What can one do during a "Tank Slapper" moment?

[fqzaxon]

This past Sunday, I was at Thunderhill and towards the end of the day, I was feeling really good with my pace. At about the 4th lap of the 6th session, I was coming over the crest of Turn 9 (heading towards Turn 10) when my front end lifted just enough for my counter steering input to change the steering direction of the wheel.. And upon landing, the front violently entered a tank slapper mentality. ... I was very lucky to have gotten out of it without a scratch but I also, don't have much clue as to what I did (or if I even did anything) to help stop it. All I remember doing was tightening up my arms and locking them to try and fight the flapping of the clip-ons. Not sure if that contributed or not. My curiosity is: Is there any preventative measures one can take once they're in the midst of a tank slapper?

[youtube]Mbi4Q4wKNVI&fmt=18[/youtube]

 

[kyles here]

holy fuck! that will sure make your ass pucker! get a damper ASAP...what happened was you got the tire off the ground and your pushing right on the clip ons so when you come down the tire isnt straight. the problem with tank slappers is they happen so god damn fast! your save was pure luck. while it is the hardest, the best thing to do is let go, not completely but enough to where you can still control the bike. when you lock your arms and try to fight it, it only makes things worse.

preventative measures....dont have a death grip and get a damper

 

[R6Raff]

Ive been through a tank slapper in the past and I made it through it, without a damper too I cant honestly tell you what I did, because it happened so fast that I pretty much have no recollection of the incident except for that it happened. I can tell you what I think you should do when one occurs though

You should not try and fight a tank slapper, 99.8% of the time your "corrections" wont be good enough to reduce its effect and 99.9% of your efforts will only serve to feed additional energy into the oscillation process. Relaxing you arms on the bars will allow the bike to naturally align itself... but relaxing during that moment is like trying to relax when you have a maniac pointing a 50cal pistol at your melon, not that I would know but one could assume Ive also heard that slightly accelerating relieves weight off the front which reduces the effects and allows the front to align faster and with less ferocity.

Under no circumstances should you apply the front brakes, this only serves to increase the front load and to upset the bike even further.

My first hand knowledge of tank slappers is minimal, and to be honest I learned nothing from my one incident other than I can handle my self in an "oh fuck me!!" situation. I sure hope other people chime in with their experiences and either reinforces what I have said, added to what I have said or corrected me... so that everyone who reads this thread might have a slightly better chances to make it through one of these pucker moments.

Safe

 

[Spec-ECU]

I've already given you my 2 cents, particularly on dealing with the crest out of Turn 9.

Next time, don't bring such a nice and shiny bike to the track.

Oh, wait...

 

[Lovedoc]

I get headshake a lot on that hill, usually if I'm gripping the bars a little tight. To avoid it, I try to stand the bike up straight before cresting the hill and gassing it, that way I don't have any reason to pull on a bar. To deal with it, STAY ON THE GAS, and relax your grip.

 

[ucb]

Im gonna start staying in 4th over the hill to try to keep headshake at bay. Even with a damper I still get quite a bit of movement in the bars

 

[skelotor]

gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it gas it
get that front wheel off the grond! Thats all I have to say about that!

 

[ucb]

wheelies scare me :|

 

[kyles here]

wheelies scare me :|

is that why you got the newer R6? those things cant wheelie dumping the clutch at 17.5k rpm|) in first gear

 

[ucb]

lolk damn straigh, although I did pull a wheelie exitng T11 at sears, scurred me so I promptly chopped the throttle and set it down. T12 corner worker looked at me like I was nuts

 

[TheRomanSF415x]

that was hairy.. wow

 

[Spec-ECU]

By the way, Bess asked me to tell you to get/stay on the gas during a tankslapper.

 

[Jello_Biafra]

Im gonna start staying in 4th over the hill to try to keep headshake at bay. Even with a damper I still get quite a bit of movement in the bars

4th through 9 makes it much easier to carry speed through there than clicking down to 3rd anyway.

 

[kyles here]

im gonna have to try staying in 4th, i usually downshift to 3rd to stay in the powerband and then im back into 4th on top of the hill to keep the front end down

 

[ap430]

I havent had any head shake ever since I put the GPR on my 07 RR. I have set it to about 10 to 12 usually. Keep in mind the 07 RR comes with a stock steering stabilizer but I swear I never felt it working when I needed it on the track.

I try to prevent wheelies by getting my chest on the tank and head over the front .
Either way Johnny, you got luck mayn. Other wise that new shinny baby off yours would off been not soo pretty

I did do a stand up wheelie one time coming out off 9, because I accidently dropped into 2nd gear and got on the gas hard! That was scary!

 

[ucb]

Dang thats stiff..mine is at like 2. I tried putting it at 3 but the it was turning in all slow

 

[ap430]

Dang thats stiff..mine is at like 2. I tried putting it at 3 but the it was turning in all slow

for real... I have had mine up to 15 or so and still have no problem turning in. Only in the pits I have issues and slow speeds

 

[immortal]

Well, the first thing you should do is try to gas it as much as possible. Slowing down/locking your arms will only make the oscillation in the front wheel worse causing the tank slapper to get even worse as a result.

Never get off the gas, just gas it hard and let the front do its thing. By fighting/absorbing it, you are just transmitting the vibrations to your entire bike.

Also you might want to pick a better line through 9 as well, so you are pointed in the right direction when you get on the gas down to 10.

I get minor tank slappers through 9 every time, but because I stay on the gas hard and don't fight it, it never makes it to my back wheel like yours did in the video.

 

[tiltedworld]

This past Sunday, I was at Thunderhill and towards the end of the day, I was feeling really good with my pace. At about the 4th lap of the 6th session, I was coming over the crest of Turn 9 (heading towards Turn 10) when my front end lifted just enough for my counter steering input to change the steering direction of the wheel.. And upon landing, the front violently entered a tank slapper mentality. ... I was very lucky to have gotten out of it without a scratch but I also, don't have much clue as to what I did (or if I even did anything) to help stop it. All I remember doing was tightening up my arms and locking them to try and fight the flapping of the clip-ons. Not sure if that contributed or not. My curiosity is: Is there any preventative measures one can take once they're in the midst of a tank slapper?

[youtube]Mbi4Q4wKNVI&fmt=18[/youtube]

You amplified the normal headshake into a slapper by tightening your arms. Stay loose on the bars and don't fight it

Like Ken said, gas it...

im gonna have to try staying in 4th, i usually downshift to 3rd to stay in the powerband and then im back into 4th on top of the hill to keep the front end down

I keep it in 3rd to pull up the hill in the powerband and shift to 4th as I wheelie and crest the hill. Brings the front wheel right down and I stay WOT.

 

[immortal]

Btw guys, I wouldn't recommend slapping a damper on there and saying that the problem is gone.

The real problem still exists, you're just putting a band aid over it. The real solution is to get your suspension settings/geometry fixed so that your bike isn't so twitchy, then you add a steering damper for extra security.

Movement in the bars is not a bad things guys, watch any rider riding "hard" and you'll see the bars move around a lot. That's just how motorcycles are designed to work. If your front wasn't able to move around like that (damper on highest setting, fighting the bars, etc), the oscillations that are not in sync with your bike will just be transmitted through the entire frame and through you, causing unpleasant situations. Don't ever fight against what the bike is doing, you want to get along with it like best buds. This applies to everything you do on the bike, not just tank slappers.