interesting artical on stats of animal strikes

[spanner]

https://motorbikewriter.com/animals-riders-worst-enemies/

kind of as you would expect BUT some interesting ones in there

[Kev Murphy]

Just for interest, my animal tally so far...

Dec 1975 .. Roo near Yalata, SA. 1.30 am on a Sunday morning... bike written off. Stuck on the side of the road until first vehicle arrived at 5 am
... 200 km trip to hospital at Ceduna. Broken fingers, toe, collarbone and abrasions.

Mar? 1992.. Roo on Mt Clay road near Tyrendarra, Vic 7am ... minor bend to front fork, no personal injury.

1996 .. A sheep on road near The Crags turnoff, Princes Hwy, between Yambuk and Port Fairy, Vic. I only clipped the sheep, but it spun into the path of a brand new Toyota Camry which was written off after hitting the sheep and then a tree. No personal injury.

The Emu incident near Halls Gap on the way to Balranald last year, where I was stationary at the time and the Emu 'rugby tackled' me, and tipped the bike over. No personal injury.

Who else has had animal impacts?

[alans1100]

I've only ever had minor roo strike though not minor considering cost of repair.

About July 2008 a small roo hit the front of the left wing (luck more than anything else), and tore the cover and side case off and I small piece taken out of the lower front fairing.

Plenty of misses but mainly roos and emus.

In the last few weeks a pigeon and galah committed suicide while attempting to outpace the bike at 80kph. Each did quite well until flying into the bike's path.

[Biggles]

One medium roo near Mudrabilla that was "herded" by three mates into the ST13's left panel from an angled trajectory.  Glancing blow that didn't seem to do any damage, but much later I detected the panel wasn't quite right.  I traded the bike before I ever got around to removing the panel for inspection.
Otherwise protected by Roo Whistles and Providence.   

I know, I know.  Why didn't the roo whistles work that time?  Well, the roo was trying to escape the whistles but his "mates" were on a lark and would let him turn away.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.   

That's in 216,000+ km, most of that highway and country roads.

[Kev Murphy]

I forgot about bird strikes? ... had one suicidal murray magpie full in the face near Winchelsea a few years ago, wiped out my helmet screen.
I crested a rise into a flock of pigeons feeding on a grain spill on the road outside Panmure, Vic in 2012. Unknown how many hit... quite a few.

[spanner]

I took out a crow once but on my last trip I am sure the eagles feet / legs hit my screen but no evidence other than sound.

[STeveo]

Clocked a big roo about 30Km north of Charters Towers one night in 1977. Hit him as he hit the road. Bent bars, broken blinkers and spotlight, bent crash bar, tore buckle off my right boot and bruised leg from ankle to knee. Was able to stop and pulled into driveway of farm. Layed on ground sheet not game to take boot off because of swelling, would not be able to get back on again. Have hit two rabbits, a few birds (broken screen once) but the most frightening was a truck tread lying length ways along the road about midnight 1976. Both wheels went in different directions, then over the tread. Don't know how I stayed on but used to ride a lot of dirt bikes then so maybe that helped.

[Kev Murphy]

That is the most stupid comment yet... what are you going to do?... teach the animals some road rules?

[Williamson]

One of the 56 Victorian motorcycle fatalities for 2016 involved a kangaroo jumping into the side of a motorcyclist on Merriang Road, Beveridge. 

One of my roles at the Council I work for is to visit fatality sites with VicPol and VicRoads and investigate crashes (to determine if there are any obvious engineering deficiencies with the road).  We didn't visit the site for the above crash as the incident report indicated that the rider survived the crash. 

Passing motorists noticed a crashed m/c on the side of the road, stopped to investigate / offer assistance, found the rider in the swale drain, called the Ambos and VicPol, sat with and talked to the rider until Ambos arrived.  Apparently the rider was in "good spirits" and not seriously injured, apart from a broken leg, so Ambos delivered him to the Northern Hospital.

All did not end well, as the rider died a week later in hospital.

Cause of death not yet reported, all will probably be revealed at the coronial enquiry.

Perhaps the Victorian motorcycle fatality toll for 2016 will only be 55.   But I think that's unlikely to be of any condolence to the rider in this crash, or any of the other 55, one of which was one of our mates, Darren "Hendo" Henderson.

RIP to them all.

[West Aussie Glen]

Fairly sure that Larry of Motorcycle Larry fame died after hitting a dear.

[Yorkie]

Fairly sure that Larry of Motorcycle Larry fame died after hitting a dear.

Davo, founder of Far-Riders died after hitting a dear  Deer