I was so proud of my way earlier post and When carving at my limit (and the bikes) Doyle
I was proud of your earlier post as well. Good Points! I also want to commend you for stepping up to the plate and admitting you can ride that big heifer to her limits! I'm thinking you may be the first and only member in the boards history who has openly confessed to such talent!
You realize I'm giving you a hard time but it's all in fun!
Oh, and you should have been looking at those race bikes on the paddock to see just how many sport a rotary damper!
On to more serious stuff! It's not the damper that makes the ride stable and it's not the damper that corrects the shakes when you hit wind gusts or washboard pavement etc. it's that little thing called "Trail". More of it makes the bike more stable, less of it makes the bike less stable. Trail it the distance between the rake angle and the contact patch. This thing called Trail is what causes the front wheel to center itself without input from the rider after the turn is complete. The damper has absolutely nothing and I mean "NOTHING" to do with it!
Doyle wants to know why all the race bikes in the paddock have them, well I'll explain the reason why it's a must for the Moto GP race bike and not a requirement for Doyle. More like a luxury!
Racer's have a choice to make in bike set up and it's a fine and for professional racers a VERY fine line between quick turn in and stability. To little "Trail" can lead to a bike so unstable it cannot be ridden competitively by anyone. To much "Trail" makes the bike sluggish and hard to get turned. For these bikes a rod type stabilizer is an absolute must. Because, the rider wants all the speed on tip in the bike can handle and the stabilizer is a safety net to help settle the bike when it gets nervous and twitchy before the bike gets out of control. Riding a bike set up in this manner without a stabilizer is suicidal.
Now on to Raydog's bike. Unless his bike has the a$$ end poking up in the air like a two dollar prostitute and he indeed can and does romp the fat chick beyond any mortal's capibilities in the canyons, his need for a stabilizer is minimized. He may have a situation in the canyons where a stabilizer will save him from a crash but his chances of hitting the lottery are probably better, if however he has not changed the factory "Trail". Once the bikes stock geometry has been changed, all bets are off on how the bike reacts to stability!
So the point I'm making is a stabilizer does absolutely nothing for your stock street bike to keep you out of trouble until you do something really silly like set a wheelie down all crossed up or spin the rear out or skid it out with the brake to get the bike in a mis-aligned position. At that point the front wheel trail will do it's best to re-align the tires and a steering damper will definately help shorten the length of time it takes the bike to center itself but by no means does the damper keep the event from taking place!
One other point, most who purchase high end adjustible dampers spend little or no time learning how to properly use the unit and most will set them to stiff which in many cases creates more problems by not allowing the front wheel Trail to do it's job and would be better off with no damper at all!
And yes Doyle, I'm picking on you! I've badgered Cap enough!
