Two huge tankslappers in 2 days????

In the last two days i have had two quite spirited ride outs and had two huga tankslappers. (crapped myself). once leaning into a slight bend at 90mph hit a slight dip in the road and had one, then yesterday when overtaking hit a cats eye at around 90 again and had an even bigger tankslapper (around 10-15 wobbles of bars). this shouldnt happen right?
What could be causing it?
and would a steering damper make it better?
thanks


its a sk2 sv650s btw.

Have you ever or when was the front suspension last looked at set up and serviced?your bike is now nine years old.

SV's do not normally have tank slappers in these circumstances and do not benefit greatly from steering dampers so look at your suspension and front end before wasting your money on a steering damper.

[flymo]

don't forget the rear shock, equally important to keep the front end composed.

[Viney]

Well if you rode at legal speeds these things wouldnt happen now would they

*Wanders off giggling*

i recently adjusted the suspension myself to extend the forks as they were wound right down from the previous owner. may have made a difference. i did this as i found the suspension was a bit hard but have never had such bad tankslappers before. i may change it back to see if it makes a difference.

[flymo]

what do you mean by 'extend the forks'? Did you adjust the preload on the top of the fork stanchions or move the fork legs up or down within the yolks?

i just adjusted the parts of the suspension that were sticking up either side of the ignition. i wound them down a bit as they were sticking up a good inch or two. wound them half-way. should i have?

[andrewsmith]

the bike should become upset slightly hitting a cats eye or a dip.

It sounds like the front needs a refresh and the rear needs looking at.
Is it a stock shock?

[DJ123]

first question i'd ask is- road conditions, anything on the road to cause the initial slip
second question is- tyres, what condition are they in, were they warm

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by rob_rossi_46

i just adjusted the parts of the suspension that were sticking up either side of the ignition. i wound them down a bit as they were sticking up a good inch or two. wound them half-way. should i have?

You mean the thick poles - about 2 inches across?

If so thats the forks - and if they were up that high sounds like a previious owner was quite short - probably also had the dogbones (rear-shock linkages) changed to lower the bike.

If you go stock at one end and changed at the other you are going to have problems like you say.

Put the forks back as they were for now and get someone who knows what they are talking about to look the bike over and check to see if my theory is right.