Steering Dampers

[Gweiloman]

Are they really necessary? Serious question. I do a fair bit of long distance touring as well as some track days, on both my Versys and Ninja 1000. I also have a KLX 250 with which I hope to start having some off road experiences. Having spent quite a bit of money on bikes and of course valuing my life a bit as well, would fixing steering dampers increase my safety level? If yes, how so?

[RubberSideDown]

I put one on my bike, even though it's pretty stable up front- I had a serious tank-slapper on a CBR900RR once and nearly crashed at a pretty high speed, and I was lucky to have gotten out of it- a steering damper would have lessened or prevented the incident entirely- it's (somewhat) cheap insurance against a potentially dangerous issue.

I haven't needed mine yet, and I hope I never do, but I'm happy it's there.

That said, I wouldn't ride on the track or in the dirt without one- a light front end or areas of poor traction can cause a tank-slapper- you won't see many pros riding without a damper.

[RubberSideDown]

I've got the Hyperpro:

[seedy]

Cheap insurance as said above. May not prevent but will lessen oscillations.

Never had one on my dirt bikes tho'

[BSJ]

I've got the Hyperpro:

image.jpg

You been nicking the spare hot what taps off the janitor?

[RubberSideDown]

I've got the Hyperpro:

image.jpg

You been nicking the spare hot what taps off the janitor?

Devil pre-load adjusters- I'm always screwing around with my settings, and they let me change them from the saddle without tools.

The left one just managed to fit with the damper bracket- there's maybe 1mm of clearance.

Edited December 14, 2013 by RubberSideDown

[ll2]

steering damper is needed for any sport bike if you ask me.

it prevents always unexpected tank slappers and it is needed for the bikes with a light front end - like my cbr500r.

If i were you, i install one especially to the ninja1000.

you never know when a tank slapper happens and a steering damper is not that expensive. Also, it keeps you not getting worried about a tank slapper means a nicer ride.

[Garry]

Are they really necessary? Serious question. I do a fair bit of long distance touring as well as some track days, on both my Versys and Ninja 1000. I also have a KLX 250 with which I hope to start having some off road experiences. Having spent quite a bit of money on bikes and of course valuing my life a bit as well, would fixing steering dampers increase my safety level? If yes, how so?

I've done a lot of long distance riding in Australia in the past and they are definitely a plus to have for that time you hit a pot hole in the road, getting hit by a sudden gust of side wind, corrugated dirt roads etc. Not just for high speed or coming back down to earth from a wheelie

[Garry]

I put one on my bike, even though it's pretty stable up front- I had a serious tank-slapper on a CBR900RR once and nearly crashed at a pretty high speed, and I was lucky to have gotten out of it- a steering damper would have lessened or prevented the incident entirely- it's (somewhat) cheap insurance against a potentially dangerous issue.

I haven't needed mine yet, and I hope I never do, but I'm happy it's there.

That said, I wouldn't ride on the track or in the dirt without one- a light front end or areas of poor traction can cause a tank-slapper- you won't see many pros riding without a damper.

Oops, I responded a bit late mate. You basically said it already

[brfsa2]

steering damper is needed for any sport bike if you ask me.

it prevents always unexpected tank slappers and it is needed for the bikes with a light front end - like my cbr500r.

If i were you, i install one especially to the ninja1000.

you never know when a tank slapper happens and a steering damper is not that expensive. Also, it keeps you not getting worried about a tank slapper means a nicer ride.

Hey LL2, where did you get your CBR500r dampers? and how much? I wanna install one on my upcoming CB500F, will they fit on the 500F ?

cheers.

edit: a year ago I had a real scary headshake at 110km/h, when a ass**** pressed the brake so hard on his pickup, I had to overtake the car on an emergency manoeuvre to avoid hitting the back of the pickup. After overtaking I almost lost control, regained after braking with front brakes shortly. it was partially my fault because I shouldn't be going that fast.

the front well wobbled like crazy a snake.

big lesson for me...

Edited December 14, 2013 by brfsa2

[brfsa2]

I found these:

http://www.mocyc.com/market819837/

2900 baht, made in Malaysia.

Wonder is they are any good.

[dogpoo]

I have pretty much made up mind to get the VFR 1200 DCT so I will be looking for the steering damper for this bike, for me it will be purely because of the huge holes in Thai roads, you can still have problems at low speeds so it will be a good investment!

[ll2]

steering damper is needed for any sport bike if you ask me.

it prevents always unexpected tank slappers and it is needed for the bikes with a light front end - like my cbr500r.

If i were you, i install one especially to the ninja1000.

you never know when a tank slapper happens and a steering damper is not that expensive. Also, it keeps you not getting worried about a tank slapper means a nicer ride.

Hey LL2, where did you get your CBR500r dampers? and how much? I wanna install one on my upcoming CB500F, will they fit on the 500F ?

cheers.

edit: a year ago I had a real scary headshake at 110km/h, when a ass**** pressed the brake so hard on his pickup, I had to overtake the car on an emergency manoeuvre to avoid hitting the back of the pickup. After overtaking I almost lost control, regained after braking with front brakes shortly. it was partially my fault because I shouldn't be going that fast.

the front well wobbled like crazy a snake.

big lesson for me...

i dont have one.

rsv racing install scotts monster 795 steering dampers on cbr500 abd it fits.

18 k though.

[seedy]

I have found that nailing the throttle will get you out of a tankslapper more quickly than a brake application.

Unloads the front wheel and pushes the bike forward.

[RubberSideDown]

^

It depends on the situation- speed, RPM, severity of the tank-slapper, etc- if the bars are being ripped out of your hands, smooth application of the throttle is difficult or impossible.

[RubberSideDown]

Here's a pretty good one- I've known both these guys for over 10 years- granted, Paul was screwing around, but he's a great rider, and he couldn't recover it:

[Gsxrnz]

Steering dampers do different things on different types of bikes, but the essential science is that they reduce the ability of the steering to move in any direction, thus dampening and slowing the movement. If the front wheel triers to dramatically alter direction, say with hitting a pothole, the damper slows and limits the speed of that movement.

A simple damper is just like an oil filled suspension strut. The oil is allowed to pass through valves, and under heavy movement the oil struggles to move through the valves, thus impeding the steering movement.

The benefits are multiple. On the road they generally give a more comfortable ride as minor deflections of the front wheel from the road surface are limited and give a more comfortable ride especially on the arms. If a seam in the concrete makes a non-equipped bike dance, a damper equipped bike will handle it better. The same applies to potholes etc. Although having a damper doesn't mean you can ignore potholes.

On the track they can sometimes prevent a tankslapper from occurring and also limit the affect that it has. However, they do not totally prevent them, especially if your suspension is not tuned properly. They are most effective under WOT and the front wheel gets light or even off the ground - if you bring it down slightly off-centre the damper will (normally) quickly and efficiently centralise the steering for you. They also serve a purpose under heavy front braking in a corner and will limit the number of times your front wheel pulls itself down.

In the dirt they do essentially the same things but probably the biggest benefit is the comfort factor. A day in the dirt on a non-equipped bike is sheer hell compared to one equipped with a good damper. Once you've had one you'll never go back.

Most modern after market dampers of any repute are multi adjustable. You can adjust the amount of dampening in one or both directions from centre. On the dirt for example you may only want to dampen in one direction depending on the track rotation or track surface. (EDIT: Or you may want to limit the movement away from centre but allow the steering to be centralised back to centre with no/less impedance.)

On the road/track, some become more progressive based on speed - more dampening at faster speeds. This is a great advantage because you need freeer movement and usually more movement of the steering at slower speeds. Yet at higher speeds when a tank slapper is more likely, they give progressively more dampening.

Dampers do not make anybody bullet proof, but I wouldn't ride a bike without one. Actually considering getting one for my scooter .

DO NOT buy a Malaysian or Chinese Kamikaze brand. They are (should be) precise pieces of equipment and a cheapy could be more dangerous than none at all. I fitted a cheapy to an old school RD400 and it did the trick, but after a long ride the adjuster managed to vibrate and tighten up, making the steering almost seize.

When you install it, follow the tuning instructions carefully. Don't be inclined to have the dampening set so high that you can "feel" the effect too much while standing still. Do this and you'll find yourself drifting very wide at your first fast bend.

You can't go past Scott's IMVHO. And you can unbolt them when you sell the bike.

Edited December 15, 2013 by Gsxrnz

[Garry]

A buddy bought a brand new 2010 ZX10R and the supposed Ohlins steering damper was either defective or made ineffective for the bike. I had my 999S parked beside his and had basically the same design Ohlins damper with one big difference. Every click of the adjuster increased the dampening to the point the steering was almost locked up. His damper didn't do zip. Placebo

Edited December 15, 2013 by Garry

[Gsxrnz]

A buddy bought a brand new 2010 ZX10R and the supposed Ohlins steering damper was either defective or made ineffective for the bike. I had my 999S parked beside his and had basically the same design Ohlins damper with one big difference. Every click of the adjuster increased the dampening to the point the steering was almost locked up. His damper didn't do zip. Placebo

I remember reading somewhere that the bog-standard Ohlins as fitted to the ZX10 is nowhere near as adjustable as the aftermarket Ohlins. The standard one cannot be ramped up to race tight as you described.

Probably a safety feature - don't want a newbie to set it race tight and then drift off the road at his first bend.

There's a lot of dumb things they do to make bikes idiot proof and it's a waste of time considering there's a million horsepower at the wheel.

I mean, what's with the throttle that you have to twist twice around (exaggerating) to get WOT. They should be fitted with a 1/8 or 1/5 throttle at the factory. And the Japs got the one down/five up shifter wrong from day one, it's just wrong in my opinion. And then they started with the detuning modes for alleged safety - if you can't ride a bike properly and need to detune it to ride in the wet, or just don't want it to give the curve it was designed to give, there's something wrong.

Anyway, rant over. I won't even talk about the 299klm limiter, the clutch in to start, the tip over sensor, the long 1st gear, the crappy brake pads etc.

[RubberSideDown]

The GPR steering damper is worth a look- I quite like my Hyperpro, and it was a great deal at a bit less than $500- it also leaves the steering stem free for a GPS mount.

^

I agree with your rant- I dumped my 299kph limiter, brake lines/pads, and safety modes/mild stock tune (via ECU reflash) the first week I had my bike.

[Garry]

But seriously, his damper didnt do show any sign of resistsnce at all. I thought as you that it was like this for newbs, but go through the full range and nothing. He fitted a HyperPro and as expected it was night & day. My Middle East spec 2004 R1 was fortunately unlimited, but the clocks did stop at 299kph even though the tacho kept climbing (must have been clutch slip eh!). It had a quick throttle, no second grip required like a lot of bikes.

[Gweiloman]

Thanks for all the inputs guys. Sorry for not posting earlier on this thread that I started but I had just returned from a 2,000+ km trip to Chiang Mai - MHS and Nan.

Next question - where to but a good damper? (in Bangkok)

Cheers

[yankee99]

Be careful as it takes some getting use to. When i first had mine i almost lost it at slow turns from stop lights. Maybe it was set to stiff. I never had one in the past and under normal conditions probably not needed.

[RubberSideDown]

Be careful as it takes some getting use to. When i first had mine i almost lost it at slow turns from stop lights. Maybe it was set to stiff. I never had one in the past and under normal conditions probably not needed.

Under normal conditions definitely not needed- it's the abnormal stuff that gets you.

I followed the HyperPro recommendations- I added a click or two every ride until it felt 'right'- I'm six clicks in, and that's where I leave it unless the road is complete crap.

[B1ade]

I put one on my bike, even though it's pretty stable up front- I had a serious tank-slapper on a CBR900RR once and nearly crashed at a pretty high speed, and I was lucky to have gotten out of it- a steering damper would have lessened or prevented the incident entirely- it's (somewhat) cheap insurance against a potentially dangerous issue.

I haven't needed mine yet, and I hope I never do, but I'm happy it's there.

That said, I wouldn't ride on the track or in the dirt without one- a light front end or areas of poor traction can cause a tank-slapper- you won't see many pros riding without a damper.

Snap! unfortunately for me I did crash, it was on a RRW, 98 model, had the front wheel in the air and got a tank slapper when the wheel hit the ground, various broken bones. Absolutely 100% a steering damper would have saved it.

To the OP, it will only really be necessary for aggressive riding, casual riding it isn't needed, but for peace of mind its well worth it, not sure why most bikes dont come with one as standard...

[Garry]

For the track my Ohlins damper is set at 7-8 clicks (the higher the number, the higher the damping). Maximum is 15 clicks, which will just about lock up the steering. For the street 5-6 is more than enough, as I need to articulate the steering more for slow manoeuvring.

Sent from my SM-T211 using Tapatalk 4

[yankee99]

My hyperpro has like 25 clicks i originally started around 20 and went down to about 7

[Garry]

My hyperpro has like 25 clicks i originally started around 20 and went down to about 7

To be honest, I wish at times that my Ohlins had a more incremental range like the HyperPro's for that fine tuning.

Sent from my SM-T211 using Tapatalk 4

Edited December 19, 2013 by Garry