ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Makes And Models => Energica => Topic started by: Pard on July 16, 2025, 08:36:28 PM
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This morning...
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A fren!
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hopefully you missed them.
i just had a fkn mocking bird dive me at an insane speed, must have looked like an explosion of feathers when the stupid asshole hit my helmet, thank God i wear gear. it was weird he swooped crossing in front of me stopped in midair like he wanted to turn around and came back into my path POW!
i have had deer look up as i went by but thankfully none wanted to jump in front of me like you had. yah that's gonna be a bad day there you hit one of them. given the ribelles higher cog that might throw you too :(
Aaron
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I hit him alright.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E1TwNOf62g
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I grazed the aft end of a deer at speed last year. No harm to either of us, but I slowed way down for the rest of that stretch.
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My fault in this case. I know there are deer all over this particular route, and I generally am in a combat mindset, scanning for attacks from all sides, but I took my mind off the road for a moment, and then that happened.
Good thing I was covering the brake lever. A fraction of a second slower and I would have hit that deer midsection.
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Today was just a strange day on the road for me. Same ride I messed up my braking application going into a turn right after a rise in the road.
At certain speeds, you better be sure to keep that front tire loaded to grip the surface or the tire will lift just enough over the rise exactly when you need it to help the bike turn.
Watch the forks. I let up ever so slightly on the brake pressure, causing the fork to rebound and tire to lose grip for a moment.
"Load the tire before you work the tire " - YCRS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYnOC0jdNG0
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you were distracted from that deer hit. Trust me, when things take your mind off the ride or give you something to think about, while the ride continues, stuff like this will happen all the time. Ive seen it on the track too, someone will have a real close call and then tank out next lap, it's like bro, should have came in and taken a breather, yah i know i know, that's my bad. its human nature, and any little distraction can give you a problem when things multiply to play on them. Turns like that, they have given grief to other people too, and a good chance have gravel or crap on them and are not optimal to begin with.
the good thing is you didn't end up eating gravel either time. that deer hit you got so lucky that could have been catastrophically worse. Luckily it was a smaller one and you ass ended it so it didn't really lurch you.
THIS is what i like about my Continental tires too, in instances where you are exceeding your limits, or get a close call, it'll give you that little chirp, or slide, or wiggle to let you know that, Hey!! Ease off! other tires, you'd been on the ground.
Thank god you are safe and still riding. I don't have Ribelle parts bro, just experia..
aaron
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Your posts give me the opportunity to ask something that is on my mind for a while.
With my Ribelle I killed no less than 5 birds in 3 years now :-\
And I am asking myself, is that happening only to me? Is that somehow connected to the near silent propulsion? I wear lot of red in my clothing and helmet, matching the bike, so maybe birds are weak seeing red? My ICE fellows allegedly have a much lover hit count.
Bird 1: A young pheasant stood on the side pavement, so I did not thought much about slowing down, bc it was standing there, way out of my way. But when just passed, it flew up and hit my rearview mirror. Impact was high, so I assume it was killed immediately.
Bird 2: My buddy driving behind me saw a blackbird trying to dive underneath my bike and was smashed by the rear tire.
Bird 3: A bird of unknown species and unrecognized by me apparently tried to dive just before the bike and managed to wedge himself under the side fairing between the fairing holder and the battery. I accidentially discovered it when I removed the fairing while tinkering. It was half mummyfied and somewhat nerve-wrecking to remove.
Bird 4 and 5: As happened to Aaron, they both came suddenly from the side and hit my helmet when doing about 100 km/h.
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The relative quiet of the bike seems like it would be a factor compared to louder motorcycles.
I put deer whistles on the bike, and they seem to do absolutely nothing in terms of keeping deer away.
Vigilance and slower speeds are the only solution to reducing the risk.
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It is serious, A AA rider in the enduro club died in a street bike crash and a deer was blamed in the newspaper write up and the son of another guy I know died and the father suspects a deer was involved but no way to know.
I read an article that says it is the ones that are pretty young are the majority of strikes, not bike specific. The older ones have learned. I could also note that the quads or four wheelers, the kind with the handlebars make deer suspicious while a motorcycle or a tractor not so much. This would be because of what hunters use.
I was in the pick up on an interstate getting passed by a semi or tractor/trailer so my view was blocked, the truck must have hit the deer it went sailing over the hood and just barely contacted in the passenger front fender area.
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some birds are just stupid. cardinals will attack a mirror until they break their neck. mockingbirds can get aggressive, especially if there are young around and now is about the time they are hatching. the color red can set them off a bit, some flee from it, others want to attack it.
on the road unless you were watching it the whole time is really hard to say, did he come after you or was he going after a bug and you got in the way or what? i just hate killing them like that, and bigger critters, those will kill YOU. Even a shitty little possum or coon, you hit it wrong and it sends you flying and it's game over, it don't take much to upset the front wheel if you hit it wrong then game over. Turtles will F your day really fast too, so will alligators, no you don't just hop over a gator it'll flip you if it's big nuff.
pard it probably felt like when you hit an uneven seam on the highway you get that wibble wobble then it corrects itself, he got really lucky, a fraction of a second and it'd been a center strike, could have thrown him real bad.
the mocking bird i took out, was a side glance off front corner of my helmet, nuff to make him go pooftie, but if that would have hit in say the visor that is nowhere near as strong as a helmet's material is, it could have been a bad story. being big and softer it probably would have flex disconnected it, i don't know, hoping it wouldn't make it into me, this was on a more frequented road too, not some tucked in the forest road so yah it can happen on highways too, stupid birds.
aaron
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Your posts give me the opportunity to ask something that is on my mind for a while.
With my Ribelle I killed no less than 5 birds in 3 years now :-\
And I am asking myself, is that happening only to me? Is that somehow connected to the near silent propulsion? I wear lot of red in my clothing and helmet, matching the bike, so maybe birds are weak seeing red? My ICE fellows allegedly have a much lover hit count.
Bird 1: A young pheasant stood on the side pavement, so I did not thought much about slowing down, bc it was standing there, way out of my way. But when just passed, it flew up and hit my rearview mirror. Impact was high, so I assume it was killed immediately.
Bird 2: My buddy driving behind me saw a blackbird trying to dive underneath my bike and was smashed by the rear tire.
Bird 3: A bird of unknown species and unrecognized by me apparently tried to dive just before the bike and managed to wedge himself under the side fairing between the fairing holder and the battery. I accidentially discovered it when I removed the fairing while tinkering. It was half mummyfied and somewhat nerve-wrecking to remove.
Bird 4 and 5: As happened to Aaron, they both came suddenly from the side and hit my helmet when doing about 100 km/h.
yes, I hit 2 with tesla :(, and almost few with bike, including cats/dogs - they only hear energica when you at close, same with tesla (tires) and they panic - usually running straight on front of vehicle :(
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Glad you're ok...
I've hit deer twice on my BMW's. The first, I was working a bicycle race as support on an R65, and riding the course before the race. Crested a sharp hilltop, and 20 deer (a flock? >:() were in front of me, and a bambi scared shitless laying down in the road right in my path. Well, I rode over that thing as all the others were scattering. I stayed up, but took a good 15 minutes to compose myself on the side of the road before continuing.
Next, on my g/s on the way to work, in the middle of a left-hand sweeper, saw the silhouette of a deer head on my left. Slowed quickly, then saw the thing run off to the left...so I kept on the throttle. Next thing I know, it is right there on my left and I am not sure if I should stop or floor it. It is now running next to me and I have the strange thought that I should jump on its back... So I slammed on the brakes, and the MOFO "took evasive action" by tackling me - diving into my front wheel. I did end up on its back. Luck there was a car close by to call the Emergency folks. It ran off, as did bambi. The Cops were like, "YOU WERE SPEEDING!" I said, "LOOK AT THE DEER HAIR STUCK BETWEEN MY TIRE AND RIM!!!" Broken toe and collar bone, and (bright side) I got to rebuild the front end of my g/s with new great suspension parts.
I am not sure the sound of our Energicas attracts/repels animals. Obviously, I am very vigilant, and have noticed both stupid ignorance and alarm on the part of animals (as well as walkers and bicyclists I must say). So I am liberal with the horn, politely of course for pedestrians, but manic with animals. Soo funny to me - your video could have been shot in the environs around my house!
Commodore
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im not so sure horns do much. i have had deer on the other side of a highway see me coming in my truck jump a fkn fence cross the highway cross the divided median, to cross in front of me to get plowed. i mean it made an effort to run out in front of me. that story you told , almost like it was next to you, trying to get in front of you or something and just didn't know, or maybe was in rut and trying to hump you 8) :o ;D
Either way lucky you didn't get horned, that could have been very bad. many years ago we had a friend, left the house on new years eve / day fdriving home. hit a deer, freak accident, the things hoof swung around came thru the passenger side window and took out her juglar vein. she died in the seat next to him waiting for help to arrive in about a minute or two. it just can so quickly go so badly with animal strikes.
thankfully everyone is alive.
aaron
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I hit him alright.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E1TwNOf62g
nice reaction time! glad this ended pretty well.
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The relative quiet of the bike seems like it would be a factor compared to louder motorcycles.
…….
I worked for me a few yrs ago (attracted a young buck to run into my DSR headlamp @ 45mph just before 1st light).
Buck traveled around 80’ from the point of shedding bits & his final resting place.
During my rehab I pieced together all the broken bits on the front end.
I wear my Frank’en fender proudly!!! ;D
I should note that I managed to keep it upright but suffered a deep gouge on my right knee from hitting the lights/siren tab on the Zero crash bars as well as stretching my left knee perhaps from the deer pushing back the crash bars after shearing the 10mm top bolt.
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but, you didn't get the venison!!
last time i plowed a deer it was mom and her not too young yearling, both running side by side, silverado took them out at about 50. killed both instantly, but amazing part, mom had a little damage on rear leg, young buck nothing really, a scratched hoof. i was on the way home from work at about 615 am called my supervisor who was a few miles behind me, turned the other way at the light and said hey keith i just wrecked the fucking truck, come get these deer before the cops come. All in all it set off the airbag, and boogered up the front end. a little over 10k in damage. tell you, chevy is very proud of their plastic >:(
keith showed up we hefted the deer into his truck, he took them to his sons house who lived a few miles away, we ended up with about 100 lbs of venison and had deer for lunch / dinner the rest of the week at work. not sure you could do that on a bike, hitting one hard enough to take it out would probably take you out too unfortunately, unless you got very lucky and snapped it's neck or something.
do you like squirrel ::) ;D
aaron
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Reflecting on this event, I was reminded that I have not practiced emergency braking technique in a long while.
No point gracefully slowing into an impact when you can avoid it.
Also, I was not using my eyes well enough. I should have spotted that deer 2 seconds before I did. I almost always ride like I am in an urban combat video game, in terms of alert for attack and surprises from all sides. This shows I was not paying attention well enough at that moment.
Get out to a parking lot, and start practicing what it takes to get that bike stopped as quickly as possible in the shortest distance possible.
Slowing to avoid a crash at an intersection is not the same thing as slowing to enter a corner.
I need to make sure my brain is ready next time to provide emergency braking, and not just slowing inputs.
Keep a finger or two on that brake lever at all times. The fraction of a second you save having the lever covered may save your life. It may have just done that for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BuUDbr-tSA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDbWZiaUeDY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqbeqc2xeBc
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i don't get this never use the front brake mentality, i think it's a harley rider thing, as they are all adamant about it. When i tell them i almost exclusively brake with the front they look at me like im insane, oh you just want to get thrown over the handlebars, bla bla. you can see their eyes glaze over when you try to explain simple physics to them. Ive seen it in others too unfortunately.
Especially with our heavy ass bikes, when you grab a handfull of front brake that's a shit ton of weight from that battery pack being pushed forward onto that tire, theres a lot of braking power there! One thing that is vitally important is to make sure your shocks are tuned properly, if it's too stiff it won't be helpful, if it's bottomed out, it's going to cause you grief.
This is another reason i love riding with full regen, yes it IS a learning experience it IS fairly different from ice riding, where you basically clutch and glide then brake, whereas regen you use just the throttle to well... 'throttle' both your acceleration and braking, down to the point where you need serious brakes and then actually have to use the brakes. it's basically one input riding, no clutch and often time no brake lever needed. its a fine line from gliding and starting to slow, to slowing more, to slowing hard, and when full on, my regen is like stomping on the rear brake and ive seen it blip the abs a few times when using both. Yes it takes a bit getting used to for that riding style, especially when you have been an ice rider for years, it's like breaking an old habit, but once you master it, i believe you will find it's a very powerful tool in your arsenal. if anything if you are not covering your brake, it's doing it for you the moment you let off the gas and are making your move towards the brake handle.
just fyi, blink right now, go ahead and blink... if you are doing 60 mph, in the time of that blink you have travelled 10 to 30 feet. Think about this, that fast, that far. Do you think 30 feet might help you evade more or slow more in an unstoppable event?
now obviously regen is essentially using the rear brake, but when on the track, front gets used a lot because you are riding in ways is hope you ain't on the street, but point is, use those brakes. and we have a gift, regen, learn to use that to it's potential too. yes i know awkward but learn it you'll love it.
ABS is absolutely your friend. The cop makes the point that many times he has seen wrecks with no skids. that's not necessarily abs causing that but the rider panicked and froze. they see 'death' coming at them and lock up. I can't promote track days enough to get you past this learning stage in your biking career. Seriously, get some track time in, it will teach you the discipline you need to see these events and work them, REACT to them in the proper ways, and not just deer in the headlights, since we are on that topic.
Goto one of the schools that many people teach, yamaha riding school is a very good one, and so many others. if you are down by me or in this part of the country, precision track days, southern track days, military track days, track time usa, so many others have coaches who will work with you for free basically when you are on the track, not just how to race better but be safer, and it's all part of the day, just ask, we love to help newer folk learn to ride better.
This knowledge comes right onto the roads with you. A car cuts you off, someone is merging into your lane, instead of panicking, locking up the bike, or slamming into someone, you learn to get used to close proximity riding... that's one of the reasons, why i have brake guards, so the other guys handle bars don't catch your brake lever if you are in a tight turn, or a mirror on the road, Point being, you are used to items right next to you, and keep your cool.
if you are in a turn, umm no hard braking don't work, you can wipe or if it's good traction, these bikes are a bit slippery, you grab good enough brake and it'll stand you right back up, lean angle, turn is over, you are going straight again on hard braking. itd be a bit hard to practice this in a parkinglot without getting yelled at unless you know of a warehouse complex or something that is closed on weekends and you can go ride about, but this is another thing you should learn, how much brake you can apply in your turns so you can slow without standing up... hint regen is awesome for this!! so would rear braking. you are stopping so you are pushing weight forward, but the stopping force is coming from your rear so it'll squat you down better and help keep you in that turn better. This is how i take a few turns at jennings, come in a bit hot go full regen, let regen pull me into the arc i need and get me pointed where i want as i am in my turn, then when im about pointing where i need, ill let off regen and start putting on throttle to push me to the outside edge where i need to be for the apex turn then just run the throttle up and go. point being regen can help you turn or evade some unexpected obstacle in a turn.
pard another thing ill do is, find a road that has sewer caps in it or i guess you could say obstracles that wont kill you, and ride right down the line of them and right before you get to them just go left, right... left ... left... right!! practice last second emergency counter steer to go around it.
pass the first on the left, next on right, it helps keep those last minute ditch skills honed. it's also kind of fun.
Pard, you didn't necessarily act too late, you had no idea what the damned thing was going to do, your subconscious knew that but you didn't. so of course you are going to naturally wait a 'lil bit' to see ok what's this fkr going to do, stay still, run, turn around... you can't really react until you see what it will do and if you did see it earlier, you were going fast enough you'd have had a hard time coming to a complete stop, and any actions if it moved differently could have put you as a flat on t bone and bad day for both of you...NO VENISON FOR YOU!! Lets not mention in situations like that, you are looking in front of you, AT the impending doom, and NOT behind you, so you have no idea of traffic behind you, jamming brakes could get you collected too, especially from the Z on the phone...just something to keep in mind that hard stop might not always be a good answer either. you kept the wheels down, the skin on, and no leaking, except maybe a bit in your undies, but you'll get a one time pass for that.
aaron
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Killed bird no.6 yesterday. Two doves sat on the street, both flew up in different directions and everthing seemed OK until one of these dumb f**ks suddenly decided to follow the other, crossed my way and smacked into the left front side of my helmet. That was a hard impact and my neck hurt for a while.
I really don't understand why this is happening all the time :'(
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Doves are just stupid, but many birds ,it's an aggression thing. This is also the time the kids are hatched and they are protective, or in some species, kids are out of the nest now and on the ground for their last few days of learning how to fly, so parents will dive anything coming near them. The mockingbirds are real bad at this, and the cardinals, i can't tell you how many my truck has killed over the years. Those stupid bastards will see their reflection in the side mirrors and attack it until they break their necks. The must be smoking some of that cali weed or something acting that way ::)
Yah just because you got a helmet and leathers etc on, those things hurt, you still got that mass and energy slamming you. Try whapping a big ole junebug at 140 on the track, that thing sounds and feels like a gunshot. If you are unlucky enough to take a big fat sloppy grasshopper to the facepiece, that's another fun time because now you not only have a sore neck but a god awful mess to clean off..... everything!
nobody wants to hit animals, and while birds look big and poofty, i am betting that beak could do some major injury if you hit it just right, so please be careful.
on the other hand, pointer and middle finger, reach in under the rib cage, and scoop out breast pieces, a bit of oil, pan fry, dove actually is very good meat to eat, it just takes a ton to make a meal.
Aaron
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How about squirrels and chipmunks that cross the road in front of you, then stop in the middle of the street and go back and forth wondering which way to go next, as you head toward them at 60 mph, while you wonder if you should steer left or right to miss rolling over another bump in the road? Still, hitting a squirrel is better than hitting a skunk during the spring mating season. :'(
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small ones are not that big of a deal, they go squish and you might feel bad. its the bigger ones that can put you in the hospital that are the issue. Then there are those armadillo's. you might as well hit a cinderblock. Turtles ain't no fun either and will just as easily turn you into a lawn ornament.
oh skunk, that reminds me of way long ago, oh lord i think i was like 7 or 8 years old. Long story short, my mom let our dogs out, and the stupid ass Labrador not only chased a skunk but decided to bite in the ass. It's the middle of january in chicago, the dog's out there in the yard baying and bellowing and my mom runs out picks the stupid ass thing up and brings it into the house!! That smells like burning onions when it's concentrated, absolutely horrid!! Thanks but i'll take a hard pass on the skunk too, been there done that ;D 8)
Aaron
ps, 6 or 7 foot rattlesnakes are no fun either, you may break it's back where you smooshed it but the bastard can still swing around and try to get you if you get close to finish it off!
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You guys have some wild experiences!
This video shows the "controls" view of the almost accident. Covering the brake lever saved me for sure. Highly recommend anyone who already does not do this to make a habit of it.
Pretty sure the Deer flipped me off after the collision. Check the pic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhpMxR4DG5w
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the important part is to learn to ease on and off the brake with a finger, or 2, maybe 3, but don't be death gripping it. This helps prevent fatigue or potentially riding the brake a bit.
This way you got it covered, and are comfortable, and relaxed and still have a good hold on the throttle. Soon you find yourself, when things start happening, you are already rolling off and applying brakes as a muscle memory type of thing.
YES, that blink of an eye, literally 10 to 15 feet (3 to 5 meters) can pass. That 15 feet you preserved at 60 mph can go a long way towards your safety when you are an instant from the 'event' and got that 15 feet left, but are now only going 10 mph. it could juuuust be enough for you to lean and get around that bumper sticking in front of you.
The deer, you rubbed his butt, gave him a swat and he gave you the white tail salute! if we gotta rub butts, id rather it be bambi's on my fender, than mine on the asphalt. it does look like you just kind of nudged him, so both of you got out lucky,
Aaron