Advice on SEVERE tank slap
- Thread starter mach1ne
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tank slappers
I have only ever had one on my old bsa (m20-dont laugh ) it would do 72mph flat on the tank and fiddling with the ingtion av/rtd lever!. Anyway on mad sunday in the IoM going up hailwood rise away from the bungalow it suddenly went into an enormous tank slapper the force involved was enormous, never felt anything like it. But I got ouit of it, many years ago Phil Vincent wrotwe a series of articals "Tails of the snarling beast", no prizes for guessing which bike!. He stated that the way to recover from the problem was to relax your grip on the bbars and let the fork trail sort it self out, I was doning 70 at the time and as I say the force involved was enourmous (stronger than my spelling!) but it worked it came out of it and I stiopped and changed my trousers, it really was that bad, he said that fighting it just made the problem worse. I know this all happens very quickly it did on the beesa but it worked and I did not even fall off but it gave me such a fright
I've never forgotten it, so, if you think your numbers up try it it can't make it any worse.
Dave ( I love m20's) gs./
I have only ever had one on my old bsa (m20-dont laugh ) it would do 72mph flat on the tank and fiddling with the ingtion av/rtd lever!. Anyway on mad sunday in the IoM going up hailwood rise away from the bungalow it suddenly went into an enormous tank slapper the force involved was enormous, never felt anything like it. But I got ouit of it, many years ago Phil Vincent wrotwe a series of articals "Tails of the snarling beast", no prizes for guessing which bike!. He stated that the way to recover from the problem was to relax your grip on the bbars and let the fork trail sort it self out, I was doning 70 at the time and as I say the force involved was enourmous (stronger than my spelling!) but it worked it came out of it and I stiopped and changed my trousers, it really was that bad, he said that fighting it just made the problem worse. I know this all happens very quickly it did on the beesa but it worked and I did not even fall off but it gave me such a fright
I've never forgotten it, so, if you think your numbers up try it it can't make it any worse.
Dave ( I love m20's) gs./
does anyone have any photographs or diagrams of a fitted steering damper. i think i will get one fitted as i had the beginings of a tankslapper the other day - backing off from about 70, poor patched road surface.
- i have been riding vins for 20 years and this is the first time - but it gave me a fright - you read about opening the throttle and not fighting the bars but its the last thing that goes through your mind
- i have been riding vins for 20 years and this is the first time - but it gave me a fright - you read about opening the throttle and not fighting the bars but its the last thing that goes through your mind Worst off I have ever had was from a tank slapper on a Comet when I was 18 48 years ago, doing 65 mph it was the first morning it had rained after a long hot summer, hit a pot-hole, bars went from lock to lock and threw me off went about 40 yards on my backside and only wearing jeans at the time OUCH. Will never forget it, however, last year I took a course at a riding clinic near York, and the instructor who was an Industrial Phsyciatrist, explained that your mind cannot act as quickly as the bars are moving and in trying to correct the problem you are aggravating it, i.e. you are pushing left when you should be pulling!
On this course, held on a disused air-field was a large pot-hole around 4" deep, and about 2 yards in front of it was a timber baulk 4" square fastened to the ground, after 20 minutes instruction he had all the pupils riding over the timber and down the hole at 40 mph with no hands!!. There was as can be expected a violent reaction from the bars but within around 10 yards the machine sorted itself out, mind it was a Harley I was riding at the time not the Vinnie. Thae course lasted all day and was the best £60 I have ever spent, apart from in a lap-dancing club (lol)
On this course, held on a disused air-field was a large pot-hole around 4" deep, and about 2 yards in front of it was a timber baulk 4" square fastened to the ground, after 20 minutes instruction he had all the pupils riding over the timber and down the hole at 40 mph with no hands!!. There was as can be expected a violent reaction from the bars but within around 10 yards the machine sorted itself out, mind it was a Harley I was riding at the time not the Vinnie. Thae course lasted all day and was the best £60 I have ever spent, apart from in a lap-dancing club (lol)
TouringGodet
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See the picture of the day, the one of Steve Hamel's Bonneville racer.
Tank slappers
I am probably stating the obvious but have you checked the fron fork springs? if at a standstill the links on the front forks are poiting up at
the front they need replacing, they should be pointing down and when pushing down on the bars they should return lik telescopics but possibly shorter travel. I realize you will all think this incoherant ramblings but I've seen many vins where the fork springs are knackard but the owners seem unaware of it. I think it is because these forks are unusual i.e not the same as jap forks that this happens, bit like front brake levers that come back to the bars when applied it is not realized things should be better.
dave gs (bmw two wheeled hummer NOT a Susuzki, cant even spell it!).
I am probably stating the obvious but have you checked the fron fork springs? if at a standstill the links on the front forks are poiting up at
the front they need replacing, they should be pointing down and when pushing down on the bars they should return lik telescopics but possibly shorter travel. I realize you will all think this incoherant ramblings but I've seen many vins where the fork springs are knackard but the owners seem unaware of it. I think it is because these forks are unusual i.e not the same as jap forks that this happens, bit like front brake levers that come back to the bars when applied it is not realized things should be better.
dave gs (bmw two wheeled hummer NOT a Susuzki, cant even spell it!).
Tank slapper
Hello, One dark night in 1968 My Rapide under very similar circumstances threw me playfully down the road. My legs hit the bars and I landed still in a riding position on my knees and elbows. The violence was such that I doubt even a hydraulic damper would help. My machine at this time was maintained on a shoestring, and was in a well worn state. It would seem that even with a well set up machine, if you get the right sequence of events you may get a wobble. Many Vincents have a slight wobble at very low speed, but this is soon passed through.
My cure was to fit Bramptons, and keep the girdraulics for the outfit.
In 15 years of racing, and many thousands of road miles the Bramptons have proved less comfortable, but totally reliable.
John.
Hello, One dark night in 1968 My Rapide under very similar circumstances threw me playfully down the road. My legs hit the bars and I landed still in a riding position on my knees and elbows. The violence was such that I doubt even a hydraulic damper would help. My machine at this time was maintained on a shoestring, and was in a well worn state. It would seem that even with a well set up machine, if you get the right sequence of events you may get a wobble. Many Vincents have a slight wobble at very low speed, but this is soon passed through.
My cure was to fit Bramptons, and keep the girdraulics for the outfit.
In 15 years of racing, and many thousands of road miles the Bramptons have proved less comfortable, but totally reliable.
John.
Re Ageism in the Vincent Club...
Dear John, I can't tell you how disappointed I am to discover that you are actually younger than I. this puts a completely different colour on our relationship.... vis a vis, 'hero workshop'
regards,
Vic or 'shadhubh'
Dear John, I can't tell you how disappointed I am to discover that you are actually younger than I. this puts a completely different colour on our relationship.... vis a vis, 'hero workshop'
regards,
Vic or 'shadhubh'
Last edited by a moderator:
FYO and ATY
Forty Years On and Another Ten Years are collections of technical discussions from MPH - from which I discovered that every Vincent problem I had, someone else had had before me, and often found a solution. The "hydraulic damper how to" is by Reg Bolton, is more or less the method i used, and he quotes the part number of the Kawasaki damper. Note that they are available from about £40, and from Kawasaki dealers from £140.......
Forty Years On and Another Ten Years are collections of technical discussions from MPH - from which I discovered that every Vincent problem I had, someone else had had before me, and often found a solution. The "hydraulic damper how to" is by Reg Bolton, is more or less the method i used, and he quotes the part number of the Kawasaki damper. Note that they are available from about £40, and from Kawasaki dealers from £140.......