Topic: Steering damper anyone?

[bikerbart]

My buddy ed gave me a couple of dampers,he said off his sv650,so I fitted it on my bike,for better I hope.It was free so what the hell.I have the other one for sale for 20 bucks.

[srbakker]

Can I ask what you used for a frame clamp?  That looks exactly like the setup I'm aiming for.

Cheers,
Scott

[bikerbart]

Just some clamp I had laying around.It was heavy and strong,and Chrome.I can take better pics for you if you want

[andrewk]

My buddy ed gave me a couple of dampers,he said off his sv650,so I fitted it on my bike,for better I hope.It was free so what the hell.I have the other one for sale for 20 bucks.

20 bucks?  I'll take it! I'll send ya a PM

EDIT-  Saw that it's sold on the for sale thread.  Timing is everything! 

[Vbled1]

Here is mine.
Bolts on the the underside of the tree and clamps to the frame.
Simple adjustable damper
total cost was about $100ish

+1. I have the same one, i run it on the stiffest setting. I took it off once and after a 30 second ride i put it back on. Also have the sealed bearing set up now. Feels really good.

[Terry in Australia]

Sometimes guys mess their machines up so bad with mods that nasty things may be introduced into a bike. Others who don't look after the #$%* they have properly sometimes blame the design. In many cases if people left the designing to the engineers instead of #$%*ing with #$%* they no little about they'd be better off. Any of the serviceable SOHCs I ever had or rode were very civilized when used for the intended purpose. The bike is not prone to tank slapping.

rt

I understand what you're saying mate, but sometimes Honda didn't supply things like steering dampers on a standard bike to keep prices competitive too. The did sell a steering damper specifically for a CB750 as an optional extra in their CR catalogue, along with an oil cooler, a dual front disc conversion, better shocks, etc etc. If you were a cashed up, you could buy lots of cool performance parts, direct from your Honda shop. Cheers, Terry.

[BLUE71TURBO]

Sometimes guys mess their machines up so bad with mods that nasty things may be introduced into a bike. Others who don't look after the #$%* they have properly sometimes blame the design. In many cases if people left the designing to the engineers instead of #$%*ing with #$%* they no little about they'd be better off. Any of the serviceable SOHCs I ever had or rode were very civilized when used for the intended purpose. The bike is not prone to tank slapping.

rt

     Say that at 140 mph plus !   

[srbakker]

Tubing size is 1 1/8", right?

[Retro Rocket]

Sometimes guys mess their machines up so bad with mods that nasty things may be introduced into a bike. Others who don't look after the #$%* they have properly sometimes blame the design. In many cases if people left the designing to the engineers instead of #$%*ing with #$%* they no little about they'd be better off. Any of the serviceable SOHCs I ever had or rode were very civilized when used for the intended purpose. The bike is not prone to tank slapping.

rt

Really.?  I have had some well set up Honda 750's and had some very scary tank slappers, one nearly broke my thumb and dented the tank, never had a slapper with a damper, i fit them to all my bikes and have done since the early 80's. Adding a damper will do nothing "nasty" to the bike at all. A bike doesn't have to be prone to tank slappers to experience one, road conditions have a lot to do with it. If the old bikes were engineered so well them explain why development has come so far since then.? The old Honda's have spaghetti frames, a heavy single disc , tiny fork legs, and a very weak stock fork brace, its not that hard to get twist and flex in a standard bike while riding.

[Vbled1]

Sometimes guys mess their machines up so bad with mods that nasty things may be introduced into a bike. Others who don't look after the #$%* they have properly sometimes blame the design. In many cases if people left the designing to the engineers instead of #$%*ing with #$%* they no little about they'd be better off. Any of the serviceable SOHCs I ever had or rode were very civilized when used for the intended purpose. The bike is not prone to tank slapping.

rt

::)What is the intended purpose?

[Terry in Australia]

To reduce the possibility of getting spat down the road in the event of a "Speed Wobble" mate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_wobble

[Retro Rocket]

Sometimes guys mess their machines up so bad with mods that nasty things may be introduced into a bike. Others who don't look after the #$%* they have properly sometimes blame the design. In many cases if people left the designing to the engineers instead of #$%*ing with #$%* they no little about they'd be better off. Any of the serviceable SOHCs I ever had or rode were very civilized when used for the intended purpose. The bike is not prone to tank slapping.

rt

::)What is the intended purpose?

Its a damper mate, adds a little restriction to the forks side ways movement allowing them to be more stable and less likely to over react to poor road conditions and therefore stop tank slappers, they give a slightly steadying feel to a bike, they are also {or most are} able to be adjusted for more or less damping, depending on the conditions.

[srbakker]

I think I get your drift - there's a lot of ways to screw with the geometry or stability of the bike that could be more detrimental then they initially seem.  Tire choice, shock length, frame cuts, wheel size etc etc.  A poorly set up damper could, potentially, negatively affect turning ability.  If nothing else, I suppose it adds a stiff point to the frame where there wasn't one before.

Personally, I think a damper is probably more useful then dangerous.

[Really?]

Being that I have had a tank slapper that put me down at a fairly high rate of speed on a bike that did not have one, I will take one.  But it is important to know the bike you have as well.  I didn't, not at about 16 years old anyway.  30 years later, I find out it came with one stock and only recently I learn all of the reasons why the tank slapper happened.  Makes me feel much better that ir was not entirely my fault but am happy I know much better now. 

The bike was a '72 Kawi 750 H2 that I purchased used from a bunch of 1% er's that was messing with the front end right before I rode off with it.  I was not a couple miles from them when it happened.  Turns out the bike was like this anyway, it was supposed to have a steering stabilizer from what I have read (it was not there) and they did not tighten the front end as well as it was supposed to be done (every damn nut and bolt was loose when I checked it the next morning).  May fault was for not knowing what I was buying and did not go over it myself before riding off on a bike I did not know.

To this day, I do a walk around just like a pilot does with a plane, right before I go for a ride.  I have learned about the bike I am to ride.  I get to know the bike before I ride it.  And I do not go blazing on it right away, until I personally have felt it out.

[MRieck]

Sometimes guys mess their machines up so bad with mods that nasty things may be introduced into a bike. Others who don't look after the #$%* they have properly sometimes blame the design. In many cases if people left the designing to the engineers instead of #$%*ing with #$%* they no little about they'd be better off. Any of the serviceable SOHCs I ever had or rode were very civilized when used for the intended purpose. The bike is not prone to tank slapping.

rt

Really.?  I have had some well set up Honda 750's and had some very scary tank slappers, one nearly broke my thumb and dented the tank, never had a slapper with a damper, i fit them to all my bikes and have done since the early 80's. Adding a damper will do nothing "nasty" to the bike at all. A bike doesn't have to be prone to tank slappers to experience one, road conditions have a lot to do with it. If the old bikes were engineered so well them explain why development has come so far since then.? The old Honda's have spaghetti frames, a heavy single disc , tiny fork legs, and a very weak stock fork brace, its not that hard to get twist and flex in a standard bike while riding.

You're right there Mick....the tubes are pretty thin and there is a good deal of rust that you cannot see. I installed a frame kit to get access to the top end and there was a sh!tload of rust on the ID of those top tubes.

[crazypj]

Yeah, the problem with the GS Suzuki's was that if the clearances were too large, it was pretty common for the shims to get spat out. Cheers, Terry.

 GS was 0.001"~0.003"
Tightest clearance of any of the shim/bucket motors.
 The problems arise with high lift cams and high rpm, when the valves float the shims get dislodged, exhaust comes through to center of motor, intake shims end up on the cab tops

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah, the problem with the GS Suzuki's was that if the clearances were too large, it was pretty common for the shims to get spat out. Cheers, Terry.

 GS was 0.001"~0.003"
Tightest clearance of any of the shim/bucket motors.
 The problems arise with high lift cams and high rpm, when the valves float the shims get dislodged, exhaust comes through to center of motor, intake shims end up on the cab tops

That's right PJ, trouble with GS' is that they suffer badly from valve recession, which opens up the clearances, and because the dealers here charge 10 bucks(+) per shim that they swap over during a tune up, a lot of guys ignore the rattles in favour of saving some cash. I've got a factory shim kit here, which is a very desireable item for the GS guys, it allows you to keep those clearances close without getting raped by the local bike shop. Cheers, Terry.

[Imago]

How would you mount this one?

I'm thinking of buying them...

Shocks and damper are off a 1978 CB750F.

[crazypj]

Hi Terry,
In my experience of the GS motors, the exhausts close up and burn valves.
 I've never seen a GS motor where the clearance gets wider? (unless oil was filthy and cam/cam bearings wore out)
 As the valve face and seat wear, valve sinks into the head, the clearance is reduced.
 Usual sign  is real hard starting when cold  but runs OK hot
 I would always set tappets at 0.004" in and 0.005" ex when someone brought a GS in complaining about hard starting from cold, sometimes it was caught early enough and the valves wold re-seat properly
 We only charged  a pound each exchange, (it was a long time ago though, 25~39 yrs  )
 10 dollars is a rip off as they are rarely using Suzuki shims.
If dealer has been doing GS motors from new, probably has several thousand 270 shims by now   

[754]

 Imago, RUN dont walk from them.. they are not the F'ing ones you need..F uses black springs, no covers. The ones in the picture some of the top rubber is missing the piece without the spring is just a shock minus spring adjuster and cover.. Not a steering damper

[Terry in Australia]

Hi Terry,
In my experience of the GS motors, the exhausts close up and burn valves.
 I've never seen a GS motor where the clearance gets wider? (unless oil was filthy and cam/cam bearings wore out)
 As the valve face and seat wear, valve sinks into the head, the clearance is reduced.
 Usual sign  is real hard starting when cold  but runs OK hot
 I would always set tappets at 0.004" in and 0.005" ex when someone brought a GS in complaining about hard starting from cold, sometimes it was caught early enough and the valves wold re-seat properly
 We only charged  a pound each exchange, (it was a long time ago though, 25~39 yrs  )
 10 dollars is a rip off as they are rarely using Suzuki shims.
If dealer has been doing GS motors from new, probably has several thousand 270 shims by now   

G'Day Mate, yep, you're right again, I've ignored my GS1000 until recently, and stayed away from the GS Resources site in favor of this one, so I've managed to mix up two GS problems in one post, sorry about that. Valve recession does cause the clearances to close up, not open up, I had just that problem when I bought my GS1000S, the clearances were so tight it had no compression and wouldn't run. My local Suzuki dealer charged me 10 bucks "change over" per shim in 2000, so I found a shim kit on Ebay and I've done my own ever since. Cheers, Terry.

[Vbled1]

Sometimes guys mess their machines up so bad with mods that nasty things may be introduced into a bike. Others who don't look after the #$%* they have properly sometimes blame the design. In many cases if people left the designing to the engineers instead of #$%*ing with #$%* they no little about they'd be better off. Any of the serviceable SOHCs I ever had or rode were very civilized when used for the intended purpose. The bike is not prone to tank slapping.

rt

::)What is the intended purpose?

Its a damper mate, adds a little restriction to the forks side ways movement allowing them to be more stable and less likely to over react to poor road conditions and therefore stop tank slappers, they give a slightly steadying feel to a bike, they are also {or most are} able to be adjusted for more or less damping, depending on the conditions.

lol thanks but I run a damper and am quite fond of it. I posted a few above this about it. My point was that the gentleman was saying the bikes are fine, meaning don't need a damper when ridden for their "intended purpose." I'm wondering what that is. Essentially I'm being a smart ass.

[Terry in Australia]

It's OK mate, we Aussies aren't used to humor that subtle from one of our American cousins.......

[Retro Rocket]

Like not scraping the foot pegs, centerstand or exhaust especially over a bumpy corner. They do have a designed or intended maximum lean angle.

Look, i'm not trying to be a smart ass here but thats just rubbish, the bikes safely lean well past the point where things start to scrape, and do it easily, I can scrape the pegs doing a U turn ?, I remove the center stand because i consider them dangerous, they hit down way before the bike comes any near its limits. The thing is, that is your opinion only, it is baseless and means nothing as far as the capabilities of the bike are concerned. The lean angle isn't by design, it is all based on the levels of traction of what ever particular tire you are using, i have seen guys scrape the alternator cover without the bike sliding or behaving badly. Its intended purpose is to be ridden, any way you like within your own levels of comfort, if you don't like riding hard at all thats ok but that shouldn't determine everyone else's limits....

[messeduptriple]

Like not scraping the foot pegs, centerstand or exhaust especially over a bumpy corner. They do have a designed or intended maximum lean angle.

Look, i'm not trying to be a smart ass here but thats just rubbish, the bikes safely lean well past the point where things start to scrape, and do it easily, I can scrape the pegs doing a U turn ?, I remove the center stand because i consider them dangerous, they hit down way before the bike comes any near its limits. The thing is, that is your opinion only, it is baseless and means nothing as far as the capabilities of the bike are concerned. The lean angle isn't by design, it is all based on the levels of traction of what ever particular tire you are using, i have seen guys scrape the alternator cover without the bike sliding or behaving badly. Its intended purpose is to be ridden, any way you like within your own levels of comfort, if you don't like riding hard at all thats ok but that shouldn't determine everyone else's limits....

I ride agressive on track and street... Much agreed on this statement. Tires are very very important on lean, the sharper the profile the better. I wouldn't feel comfortable at all on those stock wide tires these bikes come on at all ...even in general riding. But yes, its all preference, and the rider manipulates the bike how he wants... But must be good at it if your talking knee down or even elbow down riding. I've gotten elbow down and that is extremely hard to do... The bikes front end will fight you and want to give out..if you don't have good body positioning, tires and air pressure, suspension setup , and knowledge you will go down hard.. not trying to get off topic but just saying, tires and knowledge of the rider is everything not so much the bike itself.

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