****ing pheasants

[Esceptico]

Went out for an early ride this morning north of Auckland (up the 16 to Wellsford then down the 1 until Woodcock Rd to take me back to the 16).

What a wonderful ride. Bend after bend. Fairly decent roads. Almost no traffic.

Was all going well until a pheasant decided to fly into my path. Second time it has happened to me. Last time I got away with no damage (S1000R) but this time it broke the front fender/mudguard of my new GSXR 750 and did some as yet unspecified damage so that the front brake stopped working properly. Had to ride (gingerly) to a garage and then wait almost 3 hours to get recovered back to Auckland. Bugger.

Not sure how much the bill is going to be yet. Will see before deciding whether to claim against the insurance or not.

Spoilt what would have been a very enjoyable ride. Have to pinch myself with how good the roads are here.

[Esceptico]

Could have been worse though. When I called my daughter to tell her I would be late home I first told her I’d run over a peasant! Slight slip of the tongue.

[Gromm]

I sincerely hope you picked the stupid thing up, cooked it and ate it.

[Esceptico]

Gromm said:

I sincerely hope you picked the stupid thing up, cooked it and ate it.

That’s what my daughter asked! I have to confess I didn’t go back to look for it. I suspect what was left might have been “over tenderised”.

[moanthebairns]

I stuck a Daytona up ones arse the first ride I got it. I must have one cross my path last minute weekly when riding in the summer, they're like fking locust up here.
That said it could be the same one just trying to get a rise out of me.......

[anonymous-user]

Stupid creatures. Had a lucky escape last year when one thought suicide was it’s only choice. They should kill more of the bds.

[dickymint]

Esceptico said:

Gromm said:

I sincerely hope you picked the stupid thing up, cooked it and ate it.

That’s what my daughter asked! I have to confess I didn’t go back to look for it. I suspect what was left might have been “over tenderised”.

You'd be breaking the law if you had gone back and picked it up...........or so they say!

[NNK]

Wait until you are cranked over in a corner and cant avoid a flattened but very slippery possum carcass.
That should put a bite mark in your seat.

[anonymous-user]

Riding to Singapore yesterday had to avoid a big monitor lizaard, they are not easy to see but if you hit them it's like a speed bump,

[airsafari87]

Those b*****d things cost me a fortune last year. I think I managed to hit around 5 of them on my commute to work, all with varying degrees of damage.

One was sat just to the left of the white line in the center of the road as I came round a blind left hander and flew / made contact with my right boot and footpeg.

Another flew from the opposite side of the road and blew the R/H mirror to pieces.

Next one was hiding in the verge and went full kamikaze on me. It took flight and rose up the front of the bike, hit the clutch lever first and spun that 180 degrees on the handlebars and bent it in half, spun the left hand mirror around and destroyed the threads, and finally blew the L/H control unit that houses the indicators, cruise control etc ...to pieces. All up that 1 incident cost me some 400 and odd quid. (£340 for the control unit, £75 for the clutch lever) Luckily I was able to helicoil the lever mount so the new mirror could screw back in to it.

And the next one smacked me in the chest at naughty speeds, practically exploded on me, covering me and the bike in blood, feathers and bird sh*t.

Rest of them were innocuous little glancing blows here and there.

To be honest, the one that hit the left hand side of the bars scared me a little. If that had hit the right hand side the front brake would have been applied 100% at over 70mph and I would have been thrown that high in the sky I would have come down with snow on me.
The thought of `what if' has stayed with me ever since and my new bike now has lever protectors on it just to try and mitigate a bit of that risk should I be that unlucky again.

Pheasants, I effing hate them!

[Esceptico]

airsafari87 said:

Those b*****d things cost me a fortune last year. I think I managed to hit around 5 of them on my commute to work, all with varying degrees of damage.

One was sat just to the left of the white line in the center of the road as I came round a blind left hander and flew / made contact with my right boot and footpeg.

Another flew from the opposite side of the road and blew the R/H mirror to pieces.

Next one was hiding in the verge and went full kamikaze on me. It took flight and rose up the front of the bike, hit the clutch lever first and spun that 180 degrees on the handlebars and bent it in half, spun the left hand mirror around and destroyed the threads, and finally blew the L/H control unit that houses the indicators, cruise control etc ...to pieces. All up that 1 incident cost me some 400 and odd quid. (£340 for the control unit, £75 for the clutch lever) Luckily I was able to helicoil the lever mount so the new mirror could screw back in to it.

And the next one smacked me in the chest at naughty speeds, practically exploded on me, covering me and the bike in blood, feathers and bird sh*t.

Rest of them were innocuous little glancing blows here and there.

To be honest, the one that hit the left hand side of the bars scared me a little. If that had hit the right hand side the front brake would have been applied 100% at over 70mph and I would have been thrown that high in the sky I would have come down with snow on me.
The thought of `what if' has stayed with me ever since and my new bike now has lever protectors on it just to try and mitigate a bit of that risk should I be that unlucky again.

Pheasants, I effing hate them!

Blimey that is long list of bird strikes. I think I might be getting a bit paranoid in your shoes that the bds are out to get you!

The irony for me is that pheasants aren’t even native to NZ and shouldn’t be here but they were accidentally introduced by the British and are now a pest. At least there is no one less to worry about...

[airsafari87]

Esceptico said:

Blimey that is long list of bird strikes. I think I might be getting a bit paranoid in your shoes that the bds are out to get you!

The irony for me is that pheasants aren’t even native to NZ and shouldn’t be here but they were accidentally introduced by the British and are now a pest. At least there is no one less to worry about...

I have since found out that the area in north yorkshire that I commute to is surrounded by woodland that is used for game shooting.

I overheard one of the blokes that works here talking to someone else about the shooting season or whatever it was, and he was saying that the local gamekeeper releases some 100,000 pheasants per year during the season. So it's no wonder the roads are littered with them around here.

[Prof Prolapse]

airsafari87 said:

I have since found out that the area in north yorkshire that I commute to is surrounded by woodland that is used for game shooting.

I overheard one of the blokes that works here talking to someone else about the shooting season or whatever it was, and he was saying that the local gamekeeper releases some 100,000 pheasants per year during the season. So it's no wonder the roads are littered with them around here.

During pheasant season they can release hundreds into the road at once here in the borders. I can think of at least three occasions where I have had to slow the car to walking pace to try and get through a sea of them.

I drive a lot with work, so I've killed more than a few in the car over the years. It's become almost routine to hit one, get out the car, wring it's neck and carry on the journey. On the bike I've been lucky, but seen a few killed on ride outs, certainly causes some damage.

They're exceptionally stupid creatures, and can even run towards a vehicle when panicked, presumably bred that way so the hooray Henry's can take turns dressing up like the Lord of the manner before killing them with a scatter gun. I'd rather wring their necks and leave them by the roadside.

That said, Deer are what increasingly worry me. I've had about a half dozen or so near misses in the car at dawn and dusk, if I'd been on the bike I'm not sure I would have been able to stop. I tend to ride more slowly at those times in wooded areas.

[FourWheelDrift]

dickymint said:

You'd be breaking the law if you had gone back and picked it up...........or so they say!

Go back and pick it up and use it as evidence, then eat the evidence.

[Dakkon]

Based on the thread title I thought this was going to be a much more intimate discussion, ah well.

[Biker's Nemesis]

Anyone heard the phesent pluckers song by the Wurzels?

[chris4652009]

Dakkon said:

Based on the thread title I thought this was going to be a much more intimate discussion, ah well.

lol

[Brads67]

Prof Prolapse said:

During pheasant season they can release hundreds into the road at once here in the borders. I can think of at least three occasions where I have had to slow the car to walking pace to try and get through a sea of them.

I drive a lot with work, so I've killed more than a few in the car over the years. It's become almost routine to hit one, get out the car, wring it's neck and carry on the journey. On the bike I've been lucky, but seen a few killed on ride outs, certainly causes some damage.

They're exceptionally stupid creatures, and can even run towards a vehicle when panicked, presumably bred that way so the hooray Henry's can take turns dressing up like the Lord of the manner before killing them with a scatter gun. I'd rather wring their necks and leave them by the roadside.

That said, Deer are what increasingly worry me. I've had about a half dozen or so near misses in the car at dawn and dusk, if I'd been on the bike I'm not sure I would have been able to stop. I tend to ride more slowly at those times in wooded areas.

If it was in the Borders it was likely me that chased them out of hiding lol.

[Glosphil]

In my last job the boss drove a BMW M3 convertible & the last part of his drive to the office in rural Gloucestershire was along a narrow lane with high hedges on both sides. One day a flock of pheasants were blocking the road and he impatiently blasted the horn. The frightened birds took to the air flying over his car and releasing their 'fright' on the car's bodywork & seats & his head. We at least made an attempt not to laugh when he arrived outside the office.

[Cambs_Stuart]

A sunny afternoon many years ago, on the B1053 on my way to meet some freinds a seagull flew straight into the brake lever of my bike, and exploded like a paper bag full of rotten fish guts.
I managed to stay upright, but i never got the smell out of the jacket.