Animals and other foreign objects

[lambo]

It's always hard not to just hit the brakes when something goes off in front of you but sometimes it's a good option to let the bike slow down and keep in a straight line without swerving:-
Ever had the misfortune to have a dog run out ahead of you,thank god there aren't that many strays around nowdays but if it happen's do not panic try not to hit the brakes as this is the start of losing control slow down by shutting the throttle and keep in a straight line with luck the dog will have seen you and will try to avoid a collision ,if you swerve it is likely you will run into the dog.
Riding through Epping Forest early one morning a Deer ran straight out of the woods in front of me ,this was scary as it's camoflage had completly hidden it from me and the first I knew of it was when it leapt in front of me,this time I was lucky as it was a large animal and am sure a lot of damage would have been done to me ,this time I had no time to panic as it was so quick ,but my nerves were badly shaken .

Kids with footballs in the street can be very dangerous I had a ball kicked in front of me as they are eratic when bouncing you don't know which way they will go ,again let the bike slow down under control keep an eye on the ball and try to maintain that same line you had when you first saw the ball and pray the ball carries on in the same direction.

Riding up the M6 in the middle lane, a few cars in front of me, a FULL size pair of aluminum ladders blew off a flatbed lorry.

All the cars scattered and skidded to the left and right.

A 40 foot lorry to my left started skidding to stop hitting the cars that swerved in front of him, no escape route for me that way.

Same thing to the right, car skidding to avoid the cars skidding in front of him, no escape route for me to the right either.

Looked back in my mirror, car up my asss, can't slam my own brakes on or he'll be into the back of me.

I know find myself going forward in an empty middle lane at 80 or so and the ladders spinning flat down the road towards me, luckily the timing was perfect, I hit them dead square sideways (like a 'T').

Trials/field bike riding in the younger days paid off, I didn't slow down, no time.
Hit them square and went right over them.

A few degrees either way hitting them and I would have slid up the side and come off.

One memorable brown trouser moment.

[SJC69]

Originally Posted by lambo

Riding through Epping Forest early one morning a Deer ran straight out of the woods in front of me.....

That must have been a long time ago, haven't seen a deer run across the road for many a year in the Forest.

I think you would still be advised to apply the brakes as lesser the speed lesser the force of any impact.
Appling the brakes is not losing control, a practiced emergency stop can be performed in a surprisingly short distance without swerving or skidding.
It is a skill though that does require constant practice to be perfected and achieve good results.

Target fixation is what you are talking about, where on an M/C you tend to go where you are looking, it's a useful skill when slow maneuvering but not for avoiding footies, you need to look at where you want to go not the football. {Well that's the theory.}

If in doubt always be prepared to stop!

I like the suggestion of practicing emergency stops, but do I think I'll actually do it? Probably not.

Maybe I'll start thinking about these kinds of things, though.

[springer98]

Hit a Deer on my V Max at 65 Mph back in Oct 1999. Broke 2 ribs, broke my knuckle and a finger and severely damaged my right knee. A Monk Jack deer, about 2 foot tall simply wandered out into the road looked in my headlights and froze.

It certainly was not a nice thing to go spinning down the road at 65 Mph with the bike scraping next to me.

Funnily enough, I am pretty sure that what was left of the deer eneded up on someone's dinner table as I ended up in Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

[Natra]

hit a bat once, made a real bloody mess, smartarse little things radar was a bit to cock after that

Originally Posted by Natrasleep

smartarse little things radar was a bit to cock after that

.............

hi
its not the wildlife that scares me ,its the morons that throw fag ends out the window without looking in the mirror first . or the prats f--- around in the mirror or glove box ,ps forgot the c--- on the phone.

[zipps]

If you do have to brake suddenly apply the front brake first before applying the back brake....then you should stay upright...In the old days dogs were a real threat to the road user...my mates dog would chase bus wheels..the dogs name was Lucky?????I would never swerve for afore mentioned animals..but was quite adept at redirecting them with my foot...to hit a dog full on is like hitting a brick wall...The idea of hitting a deer is horrendous ...must be like hitting a 250lb mad coat stand on acid....the coat stand on acid not you ..if you see my point....I well remember one Sunday afternoon giving a girl a ride on a chopped A7 BSA..when an old boy in a Morris 1000 pulled out of a side road looking straight at me..sometimes you have the time to make judgements....brakes all most usless....plunger frame...big girl on the pillion...old boy still coming on..stuck my right leg straight out..and managed to deflect the impact with my boot...got back on line and carried on...pointless to make a fuss about it...I now think that all that time spent in snooker halls learning about angles was not wasted..and the strange thing about all this is that old guy looked just like the old guy in the car /mc collision in the film The Wild One....

[magick]

Bl@@dy hell HarleyHog - I was on the bike with you when I read that - HOW SCARY????!!!