Steering Dampers?

I was talking to a new rider at work and he was asking me what I knew about steering dampers. I explaned to him what they were and the basics. Then he asked me if they were worth the money for street/tour riding and weekend trips. I never really thought about it hard and kind of figured they were for the track, so I told him I wasn't sure. Now he has me wondering. Is a steering damper a good upgrade for a sport tour bike. How much difference do they really make?

A steering damper is like gear: a waste of money until you need it. Also, if it works, you'll never know it.

Most street bikes shouldn't need one if they are not already experiencing something like overtightened or loose steering bearings, or some other shake inducing problem. The damper would just mask the problem. However, if everything is good, tires are not overly worn, etc,... I would not spend the money just for normal street riding. Touring bikes in particular generally have pretty stable geometrys.

In cases where the front end gets exceptionally light, as under hard acceleration, a bump might start the front end to wobbling, even on a bike properly set up. Here a damper might help. There were a few times on the VFR where I had full luggage and a passenger and the extra weight would make the front end wiggle as I accelerated out of corners. The solution was to get my weight as far forward as possible. If the rider likes doing wheelies, a damper could make the difference between just a rough set down and a nasty drop

Rainmaker said:

I was talking to a new rider at work and he was asking me what I knew about steering dampers. I explaned to him what they were and the basics. Then he asked me if they were worth the money for street/tour riding and weekend trips. I never really thought about it hard and kind of figured they were for the track, so I told him I wasn't sure. Now he has me wondering. Is a steering damper a good upgrade for a sport tour bike. How much difference do they really make?

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Erik - Every one on an R6 or R1 that i spoke to always advised me to get a steering damper. Even the Yamaha service people that happen to be very good friends of mine, from before - recommended i get one.

One of them is also a CMRA licensed racer and has a R1 - he strongly suggested i get one.

Having said all of that - i dont have a steering damper. I dont think i need one either. I do all sorts of riding and in all sorts of conditions. From night to day, from rain to shine. On bumps to smooth. Highspeed Freeway to Slow and quick cornering, and let me just say the only time i ever wished i had a Steering dampner, is when i come down from a wheelie hard or when i take of suddenly and the front end comes up, and while going back down - i can sense a slight tank slap almost begining to happen, but just a little bit straightening of the arms takes care of that. Nothing major.

Now i have a 2-3 track days in the next month so after experiencing that i'll know for sure if i need it for the track or not - my guess i wont. We'll have to find out.

Hope that helps, even though its all against the idea of Steering Dampers.

After a bunch of research on the topic, while trying to decide for myself, I have found that most people recommend them on bike with either a steep rake (<24.5deg.) or with a short trail (<95mm). Once I even found a formula that would help, but I can't find which of the 400 links it is. Maybe it's time I organize my Favorites. The average sport touring bike has about 25deg rake and 100mm of trail where as the sport bike is right at those limits.

BlackWidow said:

Erik - Every one on an R6 or R1 that i spoke to always advised me to get a steering damper. Even the Yamaha service people that happen to be very good friends of mine, from before - recommended i get one.

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This usually stems from the 2003-2004 R6 having a 120/60-17 front tire. It made the bike have a 24 deg. rake and 89mm trail. Everyone complimented the bike on have razor sharp handling, but it was twitchy at high speeds and sometimes would easily get out of shape. In 2005 Yamaha changed the front tire to a 120/70-17 which gave the bike a 24.5 deg. rake and 94mm of trail. This brought it back to a more "standard" sport bike setting thus reducing the razor sharp handling, but making it more stable at higher speeds. This also made it a little safer for those of us who aren't Jamie Hacking.

BlackWidow said:

One of them is also a CMRA licensed racer and has a R1 - he strongly suggested i get one.

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Just a note, all bikes that race in CMRA are required to have one.

Skid

I think for 95% of riders on the street a damper would not be needed. That said, a lot of the newer sportbikes are being delivered with them from the factory. It just depends on your riding style and intensity.

Skid - those figures are pretty interesting. Changing the front tire even just a bit can seriously affect the handling characteristics. The SV's are delivered with 120/60's in front... but i've seen a lot of people run the 120/70's due to their increased availablity, etc (me included). It's always good to readjust the suspension when changing tires from those that are OEM.