Wobble

[Thistledown]

I have never had much experience with wobble but I would expect that there are some do's and don't should it happen. Let's just say for the sake of discussion that one is going down the road, say at a nice comfy 60 mph , jacks it up to 75 to pass and wow, it starts wobbling like crazy. I suppose the first thing would be to let off on the gas. How about breaking? Is the an excepted procedure? I ask because years ago I had a blowout, and not a clue what to do, I hit the break, wrong way and wrong time to find out, so I thought I would get the jump on it and ask about wobble.

[Kregerdoodle]

I have never had it happen but have heard others say that it gets worse as you let off the gas.....

[Ponch]

Had it happen on my Second Gen. I gave it a little gas and it went away. Never happened again.

[Silver Bullet]

Ihade it happen on my GW once. but I was going streight down the road. when I got stoped I found that my front tire was way low of air ..I had my harley pump with me. although it took a while to get her back up that fixed it...

[Guest Swifty]

I've had high speed wobble AND rear blow out.

Wobble...I would say NOT to let off the gas completely in one shot; my experience is that that just makes the wobble worst. I've found that easing off the throttle slowly, and then very carefully and gently riding the bars until you're back to a slower speed has worked for me....no braking.

Blow out...I don't know if there is anything you can do. Each swing goes further and becomes more violent than the last one, and it just gets worse with every second, so I think the faster you can get it slowed down the better. I managed to stay vertical but I might not have if it went for another couple of swings and if I didn't get it slowed quickly. I was doing about 70mph with a trailer. Some think that because I had a trailer it helped to keep the bike vertical; other say I was just dam lucky because the trailer would make a rear blow out wobble worse.

[Eck]

Ouch..............this wobble will leave a scar

http://www.geocities.com/motorcycle_.../tankslap2.mpg

 

First thing I would do is pull in the clutch and let off the gas at same time..Do not apply the brakes until you have it under control.

Then and only then "slightly" apply the front brake first for a sligth drag onthe front wheel, then apply the rear..only to slow it down..

Never slam on the brakes...

In my opinion, speeding up causes "more bruises" (or worse), iif you cant (or dont) get it under control..............

[loehring]

My experience with a wobble was due to worn bearings. Slowing quickly would make it worse due to front loading. I've never had a "blow out". Most tires are designed not to unless you have a catastrophic sidewall failure. I think all this advise is pretty good. Gradual slowing and never panic.

 

I had one tank slapper years ago on an '84 Wing. It was wet and I let off the clutch too quick on a downshift. The rear tire broke loose and it was all I could do to stay verticle. I'll NEVER do that again!!!! I'm just not the adrenaline junkie I once was and my heart was in my throat at 70+. Not Good!!

[Guest Popeye]

I've only had a case of wobble once, when I first brought my 86VR home after buying it. 150 mile ride on the turnpike at 70 mph.

It came out of nowhere. I let off throttle & let it stabilize.

At the next stop, I learned it was low pressure in tires.

 

 

There have been times when I got a 'hint' of wobble when passing a semi on a windy day & 2up, but I knew then it just needed some more momentum to stabilize. Something of a no-brainer with those conditions, good tires with same day pressure check.

 

Had a rear blowout once, a few decades ago at 50 mph. I knew time was a huge factor, so I used both brakes, instantly, to drop as much speed as quick as possible. Probably the only reason I didn't side-swipe anyone.

 

I check tire pressure before scoot goes anywhere.

Compressor is in garage, but finding air on the road is much harder than it used to be.

The rear tire is always a pain to get to, but if I didn't check it, I 'd have to be thinking about it for the entire ride. Easier to just check.

[Freebird]

I had problems with the '88 Venture. If you removed your hands from the grips even for a second, it would go into a wobble. I repacked and adjust the head bearings and it helped but did not correct it. I never did get rid of it completely. Have never had a problem with the '99.

 

When I was MUCH younger and VERY MUCH dumber, I had a friend with a new Kawasaki Ninja. He told me that it was supposed to run about 165 MPH but he would never know. I volunteered to find out for him. I took it down a rural part of I30 in Texas and put it to the test. At somewhere between 155 and 160 MPH, it developed a shake or wobble. I found that as long as I tried to hold it at a steady speed that it would go away but every time I tried to slow down in any manner, it would get increasingly worse. I figured I was in somewhat of a bind because sooner or later, I was going to have to somehow stop. After tried several different things, I finally just gritted my teeth and let off the throttle. It got very bad and it was all I could do to hold on when suddenly around 140 MPH or so...it started smoothing out again.

 

Scared the crap out of me. When I finally did get stopped, I just pulled over onto the shoulder and smoked a few cigarettes. I know I was very lucky.

[Guest KitCarson]

To speed up.......accelerate through the wobble.....is an old piece of nonsense put out years ago just like do not use the front brake. That was something a lot of riders used to say........all nonsense. Sometimes a high speed wobble or tank slapper does occur with these large bikes with fairings. A tank slapper where it yanks the bars out of your hands and will actually break your hands.....generally occurs at high speeds over 95 to 100 mph. A true tank slapper is just luck if you get it under control.....something you should not have to worry about if you are a responsible rider. Wobble is very different......low tire....bad bearings.......air flow on the fairing sometimes when passing a big truck.......simply gradually and easy slow it down.....this is the one time the rear brake should be used more than the front....if you do have a low tire....front brake just makes it worse.......use the rear.....and easy does it....slow it down. The wobble will get worse for a bit as you do slow down......just get it down to about 50 and start pumping that rear brake...little skids are okay...a slide is not.......once under 50 it is under control anyway.

 

I almost died one day on a sport bike....was all the way up to 160 mph.....and it went into a high speed tank slapper.........I got it down to about 70 before it went down........used to do some stupid stuff.....sure did.

[Guest Popeye]

"I figured I was in somewhat of a bind because sooner or later, I was going to have to somehow stop."

 

 

Freebird;

THAT"S a funny story. I'm sure it wasn't at the time, but now it's a screamin' hoot!!

What a pickle of circumstance.

 

I can actually see the look on your face.

[cmiles3]

If it's a "tank slapper", there's a few articles online that discuss how to survive. The best way is to fix the problem before it happens.

 

If it's a rear tire problem, slowing down can be a problem. I tried chopping the throttle and braking when a rear tire deflated rapidly on me last summer (smaller scooter, not a Venture); the wobble got worse quickly. A slight increase in throttle stabilized it for me; followed by a gentle reduction in throttle. I had to increase throttle a few times to stabilize, while "coasting" to a stop. It didn't have linked brakes, so braking the Venture in those conditions might be different. It feels wierd to roll on the throttle to stop.

 

Low tire pressure wobbles may be overcome by slowing down, but you still have the problem.

 

There's other kinds of wobbles, that you might notice in those situations. One response may not work for all the types of problems that can happen.

[Guest KitCarson]

Got to watch those Ninja's Don........that was the one I was on....just had to see how it ran........mine never did fix itself........did miss the barbwire fence though......and the plowed field slowed it down quick:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:I did not smoke no cigarettes......just had weak knees for about an hour!!

[Snarley Bill]

i had a gs 1100 suzuki drag bike built to the hilt with the best of everything, that would go into a wobble everytime it would hit 110 mph.i would'nt trust any bike past 120 mph without a good steering damper.riding faster than that without one is like a suicide run.when you find out you got a wobble it's to late.i,m shopping for one for my zx14 now just to be on the safe side.when you know your going to make a high speed run you can screw it down tight.thats one of the first up grades for a sport bike if your going to go fast safely.the three big causes of front end wobble are worn tires,loose swingarm bearings,and and misalignment between the front and rear tire.

[Marcarl]

Now this is not to change the thread, but I just finished taking the motor out of my 85 to do 2nd gear. In the process I noticed that a lot of the bolts holding this scooter together were not what I would consider tight. Now I had thought that I had gone over them all last winter, when I did the front end, but either I missed some or they came loose again. I'm going assume that they loosened off again and so will check them more often. When the frame bolts, engine mounts and that type of fasteners are even a little bit loose, then a wobble is there for the asking. So my advice is: Steering head bearings, Swing arm, Tire pressure, and an all around torquing of all the bolts on a regular basis.

[CrazyHorse]

i had a gs 1100 suzuki drag bike built to the hilt with the best of everything, that would go into a wobble everytime it would hit 110 mph.i would'nt trust any bike past 120 mph without a good steering damper.riding faster than that without one is like a suicide run.when you find out you got a wobble it's to late.i,m shopping for one for my zx14 now just to be on the safe side.when you know your going to make a high speed run you can screw it down tight.thats one of the first up grades for a sport bike if your going to go fast safely.the three big causes of front end wobble are worn tires,loose swingarm bearings,and and misalignment between the front and rear tire.

 

Arent 1st gens wheels offset to begin with?

[Eck]

 

Arent 1st gens wheels offset to begin with?

 

 

I heard it was ALWAYS the driver being "offset"

[Guest KitCarson]

Harleys are good ones to never speed on....just by their nature and the rear drive either chain or belt.....and adjusting the rear wheel to the front with a piece of string is not the most accurate in the world......of all the bikes I have ever ridden....a chain or belt drive bike is the most likely to go into a wobble, because of the misalignment of the rear tire, with the front......that I suppose is one of the things I did not like about the new Victory......it has a belt drive.

Should never bother one of us who never exceed 90 anyway......but a young one still not having learned what can happen........it can especially with these type drives. Might not be a plowed field to land in either!!

[Snarley Bill]

 

Arent 1st gens wheels offset to begin with?

 

 

I heard it was ALWAYS the driver being "offset"

hey eck don't you have to be a little offset to own a 1rst gen.

[Thistledown]

I thank you all for the input, there is a wealth of knowledge and experience in this group.

[Mariner Fan]

I had a wobble or maybe a tank slapper (pretty sure it was a tank slapper) back in the late 70's early 80's.

 

A buddy of mine just got a Honda 750 and invited me to take it for a ride. I don't remember how fast I was going, but considering my age at the time it was as fast as it could go. I remember hanging on for dear life and slowing down. I still don't know how I managed to stay upright, but after I pulled over it took me awhile to get my wits back.

 

Never so scared in my life! Hope to never go through that again.

[Guest KitCarson]

Don says it best!! That is one of the funniest things I have read for awhile. But also so very true.......going so fast like we used to do sometimes and it goes into a wobble.....power is gone no more speed.....you start to slow down and it gets worse....so back up to speed......still gets worse......you know you are in trouble.....not quite sure what to do about it......it is kinda like that fellow Jerry Clower who knocked the coon out of the tree and hollers.......just shoot someone....one of us has to have some relief!!

[Snarley Bill]

I had a wobble or maybe a tank slapper (pretty sure it was a tank slapper) back in the late 70's early 80's.

 

A buddy of mine just got a Honda 750 and invited me to take it for a ride. I don't remember how fast I was going, but considering my age at the time it was as fast as it could go. I remember hanging on for dear life and slowing down. I still don't know how I managed to stay upright, but after I pulled over it took me awhile to get my wits back.

 

Never so scared in my life! Hope to never go through that again.

i had two cb 750's a 1970 and a 1973.they would both do about 106 mph wide open.one day i was riding on the highway and a guy on a cb 750 was coming the other way.he got into a tank slapper and the next thing i know the bike and him are going end over end on the grass on the shoulder.i got off at the next exit and luckily he was okay.darn near tore his foot off.i had to put a turnicut on it ,and some young lady in a car took him to the hospital.made a believer out of me.that was about thirty five years ago.

[pegscraper]

A tourniquet. That means he lost his foot anyway.

[loehring]

hey eck don't you have to be a little offset to own a 1rst gen.

That's why I joined this group.