sliding across the ground, [your avatar]

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

but there is such thing as losing control and sliding across the ground, [your avatar]

there is a big difference between gracefully exceeding your traction limits, and "loosing control"

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by alex.s

there is a big difference between gracefully exceeding your traction limits, and "loosing control"

True... btw, (OT) what kind of bike do you have? I see you here a lot and I always wonder what you ride since your list only says "want to buy a 250"... I'm just curious

[Hossua]

Get on the brakes. When I had my deer strike I got on the brakes and scrubbed off about 20 mph. Still totaled the bike and put a huge dent in the tank, but I walked away even though I was squidding without a helmet. Luckily I slid on my backpack and wallet when I first got off, then flipped over and slid on my cell phone. Lucky bastard I am.
Would have swerved around it but I chose the wrong side to swerve to. Damned deer stopped and I had nowhere to go.
At any rate it made me an atgatt dood, which is good.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

True... btw, (OT) what kind of bike do you have? I see you here a lot and I always wonder what you ride since your list only says "want to buy a 250"... I'm just curious

2 ninja 250s (race and street), a cr250r dirtbike, an fzr600 "project" bike that hardly ever is in one piece, 2 40cc blata b1 clones, 2 50cc "cateye" pocket bikes, 2 50cc home-made mini bikes. at one point i rode a 150cc "adly thundercat" scooter.

[Mocha Man]

Originally Posted by nickjpass

So today I had a close call in my cage. I almost hit a deer. In the area I live, it's pretty common. My question is, in that situation, if you know you're going to hit it, would you try to keep the bike upright, potentially damaging the forks or worse, crashing? Or would you purposely low side by grabbing a handful?

Edit: If you CANNOT swerve or brake to avoid

Also, today is my last day of high school!!!!

Congrats on graduating. I just finished my junior year of college! One more then I'm an official Computer Science nerd!

[Jono]

Jump off the bike and onto the deers back! Enjoy your new ride!

[EsrTek]

Why hit it... just scream at it...worked for me on Natchez Trace

[Alex]

Truly no time to swerve? OK, but if that is given as part of the constraints, then the right answer is to scrub off as much speed as possible before impact. BUT - once it's clear that the impact is unavoidable, being on the gas a moment before you hit the animal will make the bike more stable and more likely to stay upright post impact. YMMV.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by Alex

Truly no time to swerve? OK, but if that is given as part of the constraints, then the right answer is to scrub off as much speed as possible before impact. BUT - once it's clear that the impact is unavoidable, being on the gas a moment before you hit the animal will make the bike more stable and more likely to stay upright post impact. YMMV.

hmm... although... hitting something straight on with the forks up from gas means they tuck under the bike. hard to control post-impact with the forks folded under. if its on the brakes, the front digs in but the forks are in each other so its harder to bend them... you just bend the frame instead.

i think the real answer is to pop a wheelie.

[nickjpass]

Originally Posted by alex.s

hmm... although... hitting something straight on with the forks up from gas means they tuck under the bike. hard to control post-impact with the forks folded under. if its on the brakes, the front digs in but the forks are in each other so its harder to bend them... you just bend the frame instead.

i think the real answer is to pop a wheelie.

/thread

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Hossua

Get on the brakes. When I had my deer strike I got on the brakes and scrubbed off about 20 mph.............

Be smarter than the deer and moderate your speed according to conditions.

This is how much time those creatures give you to react if you choose riding at 85 mph or 125 foot/second in deer land:

Link to original page on YouTube.

[InvisiBill]

Also keep in mind that deer tend to cross roads single file. If there's one deer just stepping off the road, there's probably another one getting ready to step on. Or if you're lucky like me, you'll have one in each lane.

Deer - I know them. A pic from each of my last three deer accidents...








And not to cause anyone to freak out, but a coworker hit a deer on his bike (long ago) and his helmet strap broke his jaw. I assume it was a half helmet and/or didn't fit properly, but it still adds a bit of insult to injury.

[choneofakind]

Something that big, keep it upright and lay on the brakes.
@Alex, what's you're theory? If it's small enough to eat in one sitting, hit it however you please. Any bigger and you should stand it up and brake.

Either way, never intentionally put yourself in a place where you're out of control of the motorcycle. Brake till the end.

[alex.s]

i guess if you're running off in a really short gravel trap, the bike might slow down faster if its on its side

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by Worldtraveller

This. Did you see Moto2 this past weekend (Catalunya)? No spoilers, but when you see it, you'll be amazed. Getting hit by a flying motorcycle's gotta be at least equivalent to hitting a deer.....

my god. i just saw it. talk about a "glancing blow" that's more like a bike to the face. how he pulled it off i don't know but it was damn amazing.

[CC Cowboy]

If you got to hit it, T-bone it.

[Hossua]

Originally Posted by Motofool

Be smarter than the deer and moderate your speed according to conditions.

This is how much time those creatures give you to react if you choose riding at 85 mph or 125 foot/second in deer land:

Link to original page on YouTube.

Yep, that's for sure. I was running 35-45 until I got within about a mile of the next town. That's where I made my mistake.
I opened it up when I got out in the open and as soon as I did I saw a bunch of does up ahead that had just crossed the road. I immediately started slowing down, and directly after starting to slow down a fork horn buck stepped out in the road about 10-15 feet in front of me. Longest fraction of a second in my life. /hijack off

[Alex]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

@Alex, what's you're theory? If it's small enough to eat in one sitting, hit it however you please. Any bigger and you should stand it up and brake.

Yup.

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

If you got to hit it, T-bone it.

Seems reasonable. And remember to duck.