Getting hit by a bird on a bike

[crowbar]

Anyone else ever get tagged by a bird on your bike?
A dove nailed my shoulder hard one day while I was doing 115 on my Magna in the California desert (had it in overdrive trying to save gas), ruined a perfectly good white t-shirt.

 

[skyking1976]

No birds here... Plenty of June Bugs and Japanese Beetles though. They hurt like a mofo!

 

[FN FAL]

I took one in the helmet once while doing about 50 mph. I don't know how fast the bird was flying but he was dead after that. I had a vetter rooser on an GL 500 and the bird made it around that and glanced off the helmet with a pretty good thud.

I would say I was glad I was wearing a full face, because if I would have not had a helmet on at all, sunglasses would not have saved me from eye injury.

 

[crowbar]

Yeah I always ride with a helmet, I don't like the way I ride.
I never thought about what would've happened if I would've been in a hurry that day and had it in 5th instead of overdrive, I might not have a shoulder left.

 

[redflyer65]

Hit a small dog once on a 700 Magna. Went right over his back. Couldn't control the bike and laid it down in the grass of the side of the road. Minimal damage to the bike, and none to me. With 600lbs. over his back the dog never had a chance.

 

[crowbar]

That's what I was riding, an '86 700 Magna.

 

[DenverDude2002]

I'm just curious, but do any of you guys ever ride with proper riding gear . Even if I am just doing a quick jaunt to the store, I have my Joe Rocket Armored pants, jacket, gloves, and full face helmet on. Something really isnt appealing about roadrash over 1/2 my body if I ever went down.

 

[tinman]

No birds, but I was hit by a wasp on the nose and a bee on the neck. Both on the same dam trip. Hurt like a son of a b!tch!

 

[empenage]

Birds, rocks, bottles, bees in your shirt ( dont slap at'em untill you pull over and get your jacket and shirt off) cigarette butts and one time, a Slirpee...rootbeer I think.

I saw a rock come off a dump truck in front of me and I did the "weave back and forth across the lane" as it took one bounce after another untill it hit the front fin on my Nighthawk's engine then impacted my right knee. Thank God it hit the bike first, I pulled over and rolled in the grass holding my knee for 5 minutes and you know I cried cause DAM that hurt.

 

[crowbar]

I'm just curious, but do any of you guys ever ride with proper riding gear . Even if I am just doing a quick jaunt to the store, I have my Joe Rocket Armored pants, jacket, gloves, and full face helmet on. Something really isnt appealing about roadrash over 1/2 my body if I ever went down.

Full face helmet always
Sometimes jeans and sometimes cutoff sweats, depends if I'm riding through the SoCal desert or the northeast U.S. in the fall, always have the full face helmet though.

 

[empenage]

I'm in boots, full face helmet, leather gloves, First Gear padded jacket, and a neck guard ( still trying to keep those dam bees out)
before I leave my garage.

 

[Flyin Tony]

I was at Glen Helen for a motorcross race and hit a bird on my chest well I was in the air. and the other day I just got done with a top end in my 200 EXC desert bike, was on my pratice track in my backyard, just crusin and hit a bee with my hand. It hurt but the bird on my chest, I had my chest protecter on and killed the bird.

 

[Typhoon1244]

My grandfather once took a bird to the chest while riding a rollercoaster with my mom. The sucker* splattered, and--with his Chicago cop instincts in high gear--he thought he'd been shot!




* ...referring here to the bird, not Grampa.

 

[Stifler's Mom]

My grandfather once took a bird to the chest while riding a rollercoaster with my mom.

Reminds me of the Fabio incident with the duck.

 

[dav8or]

Had a squirrel try to run through the spokes of my mountain bike's rear wheel. Would have been a cool trick if it had worked.

 

[FN FAL]

I'm just curious, but do any of you guys ever ride with proper riding gear . Even if I am just doing a quick jaunt to the store, I have my Joe Rocket Armored pants, jacket, gloves, and full face helmet on. Something really isnt appealing about roadrash over 1/2 my body if I ever went down.

I had to do an accident investigation once where a deer knocked a guy over on a harley while the harley rider was leaving town on a county trunk. The guy was knocked over ifront of an on coming semi-truck.

As we were surveying the skid marks, you could see where they abruptly ended when road contact with the wheels was interupted by the rider. His harley burned on the road and left melted aluminum in puddles on the road...that was from the forks I believe...could have been from some engine parts too.

I think leathers and a helmet would have not done too much good for the guy.

 

[Pistonpilot]

Full face helmet always
Sometimes jeans and sometimes cutoff sweats, depends if I'm riding through the SoCal desert or the northeast U.S. in the fall, always have the full face helmet though.

Here's a story of a guy who went for a ride one night without the proper body protection. His skin will never be the same.

http://www.cmyoung.com/bikewreck.html

 

[FracCapt]

I'm just curious, but do any of you guys ever ride with proper riding gear . Even if I am just doing a quick jaunt to the store, I have my Joe Rocket Armored pants, jacket, gloves, and full face helmet on. Something really isnt appealing about roadrash over 1/2 my body if I ever went down.

I always wear full gear when riding. I, as well, have Rocket gear. I have laid a bike down at well over 100, and walked away from it...thanks to my leathers. Those were generics, and they still saved my skin(literally). When I got my next bike, I got a set of Rocket's with it, and never rode without them. Of course, I never took my bike for a "quick jaunt to the store". If I went out on the bike, it was to ride a good while...not just quick hops.

 

[Swass]

I saw a guy go down not more than 2 weeks ago, he hit the curb at about 45, no gear at all . He seemed alright, the man in the sky must've been watching over him.

I've hit the pavement at about 50mph with no gear on, road rash and a fractured hip later I still won't get in that Jeep (long drunken story).

 

[crowbar]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by crowbar
Full face helmet always
Sometimes jeans and sometimes cutoff sweats, depends if I'm riding through the SoCal desert or the northeast U.S. in the fall, always have the full face helmet though.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a story of a guy who went for a ride one night without the proper body protection. His skin will never be the same.

http://www.cmyoung.com/bikewreck.html

I think it's funny you guys talking about proper body protection, I think proper body protection is determined by how proper you ride. I started riding when I was about 4 years old, when I was able to kick start that little 1968 Honda Z-50 and grew into a Yamaha 60 enduro when I was 6 and than a YZ 80 when I was 9 and a YZ 125 at 14 and later a YZ 250 and than a Honda 700 Magna at 19. The proper riding gear for riding my Magna is a brain bucket and jeans, if you plan on riding recklessly than maybe the proper gear is leathers and a helmet, but for everyday riding leather is too much.

 

[Big Duke Six]

Crowbar, first let me say, you have nice teets. Second, I too been riding since I was 6 years old - started a nice little Yamaha JT-1 Mini-Enduro. Just bought one recently for my little boy too!

But I have to call you on this:

The proper riding gear for riding my Magna is a brain bucket and jeans, if you plan on riding recklessly than maybe the proper gear is leathers and a helmet, but for everyday riding leather is too much.

Now, I'm not saying I wear a full set of leathers for a jaunt to the store. I don't even own a full set, and I can't even say I reccomend jaunts to the store on motorcycles. But I do have leather boots, leather gloves and a leather jacket, all of which I wear religiously along with my Arai full-face on every ride. Before visiting the crash website, I too thought jeans were OK for riding streetbikes. I can see where you could say "I still won't wear leathers on the street, no matter what that guy Chris says in his website", but you definitely cannot say with a straight face that "leather is too much". We all think we are cautious enough to stay out of trouble, but the fact is that IF you go down, leather is the only thing that will protect you. Just because you are cautious doesn't mean that bluejeans are enough to protect you if you go down. If you think you won't ever go down (and I'm like you - I never have) you need to re-read the website. All it takes is ONE TIME, and if you're not ready for it, it will change your life forever. Sorry, my .02.

 

[TurboS7]

When I was 16 I was going to Puerto Lleras along the Ari Ari river in Colombia. I was driving a C90 and going full out at 55MPH, I felt something hit me I thought I had been shot. I looked down and there was a hummingbird buried deep into my skin, its beak had gone all the way in. That hurt.

 

[DenverDude2002]

think it's funny you guys talking about proper body protection, I think proper body protection is determined by how proper you ride. I started riding when I was about 4 years old, when I was able to kick start that little 1968 Honda Z-50 and grew into a Yamaha 60 enduro when I was 6 and than a YZ 80 when I was 9 and a YZ 125 at 14 and later a YZ 250 and than a Honda 700 Magna at 19. The proper riding gear for riding my Magna is a brain bucket and jeans, if you plan on riding recklessly than maybe the proper gear is leathers and a helmet, but for everyday riding leather is too much.

I took the motorcycle saftey foundation class, which was a very excellent class for someone like me. I had ridden dirtbikes for 5 yrs prior and realized within 5 minutes of the class I knew nothing. The fact is though, you can ride as carefully as you want, but all its going to take is that patch of gravel you didnt see or that car that decides to run a red light to make one wish they had worn proper gear.