[virod9]

Hello everyone, I just purchased a
Ducati Monster Plus 2022 with 4,000 miles.
I am 5’10 and weight around 155.
I took it out on a neighborhood practice run (my first motorcycle, so I’m only using it near the house for now) and I decided to get to around 55mph and then the front of the vehicle started shaking. Surprisingly I was able to control it and keep going on safely. I started researching it and I found out about tank slappers.
so my question is;
Would I need a steering damper???
Or what would be the issue. The tires are good, maybe the air pressure
Also, a lot of people are telling me that the bike might be too much for me, I understand that which is why I’m being as cautious as possible with it. I also have it in Urban mode.

I appreciate everyone’s input and memes lol. I’m a noob btw.

 

[convict]

if i had a dollar for every time someone said the bike is too much. MotoGP superstar Nicky Hayden died on a bicycle. My best guess is you found the bump in the road and your bike just did what bikes does; it goes wobble and the goes forward. It is actually quite hard to drop a moving bike due to gyroscopic precession in the spinning wheel.
hitting stuff or running out a road thats where you need to put your mind and not slappers

 

[virod9]

if i had a dollar for every time someone said the bike is too much. MotoGP superstar Nicky Hayden died on a bicycle. My best guess is you found the bump in the road and your bike just did what bikes does; it goes wobble and the goes forward. It is actually quite hard to drop a moving bike due to gyroscopic precession in the spinning wheel.
hitting stuff or running out a road thats where you need to put your mind and not slappers

So is this a normal phenomenon? And do I increase speed to shake it off or lower speed like I did?

 

[avocet]

A newer bike like yours should not be having the issues described. What else was going on? What sort of throttle/steering input were you/had you put in? And the road conditions? Were the bars going stop to stop, or was it an oscillation?

What I am getting at is that sudden inputs can induce a tank slap/bar wobble. But usually you have to do something pretty extreme/dumb. Were you trying to wheelie? But a newer bike with a modern chassis and tires should be pretty hard to make uncontrollable. Getting your bike checked out by a competent tech would be a good idea IMO.

Rolling off the throttle can increase the wobble/slap because of the weight transfer. Conversely, rolling the throttle on can have a stabilizing effect for the same reasons. Leaning back and rolling on the throttle is usually the best thing to do. Grip the tank/seat with your legs and try not to go rigid with your arms on the bars. Sometimes when trying to control the bars you can induce/perpetuate the wobble because your inputs get behind the timing of the action and you can end up making the situation worse. When in doubt, ride it out.

 

[virod9]

A newer bike like yours should not be having the issues described. What else was going on? What sort of throttle/steering input were you/had you put in? And the road conditions? Were the bars going stop to stop, or was it an oscillation?

What I am getting at is that sudden inputs can induce a tank slap/bar wobble. But usually you have to do something pretty extreme/dumb. Were you trying to wheelie? But a newer bike with a modern chassis and tires should be pretty hard to make uncontrollable. Getting your bike checked out by a competent tech would be a good idea IMO.

Rolling off the throttle can increase the wobble/slap because of the weight transfer. Conversely, rolling the throttle on can have a stabilizing effect for the same reasons. Leaning back and rolling on the throttle is usually the best thing to do. Grip the tank/seat with your legs and try not to go rigid with your arms on the bars. Sometimes when trying to control the bars you can induce/perpetuate the wobble because your inputs get behind the timing of the action and you can end up making the situation worse. When in doubt, ride it out.

Thanks for your detailed response, it is appreciated. Now thinking back at it, I may have put too much force on the handles ( I sometimes forget to not do that and use my legs to hold instead) I will try to take it out on a ride today and see what happens.

 

[QLDs4]

Highly doubt it was a "tank slapper".
Without actually knowing what you were doing and the condition of the road my guess is you were accelerating and didn't have enough of your weight on the front wheel and have either
A. Hit a lump or rough surface in the road while hitting the point of near zero weight on the front wheel.
B. Slightly turned while hitting the point of near zero weight on the front wheel.
You don't need to be accelerating hard to achieve this as the L twin of the duc produces a far bit of torque in mid rev range and you'll be surprised how easily the front wheel will come off the ground.
I'm just guessing here but I can get the front wheel of my S4 off the ground accidentally, I'm 6'2 and about 220 pounds.
Your bike has a bit more power than mine and weighs about 60 pounds less.
Never hit the front brake or panic and get right off the throttle.
Wait till you're a lot more confident before trying to full power out of it.
You'll notice that avocet and I have different opinions but without knowing exactly how what happened it's just guess work.
YOU need to replay it in your mind and figure out what happened.

 

[Monster4Lee]

A tank slapper will be pretty violent shaking back and forth of the bars.
The only time I recall having one the rear tire went flat pretty quickly and I felt glad to get it stopped without a crash.
Got off and looked at the front end, looks OK. Looked at the back and that tire was shredded.
Check the thing over real good visually. Air the tires, make sure there's no leaks or loose parts.

 

[variant2]

Take it to someone who knows.
Everybody has an opinion.
This could be something as simple as a wheel balance issue, or as complex as a bent frame.
This is a safety issue, be careful, Ducati hasn't offered an entry level machine since the 70's. Yours is not a beginner bike.

 

[mahtin]

Do check the tire pressures. My Monster will do funny things when the rear tire is low on pressure. Ask me how I know
However, as mentioned above, your bike should not be having this issue.

 

[AndyTS]

My guess is, since you're a new rider, every bump and shake from the bike is going to be unsettling for you until you're intimately familiar with your own machine and how it reacts to the hundreds of variables that you will encounter. Just relax, respect the machine and ride within your limits knowing that you're going to have close calls and "oh ****" moments from time to time.