Scariest ride of the year......

Tank slapper !!! Almost injured in September on my Hawk.

i was riding about 65 mph on a divided road and felt the typical stuttering of running low of fuel, then reached behind to switch the petcock, and at the same time hit a pothole while in a turn and the front wheel was slightly turned and i had the WORST, SCARIEST tank slapper EVER in 25 years riding !!!!!

For about 5-6 seconds i thought i was goin to the hospital and trying to decide whether to bail off before i hit a jersey barrier or stick with it. Bars knocked right hand off, and the shake was so extreme i couldn't get my left hand on either, and i was only hanging on with my knees against the tank. I believe the front wheel knocked against BOTH steering stops and i waS almost sure i was in a crash..............but with hands off, the front wheel suddenly SNAPPED to the center, and i was amazingly in control again, except for MY shaking.

Next day both knees had bad bruises just where they contacted the fuel tank !!

Combination of several things at the same time: slightly loose steering bearing adjustment, one hand off bars, big pothole, front wheel angled to the side. I didn't fight it by trying to stop the violent bar shaking, instead used my knees to keep the bike going straight, and i think that saved it, de-coupling the wild front wheel from the relatively stable rear end. Closest i ever was to crashing but magically didn't.

 

Glad to hear you are ok, squirrelman. Though I too have been riding almost 20 years now, I have yet to experience a tank slapper, at least not near that extreme. I can well imagine that my shorts, seat and any lower body riding apparel might require changing after that. Let us hope that the new year brings many rides without incident. All the best

 

+1 ound:

 

SM glad you are safe.....Those squirrels need you

 

I've only experienced that on a dirt bike. The Honda CR motocross bikes were famous for headshake back in the 80's / 90's. You have no control over the machine. I'm glad you're here to reminisce about it. Happy New Year.

 

Of course your talent and experience brought you through SQ. I had ass puckering, tank slapping, penis squeezing Holly Fuck moment a few years back doing a ridiculous speed on the freeway in the rain at night and hit a road snake. Developed severe front wheel wobble like you see on videos of crashes at close to 90 MPH (Remember, I already acknowledged a ridiculous speed). Seemed to go on for about 4 or 5 seconds but in reality, probably only a second. The very same contributing factor to the event, probably saved my stupid ass too. I think, had the road not been wet, and the front tire able to slip and slide somewhat, the bike would have flipped up and all over the place.

But we learn from our errors. I now wear depends when I ride like that.

 

YZ465 at TExas Pond on the Bragg reservation. The big sand stretch on the other side. I would scare most of the racers crapless. You just gas it and let the front end float on the big ruts. The handlebars would just beat side to side and track fairly straight. If you weren't brave enough to just relax and hang loose, you go slow. Situations like this can be a blast on the dirt and pretty scary on the street. I was always told that 90% of the time on the dirt the correct answer was to gas it. Served me fairly well in my adventures. IMHO dirt riding is the best training you can get for handling emergency situations on the street. Hang out the rear end in dirt no big deal. Big holes, tank slappers, target fixation, inadvertent wheelies and even stoppies. Just good riding on the dirt. But also excellent training for the emergency situations on the street.
The thing had massive advantages on the street. Less that 250 Lbs. Good power. Just roll on the throttle in third and you controlled how high the front wheel would go. If I wanted a hooligan bike a light dirt bike would be it. Congratulations on surviving your first "OH CRAP" moment. The key is not to panic. It is amazing how well the modern bikes will recover in these situations. In the recent past there were bikes that could not recover from just this situation. The best you could do is ride it as long as possible before the wreck and maybe lose some speed during that time before the crash. Keeping it cool is the best reaction to all situations. Don't panic, don't lock up, don't dump the bike.

 

In my 45 years of riding I have never experienced a slapper. maybe just do dence to know what was happening seeing that I rode just dirt till the 84 Interceptor caught my eye. I always believed that if you want to survive the street you BETTER have dirt riding experience.Shit way back when KR had traing at his ranch they were riding honda 100's in the dirt.Glad to hear your experience automatily kicked in and survived that life altering event. QUESTION...how long after did you get back in the saddle SM?

 

Getting the weight off the front wheel helps. Generally the "quicker" the front end, the greater the chance for a tank slapper. Maybe time for most to be checking those headstock/steering bearings.

 

I only ever had one tankslapper on a Hawk before, years ago when i was chasing a porsche 911 up a steep mountian road.

duccman, i parked the bike for 4 or 5 days before i got back on and tightened the steering bearings (replaced with OEM about 1000 miles earlier) b4 i rode again. the situation would never have developed if i had both hands on the bars.

 

There are half a dozen verifiable accounts of tank slapper/ sphinter pucker incidents, destroying MC seat covers.

 

nasty & lucky...... thumbs up for surviving !!!!!!!!

I had a massive tankslapper when I bought my 650 & was riding it home (shouldn't we be talking about these bikes on the HawkGT Forum)

Drove 5 hours to get there (knew I was going to get the bike - I really wanted it)

Bought the bike - gave the owner the money, bargained him down $200 because of the worn rear tyre (it had a few mm to the marker but was dead flat in the centre - he lived in an area where there were lots of straight roads & no mountain passes)

Riding home on unfamiliar roads, 5 hr trip, new bike, tired, hot day, didn't know how the bike handled, sticking to the limit - riding along a straight bit of road, didn't see the big lump in the middle (a truck push/squeeze) - front wheel deflected & went one side of it, rear went the other side -MASSIVE SLAPPER!!!!!!

The full on lock to lock, elbows belting yourself in the ribs kind of slapper - proper pummeling stuff, probably had 10 plus side to sides shakes - my friend in the car who took me to get the bike saw it all & thought he was going to be pulling me out of the bushes

that Bros/Hawk just straightened up & kept going!!!!

Pulled over pretty quick though, wiped my sweaty brow & chucked away my undergarments (kidding)

Was so impressed with the frame of that bike there & then - survived it more by good luck than good riding (and have never skimped on replacing worn tyres since - valuable lesson - should have taken a trailer & carted the bike home rather than riding it)

To all you VFR owners here - worth having a Hawk/Bros as a second bike - great little things

 

I had a bad tank slapper on my CB1 years ago. Leaving college for the day, I briskly accelerated up a road that elevates then turns to the left. There was no pot hole, maybe a rut, but the front wheel was light as I was screaming. As I peaked and veered left it lost control and tank slapped coming down the hill. Thankfully it was a straight section of road. I don't know how I kept her upright, I slowed down and left my arms loose and it recovered. I rode that bike for a good 6 years and that was the only time it did that.

 

I definitely would've squeezed that seat right up into my body... Make them cheeks pucker up! Good thing you made it ok.

 

This could be an opportunity to run with the jet set aka there is more than one way to be a fast guy.

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