Wobble, shimmy, tank-slapper, speed wobble, and even death wobble are all words and phrases used to describe a quick (4–10 Hz) oscillation of primarily just the steerable wheel(s) of a vehicle. Initially, the rest of the vehicle remains mostly unaffected, until translated into a vehicle yaw oscillation of increasing amplitude producing loss of control. Vehicles that can experience this oscillation include motorcycles and bicycles, skateboards, and, in theory, any vehicle with a single steering pivot point and a sufficient amount of freedom of the steered wheel, including that which exists on some light aircraft with tricycle gear where instability can occur at speeds of less than ; this does not include most automobiles. The initial instability occurs mostly at high speed and is similar to that experienced by shopping cart wheels and aircraft landing gear. Theory Sustained oscillation has two necessary components: an underdamped second- or higher-order system and a positive feedback mechanism. An example of an underdamped second order system is a spring–mass system, where the mass can bob up and down (oscillate) when hanging from a spring. If shimmy cannot be designed out of the system, a device known as a steering damper may be used, which is essentially a notch filter designed to damp the shimmy at its known natural frequency. Shimmy is usually associated with the deformation of (rubber) tires. However, it can also be observed in nondeformable (e.g., steel) wheels. The phenomenon can be explained by introducing multicomponent dry friction forces, apart from the usual forces considered in the literature. Another explanation is that speed wobble is a Hopf bifurcation, whereby a system changes from one state (a stable ride) to a second state, (constant amplitude oscillation), when one parameter (forward speed, or air speed) progresses through a critical point. In two-wheeled vehicles Wobble or shimmy begins when some otherwise minor irregularity accelerates the wheel to one side. The irregularity may be a wheel which is out-of-round, out-of-true, or out-of-balance. As the wheel rotates, it will exert a cyclic load to the vehicle frame, which if matched with the system's (vehicle and attached accessories) resonant frequency, can produce a speed wobble. During the wheel rotation, a restoring force is applied in phase with the progress of the irregularity, and the wheel turns to the other side where the process is repeated. If there is insufficient damping in the steering the oscillation will increase until system