I was on a trip in June in the Black Hills with a large group of riders... 23 went out, 22 came back, one a fatality on the four-lane between Deadwood and Spearfish. Aside from doing all the things one does to end up in that situation (going too fast, passing someone that didn't need passing, catching the shoulder sand, going into a curve downhill and flying into the ditch without a helmet, etc.), he apparently had the tank slapper going for him too. Well, this got me thinking about (among other things) that whole tank slapper thing, where, on their own, the handlebars crank violently left-right-left-etc.

Ironically, the day after the big mishap, I was rolling down a hill out of a campground parking lot, going maybe ten mph giving it no throttle, doing the 'look ma, no hands' thing while I messed with my jacket, and by golly... I got my own tank slapper going. I was able to wrestle it under control, but it sure had a mind of its own. Since then, I can duplicate this, at low speeds just engine braking into a stop.

My bike is an '06 Road Star, with 4000 miles on it, and a Silverado windshield. I've also got an older Virago 750, which never ever wobbles or tank slaps no matter what I do. Anybody else experience this? Is it just my bike, or Road Stars in general? Something about how the front end is designed? My bike is factory stock, with no functional mods other than a drilled factory exhaust.

Did you check to see how loose your steering stem bearings are.I had the same problem,tightend bearing nut up and no more shaking.look in tech articles on how to fix this. seems to be a common thing on the roadie.Dauby

Stock front end ... should be solid like a rock.

Doc

Exactly. Which is why I'm so puzzled. I've never even hit a bump hard or done anything else that would explain this.

When the dealer put the front end on they may not have taken all the free play out of the bearings before torquing it to spec.

Raise the front end ... grab the front wheel and pull it up and down to check for slack. Point the wheel almost straight ahead and let go .... if it flops to the side with a big bang .... tighten it up.

Doc

I checked the Tech Articles, checked the index, did a search, came up empty on that topic. But I've been practicing saying "tank slapper handlebar shimmy wobble" real fast. Kind of grows on ya....

I personally have never tried the old hands off Without the throttle being engaged. I've never had an issue with the front ends at any reasonable speeds with the throttle locked and hands off . I could however picture that with no throttle input and hands off , that things could get busy pretty quick due to the bike slowing down and the front end was left unattended. Just a thought , though , as I've never tried it. BB

Riding 'no hands' isn't my normal deal either. But I can get the shimmy just by holding the handles real loosely. Riding 'no hands' WITH the throttle on sounds like you're using a throttle lock, another debatable practice, I suppose. (I've got one too, but I've yet to install it.)

I'll try Doc's suggestion.

What shape is the front tire in? And what pressure are you running in it? BB

I have had a front tire blowout at about 60 or 65; front end shimied so bad I was sure something was going to break. I locked my elbows and tried as much as possible to minimise the shimy. Believe me I ceased being "captain of the ship" and became a passenger. Other thewn that incident I have never had a wobble from it. I will not let go of both hands either.

Clifford