was out to top off the fuel tank for the up coming week @ about 6pm tonight. fueled up & was on my way home & an oncoming car was flashing his headlights frantically. i saw a turkey(tom) crossing the road slowly. i was doing about 40mph & was slowing quickly. the bird seemed to be glad being on the other side of the road. then all of a sudden he took flight back across the road. for about 5 seconds(seemed like 2 min), he was flying at the same speed i was going (probably 10mph at this point), and his wings were brushing against my right arm. then he cut right in front of me & hit the fairing. he went straight down, after being pushed ahead from the slight impact & i ran over him. i thought i was going down when he momentarily wedged in front of my front tire. thump thump & i was over him. he was killed instantly when he went under the tires. there was a woman jogging & saw the whole thing unfold. i turned around & stopped near thanksgiving dinner. i assesed the damage, which seemed only to be turkey shit everywhere on the front of the bike, and down the right side. absoloutly no damage to the bike. i called the [leo]. they showed up & filled out an accident report that stated ducati vs turkey.
did you take him home? wild turkey is delisch!
Quote from: Capt baz on June 01, 2008, 06:45:44 PM
was out to top off the fuel tank for the up coming week @ about 6pm tonight. fueled up & was on my way home & an oncoming car was flashing his headlights frantically. i saw a turkey(tom) crossing the road slowly. i was doing about 40mph & was slowing quickly. the bird seemed to be glad being on the other side of the road. then all of a sudden he took flight back across the road. for about 5 seconds(seemed like 2 min), he was flying at the same speed i was going (probably 10mph at this point), and his wings were brushing against my right arm. then he cut right in front of me & hit the fairing. he went straight down, after being pushed ahead from the slight impact & i ran over him. i thought i was going down when he momentarily wedged in front of my front tire. thump thump & i was over him. he was killed instantly when he went under the tires. there was a woman jogging & saw the whole thing unfold. i turned around & stopped near thanksgiving dinner. i assesed the damage, which seemed only to be turkey shit everywhere on the front of the bike, and down the right side. absoloutly no damage to the bike. i called the [leo]. they showed up & filled out an accident report that stated ducati vs turkey.
:o
those things are seriously stupid, trying to drag vs a Duc? ... maybe it misheard.
congratulations on your win vs wildlife - no crash!
[clap]
Glad you and the bike made it ok. [thumbsup]
I was riding on Rt. 56 between Ash Cave and Athens. Ohio one Spring day when I had one run right across the road about 20 yards in front of me. I'm sure glad I didn't have the same experience you did 'cause I was motoring and it probably would have been a mess with more than the Turkey getting messed up ! Sorru for the Turkey but glad you and the bike only need a bath. If it's not Deer it's who knows what in the hills.
did you take him home? wild turkey is delisch!
no, i wanted to but no room under my arm. he wasn't bleeding. i'm sure his neck was broken from the thump thump. the [leo] asked if i wanted him & i said too hard to hold & ride. so he took it. he mentioned the deep fat fryer & tying some fly fishing hooks from the tail feathers. it was about 20/25lbs. the woman jogger was standing there crying the whole time because it was expired. i had to listen to her till the [leo] arrived. boy, when i came home [drink] [drink] [drink] & am still [drink] ing.
niiiice....
4-11-07 i was riding the speed triple, 4 lane divided highway
orange groves down the south side, running about 70 or so...;)
egret came out of NOWHERE and clipped the left front fork tube....
shook me up, thats for sure....
slimed the fork, radiator and went down, but it made a mess EVERYWHERE....
ugh.
took me a couple days to find all the mess on the bike....
aah well made for a good story, and pics...:P
glad you rode it out ok.
Damn!
There are a ton of turkeys around here. The toms have a tendency to stand in the middle of a road while the flock crosses behind them just staring down cars with a "when you goin' home, boy?" attitude. I've had a few fly in front of me and it's quite unnerving, especially since they tend to fly across the road one at a time, so you never know how many more there are yet to come.
Glad you made it!
It's possible you're being punished for eating turkey bacon instead of the real thing.
Seriously, glad you're OK!
Quote from: Capt baz on June 01, 2008, 06:59:52 PM
did you take him home? wild turkey is delisch!
no, i wanted to but no room under my arm. he wasn't bleeding. i'm sure his neck was broken from the thump thump. the [leo] asked if i wanted him & i said too hard to hold & ride. so he took it. he mentioned the deep fat fryer & tying some fly fishing hooks from the tail feathers. it was about 20/25lbs. the woman jogger was standing there crying the whole time because it was expired. i had to listen to her till the [leo] arrived. boy, when i came home [drink] [drink] [drink] & am still [drink] ing.
that's why i always keep one of those stretchy nets under the seat. you never know when your going to want to pick up some road kill. i think that [leo] at least owes you a sandwich [laugh]
glad you and the ride made it home unscathed.
I seem to attract birds.
I almost got hit in the head by a wild turkey while riding in one of the canyons. I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye and the next thing I know there is a bird the size of a basketball coming right at my head. I was going about 80 mph so I wasn't going to stop. I just put my helmet on top of the tank to brace for the impact and it went over my head.
On another day in the same canyon I sucked a sparrow into the air intake of the 1098.
And at least once a month I get hit by pigeons on the way to work. There is an overpass on the freeway and as I cross underneath it they fly right at my helmet. Usually I duck under but sometimes they bounce off.
^^^ [laugh] [laugh] [laugh]
That post cracked me up, I'm picturing you riding around with birds everywhere just flying right at your head [clap]
Quote from: Count Desmo on June 01, 2008, 08:22:41 PM
It's possible you're being punished for eating turkey bacon instead of the real thing.
Additional punishment?! I thought turkey bacon was its own punishment.
Was the jogger good lookin? This post is worthless without pics! >:(
make the beast with two backsers
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a92/taaatdthrice/gobbles.gif)
Quote from: bobspapa on June 02, 2008, 08:49:54 AM
make the beast with two backsers
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a92/taaatdthrice/gobbles.gif)
Why the hate? Turkeys are like squirrels with wings.
"eat me"
- Ima Turkey
Quote from: aaronb on June 01, 2008, 06:48:06 PM
wild turkey is delisch!
More of a Maker's Mark man, myself. But hey, take what you can get. ;D
what a seriously absurd story [laugh] [laugh] [laugh]
Capt baz,
Glad you're OK. [thumbsup] Mind if I top your turkey killer story?
May of last year a bunch of DFW Ducati riders headed up to Arkansas to terrorize the locals and the roads. Cutting through southeast Oklahoma outside of Clayton I was lead rider on my Hayabusa (yeah, I know... it's my sport touring bike :P) when I noticed a big ass gobbler doing weird stuff ahead on our shoulder. Waved to all the guys behind me to take notice and everyone single filed it on the centerstripe since no one else was on the road to give the bird some room. We slowed to maybe 40-50mph and just as I got even with the bird that SOB did a kamikaze attack on the Busa (probably because it's named after a Japanese falcon! [laugh]) Made a direct hit on my bike and it was a freaking big gobbler too. Took out the front fairing, mirrors and windscreen. I instinctively ducked but I had a big expandable tank bag on the bike so I could only duck down so far. The bird hit me so hard on the head it knocked me out, cracked my Arai RX-7 Corsair helmet, gave me a concussion and crushed four neck vertebrae from the impact. The guys behind me said it looked like the bird exploded from a grenade. It cut the bird in half!
I did not fall down. I was knocked out and slumped over the tank bag and handlebars. I continued to roll for over five hundred feet down the road, with all my buddies now riding along side. I crossed over the oncoming lane, across their shoulder and into their drainage ditch where I finally rolled to a stop and fell over. Thank God I didn't hit anything solid. Luckily the first car that pulled up had off duty EMS staff in the car. Troopers and ambulance were called but I was eventually taken by CareFlight to a hospital in Ft. Smith, AR. After three days they stablized me and transported me back to Dallas where I spent over two weeks in the hospital having major reconstructive surgery. My neurosurgeon is on my Christmas card list. Then off to the re-hab hospital. It sucked big time.
I was told at least 1,364 times that I was lucky to be alive and lucky to not be paralyzed from the neck down. Yes, my neck and upper back are ruined. I have very limited mobility and have to turn at the waist to look left/right. But the important thing? That SOB turkey is dead and no longer messing up the gene pool and I still ride! Most of my sport bikes now have Heli-bars on them... much needed comfort. Just this last April I got to go and successfully complete that Arkansas ride with the same friends... much to my wife's horror and worry! And yes... Thanksgiving has a whole new meaning for me!! [laugh]
Thanks for letting me waste some of your board space. Watch out for those critters out there! [moto]
fastwin
Quote from: fastwin on June 05, 2008, 06:08:00 AM
Capt baz,
Glad you're OK. [thumbsup] Mind if I top your turkey killer story?
Thanks for letting me waste some of your board space. Watch out for those critters out there! [moto]
fastwin
Yep, that pretty much steals the show. That is a crazy story.
mitt
I've rolled Turkeys bowling but have never hit one. I've come close, the turkeys are thick this year here in the NW.
Maybe I should start to carry to stuffing and cranberry sauce in my tank bag? ;D
Need to change your name to bird man or something like turkeyslayer.
-panthro
PS Glad to see you ok and even happier to see your bike made it.
lata
Quote from: fastwin on June 05, 2008, 06:08:00 AM
I was told at least 1,364 times that I was lucky to be alive and lucky to not be paralyzed from the neck down.
man, you are lucky to be alive...
how many of those ppl who said that actually rode and how many of those actually had big nasty wrecks?
count me one.
seriously.
fastwin,
i never was top bill material,......... so i continue to be an opening act. the only good thing is, i can do 2 shows a day. [popcorn]
glad to hear you survived it. [moto]
Capt baz
QuoteThe guys behind me said it looked like the bird exploded from a grenade.
Did it ruin your gear? Were covered in feathers and guts ???
Glad to hear you're ok...
At one of the locations I work, there is a killer attack guard turkey. I'll park the bike, and at the end of the day, the turkey is there waiting. He thinks the bike is his, so when I get close to the bike, he flaps his wings and does a flying side kick at me. (I kid you not!) :o He's only made contact once and luckily I was in full gear, so no damage. :)
Not that dangerous, just a pain in the a$$
Once again, glad you came out shiny side up. [moto]
Quote from: TazioS on June 05, 2008, 11:25:34 PM
At one of the locations I work, there is a killer attack guard turkey. I'll park the bike, and at the end of the day, the turkey is there waiting. He thinks the bike is his, so when I get close to the bike, he flaps his wings and does a flying side kick at me. (I kid you not!) :o He's only made contact once and luckily I was in full gear, so no damage. :)
post video or i call bs. even cel phone video is fine, but i gotta see this [laugh]
I want to see it too!! Post it up!
Quote from: TazioS on June 05, 2008, 11:25:34 PM
Glad to hear you're ok...
At one of the locations I work, there is a killer attack guard turkey. I'll park the bike, and at the end of the day, the turkey is there waiting. He thinks the bike is his, so when I get close to the bike, he flaps his wings and does a flying side kick at me. (I kid you not!) :o He's only made contact once and luckily I was in full gear, so no damage. :)
Not that dangerous, just a pain in the a$$
Once again, glad you came out shiny side up. [moto]
Subscribed... [popcorn]
Quote from: ducatizzzz on June 05, 2008, 09:14:50 AM
how many of those ppl who said that actually rode and how many of those actually had big nasty wrecks?
Actually, when I went to the rehab hospital the first thing my doctor (not the neurosurgeon, the rehab doc) said to me was "well, when you gonna start riding again?" and he meant it! He was a rider too and knew this was a total bullshit screwed up bad luck deal and he (and I) was glad that I was alive and functioning. Sort of. :P All the rest of the staff was anti bike... big time. But you have to consider the crazy bad injuries they see from dumbass riders who get themselves hurt. And I have named the Busa the "turkeyslayer" out of respect. [clap] Even got to make the first carve on last years Thanksgiving turkey. Brother in law had to get it on film! [laugh] Have a feeling that will be a tradition. When I was at the hospital my wife was helping me fill out the week long food menu order form. You got to pick from food selections for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the upcoming week. When she was reading me the lunch options my 10 year old step son said I should pick the turkey sandwiches for lunch to get revenge!!! Good thinking! [thumbsup]
And no, no guts or feathers. A little weird smear here and there. Mostly just good old red Oklahoma dirt crammed in every nook and cranny on the bike. When I replaced the fairing it took a while to get all the red OK dirt cleaned up. I think the next time I go that way on a ride I'm gonna leave one of those memorial road side markers where the bird met it's match!