One main thing you didn't touch on was tire to tire alignment. Hence why the notches are on the back wheel. If you move your back wheel for any reason make sure it is aligned correctly. This is a major cause of speed wobble.
@@JayyBird93 self explanitory statement... either you or the handles slap the tank and it gives the bike a input to react and it normaly fixes it with that.
I'm from the UK and passed my bike test in 1983. This involved the examiner being on foot and watching you ride for as long as you were visible to him. For about half the test, you weren't visible to him at all. I know tests have become tougher since but what my 42 years of riding has taught me is that all new riders should learn what all main parts of a bike are - and how to make sure they're working properly. This should absolutely be part of the test and wish it had been for mine because it would have saved me from two horrific lock to lock tankslappers that, thankfully I managed to recover from. Sure, I learned over time from friends about the importance of tyre pressures, fork maintenance/operation, wheel alignment etc. But this should have been taught/learned as part of the test. If you're new to riding, teach yourself about this - it's crucial. The fact the test doesn't require it is outrageous. Make sure you don't suffer from this omission.
About the wheel alignment, at my place it's usually either the manufacturing is trash (well, domestically and horribly made bikes from Chinese licenses) that the whole frame of the bike is messed up, or teenagers' (or dudes with the mindset of one) modding goes wrong. I've been told by my father that I must get friends riding behind me on test rides, filming it on different angle then show me along with their reviews on me riding, in case I want to buy cheap/suspicious/nobrand ones. "You're my only son" he said, and almost a decade later I'm still riding the bike he bought for me - I never bother buying new one out fear that it would make him worry. About "Darwinism", man... Sh..t... I've witnessed so many of its "proofs" that I don't want to utter the word itself...
Omg. I think i held my breathe for most of this video. Thats absolutely frightening to find yourself in such a situation. One cant even practice for this if it ever happens
Had that death wobble happen when I hit multiple potholes merging onto the highway in south east Michigan(Luna Pier). Guessing it was a 3 part combination of death grip and front tire bouncing slightly off to the side after bouncing out of the holes AND accelerating. I did end up putting my weight forward on the bike, loosened my grip on the bars, asked God for some help and it helped a lot
I like to call Ohio crater country lol. Highways are "generally" pretty solid, but literally any other road will seemingly have a pothole every 1000 feet.
@moze_- Just like New Orleans in Louisiana, which is why I don't ride my bike in New Orleans. Lastly, people get carjacked all of the time, and I have a rare and fully restored 1985 Yamaha 2 stroke RZ 350 Kenny Robert's Edition Bike, so I'm not taking any chances. Bought from Kaplan Cycles, the best around. They own the New England Motorcycle Museum. Kaplan America is their channel on You Tube. Check them out. You'll thank me later, if you don't already know about them.
ANOTHER BIG MECHANICAL ISSUE THAT CAN CAUSE DEATH WOBBLES IS THE TRIPLE TREE BEARINGS. They gotta be TIGHT ENOUGH, but NOT TOO TIGHT, they can't be DAMAGED, and they need to be WELL LUBRICATED. This is one of the BIGGEST causes of death wobble, and like tires, almost EVERYBODY overlooks them as a possible cause.
I dont have all the answers, but I've been riding for 52 years, am 70, still ride "enthusiastically" AND am still learning! Road surfaces, (especially long longitudinal grooves due to resurfacing, re-grading, roadworks....what ever) can "start the wobble" and your bike is only too happy to join the party! Here in East Texas, the many heavy logging trucks can influence the right lane surfaces. "Read" the road. Sure, the bike can be at fault with tire tread, bad bearings, stabilizer issues, BUT!! ....take some responsibility and DO NOT assume the road surface is in your corner. Once the wobble starts, (I just had one "start" this past week 03/26/24, at 80mph on my normally stable, heavily tuned, modified Harley AND I run Pirelli Night Dragon rubber, front an back. I consider them the greatest for my setup. I was in West Louisiana, [THE worst phuking roads in the USA] and it took me by surprise. Avoid braking, ease off on the gas and cover the rear brake without any sudden pressure and slow things down with love and passion in its lightest form! This is THE ONE AREA where the front anchor IS NOT your friend. Caress that pedal with light a light foot and live to advise others! Above all....Every Success! Ride safe my friends.
Holy crap. The Night Dragon is a bias-ply tire, Harley-Davidsons are crap, and you obviously don't know how to ride. I would encourage you to get a competent motorcycle, a full set of proper safety gear, and take the MSF Basic Rider Course for starters. It takes more than that to become an actual rider, but those initial steps would put you much closer to that goal.
@@YernBelfus400 , It would appear you have just proven, how truly uninformed you are in the areas that you decided to dribble your drivel in! However;.....do not fret, as the facts do not give a Rat's Ass about your opinions, so no damage occured. You have however just proven, how truly apt, the old adage still is and how applicable it also still is! "Empty vessels really DO make the most noise!" Try reading the technical information, to discover how many bubbles you are off plumb.
@@YernBelfus400 How remarkably uninformed you are....yet so willing to run your mouth! The good news is that facts do not care about your opinions. Me neither.
@@Dodger2879 Wrong again. My background includes being an expert-licensed motorcycle road racer and motorcycle road racing instructor. I have lapped the Snaefel Mountain Course on the Isle of Man during the TT at triple-digit speeds. I have been over 200 mph on my superbike. And I have been paid at the rate of $1,000/hour as a rider and model for the advertising campaign of one of the largest motorcycle manufacturers in the world. So when I tell you that you know nothing, it's because you know nothing. You know LESS than nothing about riding.
I have another tip to prevent speed wobble. Check your front forks for leaks and if they are serviceable make sure that they are at the proper fluid level and even on both sides so that one fork isn't stronger than the other. This is what can induce speed wobble because each fork is fighting each other.
Absolutely. Forks don’t get enough love for the job they do. They turn, they take big impacts (big wheelies), they take the full weight of the motorcycle on hard breaking. And when they leak you lose your handling, damping, and breaks.
@@25aspooner the funny part is that steering wheel dampers can actually induce the wobble because they don't allow the opposing forks to harmonize. I've seen videos of motorcycles *with* dampers speed wobble and crash. I don't want to pretend that a few video examples are absolute but I have to say that it makes sense. If you have two forks trying to oppose the other and you death grip the bar, it enhances the wobble. The steering damper behaves like you are gripping the bar constantly and it's good for preventing instability mid-turn on a track but if you think about it, it's counterintuitive in regards to allowing the wobbling forks to stabilize by not 'letting go' of the bar. The damper never 'lets go' if you get what I mean.
Absolutely. I had forks that weren't equally pressured on my old GPz550 and the result were two monster tankslappers that friends told me they were amazed I managed to hang on to.
@@pierrewilliams1533 do you happen to know if your motorcycle has serviceable forks? I think it would be beneficial for someone who reads this in the future to know whether or not they can service them.
Dude your the first guy iv heard apart from myself to bang on about tyre pressures! I'm lucky to have lots of older experienced guys around me and they always told me most riders bin there bikes on the roads due to poor tyre pressure and always check them before every ride ! And I always do ❤ 🤟🏻
I keep an eye on all of the peoples' bikes who show up at the same meets as I do or if I just see them on the road. Its scary how many glaring issues you can catch just glancing at peoples' bikes. Tire pressures are a big one. I can't comprehend how people don't notice because my bike feels SO off if its even 5lbs low. I know its not your or my responsibility, but I make sure to point these things out to people when I see them. I just want everyone to be safe!
Guys, here is our Savior HalleluYAH translates “Praise ye YaH” YaH is The Heavenly Father YaH arrives via the TENT OF MEETING YaH was Who they Crucified for our sins YaH was Crucified on an Almond TREE - Ancient Semitic Cuneiform of Moshe (Moses) - Isa Scroll (The Original Isaiah) Isaiah 42:8 "I am YaH; that is my Name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.” Isaiah 43:11 “I am YAH, and there is no other Savior but Me.” Isaiah 45:5 “I am YaH, and there is none else.”
yeah, I learned my lesson the hard way... (even tho only damage was clutch lever, mirror and my ego lol) I kinda believed that mechanic did a good job aaaand he didn't. Now I check my tyre pressure before every ride. One note tho, I recommend to buy a good tyre pressure meter (or whatever it's called) bcoz that free air at gas stations is something you cannot rely on. Usually no one checks if it works correctly. My local gas station has that built in pressure meter and it shows lower values (cca by 0,5 - 0,7 bar) than my pressure meter. Which is a lot. I bought an "expensive" one specially tested for accurate measuring. So just be carefull with that free air at gas stations
Yesterday, a friend suffered a fatal accident while driving home. He was driving a high-speed motorbike, so it's possible that he lost the control of his motorbike due to death wobbles. The entire neightborhood has been shocked due to this terrible news. He was a great guy, and everyone in the neighborhood loved him. Thank you for sharing this valuable information. This can save lives!
Hey! Spunky Boyy, I like your channel, you share a lot of important info. I'm 74, started riding at 14. Bought myself a 78' GS1000 in 79' as a college graduation present to myself. Some fraternity ''Biffs & Chads'' mom & dads bought them ones too - invited me to drag race, one of their GS1000 did a tank slapper at 120mph ,bent him & bike. I put heavier fork oil in front air forks, I had a tank slapper racing. Called US Suzuki, told me , measure w/ a dipstick to assure fork oil levels were equal or air pressure in forks would not be equal. This worked, never another wobble. I hope my experience can save some bent bikes & bones.
As a new rider, l seen one of your vids and loved how you break everything down by step by step. Keep on making great vids man. You helped me maneuver from 4 fingers to 2 on the shifts lever💪
Guys, Here is our Savior HalleluYAH translates “Praise ye YaH” YaH is The Heavenly Father YaH arrives via the TENT OF MEETING YaH was Who they Crucified for our sins YaH was Crucified on an Almond TREE - Ancient Semitic Cuneiform of Moshe (Moses) - Isa Scroll (The Original Isaiah) Isaiah 42:8 "I am YaH; that is my Name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.” Isaiah 43:11 “I am YAH, and there is no other Savior but Me.” Isaiah 45:5 “I am YaH, and there is none else.”
Great advice. Just wrecked my bike recently.. Another thing I see (even in this video) is guys slam that clutch lever when hauling ass and you can see they actually move the wheel slightly ans this causes speed wobble also. “Loosen up the grip”
If you’re watching this and your bike has spokes it’s extremely important to check your spokes tension regularly loose or broken spokes guarantee death wobbles
One thing you didn't mention is a MX tip. Squeeze the tank with your knees and tighten you core. I have the same damper and put heavy oil inside. Rebound damping too slow keeps rake angle steep which creates the wobble but makes it stay planted in the corner. Tire pressure is also temperature sensitive. The track had a chart for tire pressure on a cold day and they were very low.
A friend of mine lost his lower left leg from experiencing a speed wobble. I have experienced it too, when hitting a dear carcass in the road at 55 mph. It was a ride I never want go on again.
bro that's the same bike you were working on, when you showed ppl what to look for in a used bike if your buying one, wow man love your channel, I want a bike soon, so your content really helps, God bless you bro fr fr.
Absolutely spot on !! Appreciate the knowledge, my friend this can be very helpful to everyone. I’ve been riding 30+ years and you actually just taught me several tips. I look forward to more videos. I am now a follower.
...Ya gotta find a better place to eat, brotha 😂😊. Wawa is only a good spot to eat for aggravating one's ulcer 😂 (Im kidding of course 😂). The Wawa's here in Va Beach are also called "kickstand ally" too (...all of us sportbike riders, here in Hampton Roads VA, always meet at Wawa 🤷🏽🏍).
Dunlop tire company had done some fairly extensive tests on what causes speed wobbles, and while the factors are many the major culprit seems to be a flat or worn rear tire combined with a pointy front tire. To get out of a speed wobble neither accelerating nor braking nor staying at the same speed had much if any affect; the only thing that seemed to work was the rider dramatically lowering himself ie tucking in. Things like steering dampeners didn't get rid of speed wobbles but only seemed to increase the speed upon which they occurred at. Loose steering head bearings also seemed to cause speed wobbles (and every single Suzuki I've ever owned needed to have their steering head tightened and the pinch bolts adjusted).
Lane to lane asphalt pours or big parking lots where edges aren’t flattened out which creates a mini curb. Hit too many on an expressway in Florida decades ago. Figured out how to switch lanes in those areas if i changed lanes at all😂. Got real tired of that💩. Only ever happened in that one area too. In hundreds of miles over almost 2 decades
I have experienced a really mild tank slapper. Launched my bike and felt how the front wheel *of course* lifted off the ground a bit, I simply overreacted by engaging the rear brake way too quickly instead of backing off the throttle, at that point the front end compressed and in the moment it rebounded it started wobbling like crazy. Let off the bars, leaned all forward and it stopped just by the edge of asphalt, any second later and I would have been in a ditch with it. It wasn't as scary as losing traction on asphalt with new rear tire, geez how hard is it to correct when rear end tries to go sideways and then gripping sharply, jolting whole bike and rider with it left and right several times.. I have only bailed two times on bike, first time hitting a curb while parking and second time when front tire slid off in banked turn, me sliding down the road with my left leg under the bike. Ride safe!
I was 18 on a 2 stroke kR 250 doing 140 kmh and got a wobble, went down and I thought that's it. I survived and now have great respect for bikes. Young and stupid.
I had it a few times, and if you still have enough power left due to not be going toooo fast, I always give more throttle so it lifts the front end a bit. That has helped till so far every time.
I need to get one on my 636. But I’m SUPER thankful my 2007 Honda Cbr 600rr has the HESD “Honda electronic steering damper”, which they all come with from factory.👌🏽
Death grip is hard for people, cause they need to stay fit to get posture on the bike without resting their weight on the handles, they need to make their core strong
On my MT09 I chop the throttle a lot. I heard bringing wheelies down hard might cause it but I didn't realize throttle chop + quick gear change could do it too. So used to riding sport bikes for 7 years, getting used to naked bikes. Also didn't realize leaning forward, no front brake, use of back instead all helps. Thanks for this!
Thank you for the info sir. I'm a rookie driver, just got my license last month, bought a CB1000R. I was driving with a friend and he had a wobble. He felt down but is relatively okay.
just bought a 2019 zx6r my step bro builds drag racing bikes and suggested a 636 and to run it in low power mode for a while until i can use the full power but this helped a lot with soothing my nerves so thank you
how he used the weight of his body to avoid crashing into the back of that car last second and then also avoided falling after the tank slapper is amazing
I noticed too when you get on the gas rather hard so that it wants to pull your front wheel off the pavement. If you decide to switch a lane or two, any uneven part will barely nick your tire and make it turn left or right some that got my attention quick. Highway roads are not good for those high speeds anyway.
Never ridden a motorbike higher than 125cc before but here's me watching all the instruction video's anyway 😂 I wanna be fully prepared for when I'm driving ~650cc in a year or so
My idea about bikes has always been that you ride/direct them with your body, not with your hands or arms. The handlebar is there so just you can have somewhere to put your hands.
I've never wrecked a motorcycle in my past 55 years. I've never forgotten to check air pressure. I've never suffered from bad bearings. I've never had steering wobble. I've never allowed a steering damper to go bad. I've never allowed my shocks to get old enough to leak or lock up. I've never gone over 70 mph. I've never had a tire blow from road objects or dry rot. I've never owned a street bike.
In the 90s , shaking of the heed stock was a normal way of the bike telling you to back off and ride bit smoother. you got that wiggle from the handlebars and you thought "oh shit" and backed off a bit
The grip is REALLY good advice but the best I have ever heard about grip was from Spite from SpitesCorner, formerly YammieNoob co-host. He brought it up during one of his Bottom Sprocket podcasts with Whitney and Josh and talked about the Yamaha Race School he took and the "Ice Cream grip" you want to hold your bars as if you were licking a dripping ice cream cone. So you want your hands to be closer to the bar ends as you showed but instead of being straight towards your levers you want your hands angling back towards your center tree ever so slightly. So the outside edge of your hand and palm closer to your bar ends with your fingers at a slight angle inwards. This provides the largest contact patch and closest lever reach while still maintaining a loose grip.
amateur engineer/comp rider here. if your front tire doesnt have enough grip, it wont keep in smooth contact with the road (imagine what your front tire would do if you were riding on ice). in a wobble, when the bars are turned, tire friction increases because the tire is misaligned with the road, and the grip increases along with that. from what ive always understood, wobbles happen when the front tire only has enough grip to correct itself when the bars are turned under this circumstance, but not enough to maintain it as the front end returns to 0 degrees. theres way too much math behind this for me to explain in a youtube comment, so ill just leave the solutions i know of here and let you guys do what you want with them. 1. good front tire grip (do not overfill front tire and the tire will have more contact with the road) 2. steering stabilizer (lengthens the window of time where the front tire is near 0 deg in a wobble, hastening recovery from a wobble after one begins) 3. for my fellow adrenaline junkies, get your front tire hot before doing wheelies at speed (regaining stable front tire grip as you set it back down will be more likely with a hot tire) i wish someone in r&d would study this and create some informative media testing these concepts, but alas, all we have to work with for now is theory. just remember that even with ideal tire pressure/temp, there are uncontrollable variables that can cause your front tire to lose grip such as the road surface/temp. nothing can truly "prevent" wobbles on many bikes, so get yourself a stabilizer so its there if you ever wish it was. id be decomposed confetti right now if i didnt have one. go at your own pace brothers. ✌
Tank slappers are not caused by the lack of a steering damper. Tank slappers are caused by gripping the bars too tightly. Steering dampers should never be used as a crutch for a lack of riding skill.
One constant i noticed between all the examples you showed, was EVERY driver was going SIGNIFICANTLY faster than the speed limit/reckless driving (popping wheelies at high speeds) Seems to me, if you don't want speed wobble (what we call it in skateboarding) then quit driving like you dont care about life.
Well done for saying damper instead of the recent Americanism of damp-en-er. I agree with the tyre pressure point. Absolutely critical first part of the suspension system.
Steering dampers are not part of the suspension system, they're part of the steering system, and steering dampers should never be used as a crutch for not knowing how to ride.
Having your elbows out wide really helps on dirt bikes and adventure bikes and I'm sure on racing bikes too. You will be riding and get tired and relax your elbows and wobbles will start. Than you point your elbows out again and the wobbles stop. This is connected to "death grip".
Very well done & this is an undereported issue that is devastating...... I don't ride but I am looking & IDKnow the reasons but I have noticed more Gixxer's doing this than other bike brands? Perhaps more of them are videoed but I've noticed a disproportional number of them happening to Suzuki bikes? Putting new bearings in the front wheel as well as weight/balancing is cheap to do & as you said, add a dampener . This is the 1st video I've seen concerning this problem.... nicely explained. peace
five and a half minutes to get to the PRIMARY REASONS FOR DEATH WOBBLE yup Mechanical errors can and occasionally do give death wobbles OPERATOR ERROR is the number one reason for death wobbles on PAVEMENT gravel and dirt tends to be gully n washes front wheel coming in contact with ground when not inline with direction of travel
This is the best comment and is totally correct. I analyzed my death wobble: I hit a bump at 90mph. My front wheel came a bit up and was not back straight on the tarmac. My rear wheel also hit the bump, and the bike was not in line anymore. I saved the day; I was just very lucky.
I’m referring to a built in steering damper. They adjust on their on own, as u speed up it tightens up the steering. When ur not moving it should be smooth and easy to turn.
@@SpunkyBoyy A normal mechanical steering damper doesn't "adjust" in use at all, its just that a more violent input will produce more resistance. That's just how it is when the piston is trying to push oil through a fixed size orifice. Unless you have an electronically adjusted damper like Honda's HESD, where it's actually adjusting the damping relative to your speed, just like if you were to turn the adjuster nob on your mechanical damper.
Good points all around , tire pressure is important ... I noticed some bike are worse than others though due to frame geometry I assume , my old 929 was rock solid with no steering damper , never a head shake ever ... The ninjas I have owned where suspect though , had to put a steering damper on those old girls ... Most of the new stuff they come oem
Yup, set your tire pressures correctly, which means for that tire, NOT what is in the manual or on the swingarm, unless you are running the OEM tires... Once you deviate from the tires the bike shipped with, whatever is in the manual is no longer applicable. Call Dunlop or Pirelli or whatever you switch to and get what they recommend for that application. A general pressure you can start with is 34F and 36R cold on the street. Also, never run max pressures. The tire doesn't heat up by weaving back and forth... it heats up by the carcass flexing, and if the pressure it too high, it doesn't flex and it takes forever to get hot... After that, set the suspension up correctly and get a steering damper... The chances of a wobble with all off that done is very unlikely...
I experienced a tak slapper once in 10 years of riding. Grooved pavement caused it. Nearly crapped my pants. In that case just slowing diwn corrected it. Bike was too old for a steering damper - just like the current bike i have.
@ 9:02 dude saved his own life by being smart. I'm making my daughter watch this later (Ninja 300) and myself since I got a Hayabusa for my first bike since I joined the military. Last time I rode was Afghanistan. Forgot all about speed wobble till I saw it happen in another video.
It happened to me in the 80's at 115 mph on a Yamaha 1100 (no damper then), I hit the rear brake slowly and loaded up the front wheel by leaning o the gas tank, it stopped wobbling soon after. That was a tip from a friend that was racing motorcycles. It's not a nice feeling specially at that speed. The wobbles were not as intense as in your clip though. Lots of good tips there.
I think I cheated death way too many times with my 2011 R6😅 nice video and here’s what mainly caused my speed wobbles is actually accelerating way too hard on bumpy roads, I noticed it basically never happens if I do less of that and also lean forward it actually makes a big difference I remember I n e day doing about 190 kmh and it’s it happened on the fairly good road and bro trust me I saw my self crashing it’s like I felt everything and decided not today 💯 I’m not crashing today not at this speed either 💯💯 just ease off the throttle and try to keep all your weight to the front ✅✅🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲
Speed wobbles can absolutely happen on a bicycle, too. Had a severe case of it going downhill. On a bicycle you can overpower it by gripping hard, but don't even try that on a motorcycle.
Another serious one im not sure how bad it is in the states but i see it all the time in canada, having something like a michiline front tire and a pirelli rear tire. Never mix your tires always keep a matching set. This can also cause the death wobbles as the two different tire types may be gaining different tractions as you turn, you ever notice how the wheel slightly moves back and forth in a turn kinda like a steering wheel. Thats whats happening the front tire is actually loosing traction and regaining traction due to the different treads may not seem like much but at 120km plus youll really notice it. It should be smooth. Next is long riding on tires and not contiually balancing them as the tire wears the weight changes and throws it off balance you ever notice you have a tire for 2 seasons although your changing your tires now you notice mainly on the front tire only a difference in tread wear thoughout the tire making look loke little hills instead of a smooth wear down, thats the reason for this and this can also cause the death wobbles.
2003 R1 here without steering damper. I religiously check tire pressures AT LEAST every 2nd gas stop and always at the same stationary compressor (don´t use those mobile, carry around ones on many gas stations), but still it can happen sometimes, especially on bumpy streets. Haven´t had one as bad as some shown here (like, JESUS CHRIST, what are you doing?!) but when it happens, immediately loosen the grip on my right hand to let the gas go always worked for me. Since the bike already rapidly slows down from just that, the weight of the bike and you on top will automatically transfer to the front and help self-stabilising the front tire.
I had this death wobble while riding my vmax. I didn't have to wreck because it Scared me to death... Took my bike straight to a bike mechanic and he check my tire pressure which was perfect. Had him to balance my wheel and found out that it was out of balance. He added some weights on the rim and I have never had the symptom again. This was just my personal experience
it honestly criminal that the 2021-23 zx6r doesn't come with a steering stabilizer stock. I got some wobbles cresting over a hill at the top of 3rd (I was gunning it so its 100% my fault). EVERYTHING mechanical on my bike is dialed. Tire pressure, suspension settings, etc. I also have relatively new tires. Anyways, the front went light and I was still putting a tiny bit of force into the bars (I just came out of a turn). When the bike came down, the front tire must have been a hair off of straight and boom. Death Wobble. I was already loose on the handle bars and, as mentioned, my bike is in perfect condition. Wobbles sorted themselves out in about 2 seconds. I'm getting a steering damper now. The Ohlins ones are expensive, but I'm not gonna cheap out on something that could save my life.
For the some bikes like the first gen R1 it is a no brainer to buy a steering damper. In all other cases, you need a correct steering head bearing to prevent this.
Whats crazy about tire pressure is how much it fluctuates due to temperatures. So say you do a cold check in early morning/afternoon and your a few psi under. So you fill it to the proper pressure, and then by mid afternoon temperatures raise and your over pressured. I dont own a bike yet, but it seems hard to regulate tire pressures when the temperatures are always changing throughout the day
For road bikes, the pressure is calculated cold so you don’t bother checking it again hot. Most guys for trackwork will tend to check the tyres hot and that’s a different scenario because they will run tire warmers and different pressures and the bike is either parked with the tire warmers on or running full speed-so they know what the tyres should be for the grip and track surface so testing them hot. so all road use. You don’t need to worry whatever you run check them cold, depending how heavy you are and the type of bike I would experiment a little bit too. I had a GSX-R very similar to the one in the video and the factory says 36 and 40 2PSI, I think front and rear, however a very experience racer said to me run 33 and 36 and 38 to 40 with a pillion passenger and even though the bike handle really good it was an amazing difference basically because the suspension is pretty hard and he said it was much better to get a bit of suspension compliance on the road as the bike is stiff enough, and with the steering damper, damps any sort of wobble. Also check your suspension settings and ensure that you start with the recommended settings and you can buy but change the settings to see what suits the bike. The main thing to avoid Front end wobble is to avoid having the bike to firm and high in the rear, and too soft in the front. Also grip the bars firm but relaxed and should the bike wobble. Don’t do anything Sudden don’t be tempted to brake- steady throttle and on many bikes will stop the wobble with gentle acceleration. Also frequently if you’re Weight is too far back, it will tend to make the front end skitterish. I had an early GSX-R1100(oh and by the way the video guy is not correct to say that 2005 was the earliest the dampers were standard on bikes most sports Suzukis, the original GSX-R’s- both 750 and 1100 had them from 1985! ) anyway that bike was imported from the USA, where it was entered in production racing but in New Zealand, whether it was the type of roads or what it was really fussy on tyres and suspension it got to the point where it tank slapped that much I just used to shift my weight hold on and keep the throttle open and it just used to right it self😂
My concourse 14 handles very noticeably different if tire pressure is off even a couple psi, turns into a pig. I had a death wobble on my suzuki wes cooley. Mismatched tires were the cause i think. Suspension settings might have had an impact. Came on slow about 105, full wobble 110. Repeatable. Dampner, new tires, rebuild forks. Amazing how terror motivates maintenance
Stand up, lean slightly forward and push forward on the handlebars. This lets the bike absorb the wobble and float under you. The wobble will dissipate quickly, then sit back down and ride.
Give it gas. It will straighten out. Frame rake has the tire back too close to the frame. If it was out further away you would never have to worry about the wobble. Crotch rocket problem.
I raced Superbike back in the 1980s never had wobbles. I have been to 46 of the 48 contiguous and all over Canada. Never had wobbles. My wheels are aligned, pressure correct, steering bearing correctly adjusted and I used a steeting damper on my race bike. Far too many mortorcycle 'experts', or noobs, know nothing about motorcycles. You know them when you see them pull their hot bike into the car wash. It is to laugh.
OoOooO, one more thing mates. @ 9:00, you go over proper "grip". Would you say that its best to loosen your grip, and hold on to your bike with your knees (not with your arms)? Our arms/hands are mostly to used just to handle the "controls" (not the steering) on the bike. To actually stablize yourself on the bike, use your knees and not youe arms/hands. The inside of your knees should be a lil' sore the next day from squeezing the tank so much (stablizing yourself on the bike) from the previous day's ride 😉. Does that work for us for an explanation (....maybe not 🤷🏽😂🤦)?
Oh, this is difficult to watch. I have a speed wobble story I should probably share, it has been enough years. I went down in a death wobble in the Oakland-Alameda tunnel due to speed and aggressive riding. I had on a threadbare t-shirt, shorts sandals & a helmet. Everybody drove too fast through that curved tunnel to Alameda. Tire hit one of those brass rolling things in the road bed meant to protect something else, I don't even know what those things are for but you do not want to hit one when you're pushing the edge of your skills heading into a curved tunnel. Saw it coming up, was gonna hit it, hit it, speed wobble, all happened seemingly at the same moment. Yeah I hit that thing in the road but, aggressive riding of a junk bike caused the accident. Wobble over 3 or 4 seconds became too extreme, I tried to force control & that threw the body of the bike into the wobble, curved tunnel mind you, knew I was going down so put my hands on my helmet then hit the deck with my helmet first, rolling it around so as not to grind through it, trying to flop around a bit while taking most of the road friction on my helmet, grinding off skin everywhere else as uniformly as possible until I came to a stop, there's no safe zone in that tunnel and cars were screaming by, bike wouldn't roll had to drag it to the edge of the tunnel bleeding from everywhere terrified of getting hit by all of the cars flying by. Not a pedestrian tunnel. Cop came said 'get it out of the tunnel' so I somehow did. Cop said 'nobody else involved, do you want to report this?' I didn't & was struggling to stand. Cop left. Needless to say, never made it to the sports bar. My buddy came back looking for me, took me to the hospital on his bike, I passed out on the way. Must've been a sight staggering into the ER they were really alarmed. Though a spectacle in full road rash mode, I was otherwise uninjured. They scraped all surfaces of my body for 45 minutes with a stiff bristle brush. At length I had to ask them to stop, there's still dirt in my knees from that one. Don't get too aggressive on a junky bike, something untoward could happen. Thankfully nobody else was hurt in my idiotic stunt.
About to watch this video, currently at 0:47. Planning to get my motorcycle driving licence, my first thought is it happens when the Front wheel doesn't get enough traction? Like the back wheel is going normally and the front is going slower. Ex: back wheel goes 60km/h and the front is either at full stop(somehow) or 40km/h? Kinda a stupid explanation, though I hope that you'll understand it somehow :D
Brand new, perfectly set up & adjusted motorcycles can encounter a tank slapper in the right road/speed conditions even on very flat racetracks, poor road conditions amplify the problem at speed. If it happens DO NOT take your hands off the handlebars like this video seems to imply, keep the throttle on and apply the rear brake only.
One main thing you didn't touch on was tire to tire alignment. Hence why the notches are on the back wheel. If you move your back wheel for any reason make sure it is aligned correctly. This is a major cause of speed wobble.
Tank slapper will happen till the front and rear tire come back into center.
@@JayyBird93 self explanitory statement... either you or the handles slap the tank and it gives the bike a input to react and it normaly fixes it with that.
@@JayyBird93 your handlebars go left and right without user input and that tends to slap the tank left and right. Again, it's in the name.
@@DTPGMedia585 🤣
🤣
I'm from the UK and passed my bike test in 1983. This involved the examiner being on foot and watching you ride for as long as you were visible to him. For about half the test, you weren't visible to him at all. I know tests have become tougher since but what my 42 years of riding has taught me is that all new riders should learn what all main parts of a bike are - and how to make sure they're working properly. This should absolutely be part of the test and wish it had been for mine because it would have saved me from two horrific lock to lock tankslappers that, thankfully I managed to recover from. Sure, I learned over time from friends about the importance of tyre pressures, fork maintenance/operation, wheel alignment etc. But this should have been taught/learned as part of the test. If you're new to riding, teach yourself about this - it's crucial. The fact the test doesn't require it is outrageous. Make sure you don't suffer from this omission.
Darwinism at it's best.
About the wheel alignment, at my place it's usually either the manufacturing is trash (well, domestically and horribly made bikes from Chinese licenses) that the whole frame of the bike is messed up, or teenagers' (or dudes with the mindset of one) modding goes wrong. I've been told by my father that I must get friends riding behind me on test rides, filming it on different angle then show me along with their reviews on me riding, in case I want to buy cheap/suspicious/nobrand ones. "You're my only son" he said, and almost a decade later I'm still riding the bike he bought for me - I never bother buying new one out fear that it would make him worry.
About "Darwinism", man... Sh..t... I've witnessed so many of its "proofs" that I don't want to utter the word itself...
It's quite the opposite now on the actual test, but for the CBT the standards still pretty low.
This is so scary, is this something that only happens to high powered bikes? What about in the 46bhp range like a Triumph 400 for example?
It's possible on any bike I expect but I've only known it happen on bigger bikes. Keep your tyre pressures up on your Triumph and you'll be fine.
Omg. I think i held my breathe for most of this video. Thats absolutely frightening to find yourself in such a situation. One cant even practice for this if it ever happens
Had that death wobble happen when I hit multiple potholes merging onto the highway in south east Michigan(Luna Pier). Guessing it was a 3 part combination of death grip and front tire bouncing slightly off to the side after bouncing out of the holes AND accelerating. I did end up putting my weight forward on the bike, loosened my grip on the bars, asked God for some help and it helped a lot
Yeah sounds like those damn potholes messed up the tire alignment. We have them all over Jersey😒
Amen😮
Hell, in New Orleans, we don't have potholes. We call them sinkholes.....because of how big they are.
I like to call Ohio crater country lol. Highways are "generally" pretty solid, but literally any other road will seemingly have a pothole every 1000 feet.
@moze_- Just like New Orleans in Louisiana, which is why I don't ride my bike in New Orleans. Lastly, people get carjacked all of the time, and I have a rare and fully restored 1985 Yamaha 2 stroke RZ 350 Kenny Robert's Edition Bike, so I'm not taking any chances. Bought from Kaplan Cycles, the best around. They own the New England Motorcycle Museum. Kaplan America is their channel on You Tube. Check them out. You'll thank me later, if you don't already know about them.
ANOTHER BIG MECHANICAL ISSUE THAT CAN CAUSE DEATH WOBBLES IS THE TRIPLE TREE BEARINGS. They gotta be TIGHT ENOUGH, but NOT TOO TIGHT, they can't be DAMAGED, and they need to be WELL LUBRICATED. This is one of the BIGGEST causes of death wobble, and like tires, almost EVERYBODY overlooks them as a possible cause.
Had Yamaha, Suzuki, and Honda. All new from dealer had loose triple clamps/ headsets. Always be aware of mechanical stuff on a motorcycle.
Really good review and spot on with those points. VERY glad you mentioned tire pressure right from the start. Really important.
I dont have all the answers, but I've been riding for 52 years, am 70, still ride "enthusiastically" AND am still learning!
Road surfaces, (especially long longitudinal grooves due to resurfacing, re-grading, roadworks....what ever) can "start the wobble" and your bike is only too happy to join the party! Here in East Texas, the many heavy logging trucks can influence the right lane surfaces. "Read" the road.
Sure, the bike can be at fault with tire tread, bad bearings, stabilizer issues, BUT!! ....take some responsibility and DO NOT assume the road surface is in your corner. Once the wobble starts, (I just had one "start" this past week 03/26/24, at 80mph on my normally stable, heavily tuned, modified Harley AND I run Pirelli Night Dragon rubber, front an back. I consider them the greatest for my setup. I was in West Louisiana, [THE worst phuking roads in the USA] and it took me by surprise. Avoid braking, ease off on the gas and cover the rear brake without any sudden pressure and slow things down with love and passion in its lightest form!
This is THE ONE AREA where the front anchor IS NOT your friend. Caress that pedal with light a light foot and live to advise others!
Above all....Every Success!
Ride safe my friends.
Holy crap. The Night Dragon is a bias-ply tire, Harley-Davidsons are crap, and you obviously don't know how to ride. I would encourage you to get a competent motorcycle, a full set of proper safety gear, and take the MSF Basic Rider Course for starters. It takes more than that to become an actual rider, but those initial steps would put you much closer to that goal.
@@YernBelfus400 ,
It would appear you have just proven, how truly uninformed you are in the areas that you decided to dribble your drivel in!
However;.....do not fret, as the facts do not give a Rat's Ass about your opinions, so no damage occured.
You have however just proven, how truly apt, the old adage still is and how applicable it also still is!
"Empty vessels really DO make the most noise!"
Try reading the technical information, to discover how many bubbles you are off plumb.
@@YernBelfus400
How remarkably uninformed you are....yet so willing to run your mouth! The good news is that facts do not care about your opinions.
Me neither.
hey man i’m also from east texas!! that’s really cool information
@@Dodger2879 Wrong again. My background includes being an expert-licensed motorcycle road racer and motorcycle road racing instructor. I have lapped the Snaefel Mountain Course on the Isle of Man during the TT at triple-digit speeds. I have been over 200 mph on my superbike. And I have been paid at the rate of $1,000/hour as a rider and model for the advertising campaign of one of the largest motorcycle manufacturers in the world.
So when I tell you that you know nothing, it's because you know nothing. You know LESS than nothing about riding.
I have another tip to prevent speed wobble. Check your front forks for leaks and if they are serviceable make sure that they are at the proper fluid level and even on both sides so that one fork isn't stronger than the other. This is what can induce speed wobble because each fork is fighting each other.
Absolutely. Forks don’t get enough love for the job they do. They turn, they take big impacts (big wheelies), they take the full weight of the motorcycle on hard breaking. And when they leak you lose your handling, damping, and breaks.
@@25aspooner the funny part is that steering wheel dampers can actually induce the wobble because they don't allow the opposing forks to harmonize. I've seen videos of motorcycles *with* dampers speed wobble and crash. I don't want to pretend that a few video examples are absolute but I have to say that it makes sense. If you have two forks trying to oppose the other and you death grip the bar, it enhances the wobble. The steering damper behaves like you are gripping the bar constantly and it's good for preventing instability mid-turn on a track but if you think about it, it's counterintuitive in regards to allowing the wobbling forks to stabilize by not 'letting go' of the bar. The damper never 'lets go' if you get what I mean.
Absolutely. I had forks that weren't equally pressured on my old GPz550 and the result were two monster tankslappers that friends told me they were amazed I managed to hang on to.
@@pierrewilliams1533 do you happen to know if your motorcycle has serviceable forks? I think it would be beneficial for someone who reads this in the future to know whether or not they can service them.
@@MyWatchIsEndedI’m interested too. How can you tell?
Dude your the first guy iv heard apart from myself to bang on about tyre pressures! I'm lucky to have lots of older experienced guys around me and they always told me most riders bin there bikes on the roads due to poor tyre pressure and always check them before every ride ! And I always do ❤ 🤟🏻
I keep an eye on all of the peoples' bikes who show up at the same meets as I do or if I just see them on the road. Its scary how many glaring issues you can catch just glancing at peoples' bikes. Tire pressures are a big one. I can't comprehend how people don't notice because my bike feels SO off if its even 5lbs low. I know its not your or my responsibility, but I make sure to point these things out to people when I see them. I just want everyone to be safe!
Guys, here is our Savior
HalleluYAH translates “Praise ye YaH”
YaH is The Heavenly Father
YaH arrives via the TENT OF MEETING
YaH was Who they Crucified for our sins
YaH was Crucified on an Almond TREE
- Ancient Semitic Cuneiform of Moshe (Moses)
- Isa Scroll (The Original Isaiah)
Isaiah 42:8
"I am YaH; that is my Name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.”
Isaiah 43:11
“I am YAH, and there is no other Savior but Me.”
Isaiah 45:5
“I am YaH, and there is none else.”
yeah, I learned my lesson the hard way... (even tho only damage was clutch lever, mirror and my ego lol) I kinda believed that mechanic did a good job aaaand he didn't. Now I check my tyre pressure before every ride. One note tho, I recommend to buy a good tyre pressure meter (or whatever it's called) bcoz that free air at gas stations is something you cannot rely on. Usually no one checks if it works correctly. My local gas station has that built in pressure meter and it shows lower values (cca by 0,5 - 0,7 bar) than my pressure meter. Which is a lot. I bought an "expensive" one specially tested for accurate measuring. So just be carefull with that free air at gas stations
Yesterday, a friend suffered a fatal accident while driving home. He was driving a high-speed motorbike, so it's possible that he lost the control of his motorbike due to death wobbles. The entire neightborhood has been shocked due to this terrible news. He was a great guy, and everyone in the neighborhood loved him.
Thank you for sharing this valuable information. This can save lives!
Hey! Spunky Boyy, I like your channel, you share a lot of important info. I'm 74, started riding at 14. Bought myself a 78' GS1000 in 79' as a college graduation present to myself. Some fraternity ''Biffs & Chads'' mom & dads bought them ones too - invited me to drag race, one of their GS1000 did a tank slapper at 120mph ,bent him & bike. I put heavier fork oil in front air forks, I had a tank slapper racing. Called US Suzuki, told me , measure w/ a dipstick to assure fork oil levels were equal or air pressure in forks would not be equal. This worked, never another wobble. I hope my experience can save some bent bikes & bones.
thank you!
I've always said respect the bike and the bike will respect you back
I say this everyday b4 i get on mine
Most don't respect what they are operating.
Life saving information, thank you. Clear explanation, great advice re correcting the wobble and the maintenance tips are spot on, great video!
As a new rider, l seen one of your vids and loved how you break everything down by step by step. Keep on making great vids man. You helped me maneuver from 4 fingers to 2 on the shifts lever💪
Thanks! I’m glad you’re enjoying them💯
2:59 That "62" overlay gave me a good laugh.
Glad I came across your channel. You give great advice and always keep it interesting. Much love ❤
I appreciate that❤️🤘🏻
Guys, Here is our Savior
HalleluYAH translates “Praise ye YaH”
YaH is The Heavenly Father
YaH arrives via the TENT OF MEETING
YaH was Who they Crucified for our sins
YaH was Crucified on an Almond TREE
- Ancient Semitic Cuneiform of Moshe (Moses)
- Isa Scroll (The Original Isaiah)
Isaiah 42:8
"I am YaH; that is my Name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.”
Isaiah 43:11
“I am YAH, and there is no other Savior but Me.”
Isaiah 45:5
“I am YaH, and there is none else.”
Great advice. Just wrecked my bike recently..
Another thing I see (even in this video) is guys slam that clutch lever when hauling ass and you can see they actually move the wheel slightly ans this causes speed wobble also. “Loosen up the grip”
Hope you’re alright dude
That clip of the dude almost rear-ending the car during a speed wobble always makes me tense 😬
Appreciation a lot to this man, thank you for being honest and actually caring to help all riders either new or not.
If you’re watching this and your bike has spokes it’s extremely important to check your spokes tension regularly loose or broken spokes guarantee death wobbles
One thing you didn't mention is a MX tip. Squeeze the tank with your knees and tighten you core. I have the same damper and put heavy oil inside. Rebound damping too slow keeps rake angle steep which creates the wobble but makes it stay planted in the corner. Tire pressure is also temperature sensitive. The track had a chart for tire pressure on a cold day and they were very low.
A friend of mine lost his lower left leg from experiencing a speed wobble. I have experienced it too, when hitting a dear carcass in the road at 55 mph. It was a ride I never want go on again.
bro that's the same bike you were working on, when you showed ppl what to look for in a used bike if your buying one, wow man love your channel, I want a bike soon, so your content really helps, God bless you bro fr fr.
I’m glad ur enjoying them, and I’m happy to help in any way I can👊🏻💯 thank you very much!
@@SpunkyBoyy yezirrrrrr, thank you bro bro 👉🏻👈🏼✝️✝️✝️✝️✝️✝️✝️✝️💯💯
One of the only riders worth taking advice from on UA-cam
Thanks! That means a lot to me👌🏻💯
Absolutely spot on !! Appreciate the knowledge, my friend this can be very helpful to everyone. I’ve been riding 30+ years and you actually just taught me several tips. I look forward to more videos. I am now a follower.
Bro said Wawa and I got fucking hungry
😆😀
...Ya gotta find a better place to eat, brotha 😂😊. Wawa is only a good spot to eat for aggravating one's ulcer 😂 (Im kidding of course 😂). The Wawa's here in Va Beach are also called "kickstand ally" too (...all of us sportbike riders, here in Hampton Roads VA, always meet at Wawa 🤷🏽🏍).
😂
Language..
Still hungry?
Wish I could like this a thousand times. Word for word before you said what to do, that's what I was verbalizing while watching.
Dunlop tire company had done some fairly extensive tests on what causes speed wobbles, and while the factors are many the major culprit seems to be a flat or worn rear tire combined with a pointy front tire. To get out of a speed wobble neither accelerating nor braking nor staying at the same speed had much if any affect; the only thing that seemed to work was the rider dramatically lowering himself ie tucking in.
Things like steering dampeners didn't get rid of speed wobbles but only seemed to increase the speed upon which they occurred at. Loose steering head bearings also seemed to cause speed wobbles (and every single Suzuki I've ever owned needed to have their steering head tightened and the pinch bolts adjusted).
dunlop doing amazing work!
I remember a few years back I asked this rider how to come out of a death wobble and he said all you have to do is tuck in and it fixes itself
Exactly. Change the weight distribution, change the natural frequency.
Lane to lane asphalt pours or big parking lots where edges aren’t flattened out which creates a mini curb. Hit too many on an expressway in Florida decades ago. Figured out how to switch lanes in those areas if i changed lanes at all😂. Got real tired of that💩. Only ever happened in that one area too. In hundreds of miles over almost 2 decades
tuck in as in, hunch over, lower down and pull yourself in towards the bike, like a turtle retracting into its shell?
I always thought that you were supposed to grab harder when that happens... Good to know the correct way to act in that type of situation.
I have experienced a really mild tank slapper. Launched my bike and felt how the front wheel *of course* lifted off the ground a bit, I simply overreacted by engaging the rear brake way too quickly instead of backing off the throttle, at that point the front end compressed and in the moment it rebounded it started wobbling like crazy. Let off the bars, leaned all forward and it stopped just by the edge of asphalt, any second later and I would have been in a ditch with it. It wasn't as scary as losing traction on asphalt with new rear tire, geez how hard is it to correct when rear end tries to go sideways and then gripping sharply, jolting whole bike and rider with it left and right several times.. I have only bailed two times on bike, first time hitting a curb while parking and second time when front tire slid off in banked turn, me sliding down the road with my left leg under the bike.
Ride safe!
I was 18 on a 2 stroke kR 250 doing 140 kmh and got a wobble, went down and I thought that's it. I survived and now have great respect for bikes. Young and stupid.
I had it a few times, and if you still have enough power left due to not be going toooo fast, I always give more throttle so it lifts the front end a bit. That has helped till so far every time.
0:55 wtf was that randomass pause for I'm confused😂
man, so nicely summed up and clear to understand. Thank you because it is practically and nicely explained.
one grateful here !
Glad it was helpful! Thanks💯
I need to get one on my 636. But I’m SUPER thankful my 2007 Honda Cbr 600rr has the HESD “Honda electronic steering damper”, which they all come with from factory.👌🏽
This was incredibly helpful. Thanks!
Death grip is hard for people, cause they need to stay fit to get posture on the bike without resting their weight on the handles, they need to make their core strong
On my MT09 I chop the throttle a lot. I heard bringing wheelies down hard might cause it but I didn't realize throttle chop + quick gear change could do it too. So used to riding sport bikes for 7 years, getting used to naked bikes. Also didn't realize leaning forward, no front brake, use of back instead all helps. Thanks for this!
If you have an adjustable steering dampener. Remember to adjust it riding out from the gas station as you start your ride.
Thank you for the info sir.
I'm a rookie driver, just got my license last month, bought a CB1000R. I was driving with a friend and he had a wobble. He felt down but is relatively okay.
just bought a 2019 zx6r my step bro builds drag racing bikes and suggested a 636 and to run it in low power mode for a while until i can use the full power but this helped a lot with soothing my nerves so thank you
how he used the weight of his body to avoid crashing into the back of that car last second and then also avoided falling after the tank slapper is amazing
I noticed too when you get on the gas rather hard so that it wants to pull your front wheel off the pavement. If you decide to switch a lane or two, any uneven part will barely nick your tire and make it turn left or right some that got my attention quick. Highway roads are not good for those high speeds anyway.
Excellent video. You saved lives today brother.
Never ridden a motorbike higher than 125cc before but here's me watching all the instruction video's anyway 😂
I wanna be fully prepared for when I'm driving ~650cc in a year or so
My idea about bikes has always been that you ride/direct them
with your body, not with your hands or arms. The handlebar is there so just you can have somewhere to put your hands.
I've never wrecked a motorcycle in my past 55 years. I've never forgotten to check air pressure. I've never suffered from bad bearings. I've never had steering wobble. I've never allowed a steering damper to go bad. I've never allowed my shocks to get old enough to leak or lock up. I've never gone over 70 mph. I've never had a tire blow from road objects or dry rot. I've never owned a street bike.
In the 90s , shaking of the heed stock was a normal way of the bike telling you to back off and ride bit smoother.
you got that wiggle from the handlebars and you thought "oh shit" and backed off a bit
How about just slow the f-- down!
@@knuckles-3386 we did 😛
The grip is REALLY good advice but the best I have ever heard about grip was from Spite from SpitesCorner, formerly YammieNoob co-host. He brought it up during one of his Bottom Sprocket podcasts with Whitney and Josh and talked about the Yamaha Race School he took and the "Ice Cream grip" you want to hold your bars as if you were licking a dripping ice cream cone. So you want your hands to be closer to the bar ends as you showed but instead of being straight towards your levers you want your hands angling back towards your center tree ever so slightly. So the outside edge of your hand and palm closer to your bar ends with your fingers at a slight angle inwards. This provides the largest contact patch and closest lever reach while still maintaining a loose grip.
amateur engineer/comp rider here. if your front tire doesnt have enough grip, it wont keep in smooth contact with the road (imagine what your front tire would do if you were riding on ice). in a wobble, when the bars are turned, tire friction increases because the tire is misaligned with the road, and the grip increases along with that. from what ive always understood, wobbles happen when the front tire only has enough grip to correct itself when the bars are turned under this circumstance, but not enough to maintain it as the front end returns to 0 degrees. theres way too much math behind this for me to explain in a youtube comment, so ill just leave the solutions i know of here and let you guys do what you want with them.
1. good front tire grip (do not overfill front tire and the tire will have more contact with the road)
2. steering stabilizer (lengthens the window of time where the front tire is near 0 deg in a wobble, hastening recovery from a wobble after one begins)
3. for my fellow adrenaline junkies, get your front tire hot before doing wheelies at speed (regaining stable front tire grip as you set it back down will be more likely with a hot tire)
i wish someone in r&d would study this and create some informative media testing these concepts, but alas, all we have to work with for now is theory. just remember that even with ideal tire pressure/temp, there are uncontrollable variables that can cause your front tire to lose grip such as the road surface/temp. nothing can truly "prevent" wobbles on many bikes, so get yourself a stabilizer so its there if you ever wish it was. id be decomposed confetti right now if i didnt have one. go at your own pace brothers. ✌
I suggest to you guys to have a stabilizer steering damper. Thats thing can save you from wobbling
Tank slappers are not caused by the lack of a steering damper.
Tank slappers are caused by gripping the bars too tightly.
Steering dampers should never be used as a crutch for a lack of riding skill.
Dude this is why I'm subscribed, super good advice as always.
One constant i noticed between all the examples you showed, was EVERY driver was going SIGNIFICANTLY faster than the speed limit/reckless driving (popping wheelies at high speeds) Seems to me, if you don't want speed wobble (what we call it in skateboarding) then quit driving like you dont care about life.
Well done for saying damper instead of the recent Americanism of damp-en-er.
I agree with the tyre pressure point. Absolutely critical first part of the suspension system.
Steering dampers are not part of the suspension system, they're part of the steering system, and steering dampers should never be used as a crutch for not knowing how to ride.
Having your elbows out wide really helps on dirt bikes and adventure bikes and I'm sure on racing bikes too. You will be riding and get tired and relax your elbows and wobbles will start. Than you point your elbows out again and the wobbles stop. This is connected to "death grip".
Very well done & this is an undereported issue that is devastating...... I don't ride but I am looking & IDKnow the reasons but I have
noticed more Gixxer's doing this than other bike brands? Perhaps more of them are videoed but I've noticed a disproportional
number of them happening to Suzuki bikes? Putting new bearings in the front wheel as well as weight/balancing is cheap to
do & as you said, add a dampener . This is the 1st video I've seen concerning this problem.... nicely explained. peace
five and a half minutes to get to the PRIMARY REASONS FOR DEATH WOBBLE
yup Mechanical errors can and occasionally do give death wobbles
OPERATOR ERROR is the number one reason for death wobbles on PAVEMENT gravel and dirt tends to be gully n washes
front wheel coming in contact with ground when not inline with direction of travel
This is the best comment and is totally correct. I analyzed my death wobble: I hit a bump at 90mph. My front wheel came a bit up and was not back straight on the tarmac. My rear wheel also hit the bump, and the bike was not in line anymore. I saved the day; I was just very lucky.
Damper can make the wheel harder to turn if that’s how you want it. If you don’t want immediate feedback in a particular direction
I’m referring to a built in steering damper. They adjust on their on own, as u speed up it tightens up the steering. When ur not moving it should be smooth and easy to turn.
@@SpunkyBoyy A normal mechanical steering damper doesn't "adjust" in use at all, its just that a more violent input will produce more resistance. That's just how it is when the piston is trying to push oil through a fixed size orifice. Unless you have an electronically adjusted damper like Honda's HESD, where it's actually adjusting the damping relative to your speed, just like if you were to turn the adjuster nob on your mechanical damper.
Good points all around , tire pressure is important ... I noticed some bike are worse than others though due to frame geometry I assume , my old 929 was rock solid with no steering damper , never a head shake ever ... The ninjas I have owned where suspect though , had to put a steering damper on those old girls ... Most of the new stuff they come oem
‘01 Gsxr will learn ya… I will put an aftermarket stabilizer on every bike, first thing, because of my ‘01… fool me once…
Yup, set your tire pressures correctly, which means for that tire, NOT what is in the manual or on the swingarm, unless you are running the OEM tires... Once you deviate from the tires the bike shipped with, whatever is in the manual is no longer applicable. Call Dunlop or Pirelli or whatever you switch to and get what they recommend for that application. A general pressure you can start with is 34F and 36R cold on the street.
Also, never run max pressures. The tire doesn't heat up by weaving back and forth... it heats up by the carcass flexing, and if the pressure it too high, it doesn't flex and it takes forever to get hot...
After that, set the suspension up correctly and get a steering damper... The chances of a wobble with all off that done is very unlikely...
Even an old t 500 Suzuki had adjustment in 76 right in the centre off top yolk you just turned a nob
As a new rider this was a great video for me
I experienced a tak slapper once in 10 years of riding. Grooved pavement caused it. Nearly crapped my pants.
In that case just slowing diwn corrected it.
Bike was too old for a steering damper - just like the current bike i have.
@ 9:02 dude saved his own life by being smart. I'm making my daughter watch this later (Ninja 300) and myself since I got a Hayabusa for my first bike since I joined the military. Last time I rode was Afghanistan. Forgot all about speed wobble till I saw it happen in another video.
It happened to me in the 80's at 115 mph on a Yamaha 1100 (no damper then), I hit the rear brake slowly and loaded up the front wheel by leaning o the gas tank, it stopped wobbling soon after. That was a tip from a friend that was racing motorcycles. It's not a nice feeling specially at that speed. The wobbles were not as intense as in your clip though. Lots of good tips there.
I think I cheated death way too many times with my 2011 R6😅 nice video and here’s what mainly caused my speed wobbles is actually accelerating way too hard on bumpy roads, I noticed it basically never happens if I do less of that and also lean forward it actually makes a big difference I remember I n e day doing about 190 kmh and it’s it happened on the fairly good road and bro trust me I saw my self crashing it’s like I felt everything and decided not today 💯 I’m not crashing today not at this speed either 💯💯 just ease off the throttle and try to keep all your weight to the front ✅✅🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲
Great 👍 points, amongst other factors considered 🏍
add throttle , it counter to reaction but some older bikes doit
Speed wobbles can absolutely happen on a bicycle, too.
Had a severe case of it going downhill.
On a bicycle you can overpower it by gripping hard, but don't even try that on a motorcycle.
Another serious one im not sure how bad it is in the states but i see it all the time in canada, having something like a michiline front tire and a pirelli rear tire. Never mix your tires always keep a matching set. This can also cause the death wobbles as the two different tire types may be gaining different tractions as you turn, you ever notice how the wheel slightly moves back and forth in a turn kinda like a steering wheel. Thats whats happening the front tire is actually loosing traction and regaining traction due to the different treads may not seem like much but at 120km plus youll really notice it. It should be smooth. Next is long riding on tires and not contiually balancing them as the tire wears the weight changes and throws it off balance you ever notice you have a tire for 2 seasons although your changing your tires now you notice mainly on the front tire only a difference in tread wear thoughout the tire making look loke little hills instead of a smooth wear down, thats the reason for this and this can also cause the death wobbles.
2003 R1 here without steering damper. I religiously check tire pressures AT LEAST every 2nd gas stop and always at the same stationary compressor (don´t use those mobile, carry around ones on many gas stations), but still it can happen sometimes, especially on bumpy streets.
Haven´t had one as bad as some shown here (like, JESUS CHRIST, what are you doing?!) but when it happens, immediately loosen the grip on my right hand to let the gas go always worked for me. Since the bike already rapidly slows down from just that, the weight of the bike and you on top will automatically transfer to the front and help self-stabilising the front tire.
Learned a lot from your videos…Thanks man!👍
Of course! Glad to help
I had this death wobble while riding my vmax. I didn't have to wreck because it Scared me to death... Took my bike straight to a bike mechanic and he check my tire pressure which was perfect. Had him to balance my wheel and found out that it was out of balance. He added some weights on the rim and I have never had the symptom again. This was just my personal experience
it honestly criminal that the 2021-23 zx6r doesn't come with a steering stabilizer stock. I got some wobbles cresting over a hill at the top of 3rd (I was gunning it so its 100% my fault). EVERYTHING mechanical on my bike is dialed. Tire pressure, suspension settings, etc. I also have relatively new tires. Anyways, the front went light and I was still putting a tiny bit of force into the bars (I just came out of a turn). When the bike came down, the front tire must have been a hair off of straight and boom. Death Wobble. I was already loose on the handle bars and, as mentioned, my bike is in perfect condition. Wobbles sorted themselves out in about 2 seconds.
I'm getting a steering damper now. The Ohlins ones are expensive, but I'm not gonna cheap out on something that could save my life.
Recently swapped out fluid in my gpr stabilizer, put heavyweight fluid in, now it gets real stiff if need be. 👌
For the some bikes like the first gen R1 it is a no brainer to buy a steering damper. In all other cases, you need a correct steering head bearing to prevent this.
Whats crazy about tire pressure is how much it fluctuates due to temperatures. So say you do a cold check in early morning/afternoon and your a few psi under. So you fill it to the proper pressure, and then by mid afternoon temperatures raise and your over pressured. I dont own a bike yet, but it seems hard to regulate tire pressures when the temperatures are always changing throughout the day
You put it in cold. The pressure of the bike is less than the max spec for your tire.
For road bikes, the pressure is calculated cold so you don’t bother checking it again hot. Most guys for trackwork will tend to check the tyres hot and that’s a different scenario because they will run tire warmers and different pressures and the bike is either parked with the tire warmers on or running full speed-so they know what the tyres should be for the grip and track surface so testing them hot. so all road use. You don’t need to worry whatever you run check them cold, depending how heavy you are and the type of bike I would experiment a little bit too. I had a GSX-R very similar to the one in the video and the factory says 36 and 40 2PSI, I think front and rear, however a very experience racer said to me run 33 and 36 and 38 to 40 with a pillion passenger and even though the bike handle really good it was an amazing difference basically because the suspension is pretty hard and he said it was much better to get a bit of suspension compliance on the road as the bike is stiff enough, and with the steering damper, damps any sort of wobble. Also check your suspension settings and ensure that you start with the recommended settings and you can buy but change the settings to see what suits the bike. The main thing to avoid Front end wobble is to avoid having the bike to firm and high in the rear, and too soft in the front. Also grip the bars firm but relaxed and should the bike wobble. Don’t do anything Sudden don’t be tempted to brake- steady throttle and on many bikes will stop the wobble with gentle acceleration. Also frequently if you’re Weight is too far back, it will tend to make the front end skitterish. I had an early GSX-R1100(oh and by the way the video guy is not correct to say that 2005 was the earliest the dampers were standard on bikes most sports Suzukis, the original GSX-R’s- both 750 and 1100 had them from 1985! ) anyway that bike was imported from the USA, where it was entered in production racing but in New Zealand, whether it was the type of roads or what it was really fussy on tyres and suspension it got to the point where it tank slapped that much I just used to shift my weight hold on and keep the throttle open and it just used to right it self😂
My concourse 14 handles very noticeably different if tire pressure is off even a couple psi, turns into a pig. I had a death wobble on my suzuki wes cooley. Mismatched tires were the cause i think. Suspension settings might have had an impact. Came on slow about 105, full wobble 110. Repeatable. Dampner, new tires, rebuild forks. Amazing how terror motivates maintenance
Tank slappers are way of life and occur regularly when you push a bike to its limits.
There easy to recover
WOW YOU BROKE THAT DOWN better then anyone ever. That will save lives.
the clip at 0:16 has to do wit Vereena the UA-camr, man shit's sad af. Really hoping she pulls through and can recover faster than ever 🙏🏼
she pulls through? the reporter said the victim is dead
Stand up, lean slightly forward and push forward on the handlebars. This lets the bike absorb the wobble and float under you. The wobble will dissipate quickly, then sit back down and ride.
Lol, no. Obviously you don't even know how to ride.
@@YernBelfus400 it has saved me a couple of times before. Maybe you should try it.
@wchitwood65 You need to learn to ride. Tank-slappers are caused by gripping the bars too tightly.
Give it gas. It will straighten out. Frame rake has the tire back too close to the frame. If it was out further away you would never have to worry about the wobble. Crotch rocket problem.
Good info. Some things I hadn't considered.
Insanely good clutchless shifting
This is the first time I came across you and your channel. I am glad I saw this!!. Thank you😊😊
You are so welcome!
I raced Superbike back in the 1980s never had wobbles. I have been to 46 of the 48 contiguous and all over Canada. Never had wobbles.
My wheels are aligned, pressure correct, steering bearing correctly adjusted and I used a steeting damper on my race bike.
Far too many mortorcycle 'experts', or noobs, know nothing about motorcycles. You know them when you see them pull their hot bike into the car wash.
It is to laugh.
This is the BEST tutorial!
Took my bike out of winter hibernation last month and went straight to Wawa to air up my tires to specifications
OoOooO, one more thing mates. @ 9:00, you go over proper "grip". Would you say that its best to loosen your grip, and hold on to your bike with your knees (not with your arms)? Our arms/hands are mostly to used just to handle the "controls" (not the steering) on the bike. To actually stablize yourself on the bike, use your knees and not youe arms/hands. The inside of your knees should be a lil' sore the next day from squeezing the tank so much (stablizing yourself on the bike) from the previous day's ride 😉. Does that work for us for an explanation (....maybe not 🤷🏽😂🤦)?
Death wobbles are very scary, happened to me once when some idiot in a BMW came to close and clipped my exhaust, luckily I managed to pull out of it.
Oh, this is difficult to watch. I have a speed wobble story I should probably share, it has been enough years.
I went down in a death wobble in the Oakland-Alameda tunnel due to speed and aggressive riding. I had on a threadbare t-shirt, shorts sandals & a helmet. Everybody drove too fast through that curved tunnel to Alameda. Tire hit one of those brass rolling things in the road bed meant to protect something else, I don't even know what those things are for but you do not want to hit one when you're pushing the edge of your skills heading into a curved tunnel. Saw it coming up, was gonna hit it, hit it, speed wobble, all happened seemingly at the same moment. Yeah I hit that thing in the road but, aggressive riding of a junk bike caused the accident. Wobble over 3 or 4 seconds became too extreme, I tried to force control & that threw the body of the bike into the wobble, curved tunnel mind you, knew I was going down so put my hands on my helmet then hit the deck with my helmet first, rolling it around so as not to grind through it, trying to flop around a bit while taking most of the road friction on my helmet, grinding off skin everywhere else as uniformly as possible until I came to a stop, there's no safe zone in that tunnel and cars were screaming by, bike wouldn't roll had to drag it to the edge of the tunnel bleeding from everywhere terrified of getting hit by all of the cars flying by. Not a pedestrian tunnel. Cop came said 'get it out of the tunnel' so I somehow did. Cop said 'nobody else involved, do you want to report this?' I didn't & was struggling to stand. Cop left. Needless to say, never made it to the sports bar. My buddy came back looking for me, took me to the hospital on his bike, I passed out on the way. Must've been a sight staggering into the ER they were really alarmed. Though a spectacle in full road rash mode, I was otherwise uninjured. They scraped all surfaces of my body for 45 minutes with a stiff bristle brush. At length I had to ask them to stop, there's still dirt in my knees from that one. Don't get too aggressive on a junky bike, something untoward could happen. Thankfully nobody else was hurt in my idiotic stunt.
🏍 On the race track we used to make ourselves small and press our elbows against the tank, now there are steering dampers 🏍
About to watch this video, currently at 0:47. Planning to get my motorcycle driving licence, my first thought is it happens when the Front wheel doesn't get enough traction? Like the back wheel is going normally and the front is going slower. Ex: back wheel goes 60km/h and the front is either at full stop(somehow) or 40km/h? Kinda a stupid explanation, though I hope that you'll understand it somehow :D
You can get free air at WaWa on the east cost as well. But best to have a tire pump that you can run off your bke. Costs $50-$60 bucks.
Wheel balance can cause issues as well.
Bike sounds sick bro did you change the headers? Appreciate the tips ride safe out there!
i usually ride with the tire pressure about 5 psi below manufacturer spec. otherwise youre gonna be sliding around.
Brand new, perfectly set up & adjusted motorcycles can encounter a tank slapper in the right road/speed conditions even on very flat racetracks, poor road conditions amplify the problem at speed. If it happens DO NOT take your hands off the handlebars like this video seems to imply, keep the throttle on and apply the rear brake only.