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Deer Avoidance System

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Lot of deer where I live and have had several close calls. One of my riding buddies has not been so lucky. Pipes are plenty loud and you would think they should hear them as I approach but still seeing them dart right in from of me when riding through the wooded areas near my house.

The "Kuryakyn Motorcycle Wiring Kit for Deer Avoidance System" looks to be pretty simple and for less than $20 bucks I figure it might be worth a try.

Any thoughts on the value of these things would be appreciated...
 
Not to oversimplify things but here's what I think - deer are some of the dumbest creatures on Earth and NOTHING you do is going to stop them from jumping in front of you. Not loud pipes, not whistles, nothing. Best to just increase your awareness and drive defensively.
 
The best avoidance is slow down and keep your eyes pealed, deer can't see well so they just think "run" not even knowing what direction they are running, I've had them try to outrun me in the car to get across the road when they started out 50 feet off the road. Yes they are DUMB! The worst time is at dawn or dusk when visibility is muted by the "half light" they are harder to see and they seem to take more risk. What is bad is they can jump right out of the ditch in front of you giving no time for reaction. I've hit 3 of them in cars and truck, only 1 did lots of car damage but finally taught me the lesson.
 
Anyone calling deer a dumb animal should try to hunt them in their world. Take away a gun and use only a bow and arrow and you might think twice about this statement. We are the dumb ones. We have been blessed with life and choose to ruin our world with greed,hatred and war. The deer live for survival and Mother Nature takes care of the rest. We on the other hand ignore all the signs and wait for Mother Nature to put us in check and only then we address what has already happened.
 
In my experience the best way to avoid deer is to be as quiet as possible. The reason I say this is a few years back, I was driving both mine and my brothers truck on a regular basis. My truck had factory exhaust, my brothers had straight pipes. In my truck that was quiet, I rarely saw a deer, and if I did, they usually stayed put. In my brothers truck with the straight pipes, I not only saw them all the time, but they would be running everywhere including right in front of me. From that, I concluded that the loud pipes were scaring them and causing them to take off running in whatever direction they figured best. Maybe I am wrong, but I rarely even see deer when I am driving something with a full exhaust.
 
Anyone calling deer a dumb animal should try to hunt them in their world. Take away a gun and use only a bow and arrow and you might think twice about this statement. We are the dumb ones. We have been blessed with life and choose to ruin our world with greed,hatred and war. The deer live for survival and Mother Nature takes care of the rest. We on the other hand ignore all the signs and wait for Mother Nature to put us in check and only then we address what has already happened.

I was thinking the same thing.
 
The only sure fire system I have found for deer avoidance is a hunting license and a gun! :p

Seriously, I think the sound "profile" of a HD (esp. a loud one) may be just different enough, to panic a deer as you drive by. My bikes are not real loud, but I have noticed some cows and horses have a bit of reaction when I have been riding with someone with real loud pipes.
 
I have to agree with Sharpscuba on this subject. Deer are very adaptive animals. The farmers around my area have tried just about everything to keep deer out of their fields, and , as one post stated, the only thing they found that worked was a 12 gauge. Try to pattern the deer in your area. You'll find that most of them that are moving across roads are doe, and they are very patternable. The bucks are usually only a problem during the rut. As an example, in one area that I ride fairly consistantly, the doe move from west to east about mid afternoon. Many times, they will hang near the roads edge foraging on any grasses there. I am constantly looking right and left along the shoulder of the roads, especially on some of the narrower back roads. I also agree with the posts that say loud noises are the best. That is, at least, what I have found. If they are along the edges of the road, I hit the horn way before I get to them, and continue to ride with the horn "covered". The best advice that I have found based on my experiences it to let them know you are coming. They are smart animals. They don't want to adorn the front of a pick up or motorcycle anymore than you want them to.
 
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