Another high speed wooble accident

Hmm have you read the How fast have you ridden your ST thread? An awful lot of guys on there going over 90 without any problems.
 
While crusing at around 85MPH on my ST1100, my buddy passed me while showing off, riding with his arms crossed, no hands on bars, on his ST1300, cruise control set to 95MPH. Smooth as silk, and he went more than a mile that way. (no other cars, 100 mile straight flat road).
 
I'll wait on judgment from a professional accident investigator. The details provided by the OP are very, very sketchy.

This isn't to say that he didn't see what he saw, but for every one of these accidents there are hundreds of thousands of miles of high-speed riding which didn't produce a wreck.

--Mark
 
Dayum.

I wish we could get a "collective body of knowledge" about this. I mean first person type, not "I heard..." or "The article said..." or "I read on the internet..."

We all know that the ST's we ride are rock solid. At least mine is and the ones I ride with are. What are the variables? Tire pressure? Tire Condition? Loading? Aerodynamics?

For every condition I can think of, I can already think of an exception. I mean, I've seen George and Mac on the road with tires lashed on their other stuff:) I've been known to ride a tire until just before the air shows...

What causes the condition?
 
I'd also guess that the ST is not the only motorcycle to have gone down due to a wobble. In other words, some of the conditions that lead to these claims may persist on other motorcycles as well.
 
I agree with Mark. There's not enough detail to tell what happened. Did he hit a pot hole? Did the road have rain grooves? How fast was he going, and just how much weight did he have in all those bags? And what did he do to try to control the weave when it started?

All that said, it's clearly true that the 1300 police bikes have a real problem with high speed weave.
 
It appears to me that the poster deliberately avoids the "How fast were you going?" question. He does infer that they were traveling faster than the speed limit but he never pins it down to a particular range. It will be interesting to follow the thread to see if there is any more information forthcoming. Hopefully he will respond to the speed question and put the matter to bed.

I am glad that the rider survived and that his gear saved him from serious damage.
 
I noticed that too. I also read all the posts, some were pretty negative towards the ST. A lot of "I had a ST and it weaved too, glad I sold it" kind of posts. Would have been nice if they added speed they were traveling, whether they were loaded, had a top box on, etc.

I've not run mine up to full tilt, but have been in the triple digits a few times, always steady as a rock. No top box, one up, light load in panniers.
 
I'm sorry for the downed rider but the original post is full of ignorance. It's almost as if an ambulance chaser asked him to post it. Didn't he or someone else post this same accident in this forum a week or so ago?
 
I wonder where Scorch was that most ST owners told him not to go faster than 90mph to solve his weave problem ?? Must not have been here, most folks here seem to use around 90 as cruising speeds:eek:
 
Sorry to hear of the guy's crash and hope he recovers fully and quickly.

There are SO many variables here that it is nearly impossible to point a finger at the "root" cause. Is it a design flaw with the ST? Doubtful. Most likely it is a series of smaller issues that, when combined just so, cause the tank slapper.

Tire pressure, suspension settings, speed, loading, aerodynamics, chassis design, materials, construction, etc etc all played a factor and unfortunately when they were added up this time the total was bad news. Harmonics are impossible to calculate with all these variables and to just blame Honda is absurd.

Here's hoping that the owner realizes that he was/is the one item in the equation that has the ability to alter the other items and is responsible for the proper care, loading and operation of HIS bike.
 
I have been way fast on my ST and it feels like its on rails ! I can't speak for anyone esle but I think my ST is one of the most stable bikes at high speed I have ridden .
 
My ST1100 is stable at all speeds I have ridden so far up to 100mph and shows no signs of any wobble.

Now my old CB1100f before I fixed the front forks, would wobble at the slightest imperfection in the road at speeds over 65mph.

Tom
 
The first week I had my '06 I put a cheap top box on it and at about 85 mph the rear would start to squirm. I adjusted the preload on the rear spring and it went away. Ditched the top box anyway for a Corbin Smuggler.
 
I have read a lot of these stories but I haven't heard from anyone with a first hand account of this happening in fact it seems that at least here there isn't anyone that has had this happen to them. It would be nice to here from some one who had first hand experience.
 
As many have said, many variables.
Don't own a 13, but been quite fast on the 11. I've been caught in thunderstorms and freaky gusty winds that overturned semis in the past couple of weeks. It does get hairy in wind gusts and especially in wind sheer. Riding on Dunlops (for now) and find that it starts to get a tad wobbly at 220 Kmh and in decompression from high speed.
Stuff happens! I've had a belt come loose on a tire on a car and the car became absolutely uncontrollable; I was merely a passenger waiting for the ride to be over...
I'm glad this fellow is OK.
In reading a bit of the story and the fellow's experience, it reminded me of something the "motorman" of ride like a pro fame said: Before learning these techniques, I had been riding 20 years; one year experience repeated 20 times...
I don't mean to judge or be negative, but there comes a time, when it is not a mechanical issue, that we cross the line of capabilities; our own or the bikes...
In retrospect, whenever I got busted up doing something, when I come to... I look at it and see that my luck ran out or that I pushed the envelope too far...
Extreme (some consider this just that) sports does not mean you have a death wish, it means you have a wish and a will to live, live to the max!
Glad this guy will ride another day.:biker:
 
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