Lesse... KE equals 1/2 mv squared, I was going 65...
I was on my SV650 the other week, returning from a trip to see friends somewhat late at night. I'm just a few miles from home when there's a flash of feathers in front of my visor. All I could register was a panel of brown and tan feathers, so close I can see the detail in the feather pattern, and then in an instant it was gone.
I figure it had to be an owl, probably the wing, but what really got me was there was absolutely no warning, and how close it was. I have no idea how I missed it, as I'd swear it was just a few feet away and must have just gone over my head.
Most troubling about the whole incident is the thought of what would have happened if I had taken the owl to the head. I wear a full-face helmet, but I have doubts the visor would do much, and I'm sure I'd go flying off the back of the bike. At freeway speeds, it would not have ended well.
This makes the third bird I've nearly taken to the head (second owl), but at least for the first two I had time to spot them and duck.
I figure it had to be an owl, probably the wing, but what really got me was there was absolutely no warning, and how close it was. I have no idea how I missed it, as I'd swear it was just a few feet away and must have just gone over my head.
Most troubling about the whole incident is the thought of what would have happened if I had taken the owl to the head. I wear a full-face helmet, but I have doubts the visor would do much, and I'm sure I'd go flying off the back of the bike. At freeway speeds, it would not have ended well.
This makes the third bird I've nearly taken to the head (second owl), but at least for the first two I had time to spot them and duck.