Deer collision - safer on a Spyder? Thoughts? Or first-hand accounts?

[Sundown]

Someone I know recently hit a deer on a motorcycle and is recovering in the hospital, fortunately they are still with us. Got me wondering if a Spyder may or may not have a margin of safety over a two wheel motorcycle. I wear a helmet, keep my head on a swivel, and avoid riding late in the evening but there is always a risk involved in our sport. It had me wondering... on one hand, the Spyder is more stable, so one would naturally think the odds are better in keeping the rubber side down. On the other hand - I picture a situation where one hits a deer with one front wheel, the bars get yanked out of their hands, and the machine and rider is sent veering off the road or into the other lane.

I have no plans stop riding and accept the risks involved. Just curious on your thoughts, or to hear any first-hand accounts from anyone who can speak from experience.

 

[Gwolf]

The collision would not be any safer. You gain some advantages in slowing down before the collision with the interconnected brake system and the larger contact patches of the tires. The front end would buckle making the initial impact less jarring than hitting a deer with an all steel front end that makes first contact. Just the shape of the front end may help deflect the deer away instead of a solid impact. The width of the Spyder would make it easier to see. Deer are too unpredictable to say any vehicle has an advantage or disadvantage. About the only advantage you could claim would be in avoiding hitting them or to be going slower when you do and maybe remain upright.

Not much of anything will help when the deer is standing in the road, texting some doe he knows on his cell phone. Best you can do is slow way down. You never know which way he is gonna jump first.

 

[Mikey]

I have not hit one with my Spyder and hope I don't, but if I had my choice, I would pick the Spyder! I have a dear friend who hit a little spike buck with his caffa style BMW, killed the deer, kept the bike upright and still on the road, unhurt at all!! Then I have a fiend who hit a moose with a chopper, and he was the roadkill! So, there is no rhyme or reason here, we don't want to get in that situation; but if I had my choice, it would be the Spyder, with no back rest, hang on tight, and duck!

 

[blacklightning]

There was a member here years ago who rode with his wife (she had her own spyder). She collided with a deer and was injured severely. The bike did not flip or anything, but she sustained really bad injuries and was in a coma for a good while. She eventually passed from this and he hasn't been around much anymore. He was actually a vendor here for years and made a great rack that could be mounted on the trailer hitch of the Spyder that came with it's own bag. I am thinking that this happened around 2015. I will not mention his name (as I am not 100% sure of the spelling), but maybe some other old timers will remember and chime in.

 

[Snoking1127]

I hit a adult German Shepherd Center/right front wheel. Had just got up to 60 and dog came out of the brush right in front of me. It was a slow motion movie, oh no move faster - I am going to hit him. $5525 bucks for tupperware (had to be painted as champagne panels were not available) and right side rad and fender it again looks like new. Right wheel hit the center of his body and the suspension took no damage.

 

[Snoking1127]

I have a friend that is third generation in a family owned body shop and he swears that deer whistlers work.

 

[JayBros]

I recall quite vividly the incident blacklightning related as the husband vendor was a member of the brotherhood of arms. The most tragic part of the episode was the deceased rider was not wearing a helmet. ATGATT!

Where I live deer encounters are a matter of routine when riding in the NC mountains; have had a couple of close encounters myself. While it's fun to let a bit of hooligan run in the twisties, in deer country one has to be atop his/her A-game.

 

[CloverHillCrawler]

Unfortunately, I have a story to share from about 2 years ago. Normally, I am very aware of deer and learned how to watch for the "glow" of the eyes in the trees at night and to watch for leaves on brush near the road moving during the day, especially if there is no wind.

I have shared this on here before, late night after installing new brakes, I went out at 1:00 am in the morning to sinter the brakes. I didn't want to go out on the highways to do my 3 stops from 50+ mph down to nothing and have traffic behind me, so I went out on a long straight back road near me to do it where there's only a couple of houses on it. I had done 2 stops and was in the process of doing my third run. Right when I hit the brakes to do the 3rd stop a deer (buck) jumped out from behind a panel truck that was in a driveway.

I got lucky and didn't really hit it, as when I came to a stop the frunk was right underneath the belly of the deer and my fenders kicked its legs out from under it, so it fell on top of the frunk and windshield with its body and it's head slammed against the left fender, breaking the plastic on it and bending the struts against the tire. I had to grab the struts and bend it off the tire by hand to get it back home.

Since then, I have found other pieces damaged, like the nosepiece, and I am currently now fixing cracks which have spider webbed out from the windshield mounts on the windshield, and then I will paint both sides to hide the epoxy repair. I got lucky, and so far have only had to replace about $500 worth of plastic and fender struts.

Alignment and frame/chassis were checked when I took it in for an alignment after I completed the repairs and everything checked out good.

I was pulling deer hair off of it for a couple a months afterwards, as it seemed to get stuck in every crack, and wherever the deer fell against the Spyder I had to use to McGuire's scratch remover/polish to get all of the scratches off from the hair. It's really abrasive!

My advice - if you are going to hit one aim right in between it's legs if you know you can slow down enough not to have it break the windshield on to you. I didn't try with mine, but I'm glad it happened the way it did. I have heard of much worse happening, as noted in the posts before me.

 

[RayBJ]

I, like many here, have occupied the same space as an animal. Mine was on 2 wheels and only the deer and bike were totaled. I was catapulted over the screen and landed 'superman', gloves 1st contact. I got a bruise on my hip and tore all the gear a little. ATGATT!

I suspect the Spyder is a little bit safer than 2 wheels because of the tripod stance, the 'crush zone' of tupperware, and the mass of the trike .

IMHO, Since life happens regardless of YOUR plans, WEAR ALL THE GEAR ALL THE TIME!

 

[Cobranut]

I suspect there's a slight safety advantage over a bike, though a bike's maneuverability may help to avoid some strikes in the first place.

 

[Snoking1127]

I suspect there's a slight safety advantage over a bike, though a bike's maneuverability may help to avoid some strikes in the first place.

Bikes go down a lot earlier however!

 

[Mandorallen]

Spyder Wayne hit one a while back...

 

[JayBros]

Many years ago, early 1980s, my son and I were on a group bicycle ride from Alexandria to Mason Neck, VA. The ride leader, a very experienced rider, was leading with two other guys stoking for him on a triple bike. We were on a narrow country road several riders behind the leader when at least three deer appeared from the right, out of nowhere. The first deer darted across the road in front of the leader, the second, immediately behind the first, leaped in the air and over the triple, between the second and third pedaller, clearing the bike. The deer grazed the third rider, causing the bike to wobble substantially; but the captain, as skilled as he was, kept it upright, and brought it to a safe stop. The only end result, the third rider on the bike had muddy deer hoof prints on his jersey.

 

[Peter Aawen]

There was a member here years ago who rode with his wife (she had her own Spyder). She collided with a deer and was injured severely. The bike did not flip or anything, but she sustained really bad injuries and was in a coma for a good while. She eventually passed from this and he hasn't been around much anymore. He was actually a vendor here for years and made a great rack that could be mounted on the trailer hitch of the Spyder that came with it's own bag. I am thinking that this happened around 2015. I will not mention his name (as I am not 100% sure of the spelling), but maybe some other old timers will remember and chime in.

I recall quite vividly the incident @blacklightning related as the husband vendor was a member of the brotherhood of arms. The most tragic part of the episode was the deceased rider was not wearing a helmet. ATGATT!
...< snip> ...

It was early July 2018, and not only was Kathy not wearing a helmet, but she had little in the way of protective clothing on (it was quite hot).

Initially, it appeared almost miraculous that she'd avoided any major head injuries, but the significant loss of skin she experienced ended up causing an infection (sepsis?) which in turn caused fitting and other complications requiring life support, eventually resulting in significant brain damage; the cumulative damage being such that ultimately, after some heart wrenching decision making, she was taken off the ventilator and passed late September 2018.

I do have the thread details on hand, but Doc, Kathy's partner, didn't post here for too long afterwards and asked that the thread be closed to further discussion, as this was obviously a traumatic event for him, so I don't wish to drag it out too much longer in public. If you really feel the need to go thru the detail, DM me with a request.

But apart from that, I think we should be a little sensitive about this and not get too much into the specifics - instead, simply remind everybody that when you're riding astride any vehicle such that YOU are likely the very first thing that will come into damaging contact with the surrounds, scenery, or animals in the event of a collision, at the very least, ATGATT can reduce the extent and severity of potential injuries, and at best, it can be life saving, even if it won't necessarily protect you quite as much as cage, or choosing not to go riding at all!

 

[Cobranut]

Spyder Wayne hit one a while back...

That's some incredible footage. Glad you and your Spyder are okay.

 

[Dansy]

Riding equipment is not designed for a hit at 100 km from a deer jumping in front of you. It might limit the damage (maybe) but ultimately, riding in a open cage carries some risk. You need to decide if it’s worth the freedom and fun it brings. A friend hit a moose not long ago with his Spyder RT, he also had a passenger. The moose died from cuts, the Spyder was totalled, and they had to change their underwear. He now has a new Spyder RT. It’s a choice.

 

[Sundown]

Lots of amazing stories, my heart goes out to those that weren’t so lucky. The consensus is that it is perhaps slightly preferable to be in a Spyder and I agree. I’m sure there are cases where a near miss on a bike would be a hit on a Spyder, just as there are cases where that third wheel makes the difference between rubber side up and down.

 

[Gwolf]

This is a Black Bear that was hit by traffic and killed on Highway 441 up close to Homerville, Georgia. The highway is in good shape and has very little traffic, since most of the heavy traffic uses Interstate 75 several miles to the West of it now. 441 does run right along side of the Osceola Wildlife Management Area and the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. There is a lot of wildlife crossing the road, and even more after dark. It is a good place to ride, but you better be aware and run slower through the big swamp areas. I was just doing a loop up into Georgia and stopping at a little eating place in Homerville for lunch. I stopped and went back because I wasn't sure what I saw when I went by. Way too big for a dog and didn't look like a wild hog. It was a fairly large Black bear just off the edge of the pavement. Not sure who hit it, but there was broken glass in the area, so probably car or truck. A big black bear would ruin a nice ride if you hit one with a Spyder. Whole herds of deer cross the road in the same area, and plenty of large wild hogs. Now and then you have to slow way down to let a gator get to the other side of the road where the creeks run under the highway. Several motorcyclists have been hospitalized after hitting gators on the roads in Florida this year. Deer collisions are not the only thing to watch out for.

 

[pauly1]

It's the randomness of the occurrence that renders one statistically more viable for an outcome than the other. I've seen both ways on a two-wheel vs a Spyder; survival vs not. Keep you head on a swivel when riding in deer (animal) prone areas. Bear, deer, dogs, cows, moose, etc; they will all cause potential life-altering outcomes. Protective gear increases chances of survival. Defensive driving/riding techniques also help. But simply being on a Spyder is not the ultimate answer.

 

[pegasus1300]

Living in Utah, I have been very fortunate to have only hit one deer and that was with a car. After destroying the front end of my car, the deer ran off, so I didn't even get the chance to cut off the back straps.