The factory damper is pretty much useless when it is new. Do yourself a favor and buy an after market adjustable on the fly damper. It is the single most important piece of safety equipment you can install. No one that has one would give theirs up. The hard part is believing how much they help stabilize the Busa.
Kenny, go to your zuk dealer and order the two little plastic cups that support the damper. One goes on top and the other goes on the bottom of the mount where the bolt goes through the damper. Replace these little bumpers and you'll be back to new.
When your bike is new the damper is designed to have up and down movement. These little bushings made of plastic wear out and the damper becomes pretty sloppy and eventually will have metal to metal contact. Just replace these little bushings and you are good to go for a few more years.
You don't really need a new or aftermarket damper unless you are racing or stunting your bike. The one you have works just fine for everyday life on the road. Although an aftermarket Ohlins damper does have it's advantages and makes the bike steer a bit stiffer, it's certainly not mandatory. Heck, I know guys who track their bike and the odd racer who had no damper at all.
You need a 6mm hex wrench if I remember correctly to remove the stabilizer mounting bolt and I think it's either a 10 or 12mm socket to remove the bolt in the end of the rod?
Not a big chore but it is easier to do with the upper fairing removed which is not much of a chore either.
Have fun! If I were close buy I'd come by and have a beer while I watched you do all the work
Have to disagree with you on this one.
And forget about Olins, you cannot adjust it on the fly.
Ask anyone with a GPR what they think.
Until you use one - you will never understand.
I was the same way. How good could it be?
Then I tried one.... ask others. It will save you in bad times and make the good times better.
Houston,
Just wondering what you have against running it up on top?
Rick
I can't say I've ever disagreed with a better man!
The rotary dampers are secondary to rod type dampers when it comes to function. You'll see track day guys with rotary dampers because they look cool but you will rarely find top racers with a rotary damper! Not that Rotary dampers don't work they just aren't as effective as the rod dampers!
I see no real need to adjust the damper on the fly. Set that puppy and forget it! My Ohlins dampner has been set on 5 clicks out from full stiff for most of it's life. Same setting for street or track. Most guys set the damper too stiff from the get go. To stiff can be just as unforgiving as no damper at all.
It's extremely rare that any street rider ever gets to actually use a steering damper as the need for it rarely comes along in a street riders entire life time. These bikes arrive in our hands so stable that the bike will straighten itself out if the rider will just relax his grip or turn the bars loose if he get the bike out of whack. Wasn't it the ZX10 that never came with a dampner for the first few years? The average street rider would be just as safe with no damper at all.
Adding an adjustable damper to solve an existing issue is never a good idea!