A pigeon hit me on the head on the A66 a few years ago, which made me wobble a bit. And when I looked in my mirrors there was feathers flying around in my wake like a burst pillow after a violent pillow fight.
Anyone remember the Performance Bikes' "Stick-o-pheas" pics in one of their mags years ago? They'd hit a pheasant on an early morning run and it had broken the screen and got stuck in it. I always remember that. I thought "Stick-o-pheas" was pretty funny.
Not a bird, but, A6 heading to Matlock, sweeping left hander After Whatstandwell Bridge, doing about 65 ish .... Well it is national speed limit :0) Just set up for corner, and tipped in, as I saw a squirrel sat on the right hand kerb. Squirrel started to run across the road, I kept the bike pinned and stuck to my line. Mid corner and tipped over, front wheel hit the squirrel right between it's head and arse. Bike wobbled a little, but kept its line. Scared the sh1t out of me.
Trying to make up some time 'cos late for the Fishguard ferry I passed a van and saw two pheasant at the side of the road. Hoped they'd fly off the other direction but one rose as I passed and hit me on the knee slider. Thought I'd dislocated my hip!! Slowed to a stop and pulled over then the van driver pulled up beside me to check I was OK. He was pissing himself laughing. Said he'd never seen a cloud of feathers like that.
A pheasant walked out in front of me last winter and I flattened it. I was in the Navara though ! a friend of mine on his Multi hit a pigeon at about a ton on the hand guard indicator which smashed to bits and he was covered in blood, don't think he would recommend it :biggrin:
Went out to the garage one day and thought what's that smell? Couldn't place it. Couple of days later the smell was worse, dragged the bike out and closer inspection revealed a dead blackbird caught up in between the fairing and back of the forks. How the feck it got up there I don't know but in recollection I seemed to recall 'hitting something' on the ring-road one evening. Minging.
Got hit by a medium sized bird while blasting it to get to the Moto GP at Donny a few years back... Hit me on the right shoulder, nearly had me off the bike. Had to take it easy home, and was diagnosed with a mild fracture of the collar bone a couple of days later!...
I have been hit by two pigeons separately over the years, once on the shoulder and once on the hand, which hurt the most. Although not quite the same thing I also got hit on the visor by a bolt flying off someone's bike at Brands Hatch on a trackday once and that was like a bomb going off!!!
African or European? Never hit a bird but I ran over a snake in a corner once, nearly had me off as the wheels slipped on it. A couple of weeks back I saw a rabbit at the roadside, it was looking to cross and did just as I was passing. It actually ran inbetween my front and rear wheels without me hitting it - might have singed it's ears on the exhaust though...
Hit a Badger once, that was bloody scary theyre huge !!! tight country road in Abinger where the banks are really high and this thing just came down the bank stopped and legged it straight in front of me, stopped again then went back, i clipped him with the toe of my boot, all i could see was this badger spinning in the middle of the road in my mirror, bloody hurt my foot i know that !!
Cleared a few pheasants and pidgeons out in the car, the last one a mate was following at 100 ish and the feathers were like a snow blizzard out the back and he was fairly close....smashed the grill and headlight, dent in the skirting on mine and splattered his lovely white bimmer in blood
I got attacked by a badger once in the Midlands. They are aggressive gits, and growl like dogs!... I only went outside for a fag when we were migrating a customers IT system, and ended up in hospital!! Hairy bastids they are!!
Yeah they are aggressive, remember standing in my dads garden in worcester having a smoke in the evening and this enormous thing came out the woods and ran across the garden no more than ten feet away.......i ran into the conservatory and cried like a girl, totaly shat meself :tongue:
On my Le Mans one day, late for an appointment.......80mph on a long straight rural road........female pheasant flew into the side of the bike from the right........feathers in the air, dead pheasant in the road...........Got to my destination about a mile further on, switched off.......... ........WTF is that smell I thought? Bloody bird had deposited her eggs on top of the crankcase between the two pots.......... .......spent months trying to get rid of the stench.............of omelette........... AL
Hit a few pigeons on the duc, thankfully I've seen it coming and scrubbed off plenty of speed but still scary. Collected this fella in the truck one morning, glad is wasn't stuck in my visor like that.