| Author | Message | ||
     Zoedogg1 |
So I've been reading threads here and there and every once and a while I come across someone who posts how glad they were to have a steering damper. I have thought about it, but never that seriously. I do however find myself thinking about it often when Im on the road doing 70 to 80 mph and I start to get the higher speed vibrations in the front end. I have never had problems with this issue before, or with any of my previous bikes. But with my XB12R I feel that a tank slapping episode could be a possibility. The roads are in pretty good condition where I live, no big potholes or rutted highways for the most part. But, we have plenty of wind, which causes drifting and sudden steering glitches/corrections. What have you guys experienced in this department? And your ideas of a steering damper and the importance if any? Is it really gonna make it the much more safe? Really worth the 400 bucks?  | ||
| Darthane |
On good roads, with your suspension set up correctly and your wheels/tires in good shape, a tank-slapper should never be even a possibility, let alone a probability. Oh, and make sure you're not tense on the bars.  I've yet to ride in winds (50mph+ at some points) that made me feel like my front end was unstable. Blows the entire bike around with me on it, but not that the steering would oscillate. My XB9R is solid and steady up to triple digits, no damper. Some people swear by them, some think they're a crutch for otherwise flawed designs...I guess I'd look at it as peace of mind. I don't feel that my bike has any issues, so I think it's unnecessary. You seem to think yours does, so once you make sure that mechanically your bike is fine and physically you're not doing anything to contribute, if it still makes you nervous than only you can truly answer if you feel that that money is worth it. | ||
| Retrittion |
Recently rode my friend's Suzuki SV1000S, which comes with a damper stock, I noticed that the forks of his bike were rock steady on the highway, even at 90ish in the wind and rain on a less than stellar road surface while passing semis -- this compared to my XB12R without a damper, which always has a steady, minor, steering movement in similar situations. My suspension is set up very well, and the bike still handles well in those situations but it was interesting riding the SV and looking down and seeing zero fork movement -- and noticing that the automatic stabilization I always do on my 12R wasn't needed. It was a nice feeling -- similar to the feeling I had once I got my suspension setup really well and I noticed I didn't need to do as much to get the bike to do what I wanted. I am not suggesting that a damper is the be-all/end-all but I am going to mount one on my 12R when I have the $$$/time/figure out the technical stuff (mount-point mainly, thinking in front below the dash cluster but I'm not sure yet). Some extra stabilization will reduce my riding fatigue, help avoid catastrophic events, etc. and will only be a positive thin in my opinion. The damper will not remove the need for proper wheel-balancing, suspension tuning, rider technique (relax, bend elbows, light on the controls). Cheers, Ret (Message edited by retrittion on April 10, 2008) (Message edited by retrittion on April 10, 2008) | ||
| Old_man |
Zoedogg1, The problems you describe would not be solved with a steering damper. Something is amiss with your bike. If you still have the original Dunlop tires, they would be the first change I would make. A wheel balance job. Check the steering head torque. Wind may move the whole bike but not cause the problem you describe. My bike feels exactly the same, with or without the damper. | ||
| Kurosawa |
Mechanically, you'll want to make sure your steering head bearings are in good repair and properly lubed and torqued. I am not obsessive about fork alignment if I haven't taken a spill; all I do is loosen up the fork tube pinch bolts (the bottom or top pair only), put the bike in neutral, push it forward and jam on the front brake violently, repeating a few times, and tighten. The main thing during riding is to avoid the dread "death grip" on the bars. That's what can change an oscillation into a full-blown tank-slapper (another case of my learning by experience). I had problems avoiding the death grip on my 12R because I had to stretch to the bars. No probs after I fixed the ergos (Heli top triple clamp, Corbin seat, and even changing to a Zero Gravity ST shield helped relax my riding posture). Oh yeah I *did* change to Pirelli Diablo Strada tires, maybe that helps with this (it helped with everything else). | ||
| Skully |
After proper suspension set up and tire pressure, I've found that the cross sectional shape of the tire makes the biggest difference in how settled the bike feels. My '03 XB9S came with Dunlops, which were changed to Michelin Pilots which were changed to Pirellis. For me, the Pirellis make the bike much less twitchy and much more stable. For that reason, I also run Pirellis on my race bike. Note which tires Buell supplies on all the road going bikes these days. Just my two cents worth. Keith | ||
| Zoedogg1 |
Cool...I do have the stock tire up front still. I just had me suspension done also, so Im guessing it could indeed be the tires from what Im hearing. I have looked at he Pirelli's and the Pilot C2's. Perhaps that should be the next change. Good info guys, keep it coming! | ||
| Badlionsfan |
may i recommend the newest perelli, the diablo rosso. i've got just under 200 miles on mine now and i love them. my cornering skills aren't up to the level of many on this board, but these new skins are pretty darn confidence inspiring compared to my old scorpion syncs. i'm definitely going thru my familiar curves quicker and leaned over more than i could on the syncs. the rosso's have also had great reviews from people who know what they are doing. | ||
| Lamo |
have your wheel balance checked unless you're going to change your tyres very soon in which case they should be done anyway , just my two pennies worth. | ||
| Azxb9r |
I tried a Hyper-pro stabilizer on my Firebolt for a few weeks. My impression was that it might be worthwhile on the track, but on the street it was miserable. The main problem was low speed maneuvers. The steering was so sluggish(even adjusted to the lowest setting) that it was difficult to make the bike go where you wanted it to go. At high speeds it kept the bike from wanting to follow ruts, but that was the only advantage that I felt. The Buell seems to have a small amount of steering oscillation. At first I found it unnerving(which is why I bought the stabilizer), but once I got used to it I began to look at it as The bikes "self centering system". As long as you don't try to fight it with a death grip on the bars, it is not a problem. My advice would be to NOT buy a stabilizer for street riding. | ||
| Zoedogg1 |
I dont think its my tire balance so much as it is just needing new tires. As I rode back to work a few minutes ago from lunch, I realize now that I needed to loosen my grip more. I was feeling every single imperfection in the road which may have translated to me at the time that a steering damper might fix this. I do need new tires and think I may go with the Pirelli Corsa III's. They seem to be holding some of the strongest reviews all over the net by riders. But back to the damper, Im gathering that a damper could be slight overkill for a bike that already kicks serious ass unless I were to take it to the track on a very regular basis. Correct? | ||
| Azxb9r |
But back to the damper, Im gathering that a damper could be slight overkill for a bike that already kicks serious ass unless I were to take it to the track on a very regular basis. Correct? That would be my opinion...which is worth From what I understand, the Buell was designed to not need a damper. I think most will agree that they are better on the street without one. | ||
| Tx05xb12s |
I've got a LSL dampener on my bike, and in hindsight consider it pure farkle. The thing tracks solid to redline in 5th and I really don't think they're necessary on the XBs. However, if you've just got to blow $350 bucks, they can't hurt. The reason why I bought mine was to give me a little more stability on the front end when I punch it out of curves. The light front end and/or front tire off the ground while leaned over caused a little wobble intermittently depending on how hard I got on it coming out of a turn. It was a bit unsettling to me when I was a new rider. Now that I've got a few tens of thousands of miles under my belt, I even sometimes make it a point to try and slip the rear with the front tire in the air when I exit the curves. It feels pretty weird to powerslide out of a curve at first, but the XBs are so predictable I feel perfectly comfortable pushing my luck in this manner most of the time. It makes me say, "Wheeeee" to my face shield.  | ||
| Badlionsfan |
http://www.motorcycle.com/products/pirellis-red-de vil-70642.html | ||
| Zoedogg1 |
Good link Badlionsfan....my mind has been changed again...lol. NO REALLY it has. Thanks | ||
| Teddagreek |
I have a LSL... Truth is a lot of roads I like are Crappy... The damper makes a difference... My bike feels so much more planted... If I shift Hard and she lifts on second I don't even feel it anymore because it helps the bike track so true.. BTW the Corsa III's are Great... | ||
| Jos51700 |
I've never needed one, and always keep my bikes set up properly. Some here claim to need them. | ||
| M1combat |
"If I shift Hard and she lifts on second I don't even feel it anymore" And for the life of me I can't figure out why that's good. I'm not trying to pick on you. I'm just saying that the XB is very stable all of it's own accord. It oscillates in certain situations but motorcycles are SUPPOSED to do that. It's how they work. So anyway... I have an XB12R that I've put 45K miles on. About 20K of that has been on White Spar road heading SW out of Prescott AZ. Hwy 89 for the non-locals. It's not in that great of condition. I've bottomed the exhaust at highish lean angles on the S and the R model on this road, it has a number of places where the top layer of pavement is wearing down to the second layer and of course this is right about at the apexes. Road snakes and cattle guards in the middle of the turns abound. My R doesn't have a damper and I've never felt it needed one. Still don't. The S however has one. Not because of any strange behavior as such but being so used to the R I feel the S is just a TAD over eager with my inputs to the bars. That said... If it makes you feel better then by ALL means get one. Feeling confident is very important. | ||
| Cudajohn |
I had a tank slapper and I will be getting a better (more expensive) one on my next R. I had the LSL but it was suspect, I think it was defective as it did leak like a seal had given up and I believe th previous owner had not adjusted the forks when it was installed. I was just about to replace it with my next paycheck when I hit a bad patch of rode and toppled. I will never know whether it was the damper, the rode was just to bad, or God just hates me ???? My concern is that an ultra expensive side mount may restrict steering more so than the under slung LSL. I had the LSL disconnected several times to when trying to determine whether or not to replace it and was feeling the same shake when the weight came off the front tire. I really don't know but I have gone down after a tank slapper, maybe I didn't expertly react, but I feel like I need one for piece of mind and as it was said before, "Feeling confident is very important." | ||
| Darth_buell |
There was a thread about dynabeads that I started a while ago, check that out. Totally stopped my wobble. I TINY amount of shake on some bad roads. It's an insexpensive fix to tire balancing... It was an interesting thread though. That would be a good START. OK I said it's a godd START.  | ||
| Spatten1 |
One of our Denver riders crashed his R last week due to a very bad tank slapper that resulted after a saved near high side. I don't think he ever had a problem with stability in the past. | ||
| Kurosawa |
About the dynabeads, looks good but I've used Ride-On tire balancer and sealant for over 30 years in all my motorcycle tires, and it cools the tires and seals punctures as well as giving dynamic balance. So yes, wheel balance is important to stability. I think of a steering damper as a permanent Grip of Death on the forks. I had one built into my Guzzi V7 Sport and although I began riding with it on, eventually I rode with it off. (Message edited by kurosawa on April 12, 2008) (Message edited by blake on April 20, 2008) | ||
| Lost_in_ohio |
Unless required by a racing body, it is probably another Farkle, nothing wrong with that, please add and delete things from your bike. Everyone here enjoys looking at and discussing the results. The reason I say it is a Farkle is on public roads you have no business getting into a situation which requires one. | ||
| Teddagreek |
Its good if you take it into a wheelie sometimes  But I hear what your saying M1 I have an S... I don't have a lot of seat time on bolts so I really can't say, But my buddy swore by it on his R... Which is was sorta why I started looking at them to begin with.. I felt the same thing as you did that the bike was very sensitive to my inputs.. Its got better since I put the race suspension and crossroad bars on... I only use 1 or 2 clicks on the road, 3-4 if I'm screwing around doing wheelies, Which I'm not allowed to do any more according to my wife  .. When I commute to work its pretty much always off M1 hit on the head... "Feeling confident is very important." | ||
| Spatten1 |
The reason I say it is a Farkle is on public roads you have no business getting into a situation which requires one. Many people buy sportbikes to ride hard on twisty canyon roads, and wheelie when the bug hits them. Otherwise a Goldwing might be a better choice. | ||
| Dobr24 |
There are many reason beyond a riders control which would cause you have a tank slapper. Pothole, animal in the road, Going over a hill too much and lifting a wheel, the one that sold me was I passed a truck on a smooth road we both traveling in opposite directions at about 75-80mph. The wind blast from the front of his truck literally started a nasty tank slapper which I got to stop by letting go of the bars and letting the bike naturally track back to a straight line, not easy to do when you are scared shi-less. It was at that point that I decided to get a stabilizer. You do not need to have a stabilizer set to a really high level, I cannot even feel mine. Its job is to merely stop the super fast oscillations of the bars which you cannot do with your hands, human reactions are not that fast, a nice side affect is it can solve some steering issues on bikes which have steering issues, Buells don't. I agree with everyone here who says your bike should feel planted in the corners, if set up properly, due to physics, any bike should feel that way. If you need a steering stabilizer to get that feeling you should be looking at all the other things mentioned above. Oh, to answer you real question of how important, not very except that one time you really need it. If you need justification look at how many professional racers bikes have them, and that is their paying job. Kind of like a hard hat to a construction worker. (Message edited by dobr24 on April 12, 2008) | ||
| Cudajohn |
Amen Dobr24. IDK if my pot hole would have bucked me w/o or w/o one or a "better" one for that matter. I do know I will be getting a top shelf one for my next bike. Once you had a tank slapper that resulted in a couple 3rd degree burns two broke ankles, f'ed up neck, 2 months off work and a couple more getting back into the swing of things, and worst of all you lose your bike then a $400 steering dampner just makes you feel a lil' bit better. | ||
| Old_man |
Dobr24, You tell it like it is. A steering damper is something you don't need, until you need it. My damper is set so that my bike feels no different from how it feels without the damper. It is like the shock absorber in your suspension. It damps high speed movement, set up right the normal slow speed movement of steering is not different from a bike without a damper. | ||
| Glitch |
If you need justification look at how many professional racers bikes have them, and that is their paying job. Take a look at the rule book, many many places require you to have them weather you need them or not. But, I'm not here to tell you that you don't need one. I don't. If it will make you a more confident rider, then by all means go out and buy one. Confidence on a bike is very important, so if it makes you more confident then it's important to you. FWIW I know some very competent riders end up in a tank slapper with a steering damper installed, adjusted properly, and working. my 2ยข | ||
| Old_man |
In my over 45 years of motorcycling I never encountered a tank slapper. My Buell and one of my Yamhas were equipped with dampers. None of the many other bikes I owned or have ridden had a damper. Perhaps I will never need one. But, none the less, I put one on my Buell. Cheap insurance, like my hospital insurance, I hope I never need to use it. |
