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Message started by runwyrlph on 11/13/10 at 10:04:57

Title: Roadkill
Post by runwyrlph on 11/13/10 at 10:04:57

Somebody ahead of me hit/ killed a black bear this a.m. - apparently just happened a few minutes before i got there - he had a F-250. - better him than me!

wonder if anyone's ever hit a bear with a motorcycle?

Title: Re: Roadkill
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/13/10 at 10:56:12

I bearly missed one once.

I said " Oh, deer!"

Title: Re: Roadkill
Post by Phelonius on 11/13/10 at 12:07:09

36213F31313D2B520 wrote:

I have, or to be precise he hit me.
I was living primitive at the time up in the Selkirks of Idaho. One of my entertainments in the spring of the year,(snow melt runoff).
was to carry my kayak 12 miles up river with my P/U. And launch at a small park. i would shoot rapids and paddle back to my property and pull the kayak out at my meadow, then get on the dirt bike and go get the p/u.
Late one morning after my trip down the river, I was on the 350 headed north. The road? was badly rutted and not quite solid so I was paying a lot of attention to that. I was going about 30 to 35MPH when movement to the right caught my eye. I glanced at it and went back to watching the road thinking "The largest rottweiler in the world is coming out of the swamp to chase me."
Then my brain caught on and I realized there should not be a rottweiler in the wilds. I looked again and saw a 400 pound black bear running beside me going just a bit faster than me. As he began to pull ahead, he turned his head towards me open mouthed and lunged at the front wheel. My foot was between his head and the engine block on contact. The bike lifted slightly and slewed left as I down shifted and rolled the throttle open.
The bear rolled a$$ over teakettle as I roosted away. After about 25 yards I glancd back and saw him get to his feet and gallop up the hill.
My foot was numb but I didn't stop for about a half mile. Then I took my boot off and saw that my foot was black and blue but not broken.
I had been carrying a .45 auto inside my jacket, but if I had gone down I don't know if I could have gotten It out in time.

After I retrieved the p/u and was driving home with the bike in back, I stopped to look at the tracks at the site of the incident. The tracks showed that it was no accident. There were deep sideways scrapes by his front claws at the point where he had lunged at the front wheel.
The bike tracks ended at this point and continued on at a point about three feet left and six feet forward of that spot.
I was in my late forties back then and still had good reflexes. I am sure that my time racing bikes on TT tracks when I was younger had a lot to do with my not falling. That and the fear of what might happen if I did.

Phelonius :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

I don't worry about bears any more. Aloha

Title: Re: Roadkill
Post by Boofer on 11/13/10 at 12:39:02

I like bears. You can see them coming. But sharks...not so much. Aloha.

Title: Re: Roadkill
Post by Phelonius on 11/13/10 at 15:31:48

The only sharks on the road where I ride have flashing lights on top.

Phelonius ;)

Title: Re: Roadkill
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/13/10 at 15:41:10

Dang, Phelonius, that was a harrowing moment. YOuve had a ton of those.

Title: Re: Roadkill
Post by runwyrlph on 11/13/10 at 17:27:08

7E464B424140475B5D2E0 wrote:

[quote author=36213F31313D2B520 link=1289671497/0#0 date=1289671497]Somebody ahead of me hit/ killed a black bear this a.m. - apparently just happened a few minutes before i got there - he had a F-250. - better him than me!

wonder if anyone's ever hit a bear with a motorcycle?

I have, or to be precise he hit me.

Phelonius :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

I don't worry about bears any more. Aloha
[/quote]
why am i not surprised?
;D

it's a wonder you're still alive!

Title: Re: Roadkill
Post by Phelonius on 11/13/10 at 21:02:02

I wonder why sometimes myself.
Living a life like mine is not the way to ever get rich or please a woman, but it does have its' rewards in memories.

Sasquatch Jim

Title: Re: Roadkill
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/13/10 at 21:14:16

get rich or please a woman

Well, I NEED to get rich, IF Im ever gonna please this woman..

Not lookin like the poor girl;s ever gonna be all that happy.

Title: Re: Roadkill
Post by Digger on 11/16/10 at 21:43:40

283F212F2F23354C0 wrote:

....wonder if anyone's ever hit a bear with a motorcycle?

Had to brake for one (a black) a few years back in NW Wyoming.

Title: Re: Roadkill
Post by Howitzer on 11/20/10 at 21:08:14

Phelonius, a bear was seriously running 30-35 mph, and then lunged at you? What the hell makes a bear think that a loud, rattling thing running at 35mph is appetizing. I'm glad that bear didn't take you down. It must have been desperate for food.

Title: Re: Roadkill
Post by Phelonius on 11/20/10 at 21:49:58

51766E706D637C6B190 wrote:

I asked that same question of the game warden when I saw him a couple of days later.
He said that it is the sound of the whirring spokes that triggers a chase instinct. He said it is much the same in that dogs that don't chase cars will often chase a motorcycle or a bicycle.
It made sense to me at the time.

Phelonius
BTW stock exhaust system doesn't make much noise at 30 MPH on an XL 350 Honda.

Title: Re: Roadkill
Post by Howitzer on 11/20/10 at 22:03:39

Ah I see.

Title: Re: Roadkill
Post by buttgoat1 on 11/21/10 at 06:22:07

yet another case of aspect of loud pipes save lives

I always downshift to get a little more exhaust note driving at nigth in deer prone areas.

Title: Re: Roadkill
Post by Phelonius on 11/21/10 at 09:52:49

Loud pipes save deer?

Phelonius

Title: Re: Roadkill
Post by Boofer on 11/21/10 at 10:31:33

Just got around to reading Sept/Oct Ms Farm Bureau magazine. I have insurance through them, and they advocate for farm bills and farm living. Anyway an article about environmental concerns stated that there were 14,000 car/deer collisions in Mississippi last year alone. Having hunted all my life I can tell you that hunters, cars, or disease will control deer population. Two years ago it was disease (Blue Tongue). If you doubt that figure, just call your local body shop. The deer population in Ms is about 1.8 million. I think deer are beautiful, but they have caused many deaths; the last a 16 year old girl from my county buried last week after dodging one in a car and wrecking. I hunt on my property every year and use the meat for my family and others. I hate to see deer die by disease. It's bad...just the way it is down here.

Title: Re: Roadkill
Post by splash07 on 11/22/10 at 08:30:42

It is the case in many southern states. One of the worst in my opinion is Arkansas. Winding mountain roads + Huge Deer = Disaster. last time I was out there I was terrified driving at night that at any moment around the next turn in the road would be a missive deer waiting to total my car. I am an animal lover, I even studied zoology at the university, that is why I am a big advocate of population control (Man and Beast). It is ultimately in the best interest of everyone, including the deer, to manage their numbers to healthy level. Its not just disease that is a problem but starvation in overpopulated areas as well as human/animal interaction (ie: deer collisions).