Ever had a Bird Strike and would you replace your helmet?!

[Ade]

First outing for my new helmet yesterday when, doing 60mph, a daft pigeon in the middle of a local road decided to take off, feint left, then right, then aim its' backside towards my forehead, by which time it was too late for me to do anything, so I gladly sent its' backside through its' head.

Apart from the fact that the bloody thing nearly had me off and the pigeon wasn't very well afterwards would you replace your lid if something similar happened to you?

Also, ever hit a bird (the sort with feathers obviously!) and what was the outcome?

Ade

Edited August 26, 2008 by Ade

[Guest]

not had a bird strike but had something thrown off a bridge on north circular by a bunch of palm strokers that hit helmet and shoulder by the time i managed to pull over as thankfuly didn't drop it or worse a: they had gone and b: i was not feeling like finding out what it was ... it cracked my visor and scratched the helmet and from the look of my jacket it was a rock/stone/brick as was dust impact mark ....... So yes replaced helmet in that instance ...

You were lucky that it didnt hit visor as the impact could have shattered/cracked visor and the force of a bird hitting you full facial would have resulted in a nasty one ... been quite a few reports of this happening ...

as for replacing helmet im sure others who's better knowledge of this will be along soon

[Ade]

Tim,

Yes, must have been more of a forehead shot I had, i.e. just above visor, but nothing as dangerous as a brick!

Nice bike by the way. Exactly the same colour and model as mine!

Ade

[flipper]

If it were me and there was no damage visible then I doubt I'd be bothered changing my lid.

[Guest]

If its a UK Arai take it to an official stockist and they can send it off to be xrayed. You will then get peace of mind knowing that if they say its safe, its safe!

I think you can go to big race meets as Arai will normally have a stand there with an xray machine too but you'd have to pay to get in that way.

Our local stealership tried fobbing my mate off about the service offered by Arai and said they didn't do it, if yours try the same get in touch with Pheonix directly and ask them for the address you need to send your lid to (you will have to cover postage costs both ways but I think the xray is free I may be mistaken on that tho)

[Bill_on_a_bike]

there was a thread on here a while ago about an american guy i think, who had a dear jump out infront of him, when he was doing 50mph on a ZX7R or simular. His bike had torn straight through the middle of the dear and the foot pegs and gear change had ripped at its innards and all the fairing and polished frame and wheel was thick splattered in blood. Was quite disgusting, the guy is so lucky not to have come off.

[Guest]

I had a rabbit bounce off my foot at 60 mph before. That stung a bit.

The same morning a pigeon flew into my clutch lever / hand. I started to wonder why I had upset the Animal kingdom so much

The potential road kill seems to be much worse at 5am on a Summers day.

[nigelwood1]

Pigeons are quite soft....

Hit one in a car at 90.... Dead centre of the windscreen....

Pigeon exploded but windscreen undamaged and cleaned with wipers...

Had blackbird hit me in the chest on the bike once...

Small bird with not much inertia so bounced off with a shortened neck...

Was like being hit with a tennis ball that had just been served...

The funniest thing I have seen was when a Pheasant landed on the bonnet of a car I was in... We were travelling at about 30mph in traffic through some woods when a pheasant swooped in from behind the car and was trying to land on the road in front of us... As it reached the end of the bonnet it's tail feathers touch and it applied the brakes...

Picture a startled pheasant with wings at full stretch sliding back up the bonnet and then the pheasants ar5e and feet disappearing up the windscreen and up in the air....

It left a stripe of adrenalin up the windscreen.....

[Korben]

The funniest thing I have seen was when a Pheasant landed on the bonnet of a car I was in... We were travelling at about 30mph in traffic through some woods when a pheasant swooped in from behind the car and was trying to land on the road in front of us... As it reached the end of the bonnet it's tail feathers touch and it applied the brakes...

Picture a startled pheasant with wings at full stretch sliding back up the bonnet and then the pheasants ar5e and feet disappearing up the windscreen and up in the air....

It left a stripe of adrenalin up the windscreen.....

 

PMSL

I think the helmet will be ok. You could get it paid to be x-rayed I suppose if it's not a Arai lid.

I remember hitting a sparrow in my first car... Little sod got it's revenge on the way out though. It went straight into my engine bay and pushed a water pipe that connected my radiator as a dying last act!!! One instantly over heating car!!!!

[TC]

Pigeons Tend to bounce off you

I wouldn't worry to much about about a Pigeon at 60 mph

Golf balls might be different

[gaz]

had pheasant hit the mirror bracket on the fairing once, it bounced off and hurt my hand a bit, had to finish off when i stopped, poor thing was in a bit of a mess

As for the lid, pidgeons are pretty squishy but if you are already asking the question then you should change it

[Ricden69]

I was actually on my way home from sports bike shop, Leeds, and I hit a pigeon off my forehead area of the helmet around 60 miles an hour.  I’m certain when I looked in the rearview mirror the pigeon was dead, it was a big shop and quite a loud bang on the lid.    
The weird thing is, I’ve just been to purchase a new helmet, which has been posted out to me          
Do Shoei test or check helmets ? 

[Capt Sisko]

Pigeons have thicker skins than you think. I've shot a fair few, a cloud of feathers and you watch it ready to send the dog to retrieve it, and the buggers keep flying like, what was that?

Edited October 13, 2023 by Capt Sisko

[RideWithStyles]

Yea you just gave it a speedy rear entry inspection....

At least two things, it was a slower closing speed as it was going your way and hit its softer fat ass rather than speeding towards you with beak like a pick axe in your visor/helmet.

id say it will be ok with a new helmet rather than one thats 10yrs old used daily.

 

I hit a sparrow glance the clutch lever and my fingers when it just flew out of a hedge. weird saw it like bullet time and moved but still just caught it to upset its path but wasn't dead til the car behind made sure and ran it over..poor little bugger, felt bad about that for days.

 

brother did a big pheasant on the way to rockingham in the cars while on the massive 4lane perside arrow straight dual carriage way. Bloody thing couldn't make its mind up which lane or even if it wanted to cross in the first place as it went across the deserted daylight road and back thd lanes, 70+ and all i saw from behind was a massive flume of feathers but no bird. Anyway called him to say he still has the take away with him so pulled over to pull the very massive pheasant out that was at first look seems reasonably alive, mate did the last rite but was more pissed that didn't do it on yhe way home otherwise hed be wanting to take it home for tea . lucky it didn't damage the radiator but £500 of the fan, grill and spoiler, if that thing hit a bike i dont think it would have been good for anyone.

 

they are defo not bright or much into self preservation. Off roading while in a friends car that travels along this private road multiple times a day. He doesn't interact with them at all, hundred of the little ones on this lane at barely 5mph, they wouldn't move off the lane even though there was an unblocked view of the acres of fields next to the lane and generally they weren't bothered at seeing the siblings or friends a lot smaller than before and even moving infront of the tyres wanting to be "the cool kid" while the car drawled alone... that did take me by surprise. 

Edited October 13, 2023 by RideWithStyles

[mealexme]

I cant offer any advice on the helmet apart from maybe removing all the internals and visually inspecting for cracks. Obviously, this will only show up obvious damage, and certainly isn't going to show an unseen damage.

 

What I can offer, is possibly the most unusual animal to be headbutted.

I was riding to work one night in the dark (I used to do night shifts), doing maybe 40/50mph and out of nowhere a bat hit my visor and rolled off to the side.

I did have a look for it on the way home as I rode past, but it either survived and flew off, or ended up in a hedge

[RideWithStyles]

Vampire, wanted to suck your blood mwahhaah. 
at least you had your helmet on otherwise...

[RideWithStyles]

On 13/10/2023 at 21:25, Capt Sisko said:

Pigeons have thicker skins than you think. I've shot a fair few, a cloud of feathers and you watch it ready to send the dog to retrieve it, and the buggers keep flying like, what was that?

More dead brained than a zombie.

Edited October 15, 2023 by RideWithStyles

[curlylegend]

23 hours ago, RideWithStyles said:

they are defo not bright or much into self preservation. Off roading while in a friends car that travels along this private road multiple times a day. He doesn't interact with them at all, hundred of the little ones on this lane at barely 5mph, they wouldn't move off the lane even though there was an unblocked view of the acres of fields next to the lane and generally they weren't bothered at seeing the siblings or friends a lot smaller than before and even moving infront of the tyres wanting to be "the cool kid" while the car drawled alone... that did take me by surpris

They're not bird brains for nothing.....