Boo I hit a raccoon this morning...

[triple dunc]

On my 6 minute ride to work this morning at 5:45 am, about a block from work, a raccoon jumped out from between 2 parked cars. I tried to swerve, but managed to hit him going about 40-45 km/h
The bike went down on the left side, bending the shift lever, scraped the alternator cover, broke my bar end mirror and twisted the handlebar a bit.
I'm fine, just some road rash on my knee and a sore ankle. My Triumph/Arrow jacket held up well and gloves did their job... but stupid me was wearing shorts... guess I learned my lesson the hard way.
I saw the raccoon slowly limp away

Be safe - wear your gear - and watch out for wild life

[jabberjoe87]

that sucks man, i agree on always wearing your gear. It could have been worse, like a bigger animal that would mean a bigger fall

[StreetTripleDan]

I had a rabbit jump out in front of me on a completely empty road last weekend. Before I knew it, I'd hit the brake, briefly locked the front wheel, let go of the brake and was on my way. That was the first time I'd locked the front and if I'd had time to think it might have scared me. I think I need to practice my panic braking a bit.

I'm kind of surprised that a raccoon knocked you over. I would have figured you would have just taken him out.

[Pokeyjoe]

Sorry about you and the bike. Check for oil leaks.

I guess the lesson is don't swerve. Not that you have time to think about it.

[MacBandit]

This is why I have a strict rule of not swerving for animals unless they are much larger then me.

[alphamang]

I agree with Mac on this totally.

I'm relatively sure that my life has been saved a couple of times by just keeping my direction and feeling a "bump" when smaller animals run in the way.

[Neanderthal]

Agree about not swerving, at least for the little guys. Sorry to hear about your off. I've only hit a squirrel on the Striple, but I've tallied up numerous critters on other bikes. Largest to date was a goose, lol. Best thing you can do is hold the line, try to slow down and relax while lifting your butt slightly off the seat - and hope for the best.
Good luck with healing up!

[ghen]

Originally Posted by MacBandit

This is why I have a strict rule of not swerving for animals unless they are much larger then me.

The deer I hit was a little bigger than me (180), maybe 250 lbs? I scrubbed some speed with strong braking, did not swerve (cresting a hill, did not want to risk going down in on-coming lane), hit maybe 8 inches before the doe's arse (it was crossing left to right.) I went down pretty hard on my left side, don't remember hitting pavement.
Since then (6 years), I eat venison whenever I can. Really, really, really stupid animals!

Greg.

[MacBandit]

I know a couple BMW touring riders that insist that the only way to hit a deer is with the gas on. Honestly I can't argue with them because between the two of them they have hit 3 deer and neither of them have gone down because of it. They believe it has to do with the physics of having all the weight on the front wheel of the bike when you're hard on the brakes combined with hitting an object throws more weight over the front and causes you to crash.

Even knowing all that I don't know if I could purposely brake and then get back on the gas and hit a deer.

[tfrazier]

Ouch! Sorry about your incident, but just to inject a little levity...

You sure it wasn't a badger someone dropped in the road?