Cheapo steering damper

[naughtyG]

I'm not ready to spend big $$ on upside down forks, braced swingarms or frame braces, and I like my vibe-free rubber motor mounts. :confused2:

However, I would like to feel a like more confident at triple-figure speeds, especially when leaning over slightly, so I've been looking at these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0299036632&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT&viewitem=

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0297314718&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT&viewitem=

What do u all reckon? Yay or nay? Longer or shorter? Any idea if they would fit or not? :ummm::ummm:

 

[texmax]

NO WAY! If I'm gonna risk my body at high speed, I'm not gonna rely on that. Pops always told me, "you get what you pay for". Thats held true to this day for me. When it comes to safety, if I cant aford it I don't do it.

 

[VMAX1]

Just reading that shit screams SUCKA!! dont do it brutha?

 

[gleno]

I'm not ready to spend big $$ on upside down forks, braced swingarms or frame braces, and I like my vibe-free rubber motor mounts. :confused2:

However, I would like to feel a like more confident at triple-figure speeds, especially when leaning over slightly, so I've been looking at these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0299036632&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT&viewitem=

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0297314718&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT&viewitem=

What do u all reckon? Yay or nay? Longer or shorter? Any idea if they would fit or not? :ummm::ummm:

What the hell. It's only 30 bucks.

It's very un- likely to CAUSE an accident.

At best it'll work fine. At worst it will last 5 minutes but at least you will know whether it is worth fitting a steering damper at all.

The steering dampers we used in the 80's were not much more sophisticated than this and they worked fine. They often had some hard work to do on early front ends.

IMO opinion a sucker pays around $400 dollars for often overrated and certainly overpriced steering dampers e.g. Hyperpro.

 

[naughtyG]

IMO opinion a sucker pays around $400 dollars for often overrated and certainly overpriced steering dampers e.g. Hyperpro.

My feeling too. Hyperpro actually sell at $499 + shipping, what a con!

I've also found that $30 will buy you most OEM japanese dampers as fitted to most modern crotch rockets. Only prob is you then have to find a way to fit it on the max..

All this because I found out that I still have a bit of a wobble above 120mph, whenever going over a bump, changing lanes or being slightly banked over.
I've got a recent tire up front, fresh steering bearings, and tightened them only 2 months ago. Maybe I'll try the Furbur washer again to see if it makes a diff :confused2:

 

[Vinmax]

Fresh steering bearings, even two months old, will kind of 'bed' in and may need to be tightened several times before they are there to stay for longer periods of time. When I got my bike new, I tightened the steering bearings about every 1000 miles until they took a good 'seat' and haven't moved much in about 7000 miles now. So that's normal if you have to tighten them again after a short period. The races can move around when first put in and the bearings themselves need to break in. My Ninja ZX9R needed the same thing several times during the first few thousand miles of me riding the bike.

On another note, if your bearings are tight and smooth enough to avoid any wobbling at 45mph or so with hands off the bars, and not so tight that they make the bike hard to steer and need constant correction when trying to hold a straight line at that same speed, then maybe you should start to look elsewhere. The rear swingarm bearings are wayyyyyy often overlooked. They need to be in great shape and also tightened securely. Plus, the stock swingarm (especially if not braced) tends to flex in hard cornering and higher speeds (Take a look at today's higher performance bikes. The swingarms are amazing engineering designs of light weight and STRENGTH). I think too many handling issues are attributed to the front end and not enough give thought to the rear.

The front end is WAY important when it comes to safe, secure, handling. I don't want anyone to underestimate that fact. But the rear of a bike is so important also. You can set a steering head so that it barely moves from left to right and if you take that thing on the salt flats, that bike may still wobble and crash, due to the rear end steering back and forth through flexing of the swingarm and frame.

Make sure you check everything front and rear when diagnosing and trying to eliminate these problems.

Vinnie

 

[Boomer]

I'd love a damper on my Max, but also don't want to pay the ridiculous $400 for a name brand. If you get one of these bargain dampers, let us know how she works!

Where can you mount one on the Max, btw?

 

[gleno]

Fresh steering bearings, even two months old, will kind of 'bed' in and may need to be tightened several times before they are there to stay for longer periods of time. When I got my bike new, I tightened the steering bearings about every 1000 miles until they took a good 'seat' and haven't moved much in about 7000 miles now. So that's normal if you have to tighten them again after a short period. The races can move around when first put in and the bearings themselves need to break in. My Ninja ZX9R needed the same thing several times during the first few thousand miles of me riding the bike.

On another note, if your bearings are tight and smooth enough to avoid any wobbling at 45mph or so with hands off the bars, and not so tight that they make the bike hard to steer and need constant correction when trying to hold a straight line at that same speed, then maybe you should start to look elsewhere. The rear swingarm bearings are wayyyyyy often overlooked. They need to be in great shape and also tightened securely. Plus, the stock swingarm (especially if not braced) tends to flex in hard cornering and higher speeds (Take a look at today's higher performance bikes. The swingarms are amazing engineering designs of light weight and STRENGTH). I think too many handling issues are attributed to the front end and not enough give thought to the rear.

The front end is WAY important when it comes to safe, secure, handling. I don't want anyone to underestimate that fact. But the rear of a bike is so important also. You can set a steering head so that it barely moves from left to right and if you take that thing on the salt flats, that bike may still wobble and crash, due to the rear end steering back and forth through flexing of the swingarm and frame.

Make sure you check everything front and rear when diagnosing and trying to eliminate these problems.

Vinnie

Great advice Vinnie. Your comments reflect my experiences exactly.

The downside to a steering damper is that it may mask the real problems you have just pointed out.

Just for the record, I don't use a steering damper. I've found that if steering head and swingarm bearings are checked and adjusted regularly the bike doesn't have handling problems. :clapping:

In fact, if I get a twitch in the front end the bearings are the first thing checked and adjusted and guess what? They are ALWAYS out of spec.