Do you...

[Martay]

... swerve to avoid small furry things in the road?

I saw a thread on a different forum where a lad threw his fairly new fiesta in to undergrowth to avoid a rabbit. Caused quite a bit of damage, including removing the wingmirror, headlight etc.
I know even when i was on the bike, i swerved for nothing, it either ran or was dead. Same story now im driving the car. Pheasants make a horrific mess on a bumper at the best part of 80!!

So, what would you / do you avoid / aim for?
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Eat well, poo hard
Drives: Cavalier 2.0 16v
Rides: Slightly ratted Honda City Express

[woll]

I'll run over anything small - rabbits, cats, small dogs, pigeons etc.
Anything bigger shit myself and swerve.
Oh and avoid badgers they're tough buggers.
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Current Bike- Suzuki DRZ400 SM K6
Previous bikes - Derbi Senda Xtreme50r, Honda CBR 125, Kawasaki ZZR 250, Yamaha DT125R, Suzuki Bandit 600, Gas gas ec 250, Honda CBR600FW
Damaged spleen, damaged kindey, 2 popped lungs, 2 broken ribs, broken face, broken wrist and 5 back fractures... remember kids walls hurt

[kawakid]

As a vegetarian of 20 years.

I wouldn't flinch about running over a squirrel or any other little furry thing.

Seriously, you will only hurt yourself or put other road users in danger.

I do slow down to avoid sheep as they could have you off, but anything else no.
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I've a twin and a 4.

[Martay]

I will admit i swerved ONCE to avoid a deer. I was a huge fucker, i was worried about it comming through the sceen. Smaller ones i dont flinch about, onwards to the plate!
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Eat well, poo hard
Drives: Cavalier 2.0 16v
Rides: Slightly ratted Honda City Express

[Steve-D]

Used to avoid them, but after a squirrel ran out infront of me and I managed to lock the front wheel and fell off.
Now I just carry straight on.
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www.southwestbikers.com
Tristan The said 'Dunno what my pace will be like, fastish slow puncture on the rear and if I go too fast I risk my 'keys' falling out'

[flumpy7]

A crazy fox ran out in front of me once, escaped my front wheel at 45mph by about an inch. I was only on a little 125 and it scared the poop out of me and i've often wondered if had it gone under the wheel whether i would've come off. If so, prob would have been safer to swerve.
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2012 Sinnis apache

[The Shaggy D.A.]

I'll take avoiding action if there's room and time, otherwise it adds to the layer of grime and flies.
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Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5

[Irn-Bru]

Nope, only got a rabbit so far. If I had swerved the cage it'd have hit a kerb and likely destroyed my rubbish little car. All from a stupid little furry thing, no thanks! I did try and move a little mind, but I think if I hadn't of bothered it might of hopped away in time, oh well Never had to avoid any living things on the bike yet though, just planks of wood etc. you know, things that aren't suppose to be on the road but are thanks to careless builders etc. Also had some chavs throw a plastic bottle in front of the bike, dunno what they were expecting to happen
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KTM 990 SMT & Suzuki DR-Z 400 SM

[swiftb]

There seems to be a small army of suicidal pheasants kicking around where I ride at the moment. Hardly see them over the spring/summer but they have suddenly made an appearance since its got a bit colder for some reason. They sit in the hedges listening for loud exhausts then when you approach they run out at your front wheel the dirty little bastards.
Theres a lot of them succesfully squished right on the ideal lines so I have to avoid them also.

[Dazbo666]

In the car, I'd drive at/over anything that's not big enough to cause any major damage to the car.

On the bike I tend to be a little more cautious, purely out of a sense of self preservation (because of not having any windscreen or windows etc)
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1st bike (Sept'06 - May'10) : 1991 GPZ500S / Current bike (since Nov 2009) : 2003 Suzuki Bandit 600N
Word of the day : DILLIGAF

[delvey91]

Dont hesitate, accelerate, only course of action. Altough ive only had a fox and a couple of squirels in the van, Not had anything on the bike i dont think

[nowhere.elysium]

Depends on the speed, really. I don't like the idea of squishing anything much, because just see it as needless. Obviously, if I'm going fast, and it's smaller than, say, a cat, then it's pate.
Anything larger will usually elicit the "it'll totally fuck my balance" paranoia, and I'll give it the widest berth I can. Having an off sucks, having an off while covered in random beastie entrails sucks much harder,

If I can avoid the somnambulent school kids round here, I can usually avoid animals.
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[N cee thirty]

i try and avoid them.

cba cleaning off the aftermath and i need to save as much weight as possible on the cg without half a fucking animal hanging off
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'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

Jewlio Iglesias wrote: I actually did vote BNP once

[hellkat]

Nothings ever run out in front of me on the bike (yet)

But a cat ran out in front of me in the car about three months ago, somewhere on the A22 near Whyteleafe.

I couldn't stop to see what had happened, the road was really narrow there, and I had to keep driving till I could let the other cars behind me past. It was far too far to go back, and by then I was almost throwing up with sobbing.

I pulled over and phoned Anita and cried down the phone at her, freaking her out somewhat until she could get me to calm down and make sense. By the time she talked me into the fact that there was nothing I could do, I was calm again and managed to wind down out of my hissy fit by the time I hit the M25.

If I hit something on the bike, I'd prolly fall off and lie in the road crying - not so much from the pain, but from the knowledge of having hit some fluffy wuffy thing.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[LeanIt]

Deer scare the sh1t out of me, they're unpredictable and at speed they'll f*ck you up!

A couple of guys I know have been badly hurt hitting deer!

Small things are OK. Rabbits are actually quite hard to hit on the bike, they're so fast they normally get out of the way.
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Life is like a shit sandwich. The more bread you have, the less shit you eat.

[L-Jam]

I just do a wheelie over them, then as their body is parallel with my undertray I stamp on the rear brake bringing the bike down and slam the front brake on, so I stoppie over the animal.

It's the safest way because you don't change your road positioning and you save the animal's life, it's hard to do above 180mph though.
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Journalist, student, egotist.
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Skp 50 --> GS 500 --> CBR600F with custom HRC paint jobby --> GSX-R 750 K7, beautiful!

[Paivi]

I would probably panic brake and end up in the scenery, as the instinct would be to avoid driving/riding over anything on the road, especially if noticeably an animal. I actually feel guilty if I accidentally walk over an ant.

If it were one of the thieving scumbags from my area, though, I'd ride him over, call HK to come and sit on him while I go and borrow a tank, and then I'd drive him over. Then reverse. That could go on for a while. If I got tired, I'm sure HK could take over for a bit.
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My other bike's a Monster...

[ollieholt]

anything bigger then a fox and i swerve other wise no, plow on.
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< This? Well this is just a day brightner.

[blurredman]

When learning to drive. I was driving the instructors car and there was a seagull in the road. As I got closer, the instructor said just run it over. As I did, you could hear it smack on the bumper, it didn't even try to get out of the way. I feel a bit awful.

But you should have seen the woman's face in the car coming opposite!!
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CBT: 12/06/10, Theory: 22/09/10, Module 1: 09/11/10, Module 2: 19/01/11
Past: 1991 Honda CG125BR-J, 1992 (1980) Honda XL125S, 1996 Kawasaki GPZ500S, 1979 MZ TS150.
Current: 1973 MZ ES250/2 - 18k, 1979 Suzuki TS185ER - 10k, 1981 Honda CX500B - 91k, 1987 MZ ETZ250 - 40k, 1989 MZ ETZ251 - 52k.

[CarlosCBR]

Ran over a hare at 75 on one of the fen roads round here, actually went air born for a split second, eventually got stopped and turned round to have a nosey and its entire back end from bottom of rib cage all the way back was crushed to bits.

It was twitching so i considered stamping on it to put it out of its misery but couldnt bring myself to do it so for some reason i decided that running it over 2 more times would do the trick, and it did.

Little bastard!

Rabbits are horrid things to try and avoid they seem so scarry on the road! Usually just try and brake a bit and ready myself for impact.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OPv5mDPQ14

https://www.facebook.com/carl.simmonds.7

[HD]

[pinkyfloyd]

I pay £70 a year to the government to ride on the roads. Until the animals start paying the same then I'll be fucked if I move out of the way and risk myself or my bike because they ran onto the road.

Cyclists are lucky I move over for them!

On a more serious note though, I was heading back from a meeting one day on the bike and riding along a country road I heard a crashing noise. I slowed down not knowing what the noise was, which was lucky because a whacking great big stag thundered across the road 10 meters in front of me. If I hadnt slowed I would have been scraping myself and the bike off the road. Slinging the remains of the deer over my shoulders and probably enjoyed the venison steaks.
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[Kal]

I throttle off for them if I can, one of my close friends had an incident with a fox and his front wheel that led to him being dragged out of a ditch 18 months ago and I dont fancy that.

Besides if it is urban area and a cat then its probably someones baby. Think of the kittens.
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Kal...
I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It Ya Like To (HOON IT!).
1984 GB250 Clubman,1983 CB250N Superdream, 1999 GPZ500S

[Polarbear]

I dont care about little furry things that run, but pheasants scare the shit out of me. Stupid stupid birds who cause a shit load of damage if you hit one wrong.

Thats the only bloodsport I support, the gentry on their mission to eradicate pheasants
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[MaybeGuy]

i aim for them. i hoovered up a pheasant on my gsxr and ran over an owl.
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith