Tankslappers explained

[Darknomad]

Hi guys and gals
What's in a tankslapper
What personal tales or vid links u have
What's causes it ( detailed descriptions welcome)
What prevents it ( same)
I know if ure really unlucky
You end up on the floor and the bike ends up an expensive jigsaw
I'm mostly interested in remedies for vtr
Though anecdotes from other bikes are welcome

[benny hedges]

had a few wobbles recently - first in heavy rain when i gave it too much throttle, back end went first, then as it straightened up the front went carried on like a hero.
and on the east lancs a580 at high speed, came over the top of a hilly bit and the front went wiggly, was going too fast & shat meself. had a very slow ride home!

the first i put down to just being too slippy and losing traction, second i think was cos my new head bearings are (were) too loose
also saw it mentioned somewhere that forks too low can have the same effect - mine were dropped 15mm into the yokes. ive since jacked them back up to 10mm lower and touch wood it hasn't happened since.

my old kwak 400 used to do it all the time so i fitted a steering damper and it was ok until i stuffed it into a car and wrote it off.

[geodude]

My recent little tank slapper was behind benny hedges heading to the cat and fiddle in the wet. Overcooked it a bit in a right to left bend, benny saw the bend and braked, I saw benny brake and braked and the back end skipped out right, left right. At least I think that's how it went. Tony was behind me and witnessed it.

Raised my heart rate a little but years of off roading when I was younger helped me stay on I'm sure.

[Darknomad]

keep em coming



great recovery ill bet he had to change underwear

[seb421]

one of the best high speed one's

[youtube][/youtube]

had a few, but my worse one was after pulling a high speed wheelie down the truck strip at work my mate pulling out on his bike and me having to brake and landing the wheelie with the front down with the wheel side way's

it was violently shaking from full left to full right to full left to full right quick as wombles, hurt my shoulder and missed my mate by inches. didn't do wheelies after that neer miss.

[benny hedges]

My recent little tank slapper was behind benny hedges heading to the cat and fiddle

remember it well lol
think it was playerone also nearly stuffed his into the back of mine as well

talkin of going into bends too hot....
from today, near oswestry...

thought i was going down lol recovered well tho - completely missed the slider apart from a little scuff!
loads of bikes out today, had a cracking run & some good races
front end feels loads more stable with forks raised a bit, adjusters wound in a bit more to make it a bit firmer, and head bearings tightened proper.

just a tip there, if you have recently fitted new head bearings, lift the top yoke off and re-tighten them after a few 100 mile, mine were well loose.

[Beamish]

The quicker a bike steers the more likely you are to suffer a tank slapper, Most really good quick handling bikes have a competent steering damper. The electronic auto damper on the new Blades nearly eradicate all shimmy so stopping slappers occuring before they evolve. I jumped from an 09 Blade to my SP2, the SP is very stable and quite slow/predictable but heavy right hand coupled to a bumpy exit then the mother of all slappers can and will bite you in the ass. One TS that I found myself in caused the on coming car to pull off the road and stop! He was that convinced I was going to come a cropper! I definately want a damper fitting when funds allow as it allows a ham fisted approach to riding (my bag I am afraid).
The Storm will shimmy and shake its head if you cross the white line under heavy accel or a bumpy road at speed but its less likely in standard guise. Some may not agree its just my personal experience.

[Twinpotter]

Tank slappers....
That's what me and Cliff (the guitarist of the band) used to call their groupies!

[tony.mon]

talkin of going into bends too hot....
from today, near oswestry...

.

Is that a dropped bollock I see below?

I take it the other one's still around your Adams Apple....

[LotusSevenMan]

Had a tank slapper on a Suzuki GT250 caused by a pot hole left after poor council roads works. Flicked me off and result was a two and a half week memory loss and a broken neck after I apparently hit the armco with my head.
Was going to get a TL Suzuki 1000 'till I read the reports so hence why I ended up with the 'Storm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tony.mon]

My recent little tank slapper was behind benny hedges heading to the cat and fiddle in the wet. Overcooked it a bit in a right to left bend, benny saw the bend and braked, I saw benny brake and braked and the back end skipped out right, left right. At least I think that's how it went. Tony was behind me and witnessed it.

Raised my heart rate a little but years of off roading when I was younger helped me stay on I'm sure.

Wasn't a tankslapper, back end stepped out and you shut the throttle- we all would.
Once the back grips again it danced a bit before getting back in line.

Went out a fair way, though, that off roading must have worked.

I've only had one proper one, on the Storm accelerating hard over cats eyes between two double whites uphill, so almost no weight on the front, which started skipping off the side of each cats eye in opposite directions lock to lock.
I managed to keep enough of a grip on the bars to keep the throttle open and it settled down all by itself.
Bloody hard not to shut off, though, as that's your instinct every time. However that way Armco lies......