Go and get a RooTED

Vlad

Premier Member
#43
Jaycar had a couple of options when I looked and I went with the 92 db plastic one. We took the Mt Lindsay hwy back from Qld recently and the vibration caused the plastic foot to break at the mount point. Nicely gaffer tapped up now. Seems to work tho , no issues with Roos up to or back from Cooktown but it did spook the cattle. Haven't tried it on the dog. :)
 
#44
Fatman useful info. Thank you for that. Not proper scientific based research here but two more things. It seems to me bright moonshine as in clear skies near full moon have an effect too, less trouble. The 'Animal Alert' whistles, sound experience of it showed it working fairly well on the african continent making animals and especially birds heads-up to look up and then move away. In Australia it really frightened me when I saw how roos react to them. The roos seemed to panick, become disorientated and hop at high speed in totally random directions often towards the bike. Birds in Australia seemed to react in similar manner to it as on the african continent.
 

Fatman

Well-Known Member
#46
Ron I use a Hella reversing beeper I believe it is 87 DB and it is a beep beep type sound. See pics on page 1 of this thread.

I have music playing so we don't hear it beeping. I have a waterproof rocker type switch (different to the one pictured on page 1) purchased from Jaycar which has a red light in it when switched on which is handy to see at a glance that the RooTED is switched on. I have it mounted close to my left hand for easy turn on and off.

The speed I find my set up to work well at is between 80-90kmh, at that speed it gives the roos time to hear us on approach and then time to make their choice to jump away. The beeper loudness may make a difference to the speed that works for you?

At night I only turn it off when coming into a town.

That beeper I have on the bike is still the same original unit and has done a lot of beeping since I fitted it and still operates well, I don't think I would buy a cheap unit.
 

Fatman

Well-Known Member
#48
Hi Fatman why didn't you tell me before my encounter
How are you and Lynne doing.
Hey Tom Tom, I thought everyone knows about a RooTED it has been posted up for a few years now. :rolleyes::rolleyes:
It is not a guarantee to stop all roos from hitting you or visa versa in fact there have been a few riders that have hit a roo even with the RooTED turned on (not sure what speed they were doing prior to impact) but I have found it gives me a lot better chance to avoid the buggers.

We are both going well thank you, more to the point how are you getting on Foster, any plans to return down to the colony?
 

Gatey

Premier Member
IBA Member
#50
Talking to Crappy after the Birdsville / Byron Bay run this week he had a different type of beeper to Fatman's that he said worked well.
Full range of emergency services noises rotating while on.
That part in bold will require the ridder to show due diligence to operate in the most suitable locations only.
This is not a shot. The device is a smart way to deal with a problem.
My post is simply to say use the things wisely so we do not grow a new problem.
Now Ill sit back and watch some flack Im sure.
 

Crappy

Premier Member
#52
Agree 100% Gatey, I only used on outback roads where there was no traffic either way all night and no towns or civilisation.

The comment of emergency services sirens is how I described the six noises that came from the unit they are not emergency service sirens.


To clarify.
It is simply a cheap small Jaycar item that is used to wire up to a car alarm.
I brought it by mistake thinking it was a reversing beeper.
I thought the cycle of different noises may have been better though one is a bit lame.


Jaycar link

Does it work ? My assessment only !

I think it helps but it only amplifies what roos normally do anyway and has risk of them running at you.

Without the alarm as long as your bike projects noise forward 85% to 90% of roos will jump away anyway. 10% decided to run across in front of you and 5% either stand still not knowing what to do or hop at you last minute.

With the alarm on nearly 100% reacted somehow.

95% jumped away, 4.5% stood still ears pricked 0.05% stayed down eating and three ran at the noise full speed last minute, I clipped all three .

I was happy with my split second reactions which avoided full blown hits. The first two were taken under brakes one just clipping the front wheel enough to move the bars but took a piece out of the front guard, the second went over the front wheel just grazing the lights somehow with no damage. The last one was coming flat out at the oil window low and fast I grabbed throttle and he just clipped the rear of the pannier with no damage.
 

Gatey

Premier Member
IBA Member
#55
Hi Crappy
Thank you for your follow up post as it has confirmed for me some observations we both share.
May I put forward some observations and conclusions?

As a professional commercial hunter across all of Australia's harvest species native and those declared as vermin time has taught me that commonality, regularity and judicial frequency of "A "sound does promote (within all the critters above) an understanding or log of suitable responses
TO A DEGREE. Lets say 88%.
Those reposes are the ones that are most often seen as predictable normality. EXAMPLE 1 A roo has its body back to you down feeding. Its cold and its first light. That roo in this case is most unlikely to lift and cross your path. Its most unlikely to see the lights and its own shadows as a threat.

EXAMPLE 2 a Roo 45 degree to you or away from you towards the road (in this case) or pointing away from the road and torso up will physically be in a position to respond. It is already reading natures inputs. Its sated enough to rethink and amend its reckonings. ( the roo above is feeding now) Its desperation, Hunger or thirst even only perhaps momentary has now been slaked. It will be less likely to move. Think here our food comer. Animals get this too. Example 2 is more often not going to move.

And then a new confused and desperate noise turns up. This is now over and above lights and shadows.
It does not fit the parameters of the opening paragraph. Tonality, decibels and frequency are scrambled. The repetition is rapid and changing.
The degree of urgency is massively elevated. This sound for that critter is not the council dump truck. Its not a Bdouble with cattle its not a grey nomad. Its a town noise BUT they dont know that. IF THE HEAD TURNS CHEEK ON TO YOU YOU HAVE NOW BEEN RECOGNISED AS A PHYSICAL DANGER. What follows will be decided by example one or two.
As a shooter if they present a cheek then the shot must go at that moment. That shot in our bike riding situation means a suitable rider action/response at that moment/now.

In both examples they are hearing a tirade of mixed messages. unlike the repetitive revers beacon. Those mixed messages will Will promote for us and unreasonable response in our minds and a suitable action in the roos mind..
Our response to similar noicse is to look for an amubulance or fire truck and get out of its way.
The critter will get out of its way then look.

Do you follow the reasoning guys.
 

Gatey

Premier Member
IBA Member
#56
The observation above is made around stationary critters at the roadside.
Read on.

This has absolutely nothing at all to do with the motivated roos crossing at speed..
What we witness of roos or camels crossing a road at speed is the refined outcome of my previous post. The outcome of fright.

To counter this and gear my thinking as Im passing through the landscape at speed

I make a habit of learning the look of locations of roos for example out in the crops or the lack of crops during the day. And bank that look away in my minds eye. Its made up of the shape of long grasses at the edge of fallows paddocks the condition of the top or mid wires in fences, the number of holes in the netting, furrows in gullys or table drains, crow counts, smell and taist of the air. The frequecny of tractors , farm trucks, cropping or sowing activitys. Are the Silos working along the train line? All this is data for the observant rider in regards natures critters.
I learn the look of grasses and landscape being grazed by roos or goats or sheep or horse or cattle. I learn the look of the grasses in similar or adjacent places. Is this producign natural funnels. natures crossing places. Bottlenecks.
I log this. Maybe Ive learned this anyway now and Im just refering to the log of my passage.

Its this log that puts my speed maybe down 10 or 15 ks.
Its what made me ponder the midday roos stike that very day on that very locatation near Hermidale NSW that took Tiger Bill out.
Outside influences are what make roos flash across the road at speed and thats nothing to do with your impending infuence.
As a rider in that situation you a a feather in a gale.