Steering Damper is just along for the ride?!?

[infidel]

Hey folks,

I had my '06 up on stands the other day and noticed that I was able to whip the bars back and forth with no discernible resistance from the steering damper. This is my first bike with a damper so my experience is limited, but I always believed that the damper would....you know, damp that just a bit! ???

The bike has 23k miles, and is mostly stock. I haven't noticed any weird handling issues, but if things could be even better, I'm all for it.

Would rebuilding the stock damper be a good idea, or would I just be polishing a turd? I know the Scott's & GPR's are a bunch of $$$, but is that money well-spent? I don't race or really push the bike too hard on the street (that's how I'm not in jail right now) but I want the bike to handle to it's potential. Can the stocker do that, or should I toss it?

As always, I appreciate good advice and welcome witty smartassery!

Thanks in advance :sarcasm:

 

[ogre]

öhlins makes a nice adjustable damper that fits in the stock spot

 

[VIPER]

you can find those used all over the place. check some of the salvage yards online.

 

[twotonevert]

Replace the oil in your existing damper with a heavier weight, I think you will be surprised.

 

[Busa1166]

If the bike feels fine as is and has been feeling fine while you are riding why mess with it.

If it ain't broke don't fix it

 

[skydivr]

Maybe this would help...serch is your best friend:

https://www.hayabusa.org/forum/gen-...roup-buy-my-k8-install-experience-w-pics.html

 

[dmallord]

Replace the oil in your existing damper with a heavier weight, I think you will be surprised.

yep. did this to mine. definite difference.

 

[infidel]

I think I'll pull it off & try to swap out the oil (as suggested). I'll let all the good folks here know how that goes I just about choked when I saw the price of the Ohlins damper!!! Maybe I'll just get an Ohlins sticker instead!

Thanks, everyone!

 

[Tufbusa]

Your stock damper is working as designed. If you replace it with a new OEM damper it will feel exactly as the current one. It also works as designed. As the ossilation of the bars increase so does the resistance from the damper. The damper is designed to calm head shake, not prevent it.

Most everyone has this idea that the stiffer the damper the better it works. Not true! A damper too stiff is more likely to accellerate a problem than to calm it.

Riding on the street your bike will most likely spend it's entire useful life without ever needing the damper to intervene. The bike is designed to correct any miss-alignment of the wheels by use of the trailing arm of the forks and the contact patch of the tire. The bike actually does an exceptionally good job on it's own without a damper. However, during extreme cases of the front and rear tires becoming miss-aligned a PROPERLY adjusted damper helps to calm the shake while the trailing arm actually does the work.

Your damper came from the factory with 5wt oil. Personally, I would never use 90wt as a replacement. The reason being, when things go sour and get out of hand a damper too stiff restricts the trailing arm's ability to correct the problem.

There are exceptions! If you are a nose wheelie/stoppie guy, you want the damper to be exceptionally stiff when the bike is balanced on the front tire.

 

[infidel]

That makes a lot of sense, Tufbusa! I don't want to just go in there and change stuff just because I can.

However, I just pulled my damper off to see how it feels, and I don't think it's doing well. It sounds like a wet fart (air in the cylinder)! The stroke is sloppy for the first 3/4 inches, and inconsistent throughout. Maybe some new 5w oil and getting the air out will make it work better! I'm sure it didn't come from the factory sloppy and full of air. I wouldn't feel good about putting the damn thing back now without at least trying that!

Those are my thoughts, anyhow. If I'm full of sh!t, let me know!

 

[dadofthree]

Put it back on the bike

 

[GNBRETT]

I have an Ohlins steering dampner in the stock location but its quite expensive. although tough to steal from the bike tho like the GPR....

 

[880jedi]

The stock one is worthless. No resistance when it's worn out. I added an Ohlins, (with 18 clicks of adjustment) years ago. The #1 click was the equivalent of the stock unit.

 

[infidel]

I truly believe that my damper is not working right. But how does a person gauge the amount of resistance that is correct? Do you just let half the air out of your front tire and then take your hands off the bars at 100mph? Then add clicks until **** stops wobbling??? I could pack mine full of chunky peanut butter and it would at least seem like it was doing something. I want mine to work, I just want to avoid changing things so that I can "feel" it doing something. Are you supposed to notice it, or should it just seem transparent? (until SHTF?) I'm hesitant to take a safety feature and change it into a potential liability.

Maybe I'm making a simple thing complicated. It wouldn't be the first time.

And thank you all for the responses.

 

[infidel]

So I drained out the old oil, and only got this much...

That just seems wrong.

I refilled with 10w/30 just because I didn't want to go to 90w without trying the thinner stuff first. I used a funnel with a hose, and took my time. It took a while to get the air all out. Now it feels SO much smoother and consistent. No more "wet fart".

I also did some "Scientific Testing". Using a cast iron pan and a stopwatch, I timed how long it took the pan to pull the rod through it's stroke.

Right off the bike it worked out to about 4.4-5.3 seconds.

After the new oil it was actually faster, at around 3.3 seconds. But the action is smoother with no hesitations or "undamped" movement.

Haven't ridden it yet, but I'll update when I do. If it's not right, at least it's not hard to redo.

 

[Big E]

If there is a next time. Fill the pan with enough oil. Submerge the damper and work the damper back and fourth. It will fill and take out any air trapped.

So I drained out the old oil, and only got this much...

That just seems wrong.

I refilled with 10w/30 just because I didn't want to go to 90w without trying the thinner stuff first. I used a funnel with a hose, and took my time. It took a while to get the air all out. Now it feels SO much smoother and consistent. No more "wet fart".

I also did some "Scientific Testing". Using a cast iron pan and a stopwatch, I timed how long it took the pan to pull the rod through it's stroke.

Right off the bike it worked out to about 4.4-5.3 seconds.

After the new oil it was actually faster, at around 3.3 seconds. But the action is smoother with no hesitations or "undamped" movement.

Haven't ridden it yet, but I'll update when I do. If it's not right, at least it's not hard to redo.