Has anyone gotten the dreaded "death wobble" at higher speeds?

[Vex]

I haven't seen any video of 07 getting this but I've seen plenty of 09 go down quick. I'm aware that this is mostly a Harley thing, but since I came from harleys, and have experienced this bullshit, I'd like to know if the 07 has a capacity to do it... lots of variables can cause it from tire tread to front end suspension modifications and everything in between. On my old bike I'd simply let off the throttle, hit the back brake and regain traction. Any1 ever get a wobble on these bikes? I should probably stop youtubing motorcycle crashes for my sanity sake.

[chademinent]

10k+ miles and not a hint off wobble.  

[mossrider]

You're on YouTube probation until further notice.

[DewMan]

No sign of wobble up to 100mph on my 2017. Still using factory tires.

[RojoRacing]

no this bike shouldn't be subject to the harley wobble of death.  In fact I was doing 90mph down the hwy a few weeks ago and this harley rider saw me catching him so he sped up to pull away but had to back off after 20 seconds due to death wobble.  As soon as his bike stabilized he tried again to accelerate away but again death wobble.  I just shook my head as I went by wondering why anyone would ride such a POS.  I believe I've been up to 120 mph and felt as stable as can be, zero signs of wobble.  I will state I due have the Puig tour screen which takes my body vs the air partially out of the equation. 

[timjh]

Doing about 70 mph through mountains there was a sharp wind gust from the side that scared the bejeezus out of me.  Bike settled after only a second or two.  I did back out of the throttle a bit, but mostly the wind evened out. 

[ElGonzales]

I drove around 200 km/h on our highways/autobahn last year, several times with gusts of wind from the side. The front of the bike felt lightweight at this speed, a heavier bike like the Honda CB650 R from ~2016 makes you feel more secure, it's less nervous. But no dangerous stuff like wobble of death like I saw on Youtube. 

[Beemer]

Back in the day I spiked some punch one New Years Eve with Everclear and Bacardi 151 and got the "Death Wobble" real bad. 

  I went from sh*t faced to deathly sick and back to happily shet faced in about ten seconds.

 

A couple times on my bike while passing @ around 85 or so on a windy day. It didn't happen until I'd cut back into the middle lane and it was a minor wobble. I hit the throttle and it immediately stopped wobbling. From what I've read in studies on it one of the main if not the main reason for it happening is low tire pressure. There are different ways to get the wobble started, though. For me it was the quick change in direction with low air pressure that got the ball rolling. The same thing, only much worse, happened back in '85 when I passed a long line of cars on a back county rd. there was a slight down grade so I got the bike (a Yamaha 550 Vision) up to around 115 and it was when I cut back into my lane that the wobble started and it was a bad one.

 

I don't know why to this day the handlebars didn't go completely to one side and lock up, it was that close. it was doing the big, slo-mo wobble from one side to the other. I actually reacted the wrong way by stiffening my arms and backing off the throttle but then again, my throttle was pegged so I couldn't give it more to correct it. I could've scooted back on the seat to help alleviate the wobble but I didn't know anything about death wobble back then. For future reference and I hope you never have to use it, in a Death Wobble you want to take weight off of your front tire by throttling or scooting back on your seat or both or so I've read. reading other articles on it appears there are other opinions as to how to deal with it and what causes it (loose this, loose that) so it's your choice as to how you react to it.

 

Admittedly, I have a bad habit of not checking my tire pressure often enough so I blame myself for it happening but it was low pressure that enabled the tire to move from side to side on the rim to cause the wobble. That's the culprit! I'm trying to be better at checking my air pressure more often.

 

Here's just one article on it.

 

https://www.motorcycletouringtips.com/what-causes-motorcycle-death-wobble/

 

[r1limited]

I been a little under the weather today, I had a major hi speed wobble, it ended in about 5lbs of lost weight today, just from shittin me wobbles out

[208MT07]

I've been up to 110mph on my 18, and haven't experienced any sort of death wobble. Does feel sketchy at higher speeds if its windy out thanks to the lack of fairings though haha. 

[Vex]

Was on the hwy today fellas, didnt realize I was going 103mph. I think this is a good thing, stability at higher speeds. After cruising at that speed for about 10minutes I noticed I was getting "pushed around" by the wind. I was riding through a couple mountains so the wind blast was especially hard. I wouldn't consider what I experienced a speed wobble, wind buffeting seems to describe it better, like the whole bike was being tilted one way or the other, quicker than not. No windshield. Got her up to 115mph today. Once they release better 2018 windscreens I may buy one 

[Cruizin]

On 1/4/2019 at 12:48 PM, Vex said:

I haven't seen any video of 07 getting this but I've seen plenty of 09 go down quick. I'm aware that this is mostly a Harley thing, but since I came from harleys, and have experienced this bullshit, I'd like to know if the 07 has a capacity to do it... lots of variables can cause it from tire tread to front end suspension modifications and everything in between. On my old bike I'd simply let off the throttle, hit the back brake and regain traction. Any1 ever get a wobble on these bikes? I should probably stop youtubing motorcycle crashes for my sanity sake.

Ive gotten speed wobble/tank slappers on almost every streetbike I have ever owned. There are causes and there are even more theories.  If you watch alot of Moto GP, you've even seen it happen to them occasionally. 

 

Iv'e gone home, changed my shorts and put the bike up on the stands and gone thru every bearing, seal, alignment, chain alignment, torque setting for hours and found everything n spec. 

 

[Beemer]

For those that aren't sure of what a death wobble is or what it looks like when it happens, here you go! Skip ahead to @2:55 to see what it looks like to an observer.

 

 

[ZachEcho]

All my motorcycles have suspension set for my weight, never had a tank slapper, sometimes minor jiggles hard on the gas, the frontend skims over the asphalt. Otherwise I've gotten my FZ to 130 mph without any stability issues (Derestricted, Tuned, Full exhaust 120 lb rider).

[DewMan]

3 hours ago, Beemer said:

For those that aren't sure of what a death wobble is or what it looks like when it happens, here you go! Skip ahead to @2:55 to see what it looks like to an observer.

 

 

I had sympathy sphincter tightening just watching that. 

[Beemer]

37 minutes ago, DewMan said:

I had sympathy sphincter tightening just watching that. 

Do not be alarmed. This was only a "Sphincter Test". You may resume with your normal activities. 

 

That was pretty scary looking, I admit!

[Beemer]

2 hours ago, ZachEcho said:

All my motorcycles have suspension set for my weight, never had a tank slapper, sometimes minor jiggles hard on the gas, the frontend skims over the asphalt. Otherwise I've gotten my FZ to 130 mph without any stability issues (Derestricted, Tuned, Full exhaust 120 lb rider).

You're one of the lucky ones but I wouldn't let my guard down.  

[Vex]

5 hours ago, Beemer said:

For those that aren't sure of what a death wobble is or what it looks like when it happens, here you go! Skip ahead to @2:55 to see what it looks like to an observer.

 

 

Okay, so I saw a handful of riders save their bikes and their butts. Did they simply "throttle out" or back brake? Let off throttle? Whats protocols for death wobble, and regaining traction?

[ZachEcho]

2 hours ago, Vex said:

Okay, so I saw a handful of riders save their bikes and their butts. Did they simply "throttle out" or back brake? Let off throttle? Whats protocols for death wobble, and regaining traction?

Stay steady on the throttle and loosen up on the bars, chop the gas and you'll wreck, accelerate wrong and you'll make it more violent. Same thing applies to the rear tire losing traction, stay on the throttle and don't try to move too much, it will hook again.

[shinyribs]

Considering how steep the rake is on the bikes, and the fairly short trail numbers, these 07's are amazingly stable at speed. 

 

They do NOT like to be sat down from a wheelie with the front tire even remotely away from center. Mine has never gone in to a prolonged shake coming down from a wheelie, but it will snap the bars back to center very, very hard. 

 

I don't know why these bikes are so stable. I fookin' love this thing. 

[Vex]

6 minutes ago, shinyribs said:

Considering how steep the rake is on the bikes, and the fairly short trail numbers, these 07's are amazingly stable at speed. 

 

They do NOT like to be sat down from a wheelie with the front tire even remotely away from center. Mine has never gone in to a prolonged shake coming down from a wheelie, but it will snap the bars back to center very, very hard. 

 

I don't know why these bikes are so stable. I fookin' love this thing. 

If you get wobble on landing from wheelie do you throttle out or release totally? In that scenario I think letting the bike regain traction while letting off the throttle works, but I would hate to be wrong lol

[shinyribs]

5 minutes ago, Vex said:

If you get wobble on landing from wheelie do you throttle out or release totally? In that scenario I think letting the bike regain traction while letting off the throttle works, but I would hate to be wrong lol

I hate to give this answer because it sounds like I'm dodging the question, but I do what feels right at the moment.  A couple times I've lifted the front back up and sat it back down straight (like I should've the first time), but I've had a couple wobble moments when the back tire slid out. It happened on a Shinko Raven 009 rear tire, which really is a good tire for the money,  but it doesn't like sudden throttle while leaned way over. If I'm leaned over and the rear starts sliding I just ride it out under throttle, because if you snap off the throttle you are asking for a wobble in that scenario. But other than a rear slide, I typically just pull the clutch and let the bike settle down. I've never slid the front on this bike yet. 

 

But it's never wobbled badly at all landing a bad wheelie. Just one or two small twitches then the bike firmly snaps the bars to center again. 

[Beemer]

18 hours ago, Vex said:

Okay, so I saw a handful of riders save their bikes and their butts. Did they simply "throttle out" or back brake? Let off throttle? Whats protocols for death wobble, and regaining traction?

https://www.motorcycletouringtips.com/what-causes-motorcycle-death-wobble/

 

I hope that helps a little, probably not but the problem with answering that is not everyone agrees on what the solution or cause of it is.

[Bigturbomax]

Almost 8,000 miles on my 17. Still on stock bridgestone tires. Ive had it a little over the ton on a handful of occassions and have never had a wobble, just a floaty front end.  Not to say it cant happen, but mine has been pretty well mannered. 

[Benh972]

On my FZ, no not yet. Though my Ninja 300 did have a wobble at a certain speed, it was close to 40mph but I don't remember the exact number. On the Ninja, the wobble was a pretty well known issue. Most claimed it was from a cheap oem head bearing and replacing it with a quality aftermarket part would clear it up. I just did not cruise at wobble speed and all was good.