You need to shift your weight to front. Your weight is the anchor for pendulum(wobble) and by shifting it to front you shortening the distance of the ongoing wobble and active swing.
Keep up the great work! When times get tough, remember you are saving lives. I'd love to join you for a ride sometime. I'm not fast (KLR 650), but I'm safe. Cheers, to you!
A motorcycle is more instinct than any thing my instinct says no more 30 mph through turns regardless off how fast I go on the straight. Try 150 when is no other traffic.
@@josmith4531 Ha right, but also you could say you are Dunning-Krueger yourself, where as a non knowledge person would prob be amazed with your knowledge, and you are underwhelmed, when the fact may be you know more than many after 4 years, but regardless learning does humble us into the vast depth of knowledge that is beset with each discipline.
"Just because you've been riding a long time it doesn't mean you actually know what you are doing" Has got to be the realist most accurate true statement ever!!! I just learned about your channel two days ago and im learning how to ride all over again and I've had my license since 2005. You're saving lives man!!!!
It also don't mean you DON'T know right?? All those years of experience I have means something. Just sayin' I learned a LONG time ago to let the bike correct itself. Just squeeze the gas tank with you knees and let it ride. Saved me several times that I allowed, and I mean allowed, a bad thing to happen. The best thing is to not allow that situation to happen to begin with. There's enough going on that you don't need to invite drama in to your riding. Trust me.
Experienced the “Death Wobble” at 90mph +, only thing I could do was roll off the throttle, and NOT FIGHT the bars. Great video for anyone that’s never had this to happen. To all riders, the best advice DO NOT FIGHT THE WOBBLE.
That's my go to. Stay loose/loosen grip, slowly roll off the throttle. I've seen comments filled with "accelerate through it," which adds at least two more risk factors regardless of the outcome.
I had just one in my 12 years of riding at 120 mph. It surprised me and my natural instinct was to roll off the throttle and it quickly stopped wobbling. My grip was already loose because that's how I normally ride.
Thank you for this video. I just watched a video of a guy saying the EXACT opposite of what u just said. He suggested gripping the bike tighter to stabilize it. People need not make videos if they don’t truly understand a subject. I did more research before I came back to comment on this video and YOUR way is the way to go. So thank you 🙏🏽
And that is why you need to always double and triple cross your facts, till then keep them in the back of your mind but don't embrace them even if it's your friend or family...or experiment yourself,
When i took my licence i was struggling with the slow weave course. 3 weeks in, i told the driving teacher i thought the tire was soft. Turns out it was 1/4 of the pressure it was suppose to have. After that, the weave was a Lot easier. So even the school bikes can have low tire pressure.
School bikes are trash. Either bought cheap cause they're old or donated. The Honda Rebel that I rode had a bad first gear. Told the instructor that the bike was bad and they told me it was the only bike left and if I don't take it I'm going to have to drop out and wait for the next class.
If the shop checks your bike out quickly and doesn't bill you, toss the tech 10 or 20 bucks. That 20 bucks has saved me a lot of time and wayyyy more than 20 bucks. Builds a great relationship with the guy wrenching on your bike and that is priceless.
Agreed. I couldn't come down to the Harley shop to pick up my bike, so they delivered it to me, no charge. The guy had a hard time finding my place and seemed a little flustered. I tipped him a 20 spot for his trouble. You should've seen the smile on his face. Made his day.
I had a death wobble with my Yamaha Tracer 900 with (I think) a faulty front tyre. When I accelerated fast, the handlebars started shaking from right to left, and back and forth. Lasted maybe 4 seconds. VERY scary. I kept a loose grip on the handlebar, slowly rolled off the throttle, and I laid my chest on the tank. And the wobble stopped. Thanks to a UA-cam-video I knew what to do. Changed the tyres a.s.a.p. And no more death wobbles since then.
@@MotoJitsu you are saying it yourself at 5:20 of this video :)) P.S. by the way, I'm talking about sport bikes, I don't know nothing about suspension tune for cruisers and what can cause thank slapper on those bikes.
@@racermx775 There's multiple reasons...if I already said it...not sure what why you commented saying the same thing? lol Ironically, since sport bikes generally have adjustable suspension, I found cruisers are more likely to have tank slappers due to the damper rod forks and having not adjustments except for rear preload, maybe.
My first bike was a 1959 650cc Triumph Thunderbird. This was 1963, and I summarily joined a Motorcycle Club, where on occasion we would undertake weekends away. Upon joining the club, there was the usual do and don'ts about some of the problems one might be confronted with owning and operating a bike, and one of those was the Death wobbles, and what you should do to eliminate it. The advice I was given, that should it happen, was not to slow down, as this would increase the momentum of the side to side arc that the steering was undergoing, to the extent that it becomes so violent as to pitch the rider over the handle bars, as the front wheel eventually turns too sharply to one side. Their recommendation were, that depending on the speed the wobbles were initiated, was to drop to a lower gear and and leaning forward over the tank, accelerate hard, which had the effect of pulling the front wheel straight, then easing off the throttle to slow down normally. This safety tip proved to be spot on. I know, because as a new rider it happened to me because of a loose steering damper, which was then rectified by a simple one clockwise 360 degree turn. When I bought the bike, the actions of a steering damper were not pointed out. Screw that sucker down too much and it'll affect the way you can safely turn into a curve. The same advice can said if towing a box trailer, where one of it's wheels may hit a large pothole, or drops off the edge of the bitumen. This can initiate a swaying motion, and, by maintaining the same speed, it will only get worse if the load it's carrying is substantial. By accelerating hard it will pull the trailer back into line. This situation is also encounted if the towed vehicle is heavier than the vehicle that is towing it. (IE, a small sedan towing a car trailer with a Toyota Land Cruiser aboard). A few tips are to have a drawer bar a minimum of 1500mm, tyre pressures at 30 to 32 k/pa unladen, and 40 k/pa laden and if possible, leaf springs that have grease nipples. That aside, found your videos very informative, particularly doing U Turns at very slow speeds. Have but a week ago bought a brand new reborn 2022 Royal Enfield 350 Classic in Halcyon Green. The attention to detail on this bike is amazing, and all reviews pertaining to it have all been positive. So to everyone out there, cheers and ride safe...
I'm a motorcycle instructor who makes UA-cam videos...there's a lot of UA-camrs who ride motorcycles, big difference. MotoJitsu.com for my new app, books, merch, etc.!!!
I must agree. I'm doing a lot of research because I will be getting a motorcycle soon and your channel is in my top 3 of ppl to follow to learn and gain better understanding. Thank you so much for your hard work.
Love your channel. This is a subject I have experience having been a motorcycle tech in a shop but now retired. Number one reason for wobble is TIRES!!! Worn, or incorrect pressure. Another issue is OEM tires. Manufacturers test tires extensively on their bikes. I've had many instances where a customer had put on non OEM suggested tires and it caused handling issues as well as wobble. The profile of tires figures into the steering geometry of a motorcycle. Following any tire change we would test ride the bike or tell the customer to ride the bike up to a moderate speed, say 30 MPH and let go of the bars for a few seconds. If bars wobble bring the bike back immediately. If all is well the bars should not wobble when you let go of them, the bike should track on its own. Thus, do not buy tires for your bike unless that specific tire was tested and proven by the tire manufacturer for your machine!!! I've had tank slappers in my younger days. It is great you have this channel to help the newer riders so they do not have to experience bad crashes, etc. In my day we called it "learning the hard way." A horrible way to learn....
Through years of daily motorcycle riding I have found a reaction that actually helps a lot this eventual front wheel wobble: Clamp your knees on the tank, keep your lower body tight with the bike while still keeping the arms relaxed. This changes the dynamic of the wobble which feedbacks through the pilot to a more stable state. Perhaps it will not save from a catastrophic pressure lost from the front tire, but even under this extreme case I once stopped my bike from 75 mph to zero just with applying light rear brake and leaving the bike jiggle.
@@MotoJitsu Love your lessons, I agree with Ivan on this, It Does work, plus I moved my elbows unnaturally-in, toward the tank. An Old Motor-Bike Cop here in NZ told me and my mate this , back in the 70's.... It's from the 70's Man !....must be Good !..Kidding aside, worked for me ('m nearly 70 ) last week when my old yam TR1 got a bit Pear-shaped going too-fast on crap road-surface...twisty too. Dave Aotearoa nz
I've had two experiences with speed wobbles on two different bikes and it was the scariest moments ever. But what fixed it for me was getting the suspension properly set up for weight and riding style.
Great video, and excellent advice. I experienced a wobble more than a few times on my last bike (2009 XL1200c), and all of them were above speeds of 60mph. Thanks to years of "mellow yellow" stress adaptation and some advice from friends and family who had been riding much longer, I was able to handle those situations. Breathe, relax, roll off the throttle, let the bike do what it wants to do, because it wants to stand up straight and stop shimmying like some girl on Tik-Tok with a couple of tequila shots in her. I'm 100% sure that maintenance also played a part in keeping the tires pointed in the right direction with all of the miles I put on that bike. 1. Tire pressure... the day you don't check and adjust it, is the day it's going to be off. A small tire pump for your bike kit isn't expensive. Be proactive about it. 2. basic, general maintenance. Cleaning, oil changes, torque checks, bearing/bushing play testing, all of that stuff. Bikes are a lot like helicopters in one way: when something serious is seriously fucked, you're not just going to pull over safely, you're going to crash. Usually, it could have been prevented by competent maintenance. Be proactive about it. If you're not mechanically inclined, take it to the shop. If you are, put it up on the jack/table, figure out what it needs, and fix it.
Hi Eddy there are a lot of people I know that just can’t afford to take courses. They said that they just watch you and other people on videos and learn and go and practice things they have seen. I hope you realize how much you have helped riders learn how to be better and safer on their bikes . One of my friends told me he took a 4 hour course last summer it cost $250 . He said he could put a new set of tires on for the same price. 🤔 Thanks 🇨🇦👍
Yes, that's why I created MotoJitsu and have my book on Amazon right now...for people to have something to go practice on their own :) It's overwhelming how awesome it is knowing how many people I'm helping out :)
1 season rider here, man you ddfm Ryan f9 and Mc rider are such a wealth of knowledge....im glad I found y'all. Lots of important skills but before I ride anymore as Ryan f9 says atgatt all the gear all the time. I'm really glad y'all are out here.
Life is its self a learning curve, all the way. So, your advice is one more time absolutely correct. We are mainly, not what we know, but almost what we learn, and do! Practice, is just the best mean to do something right. Surprises can always happen, and if we survive them, we are lucky because it is one more chance to learn from it. Learning, and experiencing are fundamentally tools for real knowledge. That happened to me, once, recently, about a year ago, with my BMW 1200 R, in a strait route , about 75 mph, and it was really strange, because I had everything checked, and you know that bike, because you had one, it has a lot of electronic aids and information on the dashboard and everything looked alright before and after the happening...still don’t know what caused it. I acted like you advise here, just reduced the trotlle progressively but immediately and I stoped safely. People might say, who told you to act like that? Who teached you to react like that? That are all, good questions. Nobody is born with real skills or knowledge (at least that`s what I believe in), but since I was a child, bikes were a fascinating thing for me, it has been a central matter of interest for me. So, I learned a lot, during all my life, because I could not have a car, but I always had bikes. I see my self living without a lot of things, but a bike is something that I think I couldn’t stand living and not having one. A lot of things we learn, turn automatically present when we need, with time and practice. I may not remember in particular who told me, or who teached me to do something, I just know, sometimes, intuitively, what it’s the right reaction or action to take in presence of an event that emerges by surprise. That is not talent at all, that comes from work. Riding is a pleasure, but sometimes it is not about pleasure. Thanks Eddie, for this subject and for an instructive good video.
Been riding for a year and wobbling is something im nervous about ever since i crashed in november last year, backtire started to spin in a acceleration ( was wet and cold, 6 degrees celcius), i want to remember i was calm and let the bike do its thing but still crashed. Who knows, maybe i gripped the handlebar more than i should, cant remember exactly. Im glad i watched this video since i thought u would grip hard if u would get a wobble in front of the bike. This video might save my life in the future :D Thank you
I had a high speed wobble on a FWY overpass and I freaked out but I slowly let off the throttle and it calmed down. WOW! I thought I was a goner. I saw myself going over the guardrail and plummeting on to the FWY a hundred of feet below.
I'm so glad this channel exist, just riding a 125cc Tmax, where no courses besides your car driver license is needed, the things I learned so far from you are golden. Hope to never experience this, but at least I know what to do know. thank man
Me and some friends once played around on an old WW2 concrete runway (there's a racetrack there, and you ride along the runway to get to the car park) , which was very flat and smooth. We found out that if we rode at a constant speed (about 60 I think, but different for each of our bikes), the handle bars would start to wobble gently at first then more and more violently. We found that all we had to do to stop it was either slow down or speed up. We guessed that we had found the resonant frequency for our bikes somehow.
Several times had this happen guy's hands on the bars always they have alot to do with stability.No one hand ever our roads need repairs here in Ga. bad ! Going to check my air pressure and thanks for information.
I wish I watched this video sooner man, i’m 17 and just got my license a few months back. I was riding my harley on the highway and got the wobbles, the first thing i did was chop the throttle. I began to apply the rear brake but then realized that is the opposite of what you should do, so i let off the brake and just tried to hang onto the bike. Sadly it was too late and i left a hamburger trail on the highway, currently recovering from extreme road rash on my stomach, back, hip, arms, and especially my hands as the pads of my fingers were ripped off. I’m not an ATGATT time guy, but no matter who you are once you take a spill you’ll wish you were at least wearing gloves! Road rash is the worst pain i’ve ever felt and you have to clean it and wipe it out every day until it heals, so i doubt anybody who has gotten it wants to get it again. Anyways awesome video, thank you!
I've only been riding about a week and this happened to me. It was terrifying but it made me think of oscillating slides in a car on an icy road, so I decided to try relaxing and slowly easing off the throttle, and it calmed down... basically just what you said to do in this video. Since I hadn't watched it yet, I'm grateful for my much greater experience in cars
Having a wide glide with apes has taught me to relax my grip/arms, as soon as I do and bike tracks perfectly. Negative input to the hand bars will bite you on the arse.
Had a friend who went down at 100 mph years ago. Spent 30 days in the hospital growing back flesh and skin. Lucky he missed the car coming at him. Your advise is right on. Loosen grip, don't fight, slow roll of the throttle. I've done it... It works (but not at 100!) 😉
I can agree with this. I have a 2017 r6 with no steering damper. I was accelerating hard and right when I hit about 153-154 I started to get crazy speed wobble. Keep a hold of the grips just like you are cruising down the road. Let your arms flail around and keep your center of gravity. Slowly let off the throttle and you will survive. My wobble lasted for 3/4 of a mile and I still managed to keep the shiny side up. The biggest key is staying relaxed and not panicking!
At high speeds wind pressure pushes the nose down . if your forkes are raised in the clamps for lowering your bike or if you have well worn front springs your geometry of the forks puts it in the wabble zone. A 600 at 150 mph is tapped out for power so wide open throttle may not extend your fork back enough to stop a wobble but sitting up high at 150 mph will get your front end up enough to save your self . i have sat up at 175 before so it is possible. If you did lower your front of your bike you have to lower the back more to get your fork geometry angeling forward. Good luck.
I did sit up and all the settings of the bike are from the factory. It was made for the corners and that's where I have my fun but sometimes it's nice to do a speed run or two. I put a gpr stabilizer on it and haven't had any problems since.
Funny thing when I had a death wobble I was a kid on a bicycle. I don't remember what I did to correct it but I remember it was scary as hell. Nowadays I just try to ride safe with my motorbike and gain confidence each day. It's always awesome getting new knowledge from this channel.
This is great advice. Back in the days before UA-cam (and even before the internet or personal computers) my friends would sit around and talk about speed wobbles. At that time, many of them were riding the original Kawasaki Z1, which had only been on the market a couple of years. Of course they loved the bike, but had discovered it was prone to some alarming behaviour at speed. The general wisdom at that time was that the best thing to do was to keep cool and just gently back off the throttle. Don't do anything suddenly or touch the brakes.
Clench the bike with your knees, lean forward while rolling gentles and smoothly off the throttle, keep your arms loose while tightly holding on to the handle. This you can't really practice but you can alway do image training while in a parking lot or something.
I don't agree at all, tensing up does nothing beneficial...and you can practice staying loose not matter what the bike is doing...it's called taking dirt bike courses and learning to relax while the bike is going in and out of traction.
Grabbing with the knees is so you can let your arms go floppy... bars need to be suuuuper light, RELAX the arms. When I read grab with the knees I thought NOOOOO but the loose arms is in their... MAIN MAIN MAIN THING IS RELAX YOUR ARMS so they stop transferring the wobble through your body into rear of bike... I just go even gas, nothing dramatic, relax the arms and try stay calm, ride out :I Off gas puts more weight through front. I reckon keep everything as even/steady as possible but super loose arms (not hard on or off gas)
reasons for the steering wobble : bearing has came loose holding the tree in place low tire pressure [ also causes premature wear , tire failure ] going out of a previous wheelie to the ground then accelerating bent fork shock low oil in shock bad shock bent spokes missing wheel weight from the spokes bent rim loose spokes bad front bearing loose pinch bolts loose main front bearing shaft running over a smurf if you need to apply breaks, use the rear breaks . do not gear down for it will force the front downward and make the wobble worse. first video . . .. i think. awesome video !!
Education is the best defense against any bad situation...stay calm and remember what you know (or should). Education is the most important part on the bike not a steering stabilizer or any other "trick" parts.
Great explanation. I have seen a Honda 750 literally rolling over in front of me because of the grooves on the highway in France and because of the driver gripping to hard on the handle bars. He made it fine. The bike too, in fact. The only way to drive that place was to stay relax and to find the exact speed for the bike. You are great, thank you.
I've told Greg about my experience. Speed wobble started on the freeway over double reflectors. Just chill, dont fight the bars. Dont fight them! I cant remember if I was on the throttle or not at that point, but I know I just let the bike handle it. The incident happened so fast my adrenaline didnt dump until after the bike settled. Also! After the speed wobble I had to pull a brakes in a couple times before they would catch! I don't know why! But when I needed to brake the front brakes would not function until I pulled in two or so times. I mean it felt like the front brake wasn't there after the wobble! So if you wobble SLOWLY check your brakes after the fact. Nice and easy is the mantra people. Greg explains it well. Especially the front wheel being light under hard throttle. I know that and lack of training was my cause.
@@lm2487 I discovered the brakes weren't functioning about 3 miles after the fact. No adrenaline at that point. I was able to pull the front brake lever all the way in without any resistance or braking action. It should be noted this incident occurred on a 2012 R6 without a steering dampener.
Man that is a definite butthole pucker moment. Excellent job keeping calm under pressure and staying upright. I hope to keep as calm if that ever happens to me.
Yes, easing your grip on the bars allows the bike to correct itself, which it's trying to do via the gyroscopic effect of the wheels. The bike wants to stay upright. When you death-grip the bars you are consciously or subconsciously trying to correct the wobble yourself, but your inputs are too slow compared the bike's own corrections. By the time you correct, the bike has already corrected so your input becomes an OVER correction. The bike corrects again, but you're also late again with your correction causing a bigger over correction. This expanding oscillation continues until you crash or are thrown from the bike. In the latter case the bike will correct itself within 2 oscillations and ghost ride until it hits something.
I have been riding a really long time. Every spring I look at the accumulation of pea gravel and remind myself to ride the conditions, not my ego. Doing bike maintenance I always remember to adjust the nut that holds onto the handlebar. A pre-ride mantra; "Watch that nut bar riding behind the guy in front of you". Thank you by the way, your videos are well done and sometimes I even learn despite my best efforts not to.
I down-shifted to engine-brake once so I could make my turn (I should've kept on going straight).. rear wheel hop, scarey.. low tires probably contributed. Now every ride, besides oil, coolant, brake fluid- I inspect tires too (even though bad riding helped initiate it)👍
Your video save me couple of months back when I was riding on the highway and suddenly there was an uneven rough patch. I tried to switch to the good side of the road towards left and due to slight elevation the front started wobbling a bit. Good thing was I realized few seconds prior that it was a mistake from my end to switch lanes and expected it to wobble. This made me less nervous and I remembered your words not to grab the handlebar hard. It stopped wobbling in couple of milliseconds as I kept a loose grip and did not accelerate.
I had an Africa Twin for 10 years. That bike began to speed wobble consistently when approaching its speed limit. Just slowing down a little bit did the trick every time!
Best advice was to loosen the grip on the bars, next ease off on the throttle and apply rear brake gently, ride through it in a relaxed fashion... thanks Fast Eddy!!
Quality educational safety talk, thank you. Ex enduro/flat track racer & ex chopper rider been on same '74 Harley Superglide kicker since '76. Factory rigged bikes ride themselves with only light corrective steering input needed. I love how my heavy sweet clean well-maintained bike stays happy as long as I treat it like a lady...soft touches. Watch out for old dogs like me who may not see you coming...honestly. That's your biggest risk.
Allow me to give you my input as to why's and how's of tank slappers. I've been riding for nearly 60 years, the last 20 spent on a half dozen liter bikes from Suzuki GS1100E, to my three R1's. Every tank slapper I experienced were admitedly rider induced. My AHA! moment came on the street when accelerating around a RH bend, upshifting to 3rd at 90mph and hitting a big bump expansion joint. The FZR1000 immediately went into a lock to lock slapper and I saw myself ready to die. Luckily, I twisted WFO and wheelied out of it. When my front tire came back in contact with the road surface, I maintained steady forward pressure on both bars as I rolled off the throttle, gently. That action proved to me that you can use your body as a steering damper, clinch the tank with your knees and push R & L bars firmly. That lesson paid dividends when I was racing at Pocono and had a more harrowing experience exiting the banked Turn One of the tri-oval entering the front straight at 135mph. This tank slapper had the Grim Reaper licking his chops, but I remembered to push hard on the bars and regain control. That was back in 1988 and I haven't had a hairy moment since. I try to never pull on the bars, just push, except when I'm going slow and do the tire warming weave on smooth surfaces. Also, when accelerating hard, do your best to hang on with your legs not your arms. Don't induce the death wobble with bad input at the bars. I hope this will give some of you noobs the confidence to enjoy your motorcycle without fear of the "death wobble". (Dump that term and call it what it is: a Tank Slapper.)
Experienced my first speed wobbles today, i hit a rock and actually caught air and when i landed on ground again my bike started to wobble. All i did was stay relaxed, chill my arms and everything went fine.
This guy has a lot of good(sensible) advice. Which I can confirm from experience. Never been in a full on wobble. However I've felt it coming on before. I remember when I first bought my Dyna. I drove 70 miles (my wife and I). Excellent condition. Brand new Shinko on the rear and about as low tread as you can get before bald Dunlop up front. So yeah different tread patterns. Rode great however I decided to pay 400 and just have it towed. Got home rode it around locally. Felt great but a little off. Checked pressure, Was less than 5 off front and back fixed that. Made huge difference. Then I decided to just get to brand new OEM Dunlop's front and back( mounted and balanced). Now it's about perfect. Will say at about 75/80 starts feeling like other than the motor, the bike is getting past what it can handle comfortably. On the sportster I upgraded from that feeling came at about 55. I've been riding all types of motor bikes since a kid. Rode only street bikes my 4 year in the USMC. Once I got married had a kid stopped. Kid is 8 (rides a dirtbike). I miss it too much, so started back on a Harley. One thing I can say is although riding a sport bike over a 100 is much more risk than a Harley at about 70. A sport bike is much easier to maneuver even while going fast. A Harley more so just have to keep enough room to slow it down to safely maneuver it. Just my experience and 2 cents. Thanks for the helpful info. Ride safe everyone.
You see it all around you Good ridin' gone bad And usually it's too late when you, realize what you had And my mind goes back to a bike I left some years ago (Who told me) Just hold on loosely But don't let go If you cling to tightly You're gonna lose control -38 Special
1979 GSR 1100. I had a high-speed wobble at 130mph. I never let off the throttle but very slightly held the handlebars and let it settle. Shock had leaked down on one side. Never went over 100mph again.
Was expecting a riding vlog and got a absolute proper explanation. Thank you sir for breaking this down for me. I’ve yet to experience it but best to be prepared mentally.
Eddie at 80 mph I had 2-3 seconds to think what the hell is happening...…………. woke up in the ambulance … I NEVER WANT TO GO INTO A WOBBLE AGAIN … maybe it WILL be my last time...…….. Anyways good to discuss.. fight with the bars I really don't know what I did .. lol. maybe I'm a bad rider.
I've experienced a wobble, only between 35 and 40 mph. An alignment and suspension adjustment did the trick, and I personally re-spoked the front wheel. 2013 KLR 650.
As I see/experienced them both, the bars violently going lock to lock and the bike still going straight, I call that what it is, A tank-slapper. Then after slowing a bit it turns into the infamous High-side throw off. The Death Wobble is all about the back end. The bars are fine(no ossilation) but the back tire starts to weave back and forth and gets progressively worse if you maintain speed until you spin or get thrown off.
My buddy got a tank slapper about a month ago. It caused him to veer right into oncoming traffic. They say he was dead on impact. One of the most competent, capable riders I’ve ever known too.
Just took an intermediate course and we went over the wobble. Just as he said, stay calm decelerate and loose grip on the handle bars. Just happened last night at over 110 mph. Did what i was taught, bike straightened out and everything was good. Continued on my way. I'm positive hard acceleration while going across lanes on a not so great freeway was the cause.
This may have been already covered in the comments: back in the 1960s I read an article by a British rider who recommended actually opening your hands slightly on the grips, keeping your arms rigid, thus dampening the side to side movement on the bars by allowing the grips to hit your palms. In all the years since, I've never experienced a tank slapper, but I remembered that advice.......
I get it when over 170kmh and rising my head up. Well not really tank slapping strong but the handlebar begins to tumble. When I move my head down again it stops immediately. I'm riding a Tracer 700 and I think it's because of the deflected wind from the windscreen to the helmet.
50 mile commute each day, year around, various shifts. couple of hundred on weekends. Desert riding, enduros, motoX, scrambles and timed 100 milers in spare time on various stripped bikes, mainly competition CZ 250. Installed a slim handle bar mount windshield on my Triumph 650 commuter for winter. First time passing a car, rolling on throttle in traffic at 75-80, the buffeting airflow from car, dumped off one side of windshield, then the speed wobble began repeating, dumping air each cycle, off left and right sides, as the tank slapping began knocking between knees wildly. Loosened throttle gradually [as you pointed out] and speed change began to reload and break the gyroscopic precession cycles of the front wheel, until control returned. Cars got out of the way, as passing was aborted, saved a mess.
MotoJitsu Don’t take it personally. I strongly suspect there are trolls on UA-cam who spend all there time surfing videos, leaving dislikes and moving on. UA-cam should require an entire video be watched before a like/dislike is permitted.
Hey Fast Eddie... Did i ever tell you my biker name is "Death Grip".... I've been working on it though since watching one of your other videos... been singing "Slow hands, soft hands" every time i ride. Thanks for the breakdown! It's really reassuring to hear that the bike is trying to help me... :-)
Had a minor speed wobble on the freeway last night on my brand new 2020 Honda cbr500r. New bikes aren’t immune to this, thinking about getting steering stabilizers
As a New rider I've experienced this wobble upon changing lanes (or what I thought was a lane, but was a speed bump) I remembered my training remain calm and dont Grab the throttle, at 15mph It wiggled hard for awhile which gave me the chance to notice the Grass at the curb so I leaned toward the Grass. Blessly I landed in the Grass with no damage to me or bike. 🙏
Not freaking out is the most valuable advice one can give. It happened to me yesterday, I hit the rear brake hard and it started to slide right and as soon as I let it got it started to wobble hard. I freaked out a bit but I did not hold the handle hard. After a second or so it was okay. So I guess the bike was trying to adjust, but it did scare the hell out of me :)
So lesson learned should be do not ever hit the rear brake hard...or front for that matter...nothing is abrupt, jerky, stabby, fast with the brakes....slowly on and off.
You hit the main two, low tire pressure and excessive weight on the rear. Overloading saddle bags will do it for sure. I suspect setting the rear suspension too low could cause it too. I haven't had a bad wobble in years (decades?), but steering a little arc to the left or fight always seems to settle the bike. I've never had a wobble on a bike in good shape.
You are a gift to us all, thank you for your dedication! Being a “returned rider” all these videos are such a great help for re-building the self-confidence. Thank you.
3 months ago, on a Saturday morning, walked out into my garage to go riding. It was our club's breakfast run. We were to meet at a specific place and away we would go. I usually check my tire pressures every other time I ride, or if the bike has been sitting a while. Had checked my tire pressures the night before. Start to move the bike before I get on and I notice the bike is not moving that smoothly. Maybe it's just me but something doesn't feel right. So, check my tires and the rear is flat. Has a roofing nail. End of breakfast ride! I now check every time before I ride.
He looks like the guy from "Friends", Chandler or so. When you are a dude and decide to let your hair grow, you should expect to look stupid for the next 2 years. Not that this would be the case with him. But my hair looks like pupic hair of a wookie. 1 year and 4 months in.
Here in Australia. I got the tank slap passing a road train. At 120klmh came off and got splattered on the highway. Was air lifted out and woke up a couple of days later. Still don't know what happened or why. But still riding. I was loaded up for touring. I was just to quick on that load I was carrying. More wiser now. Cheers.
@MotoJitsu , So so so glad I watched this before I got my new gixxer. I had a death wobble yesterday at the top of 1st gear, violent one. It almost went into slow motion and I relaxed my grip totally. Somehow the bike straightened itself out. Thank you so much, I was scared sh*tless, but I made it out unscathed right side up! I believe the front end is coming up or getting light, and when I shift it throws things off.
@@MotoJitsu It was surreal man. Like it felt like slow motion and all I could think was "RELAX YOUR GRIP". I can't believe it straightened back out, but I just did what I had seen in your videos and other literature I've read. I'm going to learn from it, be humbled, and continue to learn.
Everything he said is correct, an insurance adjuster I shared a house with told me two Harley Davidsons that he looked over from a wobble crash had worn/corroded front wheel bearings on right side that collapsed
I agree that the triggers for a wobble can be all sorts of things on a motorcycle e.g. brake, accel , but I think the wobble itself is some sort of phenomenon to do with rotational momentum of the wheels and inertia. I say this because I have experienced the same phenomenon on a skateboard many times which rules out a lot of those triggers.
Last weekend, I experienced a wobble and wondered how in the heck it happened. So I searched on here to understand how it happened. I had slowed down to about 25 as I knew it was a sharp curve but...it was much sharper than I’d assume and thank goodness I had already slowed down then slowly let that throttle go even more. As well as stayed calm. Otherwise...yeah, a cliff on my right. Glad to see this video and learning what to consider as a prevention. Thanks Fast Eddie! 👍
Btw...been practicing trail breaking and learning to trust the breaking system rather than engine breaking. Something I was too dependent on before. Wow! I wonder if that’s what saved my ass?! I remember letting the throttle down more and slightly squeezed my front break a bit more. Here’s to keep practicing and having fun.
I had a 40 mph speed wheel wobble an couldn't fix it after weeks of research on Yamaha Venture Royale touring bike. Every time I'd go through 40, I'd get this wheel shake an wobble! So I called Yamaha in Japan an asked them! They showed me the fix, by losing up,but not removing, engine mount bolts. While on center stand an rear wheel off ground start engine, an slowly rev small RPMs while shifting up an down through gears at least 3 time. Then retighten mounting bolts! This re-aligned the ending drive an drive shaft to rear axle. So I losened engine mounting bolts shifted through gears several times, tightened bolts down, an no more wheel wobble! Thanks, Tim
Thanks for watching everyone. Check out MotoJitsu.com/shop for my books & new merch :)
Have a good day
You need to shift your weight to front. Your weight is the anchor for pendulum(wobble) and by shifting it to front you shortening the distance of the ongoing wobble and active swing.
Yes yes I
Thanks Mr Keaton! Always love your videos even if iam late to the party!
Keep up the great work! When times get tough, remember you are saving lives. I'd love to join you for a ride sometime. I'm not fast (KLR 650), but I'm safe. Cheers, to you!
You reminded me of a great quote: "The more I learn, the more I realize how much I have to learn"
YES!
A motorcycle is more instinct than any thing my instinct says no more 30 mph through turns regardless off how fast I go on the straight. Try 150 when is no other traffic.
“The more you know the less you know” for short
I have found that after studying a subject for 4 years, you will figure out, how much you don't know about it.
@@josmith4531 Ha right, but also you could say you are Dunning-Krueger yourself, where as a non knowledge person would prob be amazed with your knowledge, and you are underwhelmed, when the fact may be you know more than many after 4 years, but regardless learning does humble us into the vast depth of knowledge that is beset with each discipline.
"Just because you've been riding a long time it doesn't mean you actually know what you are doing" Has got to be the realist most accurate true statement ever!!! I just learned about your channel two days ago and im learning how to ride all over again and I've had my license since 2005. You're saving lives man!!!!
:) Thanks
Yup. It just means you've been doing it wrong for longer.
And just because someone has a UA-cam channel it doesn't mean they actually know what they are doing
It also don't mean you DON'T know right?? All those years of experience I have means something. Just sayin' I learned a LONG time ago to let the bike correct itself. Just squeeze the gas tank with you knees and let it ride. Saved me several times that I allowed, and I mean allowed, a bad thing to happen. The best thing is to not allow that situation to happen to begin with. There's enough going on that you don't need to invite drama in to your riding. Trust me.
Experienced the “Death Wobble” at 90mph +, only thing I could do was roll off the throttle, and NOT FIGHT the bars. Great video for anyone that’s never had this to happen. To all riders, the best advice DO NOT FIGHT THE WOBBLE.
👌🏼
That's my go to. Stay loose/loosen grip, slowly roll off the throttle. I've seen comments filled with "accelerate through it," which adds at least two more risk factors regardless of the outcome.
I think they also recommend smoothly lean more foreover on the tank. This way the pressure and friction on the front tire slowly increases.
I had just one in my 12 years of riding at 120 mph. It surprised me and my natural instinct was to roll off the throttle and it quickly stopped wobbling. My grip was already loose because that's how I normally ride.
Thank you for this video. I just watched a video of a guy saying the EXACT opposite of what u just said. He suggested gripping the bike tighter to stabilize it. People need not make videos if they don’t truly understand a subject. I did more research before I came back to comment on this video and YOUR way is the way to go. So thank you 🙏🏽
You're welcome!
And that is why you need to always double and triple cross your facts, till then keep them in the back of your mind but don't embrace them even if it's your friend or family...or experiment yourself,
Yeah, gripping the handlebar is why new riders crash on tank slappers.
When i took my licence i was struggling with the slow weave course. 3 weeks in, i told the driving teacher i thought the tire was soft. Turns out it was 1/4 of the pressure it was suppose to have. After that, the weave was a Lot easier. So even the school bikes can have low tire pressure.
yup
they did that purposely. i was in drive test taking my license and they manipulated the gear indicators but i still managed to find it.
School bikes are trash. Either bought cheap cause they're old or donated. The Honda Rebel that I rode had a bad first gear. Told the instructor that the bike was bad and they told me it was the only bike left and if I don't take it I'm going to have to drop out and wait for the next class.
What a scam.
They know what they're doing
I just yell at the top of my lungs ohhh sh!t!!!!!!!! And yell JESUS. That worked for me on the highway a few years ago.
wow
Lol
lol :)
Amen brother!
Hell yea that works lol
If the shop checks your bike out quickly and doesn't bill you, toss the tech 10 or 20 bucks. That 20 bucks has saved me a lot of time and wayyyy more than 20 bucks. Builds a great relationship with the guy wrenching on your bike and that is priceless.
Exactly!
MotoJitsu ok
Good to have a trusting mechanic 👨🔧!
true, but still check your own ride.
@@djohnson3678 absolutely. I've built, repaired and modified cars for the last almost 2 decades but I'm so new to bikes that I value a second opinion.
Agreed. I couldn't come down to the Harley shop to pick up my bike, so they delivered it to me, no charge. The guy had a hard time finding my place and seemed a little flustered. I tipped him a 20 spot for his trouble. You should've seen the smile on his face. Made his day.
I had a death wobble with my Yamaha Tracer 900 with (I think) a faulty front tyre. When I accelerated fast, the handlebars started shaking from right to left, and back and forth. Lasted maybe 4 seconds. VERY scary. I kept a loose grip on the handlebar, slowly rolled off the throttle, and I laid my chest on the tank. And the wobble stopped. Thanks to a UA-cam-video I knew what to do.
Changed the tyres a.s.a.p. And no more death wobbles since then.
welcome
MotoJitsu.com for my new app, books, merch, affiliate links to Revzilla, etc. :)
Also lean forward, off the throttle and stay calm It saved me from crashing.
Roll off slowly for sure!
Get as flat on the tank as you can. Quick. Works every time..
checkout the video on YT, it's old but the laws of physics don't change.
D NY go from sitting upright to laying your chest on the tank
D NY THE VIDEO? yea I love that one
@@dny9394 WHAT VIDEO lmao
If you're not a subscriber already, now is the time! Check out motojitsu.com for more cool stuff as well :)
For a minute i thought iwas at the wrong channel. Good videos bro good work
the main reason for the tank slapper cause is improper suspension tune. especially front fork preload settings. you're welcome :)
Team Deaf Bonce no it’s not. It may be a cause but it’s the not the majority.
@@MotoJitsu you are saying it yourself at 5:20 of this video :)) P.S. by the way, I'm talking about sport bikes, I don't know nothing about suspension tune for cruisers and what can cause thank slapper on those bikes.
@@racermx775 There's multiple reasons...if I already said it...not sure what why you commented saying the same thing? lol Ironically, since sport bikes generally have adjustable suspension, I found cruisers are more likely to have tank slappers due to the damper rod forks and having not adjustments except for rear preload, maybe.
My first bike was a 1959 650cc Triumph Thunderbird. This was 1963, and I summarily joined a Motorcycle Club, where on occasion we would undertake weekends away. Upon joining the club, there was the usual do and don'ts about some of the problems one might be confronted with owning and operating a bike, and one of those was the Death wobbles, and what you should do to eliminate it. The advice I was given, that should it happen, was not to slow down, as this would increase the momentum of the side to side arc that the steering was undergoing, to the extent that it becomes so violent as to pitch the rider over the handle bars, as the front wheel eventually turns too sharply to one side. Their recommendation were, that depending on the speed the wobbles were initiated, was to drop to a lower gear and and leaning forward over the tank, accelerate hard, which had the effect of pulling the front wheel straight, then easing off the throttle to slow down normally. This safety tip proved to be spot on. I know, because as a new rider it happened to me because of a loose steering damper, which was then rectified by a simple one clockwise 360 degree turn. When I bought the bike, the actions of a steering damper were not pointed out. Screw that sucker down too much and it'll affect the way you can safely turn into a curve.
The same advice can said if towing a box trailer, where one of it's wheels may hit a large pothole, or drops off the edge of the bitumen. This can initiate a swaying motion, and, by maintaining the same speed, it will only get worse if the load it's carrying is substantial. By accelerating hard it will pull the trailer back into line. This situation is also encounted if the towed vehicle is heavier than the vehicle that is towing it. (IE, a small sedan towing a car trailer with a Toyota Land Cruiser aboard). A few tips are to have a drawer bar a minimum of 1500mm, tyre pressures at 30 to 32 k/pa unladen, and 40 k/pa laden and if possible, leaf springs that have grease nipples.
That aside, found your videos very informative, particularly doing U Turns at very slow speeds. Have but a week ago bought a brand new reborn 2022 Royal Enfield 350 Classic in Halcyon Green. The attention to detail on this bike is amazing, and all reviews pertaining to it have all been positive. So to everyone out there, cheers and ride safe...
Smart man, not many guys out there with this kind of knowledge
I'm a motorcycle instructor who makes UA-cam videos...there's a lot of UA-camrs who ride motorcycles, big difference. MotoJitsu.com for my new app, books, merch, etc.!!!
I'm new to MotorCycles, I've learned a lot from all of your advise and experience, thank you Greatly!
You’re welcome!
I must agree. I'm doing a lot of research because I will be getting a motorcycle soon and your channel is in my top 3 of ppl to follow to learn and gain better understanding. Thank you so much for your hard work.
The first step in learning motorcycles is to not call them MotorCycles.
Love your channel. This is a subject I have experience having been a motorcycle tech in a shop but now retired. Number one reason for wobble is TIRES!!! Worn, or incorrect pressure. Another issue is OEM tires. Manufacturers test tires extensively on their bikes. I've had many instances where a customer had put on non OEM suggested tires and it caused handling issues as well as wobble. The profile of tires figures into the steering geometry of a motorcycle. Following any tire change we would test ride the bike or tell the customer to ride the bike up to a moderate speed, say 30 MPH and let go of the bars for a few seconds. If bars wobble bring the bike back immediately. If all is well the bars should not wobble when you let go of them, the bike should track on its own. Thus, do not buy tires for your bike unless that specific tire was tested and proven by the tire manufacturer for your machine!!! I've had tank slappers in my younger days. It is great you have this channel to help the newer riders so they do not have to experience bad crashes, etc. In my day we called it "learning the hard way." A horrible way to learn....
Thanks
Through years of daily motorcycle riding I have found a reaction that actually helps a lot this eventual front wheel wobble: Clamp your knees on the tank, keep your lower body tight with the bike while still keeping the arms relaxed. This changes the dynamic of the wobble which feedbacks through the pilot to a more stable state. Perhaps it will not save from a catastrophic pressure lost from the front tire, but even under this extreme case I once stopped my bike from 75 mph to zero just with applying light rear brake and leaving the bike jiggle.
if you have time to think about it
@@MotoJitsu Love your lessons, I agree with Ivan on this, It Does work, plus I moved my elbows unnaturally-in, toward the tank. An Old Motor-Bike Cop here in NZ told me and my mate this , back in the 70's.... It's from the 70's Man !....must be Good !..Kidding aside, worked for me ('m nearly 70 ) last week when my old yam TR1 got a bit Pear-shaped going too-fast on crap road-surface...twisty too. Dave Aotearoa nz
I’m so glad your older vids pop up in my UA-cam feed. This one has excellent info!!💯🦾👍🏽🏍
👍🏼👍🏼😊😊
I've had two experiences with speed wobbles on two different bikes and it was the scariest moments ever. But what fixed it for me was getting the suspension properly set up for weight and riding style.
Yes, getting your suspension set up to your weight is so important!
Sag???
@Mr. Poopybutthole Why is that?
Great video, and excellent advice.
I experienced a wobble more than a few times on my last bike (2009 XL1200c), and all of them were above speeds of 60mph. Thanks to years of "mellow yellow" stress adaptation and some advice from friends and family who had been riding much longer, I was able to handle those situations. Breathe, relax, roll off the throttle, let the bike do what it wants to do, because it wants to stand up straight and stop shimmying like some girl on Tik-Tok with a couple of tequila shots in her.
I'm 100% sure that maintenance also played a part in keeping the tires pointed in the right direction with all of the miles I put on that bike.
1. Tire pressure... the day you don't check and adjust it, is the day it's going to be off. A small tire pump for your bike kit isn't expensive. Be proactive about it.
2. basic, general maintenance. Cleaning, oil changes, torque checks, bearing/bushing play testing, all of that stuff. Bikes are a lot like helicopters in one way: when something serious is seriously fucked, you're not just going to pull over safely, you're going to crash. Usually, it could have been prevented by competent maintenance. Be proactive about it. If you're not mechanically inclined, take it to the shop. If you are, put it up on the jack/table, figure out what it needs, and fix it.
😂😂😂😂 the TikTok girl part had me dying laughinh
@@LIFEOFMARIAHEVERYTHINGNURSING Glad to have given someone a laugh. 🙂👍
Mate. 32 years riding. I wish there was something like your page way back then. I survived, but l reckon you’re an asset to new chums. Thanks mate.
Hi Eddy there are a lot of people I know that just can’t afford to take courses. They said that they just watch you and other people on videos and learn and go and practice things they have seen. I hope you realize how much you have helped riders learn how to be better and safer on their bikes . One of my friends told me he took a 4 hour course last summer it cost $250 . He said he could put a new set of tires on for the same price. 🤔 Thanks 🇨🇦👍
Yes, that's why I created MotoJitsu and have my book on Amazon right now...for people to have something to go practice on their own :) It's overwhelming how awesome it is knowing how many people I'm helping out :)
Went on my first long ride on my dirtbike yesterday after a fall, I feel a lot safer having watched this! Thank you x
fun!
I'm not a rider yet, but I already feel saver because of this vid!
I'll pay attention if my future instructure will tell anything about speed wobbles!
Awesome!
1 season rider here, man you ddfm Ryan f9 and Mc rider are such a wealth of knowledge....im glad I found y'all. Lots of important skills but before I ride anymore as Ryan f9 says atgatt all the gear all the time. I'm really glad y'all are out here.
Thanks!
Life is its self a learning curve, all the way. So, your advice is one more time absolutely correct. We are mainly, not what we know, but almost what we learn, and do! Practice, is just the best mean to do something right. Surprises can always happen, and if we survive them, we are lucky because it is one more chance to learn from it. Learning, and experiencing are fundamentally tools for real knowledge.
That happened to me, once, recently, about a year ago, with my BMW 1200 R, in a strait route , about 75 mph, and it was really strange, because I had everything checked, and you know that bike, because you had one, it has a lot of electronic aids and information on the dashboard and everything looked alright before and after the happening...still don’t know what caused it. I acted like you advise here, just reduced the trotlle progressively but immediately and I stoped safely. People might say, who told you to act like that?
Who teached you to react like that? That are all, good questions. Nobody is born with real skills or knowledge (at least that`s what I believe in), but since I was a child, bikes were a fascinating thing for me, it has been a central matter of interest for me. So, I learned a lot, during all my life, because I could not have a car, but I always had bikes. I see my self living without a lot of things, but a bike is something that I think I couldn’t stand living and not having one. A lot of things we learn, turn automatically present when we need, with time and practice. I may not remember in particular who told me, or who teached me to do something, I just know, sometimes, intuitively, what it’s the right reaction or action to take in presence of an event that emerges by surprise. That is not talent at all, that comes from work. Riding is a pleasure, but sometimes it is not about pleasure.
Thanks Eddie, for this subject and for an instructive good video.
You're very welcome!! :)
Been riding for a year and wobbling is something im nervous about ever since i crashed in november last year, backtire started to spin in a acceleration ( was wet and cold, 6 degrees celcius), i want to remember i was calm and let the bike do its thing but still crashed. Who knows, maybe i gripped the handlebar more than i should, cant remember exactly.
Im glad i watched this video since i thought u would grip hard if u would get a wobble in front of the bike. This video might save my life in the future :D Thank you
you're welcome! :)
I had a high speed wobble on a FWY overpass and I freaked out but I slowly let off the throttle and it calmed down. WOW! I thought I was a goner. I saw myself going over the guardrail and plummeting on to the FWY a hundred of feet below.
sheesh!!
I'm so glad this channel exist, just riding a 125cc Tmax, where no courses besides your car driver license is needed, the things I learned so far from you are golden. Hope to never experience this, but at least I know what to do know. thank man
The way you put some things, brilliant! Especially the knee down videos.
Hey from the UK
Thanks
Me and some friends once played around on an old WW2 concrete runway (there's a racetrack there, and you ride along the runway to get to the car park) , which was very flat and smooth. We found out that if we rode at a constant speed (about 60 I think, but different for each of our bikes), the handle bars would start to wobble gently at first then more and more violently. We found that all we had to do to stop it was either slow down or speed up. We guessed that we had found the resonant frequency for our bikes somehow.
Several times had this happen guy's hands on the bars always they have alot to do with stability.No one hand ever our roads need repairs here in Ga. bad ! Going to check my air pressure and thanks for information.
interesting
I wish I watched this video sooner man, i’m 17 and just got my license a few months back. I was riding my harley on the highway and got the wobbles, the first thing i did was chop the throttle. I began to apply the rear brake but then realized that is the opposite of what you should do, so i let off the brake and just tried to hang onto the bike. Sadly it was too late and i left a hamburger trail on the highway, currently recovering from extreme road rash on my stomach, back, hip, arms, and especially my hands as the pads of my fingers were ripped off. I’m not an ATGATT time guy, but no matter who you are once you take a spill you’ll wish you were at least wearing gloves! Road rash is the worst pain i’ve ever felt and you have to clean it and wipe it out every day until it heals, so i doubt anybody who has gotten it wants to get it again. Anyways awesome video, thank you!
welcome!
I've only been riding about a week and this happened to me. It was terrifying but it made me think of oscillating slides in a car on an icy road, so I decided to try relaxing and slowly easing off the throttle, and it calmed down... basically just what you said to do in this video. Since I hadn't watched it yet, I'm grateful for my much greater experience in cars
Sheesh! lucky
Having a wide glide with apes has taught me to relax my grip/arms, as soon as I do and bike tracks perfectly. Negative input to the hand bars will bite you on the arse.
:)
MotoJitsu.com for my new app, books, merch, etc.
Had a friend who went down at 100 mph years ago. Spent 30 days in the hospital growing back flesh and skin. Lucky he missed the car coming at him. Your advise is right on. Loosen grip, don't fight, slow roll of the throttle. I've done it... It works (but not at 100!) 😉
Sheesh
Do u mean roll off the throttle or roll on
@@meist5866 meant slow roll off... Very gradual.
@@Rocketsql yeye ok cheers
Exactly, no one should be going 100 on a bike. It’s just stupid to go that fast.
I can agree with this. I have a 2017 r6 with no steering damper. I was accelerating hard and right when I hit about 153-154 I started to get crazy speed wobble. Keep a hold of the grips just like you are cruising down the road. Let your arms flail around and keep your center of gravity. Slowly let off the throttle and you will survive. My wobble lasted for 3/4 of a mile and I still managed to keep the shiny side up. The biggest key is staying relaxed and not panicking!
Sheesh
At high speeds wind pressure pushes the nose down . if your forkes are raised in the clamps for lowering your bike or if you have well worn front springs your geometry of the forks puts it in the wabble zone. A 600 at 150 mph is tapped out for power so wide open throttle may not extend your fork back enough to stop a wobble but sitting up high at 150 mph will get your front end up enough to save your self . i have sat up at 175 before so it is possible. If you did lower your front of your bike you have to lower the back more to get your fork geometry angeling forward.
Good luck.
Andrew Managhan speed demon
I did sit up and all the settings of the bike are from the factory. It was made for the corners and that's where I have my fun but sometimes it's nice to do a speed run or two. I put a gpr stabilizer on it and haven't had any problems since.
Funny thing when I had a death wobble I was a kid on a bicycle. I don't remember what I did to correct it but I remember it was scary as hell. Nowadays I just try to ride safe with my motorbike and gain confidence each day. It's always awesome getting new knowledge from this channel.
Great vid Greg! Always good advice and for those of us who have ridden for years its always good to hear these reminders. Keep up the good work.
Thanks!
This is great advice. Back in the days before UA-cam (and even before the internet or personal computers) my friends would sit around and talk about speed wobbles. At that time, many of them were riding the original Kawasaki Z1, which had only been on the market a couple of years. Of course they loved the bike, but had discovered it was prone to some alarming behaviour at speed. The general wisdom at that time was that the best thing to do was to keep cool and just gently back off the throttle. Don't do anything suddenly or touch the brakes.
Clench the bike with your knees, lean forward while rolling gentles and smoothly off the throttle, keep your arms loose while tightly holding on to the handle. This you can't really practice but you can alway do image training while in a parking lot or something.
I don't agree at all, tensing up does nothing beneficial...and you can practice staying loose not matter what the bike is doing...it's called taking dirt bike courses and learning to relax while the bike is going in and out of traction.
Grabbing with the knees is so you can let your arms go floppy... bars need to be suuuuper light, RELAX the arms.
When I read grab with the knees I thought NOOOOO but the loose arms is in their...
MAIN MAIN MAIN THING IS RELAX YOUR ARMS so they stop transferring the wobble through your body into rear of bike...
I just go even gas, nothing dramatic, relax the arms and try stay calm, ride out :I
Off gas puts more weight through front. I reckon keep everything as even/steady as possible but super loose arms (not hard on or off gas)
reasons for the steering wobble :
bearing has came loose holding the tree in place
low tire pressure [ also causes premature wear , tire failure ]
going out of a previous wheelie to the ground then accelerating
bent fork shock
low oil in shock
bad shock
bent spokes
missing wheel weight from the spokes
bent rim
loose spokes
bad front bearing
loose pinch bolts
loose main front bearing shaft
running over a smurf
if you need to apply breaks, use the rear breaks . do not gear down for it will force the front downward and
make the wobble worse.
first video . . .. i think.
awesome video !!
Thanks
Education is the best defense against any bad situation...stay calm and remember what you know (or should). Education is the most important part on the bike not a steering stabilizer or any other "trick" parts.
Exactly
Great explanation. I have seen a Honda 750 literally rolling over in front of me because of the grooves on the highway in France and because of the driver gripping to hard on the handle bars. He made it fine. The bike too, in fact. The only way to drive that place was to stay relax and to find the exact speed for the bike. You are great, thank you.
you're welcome! SHARE IT
I've told Greg about my experience.
Speed wobble started on the freeway over double reflectors. Just chill, dont fight the bars. Dont fight them! I cant remember if I was on the throttle or not at that point, but I know I just let the bike handle it.
The incident happened so fast my adrenaline didnt dump until after the bike settled. Also! After the speed wobble I had to pull a brakes in a couple times before they would catch! I don't know why! But when I needed to brake the front brakes would not function until I pulled in two or so times. I mean it felt like the front brake wasn't there after the wobble! So if you wobble SLOWLY check your brakes after the fact. Nice and easy is the mantra people.
Greg explains it well. Especially the front wheel being light under hard throttle. I know that and lack of training was my cause.
Yes....great points :)
E5 Whiskey is it possible that your adrenaline was so high that your view of this is not accurate? Like the brakes not working?
@@lm2487 I discovered the brakes weren't functioning about 3 miles after the fact. No adrenaline at that point. I was able to pull the front brake lever all the way in without any resistance or braking action.
It should be noted this incident occurred on a 2012 R6 without a steering dampener.
Man that is a definite butthole pucker moment. Excellent job keeping calm under pressure and staying upright. I hope to keep as calm if that ever happens to me.
Yes, easing your grip on the bars allows the bike to correct itself, which it's trying to do via the gyroscopic effect of the wheels. The bike wants to stay upright. When you death-grip the bars you are consciously or subconsciously trying to correct the wobble yourself, but your inputs are too slow compared the bike's own corrections. By the time you correct, the bike has already corrected so your input becomes an OVER correction. The bike corrects again, but you're also late again with your correction causing a bigger over correction. This expanding oscillation continues until you crash or are thrown from the bike. In the latter case the bike will correct itself within 2 oscillations and ghost ride until it hits something.
I have been riding a really long time. Every spring I look at the accumulation of pea gravel and remind myself to ride the conditions, not my ego.
Doing bike maintenance I always remember to adjust the nut that holds onto the handlebar. A pre-ride mantra; "Watch that nut bar riding behind the guy in front of you".
Thank you by the way, your videos are well done and sometimes I even learn despite my best efforts not to.
I down-shifted to engine-brake once so I could make my turn (I should've kept on going straight).. rear wheel hop, scarey.. low tires probably contributed. Now every ride, besides oil, coolant, brake fluid- I inspect tires too (even though bad riding helped initiate it)👍
:)
Learning from experience is great, but I'd rather learn before the experience..
@@bryanreeme8584 thanks for sharing so we can learn from my your story
Your video save me couple of months back when I was riding on the highway and suddenly there was an uneven rough patch. I tried to switch to the good side of the road towards left and due to slight elevation the front started wobbling a bit. Good thing was I realized few seconds prior that it was a mistake from my end to switch lanes and expected it to wobble. This made me less nervous and I remembered your words not to grab the handlebar hard. It stopped wobbling in couple of milliseconds as I kept a loose grip and did not accelerate.
Also, if the song Wobble comes on the playlist while listening to music, a rider might unconsciously start wobbling
oh?
www.motojitsu.com/ for my new app, books, etc.
@@MotoJitsu just downloaded, thanks!
I had an Africa Twin for 10 years. That bike began to speed wobble consistently when approaching its speed limit. Just slowing down a little bit did the trick every time!
Best advice was to loosen the grip on the bars, next ease off on the throttle and apply rear brake gently, ride through it in a relaxed fashion... thanks Fast Eddy!!
you're welcome :)
Quality educational safety talk, thank you.
Ex enduro/flat track racer & ex chopper rider been on same '74 Harley Superglide kicker since '76.
Factory rigged bikes ride themselves with only light corrective steering input needed. I love how my heavy sweet clean well-maintained bike stays happy as long as I treat it like a lady...soft touches.
Watch out for old dogs like me who may not see you coming...honestly. That's your biggest risk.
Thanks
:)
Thanks for the tips. Lets all keep showing our real-life experiences so we all can learn from them.
You bet!
If you haven't already, check out MotoJitsu.com for my new app, books, merch, etc.
Allow me to give you my input as to why's and how's of tank slappers.
I've been riding for nearly 60 years, the last 20 spent on a half dozen liter bikes from Suzuki GS1100E, to my three R1's.
Every tank slapper I experienced were admitedly rider induced. My AHA! moment came on the street when accelerating around a RH bend, upshifting to 3rd at 90mph and hitting a big bump expansion joint. The FZR1000 immediately went into a lock to lock slapper and I saw myself ready to die. Luckily, I twisted WFO and wheelied out of it. When my front tire came back in contact with the road surface, I maintained steady forward pressure on both bars as I rolled off the throttle, gently.
That action proved to me that you can use your body as a steering damper, clinch the tank with your knees and push R & L bars firmly. That lesson paid dividends when I was racing at Pocono and had a more harrowing experience exiting the banked Turn One of the tri-oval entering the front straight at 135mph. This tank slapper had the Grim Reaper licking his chops, but I remembered to push hard on the bars and regain control. That was back in 1988 and I haven't had a hairy moment since. I try to never pull on the bars, just push, except when I'm going slow and do the tire warming weave on smooth surfaces.
Also, when accelerating hard, do your best to hang on with your legs not your arms. Don't induce the death wobble with bad input at the bars. I hope this will give some of you noobs the confidence to enjoy your motorcycle without fear of the "death wobble". (Dump that term and call it what it is: a Tank Slapper.)
Experienced my first speed wobbles today, i hit a rock and actually caught air and when i landed on ground again my bike started to wobble. All i did was stay relaxed, chill my arms and everything went fine.
Sheesh
It will staight out like magic if you let it. Even when going throught sand, you have to allow the bike to weave and sort itself out.
This guy has a lot of good(sensible) advice. Which I can confirm from experience. Never been in a full on wobble. However I've felt it coming on before. I remember when I first bought my Dyna. I drove 70 miles (my wife and I). Excellent condition. Brand new Shinko on the rear and about as low tread as you can get before bald Dunlop up front. So yeah different tread patterns. Rode great however I decided to pay 400 and just have it towed. Got home rode it around locally. Felt great but a little off. Checked pressure, Was less than 5 off front and back fixed that. Made huge difference. Then I decided to just get to brand new OEM Dunlop's front and back( mounted and balanced). Now it's about perfect. Will say at about 75/80 starts feeling like other than the motor, the bike is getting past what it can handle comfortably. On the sportster I upgraded from that feeling came at about 55. I've been riding all types of motor bikes since a kid. Rode only street bikes my 4 year in the USMC. Once I got married had a kid stopped. Kid is 8 (rides a dirtbike). I miss it too much, so started back on a Harley. One thing I can say is although riding a sport bike over a 100 is much more risk than a Harley at about 70. A sport bike is much easier to maneuver even while going fast. A Harley more so just have to keep enough room to slow it down to safely maneuver it. Just my experience and 2 cents. Thanks for the helpful info. Ride safe everyone.
You see it all around you
Good ridin' gone bad
And usually it's too late when you, realize what you had
And my mind goes back to a bike I left some years ago (Who told me)
Just hold on loosely
But don't let go
If you cling to tightly
You're gonna lose control
-38 Special
Yup
1979 GSR 1100. I had a high-speed wobble at 130mph. I never let off the throttle but very slightly held the handlebars and let it settle. Shock had leaked down on one side. Never went over 100mph again.
thank you, that is life saving
you're welcome!!
Was expecting a riding vlog and got a absolute proper explanation. Thank you sir for breaking this down for me. I’ve yet to experience it but best to be prepared mentally.
Eddie at 80 mph I had 2-3 seconds to think what the hell is happening...…………. woke up in the ambulance … I NEVER WANT TO GO INTO A WOBBLE AGAIN … maybe it WILL be my last time...…….. Anyways good to discuss.. fight with the bars I really don't know what I did .. lol. maybe I'm a bad rider.
Wow!
Road surface can induce wobble.
naw, according to this youtube, he says its 99% the rider fault
Love the hair! Thanks for the advice too :D
You're welcome :)
I've experienced a wobble, only between 35 and 40 mph. An alignment and suspension adjustment did the trick, and I personally re-spoked the front wheel. 2013 KLR 650.
It seems to me that you have a science degree! As you have a scientific method, when explaining motorcycle mechanics. Good Stuff!
Thanks! I have a BA, MA, and MS :)
@@MotoJitsu I have a BSc and an MSc so far. Don't have an Arts degree yet, but I may fix that later.
Yes, anyone that can bring up Neil deGrasse Tyson in a conversation about motorcycles is a winner in my book.
As I see/experienced them both, the bars violently going lock to lock and the bike still going straight, I call that what it is, A tank-slapper. Then after slowing a bit it turns into the infamous High-side throw off. The Death Wobble is all about the back end. The bars are fine(no ossilation) but the back tire starts to weave back and forth and gets progressively worse if you maintain speed until you spin or get thrown off.
I got the wobbles, and I don’t even ride
Lol
You should probably ride to eliminate wobbles
It's a good point to address tire pressure and you nailed it on this one I see too many people neglect this
thanks
Got the wobbles when you refered to N D Tyson
Love him!
😀
What to do during a speed whobble:
Pop a wheelie.
It can’t wobble if the front isnt on the ground 😜
Your videos are awesome appreciated, subscriber from new zealand!
Awesome, thank you!
Maaaaaaan, this saved me from a crash. Thank you so much!
My buddy got a tank slapper about a month ago. It caused him to veer right into oncoming traffic. They say he was dead on impact. One of the most competent, capable riders I’ve ever known too.
Just took an intermediate course and we went over the wobble. Just as he said, stay calm decelerate and loose grip on the handle bars. Just happened last night at over 110 mph. Did what i was taught, bike straightened out and everything was good. Continued on my way. I'm positive hard acceleration while going across lanes on a not so great freeway was the cause.
wow
I had a low front tire cause it once. I would hit 65mph and it would start up.
makes sense
This may have been already covered in the comments: back in the 1960s I read an article by a British rider who recommended actually opening your hands slightly on the grips, keeping your arms rigid, thus dampening the side to side movement on the bars by allowing the grips to hit your palms. In all the years since, I've never experienced a tank slapper, but I remembered that advice.......
At first I didn't even realize it was actually you because of your uncut hair
😁👌🏼
I get it when over 170kmh and rising my head up. Well not really tank slapping strong but the handlebar begins to tumble. When I move my head down again it stops immediately. I'm riding a Tracer 700 and I think it's because of the deflected wind from the windscreen to the helmet.
👍🏼
Also lean forward, helps stop wobble.
Maybe
50 mile commute each day, year around, various shifts. couple of hundred on weekends. Desert riding, enduros, motoX, scrambles and timed 100 milers in spare time on various stripped bikes, mainly competition CZ 250.
Installed a slim handle bar mount windshield on my Triumph 650 commuter for winter. First time passing a car, rolling on throttle in traffic at 75-80, the buffeting airflow from car, dumped off one side of windshield, then the speed wobble began repeating, dumping air each cycle, off left and right sides, as the tank slapping began knocking between knees wildly.
Loosened throttle gradually [as you pointed out] and speed change began to reload and break the gyroscopic precession cycles of the front wheel, until control returned. Cars got out of the way, as passing was aborted, saved a mess.
wow
The two people that disliked this video are tri-bike riders.
There's always a few who dislike my videos...I expect it.
MotoJitsu Don’t take it personally. I strongly suspect there are trolls on UA-cam who spend all there time surfing videos, leaving dislikes and moving on. UA-cam should require an entire video be watched before a like/dislike is permitted.
@@stevewaclo167 Personally? I could care less...either way, they're watching my video in order to comment.
Hey Fast Eddie... Did i ever tell you my biker name is "Death Grip".... I've been working on it though since watching one of your other videos... been singing "Slow hands, soft hands" every time i ride. Thanks for the breakdown! It's really reassuring to hear that the bike is trying to help me... :-)
Thanks for watching ❤️ MotoJitsu.com for my App, Books, Merch, Discounts, etc. 👍🏼
you're a cool dude brotha. thanks for sharing your knowledge, keep up the great work!
Thanks
7 :00 min for the solution your welcome .
Had a minor speed wobble on the freeway last night on my brand new 2020 Honda cbr500r. New bikes aren’t immune to this, thinking about getting steering stabilizers
HEY!! HEY!! HEY!! 50 DAMN K!!
CONGRATS BUDDY!!
I know right?!??!?
As a New rider I've experienced this wobble upon changing lanes (or what I thought was a lane, but was a speed bump) I remembered my training remain calm and dont Grab the throttle, at 15mph It wiggled hard for awhile which gave me the chance to notice the Grass at the curb so I leaned toward the Grass. Blessly I landed in the Grass with no damage to me or bike. 🙏
Made me more aware and respectful of that bike; worst than a Sumu wrestler slamming me to the ground lol, even at 7mph
😁👌🏼
I subscribed the instant you said, "...debate someone like Neil deGrasse Tyson?" @8:56
👌🏼😁
Not freaking out is the most valuable advice one can give. It happened to me yesterday, I hit the rear brake hard and it started to slide right and as soon as I let it got it started to wobble hard. I freaked out a bit but I did not hold the handle hard. After a second or so it was okay. So I guess the bike was trying to adjust, but it did scare the hell out of me :)
So lesson learned should be do not ever hit the rear brake hard...or front for that matter...nothing is abrupt, jerky, stabby, fast with the brakes....slowly on and off.
You hit the main two, low tire pressure and excessive weight on the rear. Overloading saddle bags will do it for sure. I suspect setting the rear suspension too low could cause it too.
I haven't had a bad wobble in years (decades?), but steering a little arc to the left or fight always seems to settle the bike. I've never had a wobble on a bike in good shape.
Yup :)
You are a gift to us all, thank you for your dedication! Being a “returned rider” all these videos are such a great help for re-building the self-confidence. Thank you.
5:09 "if something failed or broke inside" them depression battles be real man.
#bikesFeelToo
MotoJitsu.com for my new app, books, merch, affiliate links, discounts, etc.
3 months ago, on a Saturday morning, walked out into my garage to go riding. It was our club's breakfast run. We were to meet at a specific place and away we would go. I usually check my tire pressures every other time I ride, or if the bike has been sitting a while. Had checked my tire pressures the night before. Start to move the bike before I get on and I notice the bike is not moving that smoothly. Maybe it's just me but something doesn't feel right. So, check my tires and the rear is flat. Has a roofing nail. End of breakfast ride! I now check every time before I ride.
That'll do it!
Growing out the civvy hair I see! lol j/k. Love your vids man! Keep them up!
You’re welcome! Share and check out MotoJitsu.com!
He looks like the guy from "Friends", Chandler or so. When you are a dude and decide to let your hair grow, you should expect to look stupid for the next 2 years. Not that this would be the case with him. But my hair looks like pupic hair of a wookie. 1 year and 4 months in.
Here in Australia. I got the tank slap passing a road train. At 120klmh came off and got splattered on the highway. Was air lifted out and woke up a couple of days later. Still don't know what happened or why. But still riding. I was loaded up for touring. I was just to quick on that load I was carrying. More wiser now. Cheers.
Happy to help :)
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Dollar to donut there were bumps (road surface) involved.
7:45
Everything is light. We are light. Everything vibrates.
To quote Jim Carrey: We are all just a bunch of tetrahedrons bouncing into one another
:)
@MotoJitsu , So so so glad I watched this before I got my new gixxer. I had a death wobble yesterday at the top of 1st gear, violent one. It almost went into slow motion and I relaxed my grip totally. Somehow the bike straightened itself out. Thank you so much, I was scared sh*tless, but I made it out unscathed right side up! I believe the front end is coming up or getting light, and when I shift it throws things off.
wow
@@MotoJitsu It was surreal man. Like it felt like slow motion and all I could think was "RELAX YOUR GRIP". I can't believe it straightened back out, but I just did what I had seen in your videos and other literature I've read. I'm going to learn from it, be humbled, and continue to learn.
Wait ! Weren't you just bald in the last video..
....
....I watched !
Been growing my hair for the past 15 months
@@MotoJitsu yep,one should not confused a close haircut to being bald-its night and day 😉
Everything he said is correct, an insurance adjuster I shared a house with told me two Harley Davidsons that he looked over from a wobble crash had worn/corroded front wheel bearings on right side that collapsed
I agree that the triggers for a wobble can be all sorts of things on a motorcycle e.g. brake, accel , but I think the wobble itself is some sort of phenomenon to do with rotational momentum of the wheels and inertia. I say this because I have experienced the same phenomenon on a skateboard many times which rules out a lot of those triggers.
Either way, hopefully you learned how to prevent it.
Last weekend, I experienced a wobble and wondered how in the heck it happened. So I searched on here to understand how it happened. I had slowed down to about 25 as I knew it was a sharp curve but...it was much sharper than I’d assume and thank goodness I had already slowed down then slowly let that throttle go even more. As well as stayed calm. Otherwise...yeah, a cliff on my right. Glad to see this video and learning what to consider as a prevention. Thanks Fast Eddie! 👍
You're welcome!
Btw...been practicing trail breaking and learning to trust the breaking system rather than engine breaking. Something I was too dependent on before. Wow! I wonder if that’s what saved my ass?! I remember letting the throttle down more and slightly squeezed my front break a bit more. Here’s to keep practicing and having fun.
I had a 40 mph speed wheel wobble an couldn't fix it after weeks of research on Yamaha Venture Royale touring bike. Every time I'd go through 40, I'd get this wheel shake an wobble! So I called Yamaha in Japan an asked them! They showed me the fix, by losing up,but not removing, engine mount bolts. While on center stand an rear wheel off ground start engine, an slowly rev small RPMs while shifting up an down through gears at least 3 time. Then retighten mounting bolts! This re-aligned the ending drive an drive shaft to rear axle. So I losened engine mounting bolts shifted through gears several times, tightened bolts down, an no more wheel wobble! Thanks, Tim
:) You're welcome
Spot on. Had yesterday a ride from like a 500km... try out meny times braking and trailbraking... ☝🏻👍🏻. Thanks for the good advice.
:) You're welcome