| Author |
Message |
    
Lost_in_ohio
| | Posted on Saturday, April 12, 2008 - 03:25 pm: | 
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To me it is like every other do dad on these bikes.
Chain vs. Belt
RSS vs. Stock
Synthetic vs. Dino
Race vs. Stock ecm
wrap vs. ceramic vs. none
Black vs. Orange
Teflon tape vs. none
Lock tite vs none
On and On and On and On
We can debate it all day.
If you like it buy it. It may help and then again it may not. |
No_rice
| | Posted on Saturday, April 12, 2008 - 05:21 pm: |
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+1 lost
it is important enough to me, that i have never bought for or installed one on any of the 6 buells that have resided in my garage or any of the import bikes that have either.
maybe i just ride like a wuss
i agree thoug, if you feel you need one put it on. its your bike and your life!
i am one of those people that figures if i am in a situation where i have to pray for that thing to save my life, i really F*^%#d up and its probably to late anyway.
(Message edited by no_rice on April 12, 2008) |
Dobr24
| | Posted on Saturday, April 12, 2008 - 06:14 pm: |
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Funny thing is I did nothing to "cause" the situation where I wished I would have had one. In my book its just insurance. Have not needed it again since that day. To each his own. |
Retrittion
| | Posted on Monday, April 14, 2008 - 03:22 am: |
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Man, it always goes down hill when dampers come up -- reminds me of the arguments on another forum about using a recoil damping piece some use for their M14 rifles -- people go back and forth and nothing ever gets decided.
Bottom line with a damper:
It may help prevent dangerous circumstance
It may provide a more stable ride
It may reduce rider fatigue (does for me on my buddy's SV1000S that comes with one stock)
That's it -- there isn't a right answer, just the right one for you...except to remember that on you Buell making sure tire pressure is right (bad tire pressure almost caused me to low-side on my first ride this year), tires are balanced and good (I ride with the Diablos provided stock on my '07, couldn't be happier), brakes are in good condition, and easiest of all but hardest in practice is to remember -> RELAX your shoulders, arms, and hands because death grip, or even a mild "locked elbow lean" will bugger up your handling -- or at least it does on mine. Oh, and a rider training course doesn't hurt either. 
Either way, ride safe(ish)! |
Kurosawa
| | Posted on Monday, April 14, 2008 - 07:40 am: |
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It's not all a matter of factless opinion. From http://www.physorg.com/news103984622.html
"Wobble is a steering oscillation that is reminiscent of the caster shimmy that occurs in the front wheels of a supermarket trolley, while weave is a fish-tailing type motion involving roll and yaw. The frequency of the wobble mode is of the order 8 Hz, while the weave frequency is about 3 Hz, where the exact figures depend on the speed and type of machine. Motorcycle design necessitates trade-offs between weave and wobble. For example, a conventional steering damper tends to stabilise wobble but destabilise weave."
The article goes on to propose an "inerter" that will have the opposite effect on the motorcycle as a damper (destabilize wobble and stabilize weave), with the idea that a damper and an inerter could be combined in one motorcycle to good effect. That study has been out long enough that if anyone was going to apply it, they probably would have (to great fanfare in the motorcycle press, as truly new things come along in motorcycling very rarely, and as there isn't even a googlable web page to show for it, it probably hasn't happened yet).
More stuff (don't miss the great 4-part vid) at: http://www.reverserotatingrotors.com/mythbuster.ht ml |
Silence_of_the_clams
| | Posted on Monday, April 14, 2008 - 08:06 am: |
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I have one I like it. My pipes are wrapped, I like that too. I think it's just a matter of preference. |
Lost_in_ohio
| | Posted on Monday, April 14, 2008 - 09:18 am: |
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Kuro, you are siting a racing article. There is no dispute, at least on my part about the need for them in racing. |
Kurosawa
| | Posted on Monday, April 14, 2008 - 12:00 pm: |
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Nah, the first link's about the physics of motorcycle oscillations in general, "S. Evangelou, D.J.N. Limebeer, R.S. Sharp and M.C. Smith, Control of Motorcycle Steering Instabilities - Passive Mechanical Compensators Incorporating Inerters, IEEE Control Systems Magazine, October 2006, pp. 78-88."
The second link was about the vid of 4 tank slappers and near tank slappers. Good vid. |
Retrittion
| | Posted on Monday, April 14, 2008 - 02:37 pm: |
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It is too bad that Buell seems more interested (in my opinion) in going mainstream right now than putting research like the stuff Kuro sited to use. Don't get me wrong, I still like the product they make, but as the XBR headlight issue points out, Buell occasionally drops the ball on things. Just because the bike doesn't come with this piece of tech doesn't mean it will not benefit from it.
And as Silence said, it is also an issue of preference. Figure it out yourself -- you wouldn't have a Buell if you didn't mind doing that, would you? |
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