[chucks_net]

Was out and about just running some quick errands.

So when the coast was clear on a shitty old straight away I hammered through the gears. The front was getting floaty. The road was rough so I did a 3 inch wheelie over a really shitty spot -been riding dirt lately so I commonly do this when riding aggressively over roots. The front end came down and I guess the road was still shitty because she went into headshake -she was all slappy like at a rodeo...

I must say the geometry and weight of the TL is amazing, she will correct herself in almost any situation.

I was relaxed, no gas & no brake. The front was slapping but the tail end was normal. I just sat back or upright taking my bodyweight off the front. I didn't have any trouble holding onto the grips.

I think if I were going slower it would have been more violent. I think the bars would have gone all the way back and forth -for me I would say there was an inch or so of play. Also I think if I were going faster it would have been harder to hang on.

Maybe this info will help someone :O

Ride safe!

 

[Aredubu]

That will get the butt cheeks tightened up! :laugh

 

[Shrek]

Chuck, How long did it take to extricate the seat?

 

[cyclecamper]

Did it go up straight & come down straight? Doemtimes it's hard to tell from the rider's seat, but whe the rear wheel is even silghtly out of alignment there's associated skew whenever the front touches down, just the kind of thing that starts such oscillations.

 

[chucks_net]

Its strange, I didn't get nervous at all. Heart rate was just normal... same thing happened during my last 2 incidents. Sliding sideways on a slippery road at 40mph. I just didn't feel like I was going to crash.

It was all straight accept for the road. Bike was upright but where the front came down there was a large lump in the road. Its almost like I could see it coming. The only surprise is how she handled and how well the damper worked.

 

[skitso]

i haven't had that happen yet but i've been told that it will happen one day:O. i have no idea how to handle this tankslapper i've been warned about. i hope i can hold it together as you did but i don't know if i can do nothing. makes sense to me to gas it with your weight back to unload the front tire:O if i'm wrong some assurance of how to handle this would be appreciated.

 

[BikePilot]

Go race MX for a season, you'll learn all you could ever want and more (and be a much better rider overall):deal

 

[chucks_net]

+1

Stayed upright from years of off road stuff. Bad situations just happen soo often off road I guess you get used to it

again, with the geometry, if you just hang on the bike seems to right itself :O

 

[skitso]

i grew up riding dirt and even a few tracks but mostly xc on 2 and 4 stroke bikes but somehow luckily have never had this happen. i've experienced headshake but not a full on tankslapper. :O

 

[BikePilot]

I've never been on a dirt bike that would slap about if pushed a bit - perhaps bump up the pace off road :O

If you really want to be sure you get the full experience make sure you don't have a steering damper and run about 50mm of rear sag:laugh

Heck my sister and I got a pair of XR400's flopping about pretty good in Baja last week and that's a heavy, stable bike. No fully developed headshake, but definitely would have gone there if allowed.

 

[skitso]

so how do you correct it?

 

[BikePilot]

Its not real easy to explain and varies a lot depending on the situation. In general grip the bike with your legs, don't fight too much with your upper body, don't grab the front brake and often you will be best off staying in or even adding throttle.

Chances are whatever you do to keep the headshake you've experienced from developing into a full on slapper is working for you and will continue to do so:thumbup

 

[skitso]

thats what i was thinking. i just haven't had it happen on the street and with the tiller's rep it has been in the back of my mind since i bought it. thanks :thumbup

 

[BikePilot]

The TLR doesn't have a rep for headshake that I'm aware of - quite the opposit in fact (its known for stability and slow steering).

The TLS did sort of have a rep for headshake, but that was really down to a few instances before the damper was fitted. Even those were probably as much because it was the first major production bike with really instant throttle response as any handling maladies. I've found it quite a stable, shake-resistant bike in fact and I suspect most current sport bikes could be provoked more easily.

 

[The Ring-In]

:cheers

 

[wraith09]

I had that happen doing 240kph down a straight, hit a crappy piece of tar and I had a one, two, three, four, five, six slaps from side to side....haha. Stil remeber it slow-mo, even able to count them in retrospect. Had the Ohlins tuned down for a loose feel, so lesson learned. Every time I wana nail it, a quick few turns to the stiff on the damper adjuster knob!!

So, yeah, the bike handled it well, just held on with my two hands and butt cheeks!

 

[Mikey75702]

I get headshake alot on my tlr but then again the forks havent been serviced in god knows how long (ive had the bike a year and im working on the money for new internals) the springs are the wrong rate for my weight, and the rear shock is still there and worn out (got a nice new penske on the way though ). The steering damper always calms it down, and Ive never had it go into a full on tankslap. My cousin on the otherhand when he was riding his friends 06 R1 for like 1.5 yrs that thing would go into violent tankslapps for no damn reason, he always settled it down by yanking the clutch, pinning the throttle and yanking the front wheel off the ground

 

[skitso]

i heard of this problem years ago when reading magazine reviews. the tlr might have gotten stuck with the bad rep from the '97 tls problem - pre dampner :slaptls. even recently Super Streetbike magazine called it a "widow maker". i'm not saying my tlr does this i'm just saying i want to do whatever i can to prevent it.:O