Steering damper?

samw5

samw5

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Just wondering if it's a worthy investment, which one works the best or if i should save my money and just change the oil in the stock damper.

Also do they make good aftermarket dampers that will fit the stock location?

I use a steering stem mount for my gps and would hate to lose it.
 
just do the mod with 90/140 synthetic oil. It's very cheap and makes a world of difference. As far as aftermarket, I've never seen one that goes in the stock location only ones that go on the top clamp.
 
I bought the ohlins steering damper that goes in the stock location. Its awesome and its adjustablity is what makes it better than stock. Being able to decrease or increase its damping is valuable if you are aggressive in the twisties. If you're a standard type of rider than the stock one or the stock one with the heavier oil is just fine.
 
cool thanks... any good tutorial on how to replace the stock damper's oil? i suppose i should probably try that first. also do you guys think it's worth spending $10 to buy a damper on ebay and play around with it or there is no chance of screwing up the stock damper?
 
Try changing out the 5w oil to 90/140w first to see if it's enough for you. The DFW Texas group did just that a few months ago and everyone seemed pleased with the results. We drained out the stock oil and submerged the damper in new clean 90/140 oil and pumped the damper untill all the air bubbles were gone and put the screw back in while it was submerged. Clean off the oil and re install. No one has had any problems with the mod. Push in the center of the plastic pins with a small punch that hold the cover that is under the cowl to expose the damper. This cover is right over the front fender. If I were you I would put a clean towel over the fender to protect it while removing the damper. It is pretty easy to remove the damper once you see where it is located.
 
I just changed mine a few weeks ago. There's a post and .

I was able to take it off easily without removing any body panels. Just be sure to hold the bolt on the top side under the rubber boot with a 14 mm wrench.

I grabbed a 20 oz beer cup and filled it with oil and went several rounds of working the damper until all the air was out. You'll definitely feel when it's right because it'll be a lot firmer.
 
thanks... taken the fairings out before so i wasn't really worried about that as much as I was about openning up the damper. I guess if it's held only with 1 torx screw I can probably manage.

As far as oil goes, do you guys think this one would do: https://www.amsoil.com/storefront/svo.aspx

They rate it comparable to 80-85W140.

If not what brand/type of gear oil should I use?

Thanks again for all the tips. I will give this mod a shot asap!
 
I only know of one aftermarket damper that mounts in the intended stock busa location and that's the Ohlins.

Some of the other ones can be "modified" to fit in the stock location using the gixx1k mounting kit.
 
anyone on the oil i linked? would that work or should i use something else? looking at the specs it seems to be ok but since i have no idea what's supposed to get in there i'd rather check b4 ordering!
 
I've never used amsoil gear lube before but it's the same rating as i've used in the past. You can use any of the gear lubes as long as the rating is within range. The main thing is to you a heavy/thick lube....
 
i hear that... just wasn't sure there would be any problem using synthetic oil (maybe under higher temp the oil won't get thinner).
Kinematic Viscosity @ 100°C, cSt (ASTM D-445) 25.7
Kinematic Viscosity @ 40°C, cst (ASTM D-445) 185.6

I'm guess that should do. I will give it a shot!
 
I am trying 20wt fork oil and will see if that works. Seems to me that the dampener is the same thing as a fork so the oil for the fork should work perfect in the dampener.
 
i thought so too but looking at the viscosity rating for the gear oil it seems that it's a hell of a lot higher which should provide a bit more resistance...

i think regardless of what you put in it as long as it's not cooking oil like they have from the factory in the damper it should improve it's functionality.

i ordered some amsoil gear oil... will try whenever i have a chance and report here the findings.
 
Make sure when you folks do this MOD to get all the air out of the dampener when replacing with the heavier weight oil don't want to here of any more riders going down and this is something that if done improperly could cause something like that to happen. So do not get into a rush when doing this mod and wear your gear for the Test Ride.
beerchug.gif
 
DID the mod with 75w/140 synthetic gear oil. WOW what a difference. But getting the oil in there is a bit time comsuming pumping that thing a couple hundered times.

Question thought, Not much of the original oil came out just a squirt or two. I must have pumped it at least 50 times with nothing coming out but air, EH?? is that right?? I dont think so. It sure did a hold a lot more heavy oil that i took out.
 
can't wait to do mine... i'm sure the volume is minimal (it's not a big cylinder) and there is small leaks thru the seal (that's why you're supposed to wipe it from time to time, at least my maintenance manual says so).

did you ended up submerging the damper in the new oil? if so how much?
 
Heres how i did mine. Just cut the top of a quart of the gear oil off and stuck it down in there, worked the piston back and fourth till no more air came out. Takes a little bit of time and muscle to do it.
I found if you move the piston slowly it works better than fast. Somehow it sucks oil better slow, and air comes out better slow and quick jerks. Tried the fast movement first and got nowhere but pushing fluid in out out of the bottom of the piston rather than letting it get to both sides.
 
(Da_Bus @ Aug. 30 2007,14:47) I am trying 20wt fork oil and will see if that works.  Seems to me that the dampener is the same thing as a fork so the oil for the fork should work perfect in the dampener.
Click to expand...
It's actually a "Damper".
A "Dampener" is a person that
makes something moist.
smile.gif

Try 70W gear oil. I did 90W and it seems to be
working against me in high speed corners (110+)
Not returning fast enough or something.
 
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