65mph tank slapper!!

[DucHead]

 

I'm not sure what happened, so I'm posting my experience for any input.


Riding my Bandit, I was on I80 east yesterday between Erie, PA and Buffalo, NY on my way to St. Catharines, Ontario.  There had been a thunderstorm, but it slowed to a light drizzle.  Needless to say the road was wet, and in particular there appeared to be water over a tar strip that covered the seam between the macadam of each lane.

I had just passed a tractor trailer and signaled and moved over into the right lane.  As I moved right, just after crossing the center line, the rear wheel slid to the left and then a tank slapper set in.  By luck or whatever, I gave it a little throttle to settle the tank slapper, and the bike straightened out and settled down.  Catastrophe averted.   

The only think I can think of is that I hydroplaned.  Odd, since I've ridden thousands of miles on wet roads and I've never experienced anything like that.  I'm running Michelin Pilot Road 2s with about 9000 miles and a little over 2mm of tread depth.  I rather feel like I didn't learn much from my experience since I'm not too sure what (if anything) I did to initiate the rear wheel slide.

Thoughts?   

[Slide Panda]

Sounds like hydro and possibly combined with slippery paint lines.  The two factors might well have added up to initiate your slide.

[ScottRNelson]

Did you experience a tank slapper or just some head shake?

Did the bars go full lock?  If not, it was head shake.

All it would take is crossing some standing water at 65 mph to completely lose traction.  If you were giving it any throttle at all at the time I would expect the rear tire to spin and it will usually slide out to one side or the other.  Especially with tires as worn as yours.

Get new tires or don't go so fast in the rain (or both).

[DucHead]

Did you experience a tank slapper or just some head shake?

Did the bars go full lock?  If not, it was head shake.

All it would take is crossing some standing water at 65 mph to completely lose traction.  If you were giving it any throttle at all at the time I would expect the rear tire to spin and it will usually slide out to one side or the other.  Especially with tires as worn as yours.

Get new tires or don't go so fast in the rain (or both).

Well, my hands hit the tank, so I guess it was just violent head shake.

Hmmm...like I said I was surprised since I've ridden so much in wet weather and I don't think my tires are that worn, but point taken.   Perhaps I was twisting the throttle when the wheel spun.

BTW, I get about 12k miles from a PR2 rear and more from the front.

[He Man]

ive only had two of them, but if u get spit on the side of ur lip from being shaken, u just had a tank slapper.

[Raux]

i had a tank slapper at the same speed. torn open the steering head tube. if you did go lock to lock hard numerous times and it didn't highside you... consider yourself very lucky.
glad you faired well.

[ScottRNelson]

Well, my hands hit the tank, so I guess it was just violent head shake.

Okay, tank slapper.

It's just that I see a lot of posts where people experience a little bit of headshake and want to call it a tank slapper.  Good job saving it.

I would still put the most blame on your worn rear tire.

Since I've never managed to get more than 4000 miles from a rear tire on any of the Ducatis that I've owned, 12,000 miles seems almost magical.  I guess tires last longer if you ride at a steady speed.  Or maybe the roads at your end of the country aren't so abrasive.

[DucHead]

Okay, tank slapper.

It's just that I see a lot of posts where people experience a little bit of headshake and want to call it a tank slapper.  Good job saving it.

I would still put the most blame on your worn rear tire.

Since I've never managed to get more than 4000 miles from a rear tire on any of the Ducatis that I've owned, 12,000 miles seems almost magical.  I guess tires last longer if you ride at a steady speed.  Or maybe the roads at your end of the country aren't so abrasive.

I'm going to have to re-evaluate what "worn" is for my tires.  These Michelins are on my Bandit, and 95% of the wear is due to riding the superslab.

[Raux]

so you have squared your tires off and it changes the handling.

[DucHead]

so you have squared your tires off and it changes the handling.

That's what I'm thinking, but since there's more tread on the edges of the tire, I'd think that shedding water would be efficient during a lane change.

Perhaps someone with more experience can comment on the effects of squared-off tires on wet weather riding.

[Raux]

That's what I'm thinking, but since there's more tread on the edges of the tire, I'd think that shedding water would be efficient during a lane change.

Perhaps someone with more experience can comment on the effects of squared-off tires on wet weather riding.

i can .. it sucks. that's why i got a new rear tire when i did.

next bike will have sport touring tires with dual compounds to give the center tread more time before squaring.

[redxblack]

Pilot Road 2's are dual compound, and are somewhat magical tires. I like them a lot!

[Jetbrett]

Isn't a tank slapper caused by an overwhelmed front suspension?  I'm wondering if you may have slammed the throttle shut or braked hard when the back kicked out thus, transferring all of the weight onto the front.  I'm thinking the combination of the tar strip, standing water, and sudden weight transfer overwhelmed the front suspension.   

[ScottRNelson]

Isn't a tank slapper caused by an overwhelmed front suspension?  I'm wondering if you may have slammed the throttle shut or braked hard when the back kicked out thus, transferring all of the weight onto the front.  I'm thinking the combination of the tar strip, standing water, and sudden weight transfer overwhelmed the front suspension.   

Most of the tankslappers that I've studied happened under acceleration or while headed uphill while turning just a tiny bit.  The front end was light if anything.

[Raux]

Most of the tankslappers that I've studied happened under acceleration or while headed uphill while turning just a tiny bit.  The front end was light if anything.

same in my case. front end got light on a sweeping right hand highway on-ramp. city road constructors forget to put a sign about abrupt transition... new road (onramp) 2-3 inches HIGHER than old road (highway) with NO transition.