DAMN my R1 is the Tank Slapper King!

[fubar929]

My R6 used to have a seriously bad head-shake that would turn into a tank slapper going in a straight line on a smooth road with the steering damper turned down. I found it was the Dunlop 208GPs I had on it. Even though they were balanced I think the tire was coming apart as it had a nice "slice" from left to right. I had to ride my bike with the damper almost at full stiff and I'd get a nice "boogie" in the front end at anything over 130mph.

Certain bikes can be very sensitive to tire choice. I had problems using Dunlop DOT tires on my 929. The same sort of front-end wobble/wiggle/slapper described for this particular R1. I too would recommend checking the things Enchanter recommended. If you're using a DOT tire, you might consider switching to a street tire to see if the situation improves.

If that doesn't help, go buy an Ohlins rod-type steering damper. After extensive experience on road and track with Scott's dampers, I'm now an Ohlins convert for whatever that's worth...

 

[MelloGixxer]

No comparison of a tank slapper to head shakers.
A good tank slap will make you pull over to catch
your breath and if you a male you will have to pull
over to to get your "NUTZ" out of your stomach.
A tank slapper can also turn into a highside if your
not careful.

 

[DVB1]

Damn!

[
tankslappers are the bars going from lock to lock. i doubt that's whats happening to you FWIW. headshakes are the bars just moving left/right (varying degrees).

this is a tankslapper [/B][/QUOTE]


If that's a tankslapper I've never felt one! Just one bad head shake and a few litte ones.

 

[streetsquid]

I've felt tank slappers before. I was educated on them in a harsh way by a then new model CBR900RR. It was very similar to the video with similar results.

Luckily when it happened on my R6 I was able to catch it before it became unrecoverable. Yep, tank slappers suck big time. But any of the newest stock bikes should NOT give you a tank slapper with the conditions you have described. Nevertheless, I would recommend (personally) steering dampers to make even the smallest wiggles a "non-event".

Aside: I have a Scott's on my R6 and I've had the Ohlins "stick" type damper on my R1 and RC51. If I had a chance to do it all over again, it dump the Scott's and get the Ohlins stick damper in a heartbeat.

 

[k rayz 650]

How much do you weigh?

I know you aren't a dude and may find this question personal, but I am asking for scientific reason.

I guess I could just say that if your weight is significantly above the weight that the bike is sprung for it will ride loose and wobble.

130lbs, ....okay, prolly 135 after todays lunch.

 

[Leonard]

No comparison of a tank slapper to head shakers.
A good tank slap will make you pull over to catch
your breath and if you a male you will have to pull
over to to get your "NUTZ" out of your stomach.
A tank slapper can also turn into a highside if your
not careful.

Yep no kidding. You know when you have had a tank slapper!

I had a real tank slapper once. The bars went whack against the tank on one side and then went whack on the other and the tail end was swinging around and I left the seat and lost hold of the bars.

I fell back down on the seat and whammied on the tank and finally got hold of the bars and got my feet back on the pegs as the front end did a few more gyrations and finally settled.

I had hit a serious bump while slightly leaned over and hard on the throttle.

People like to call wobbles tankslappers, but they are not. Wobbles happen all the time on twitchy bikes if you hit a bump the wrong way.

 

[k rayz 650]

while not the same i rode my bro's R6 once to frisco but didn't have the damper on (too lazy to put on). coming out of 19th onto 280S, the fast lane has a bump in it. fairly significant IMO. i hit it and had a nice headshake. i was expecting it so i loosened up on the bars (more) and let the bike correct itself. it wasn't a tankslapper but it gave me a little scare. was slightly hard on the gas before then. i wasn't checking speedo but i was porbably hitting that bump around 80-85mph.

tankslappers are the bars going from lock to lock. i doubt that's whats happening to you FWIW. headshakes are the bars just moving left/right (varying degrees).

this is a tankslapper

Oh hell no, that link is a tank slapper? I never had that, but somethin close twice....whew, OMG that looked scary. So now I should change the title of the post after seeing that clip.

 

[a1scoot]

I ride an 03 R1 and am willing to guess I am more aggressive
on mine than you....
You have not experienced a tank slapper but merely a wobble.
You might not have the forearm strength to handle it (nothing personal)....
My suggestion....sell it and buy a smaller bike or hit the gym
and get some arm strength....
Ya wanna run with the big dogs ya gotta pay the price..
Have fun,
a1scoot

 

[Sharky]

Tank slappers are fun! j/k

 

[k rayz 650]

I ride an 03 R1 and am willing to guess I am more aggressive
on mine than you....
You have not experienced a tank slapper but merely a wobble.
You might not have the forearm strength to handle it (nothing personal)....
My suggestion....sell it and buy a smaller bike or hit the gym
and get some arm strength....
Ya wanna run with the big dogs ya gotta pay the price..
Have fun,
a1scoot

...Im prolly stronger than you
nothin personal....okay, okay, I gotta give myself a good laugh. I agree with you in that, I have experienced a "wobble"
Sell the bike....you gotta be f" in kiddin

 

[thunderex]

yeah, it sounds like you're getting headshake. if you had that many tankslappers, you wouldn't have the bike anymore and you'd be buying all new gear.

 

[Leonard]

If all you have had is a little head shake when hitting a bump, which is what I think happened, then just get a dampner and learn to ride it out.

You don't actually hold on tight when that happens. In fact you loosen on the bars and just dial on the throttle.

The R1 has a steeper head angle, shorter wheelbase and way more power compared to your Seca II and SV. It is going to feel different and shake a little given the aggressive geometry.

Hey how do you manage to get all of these bikes anyway?

 

[deaconblues]

I've noticed my FZ getting slightly squirrely if I'm gassin' it on a sweeper curve (especially on the freeway with those rain grooves)... but I figure it's just the bike and the road working out who's boss. Only headshake I ever got was on Tunitas Creek... ran over a good sized "root bump" in the road... and the bars went wobble wobble as the bike recovered.

k rayz - I'm thinking that tehre's DEFINITELY something funky with the suspension or the tires.... but Alan can sort it out if you let him have some road time. And yah, a steering damper will "make things more comfortable" but if there's a problem it'll just mask the symptoms. best to get those sorted out first.

 

[k rayz 650]

If all you have had is a little head shake when hitting a bump, which is what I think happened, then just get a dampner and learn to ride it out.

You don't actually hold on tight when that happens. In fact you loosen on the bars and just dial on the throttle.

The R1 has a steeper head angle, shorter wheelbase and way more power compared to your Seca II and SV. It is going to feel different and shake a little given the aggressive geometry.

Hey how do you manage to get all of these bikes anyway?

I have actually gotten accustomed to it. light on the bars and grip the gas tank with my legs. you're right about the steeper head angle..that makes the difference too now that you mention it.

I luv the bike soooo much, I just ride it out, no problem.

 

[donoman]

They weren't kidding when they said that an R1 isn't the greatest bike for a beginner, huh...

 

[nine]

They weren't kidding when they said that an R1 isn't the greatest bike for a beginner, huh...

 

[BATTMAN]

I've hit that bump on hwy 4 too. That bump will definitely knock you out the seat. Your suspension may need to be set for your weight. I had to have mine set on my CBR. Go to Doc Wong's clinic. I'd like to go to that myself.

 

[Leonard]

K Ray Z R1 Mystery

Here is an update on the mystery of the head shaking K Ray Z R1.

Since K Ray weighs about the same as me and I have wanted to ride a new R1 I invited her over to let me check out the bike and offered to let her ride my RC that is set up for a 140lbs person.

First let me confirm that K Ray is a real person. She really is a motorcycle crazy "Sista" from Oakland who has a very new shiny R1 that she just loves.

When she arrived and we talked about her bike I noticed how into her bike she is and how she really is like the person she seems to be in her posts.

Then I noticed how racy looking that R1 is. It looks like a jet fighter ready to take off. I sat on it and felt ready to do hot laps around a speedway at 200+. The next thing I noticed is that it didn't move when I sat on it.

So we rode out Tassajara to Highland road where we found plenty of bumps to test the suspension. I noticed right away that it was set way stiff. It would hit bumps and the suspension would not move and the wheel would deflect and there was a little head shake on some of the sharp bumps. So K Ray was not crazy when she said that something was up.

So we stopped and I checked the settings and it was set 3/4 of the way to full stiff on compression and rebound on the front and rear. I backed everything off to 1/2 and we went down Highland and I noticed that the changes made a great improvement. The suspension absorbed the bumps pretty well although it was still a bit stiff. It was quite stable at various speeds on the straights and in the corners so I don't think that the bike has any defects.

So my feeling it that the excessive head shake was due to too stiff suspension settings. I am also thinking that the bike might be sprung a bit stiff for a 140lbs person. I am 160 in gear and it still felt a bit stiff to me. Typically 600s are sprung for people my weight and 1000s are sprung for about 180lbs but I would like to confirm that.

Otherwise the bike obviously has very aggressive geometry and I feel it will some times shake a little on bumpy roads no matter what and a rider has to deal with that. It could also use a dampner just to smooth things out.

K Ray said she liked how my bike was softer sprung and how the dampner kept it more controlled. The sun was going down so K Ray had to hurry home and we couldn't do any more testing, but she ageed that her bike felt much better. We are going to test it again later and maybe soften it up a bit more and check a few other things.

So there you have it.

Here is a picture of K Ray and her bike at the end of Highland on the way back.

 

[johnny929]

Check to make sure the steering head bearings are ok and that the nuts is adjusted correctly, I had a sililar problem, had it checked and fixed, cured to problem up.


Mike.

 

[R1grrl]

I don't care what you say... I don't think she is real.... I do not believe it is possible/probable for a woman to own a later model R1.






hmmm... but now you have me thinking about mine - and now i want to mess with my suspension as I weigh 125-130.... as soon as I get the rearsets all fixed again Imma gonna try this out...
thanks for the info