VFR Saved my arse tonight, GD F-ing DEER

[Guest captmarc]

Well, had a nice near death experience tonight. Tuned up the VFR to about 125 on a nice open straightaway on the Palisades Parkway in NY, no cars around, and it looked wide open, seemed like the right moment to go for it.

Coming up to the top of a hill and my sight distance started to shorten up so I let off the throttle and enjoyed the nice big grin on my face. It was about 8:15pm, starting to get dark, and as I came up over the top of the hill there was the Goddamn Deer, standing right in my lane with that big stupid look on her face. :3:

I was still doing about 90, and for a split second my brain didn't register that it was a real deer right in my path. I had been practicing emergency stops pretty religiously ever since I got this bike, and luckily the muscle memory kicked in. I grabbed a lot of front brake and pushed on a lot of rear at the same time.

It's amazing how calm I stayed and focused on that deer and which way she was going to jump. I got her slowed down to 40 or 50 I'm guessing (not enough I'm afraid), and chose to go to her left. It turned out the be the right decision, and as I passed her with the ass end skidding (not badly, but bike was sliding a little bit), she jumped right and I made it through. I then spent the next 5 miles shaking pretty badly. Funny thing, some dumb squid in a t-shirt passed me on gixxer doing about 120 himself just a little later... :fing02:

Right after that saw her boyfriend, a easy 12 point buck on the left side of the road, I was ready for him though...

What I did right:

Grabbed both brakes simultaneously.

Stayed calm

Had all my gear on: Hit Air (Airbag Jacket)-- would have served me well if I went over the bars

Gloves, Draggin Jeans, Full Face Shoei, Draggin Shirt, Alpinestars knee and shin protectors, and Shift Fuel Boots, oh yeah, and my padded 661 undies (hip, tail and thigh armor)

What I did wrong:

That kind of speed in a known deer area at that time of night. Stupid

Didn't grab the front brake hard enough, didn't shave enough speed off (lack of training)

Definitely used up one of my nine lives tonight. The VFR Brakes did their job, I did not high slide even with that rear possibly locked up (to be honest I am not real sure if it locked or not)...

Thoughts, suggestions, comments, criticisms, advice WELCOME> :biggrin:

Damn, I really, REALLY Hate Deer! :bliss:

[TimC]

Comments...Well, you already know what you did wrong, so I won't bother with criticism. I'm just really happy you did the right things and that you're still around to talk about it. :laughing6-hehe:

Honestly, your story is a great reminder to us all to slow down at dusk and at night. Thanks for posting this. :laughing6-hehe:

[fotodadi]

I did not high slide even with that rear possibly locked up (to be honest I am not real sure if it locked or not)...

Did you pull in your clutch?? Am not sure you can lock up the rear wheel (without stalling the engine) if you didn't pull in your clutch.

[Monk]

I did not high slide even with that rear possibly locked up (to be honest I am not real sure if it locked or not)...

Did you pull in your clutch?? Am not sure you can lock up the rear wheel (without stalling the engine) if you didn't pull in your clutch.

I was wondering the same thing, I found out years ago that without pulling in the clutch, I really didn't let off the throttle that much like I would do under a controled normal stop, so I'm still feeding the tyres gas in a panic stop. Hence I started practicing pulling the clutch in, also started NOT choking up(as in batting) with my right hand on the throttle so I'll have more leverage on the front brake lever.

I'm glad you missed that deer, those are my biggest concern.... They can come out of no where, even though we're looking for them. Glad you're OK........

[SEBSPEED]

First off, glad you're ok!

Secondly, I added something to your list...

What I did wrong:

That kind of speed in a known deer area at that time of night. Stupid

Didn't grab the front brake hard enough, didn't shave enough speed off (lack of training)

*Focused on the deer only instead of checking the deer's movement while also looking for escape routes* This is, for me, one of the hardest things to do in a panic situation. You have to force yourself to look at where you want to go, rather than where you don't want to go.

[carlitos92]

Comments...Well, you already know what you did wrong, so I won't bother with criticism. I'm just really happy you did the right things and that you're still around to talk about it. :laughing6-hehe:

Honestly, your story is a great reminder to us all to slow down at dusk and at night. Thanks for posting this. :smile:

[hottrodd7]

You did the right thing--with a skidding rear (from over pressure on the rear pedal)--you keep it locked. That way it won't whip back and high side you!

[Graves]

I had a similar encounter this last Saturday as well. We were out in the Loess hills between Missouri Valley and Pisgah, IA clicking along about 70-75 and out pops a deer. I hit the brakes and brought it down to about 20mph just in time. I love ABS for a reason. One of my friends later told me that he was glad I was paying attention and that I hadn't chosen to dodge right as he said he would have plowed into me if i had and his cruiser locked the rear wheel with no where to go but straight ahead.

Scary stuff. Glad you're alright.

:smile: :laughing6-hehe:

[vanion2]

Glad you made it out alive.

As for locking up your tires (in general) this is NOT an preferred thing to do. It is a proven fact that once you lock up a tire you actually accelerate slightly (you have over come the greater force of friction between dynamic friction and static friction) and now have very little directional control (thus the fish tail effect that commonly follows). Leave the clutch out so you can using engine braking as well and as other pointed out, unless the engine stalls you will have a hard time locking up the rear tire. Just remember to pull the clutch in once you get to the stalling point. I know...always sounds great in theory but application in the real world is always a different story. :smile:

Thus I was taught in my MSF course (and backed up by a Physics Statics and Dynamics course) and have seen the real world results from driving an R6 and then getting the VFR with ABS and noting the ability to stop quickly and still maintain control. But like everyone else out there that's just my opinion and at the end of the day you did enough to stay alive and probably learned more from that then anything we could say here. :laughing6-hehe:

[Rice]

Good job avoiding the critter.

Not sure if I would have done anything different myself.

I love the Palisades. It was the place where I had found out where the VFR tops out :smile:

In retrospect, I sure am glad that there was no deer or cops lurking in the brush at the time :laughing6-hehe:

[Guest]

I did not high slide even with that rear possibly locked up (to be honest I am not real sure if it locked or not)...

Did you pull in your clutch?? Am not sure you can lock up the rear wheel (without stalling the engine) if you didn't pull in your clutch.

I did not pull in the clutch, I just remember the bike feeling like the rear slid out to the right a little bit. (hard to remember in such an intense situation, although I can still see that deer very clearly, it's haunting actually)

[Guest]

First off, glad you're ok!

Secondly, I added something to your list...

What I did wrong:

That kind of speed in a known deer area at that time of night. Stupid

Didn't grab the front brake hard enough, didn't shave enough speed off (lack of training)

*Focused on the deer only instead of checking the deer's movement while also looking for escape routes* This is, for me, one of the hardest things to do in a panic situation. You have to force yourself to look at where you want to go, rather than where you don't want to go.

Absolutely right on. I do remember slightly thinking don't stare at the deer too hard, and I think I unconsciously looked slightly left of her as I got closer. I have to say though, that will be a very difficult skill to get proficient at, as you fight panic, imagine your own funeral, think of your kids, pray, try to remember all the other stuff with a panic stop, all in the space of about 1/10 of a second, LOL. But you are spot on, look where you want to go, I will start incorporating that into my panic stop drills. Thanks!

[Guest]

Glad you made it out alive.

As for locking up your tires (in general) this is NOT an preferred thing to do. It is a proven fact that once you lock up a tire you actually accelerate slightly (you have over come the greater force of friction between dynamic friction and static friction) and now have very little directional control (thus the fish tail effect that commonly follows). Leave the clutch out so you can using engine braking as well and as other pointed out, unless the engine stalls you will have a hard time locking up the rear tire. Just remember to pull the clutch in once you get to the stalling point. I know...always sounds great in theory but application in the real world is always a different story. :wheel:

Thus I was taught in my MSF course (and backed up by a Physics Statics and Dynamics course) and have seen the real world results from driving an R6 and then getting the VFR with ABS and noting the ability to stop quickly and still maintain control. But like everyone else out there that's just my opinion and at the end of the day you did enough to stay alive and probably learned more from that then anything we could say here. :biggrin:

Thanks everyone for your replies, I've learned a lot on this forum, lots of good people here. Thinking back, it did fishtail, so I must have been on that rear pretty hard. My Y2K doesn' t have ABS, but I think without the linked brakes it would have been a lot worse. I do remember feeling a slight acceleration when it fishtailed, interesting.

The problem with deer is they are so unpredictable, dumb, and really hard to spot from far away. I will never forget that sillouette in my lane though... Perhaps a shoulder holstered .45 is the answer :lobby: Of course then you lose front brake :biggrin: