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I tried the search button.......Looking for a steering damper

2K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  Sokali 
#1 ·
I did use the search button but it did not help me.

I have a 06 919 and I am looking for a steering damper, not the 400 dollar one, something around 100 bucks. Does one exist? If so, where and how much?

I heard the GSXR will work, but I have only hear-say....

Anyone can help?

Thanks
 
#4 ·
Just to beat everyone else to the punch, why do you want a damper? After putting over 60,000 miles of not very gentle riding on my '02, I can honestly say I have never encountered a situation where a damper would have been necessary. If your bike is exhibiting a tendency to shake it's head it may be indicating a problem with tire quality, inflation, or misalignment, or you are overcontrolling it and causing the problem yourself -- very common, but unlikely given your experience. At any rate, I have always found the 919 to be a very stable bike. Sorry I can't be of more help in the damper department.

Rob
 
#5 ·
I had a 1984 Nighthawk S back when, and while stationed in Okinawa and a Japanese person politely helped himself to it, at least they did not smash the tank or slice the tires while removing it, just took the damper, and the bike had a shake at 30ish with hands off the handlebars, so my 919 has the SAME exact shake, and being the damper fixed the Nighthawk, I just figured it would go with this bike as well.

Been told that rear preload might make a difference, any input to this?

and 400-500 bucks is deffinatly out of the question for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the replys so far!
 
#6 ·
Most current sportbikes and "standards" exhibit this behaviour between 30 to 40 mph, and I've never heard a satisfactory explanation for it. I know mine oscillates at about 3 cycles per second between those speeds but the amplitude never goes past a few degrees, never gets out of hand, and the lightest touch on the bars stops it. Actually, it can be entertaining to watch. My speculation is the considerable difference in the width of the rear contact patch to the front causes the front tire to hunt for alignment, but once the edge of the contact patch goes past the width of the rear it starts back in the other direction. As for why it happens in that speed range it may be the decreasing gyroscopic forces are overcome by the physical self alignment forces, then as the speed decreases further the physical forces decrease to below the threshold of oscillation. I know it is more pronounced when the rear tire is worn flat in the middle.

I refuse to worry about it, and am not going to spend $100 to "fix" it, much less $400!

Rob
 
#7 ·
II have a 06 919 and I am looking for a steering damper, not the 400 dollar one, something around 100 bucks. Does one exist? If so, where and how much?
Thanks
The old saying " you get what you pay for " hold true when talkign about dampers. I bought a Daytona one for my RD350, only to have it sieze and almost put me in the weeds . It looks like one of the seals failed , allowing the oil to slowly seap out , slow enough I didnt notice it and I notice stuff like that , and when it got pushed while doing some harder riding, it didnt want to return to center - And to add , it wasnt rebuildable ! There was 150 bucks wasted !
If you going to get one, save up and get a good one -
:cheers:
 
#9 ·
There is no wobble at speed, just slightly noticable at about 30-40 and when it is decellerating. I will live with it, like Rob stated above, put a hand on the bars and it is gone.

I can live with it...

And as for you get what you pay for, I realize that, I was just looking to see if there was one out there for way less than the 400-500 bucks I have found that will work. There are lower priced things that work equally as well.......Maybe not for the steering damper.
 
#15 ·
I had a head shake problem for a while. It took quite a bit of trial and error to find out my bike simply doesn't like Dunlop 208s.

Honda replaced head bearings, paid to have forks pulled and inspected along with everything else up front. Even tried another D208. (This was all being done at the same dealer who was very helpful in trying to figure this out.)

In the end after swapping to Pilot Powers the problem was solved 100%.

I also agree, the 919 doesn't need a stabilizer, if she does shake, soemthing just isn't right.
 
G
#17 ·
I bought a new Scotts steering damper but when I realized I had to make a weld to my frame I decided not to install it. I paid $431 for it online, and THAT was cheap! Hey, it certainly looked cool in the box!

So, my reason for wanting one? Because I notice the 919 is extremely light. Lighter than any bike I've owned. And it steers REALLY quick! I noticed right away that since the front is so light and the steering so easy, that if you just happen to let off the handlebars to adjust your helmet, wipe a bug of your shield, adjust your mirror, or whatever, the bike does NOT handle well if you are not on a freshly blacktopped road. I notice that the slightest groove or small pot hole or pebble with jerk the steering VERY easily if you have one hand off the bars! Scares the crap out of me! I figured the Scotts would remedy this. All my past bikes, being heavier by about 100 pounds, and not having radials, never had this problem. I'm certainly not going to blame the Michelin radials. I blame the lightness of the front end.

Besides, the Scotts steering stabilizer would have looked cool.

But no, I never did find a "cheap" one that got any decent reviews. I did sell my Scotts for $250 on Craigslist in 1 day! (I took a loss up the *ss on THAT deal.)

Good luck, I hope you find the damper/stabilizer you're looking for. Just beware: the Scotts needs welding on some bikes.
 
#20 ·
The geometry on the 919 is so lazy it just doesn't need a damper... You can even land crossed up wheelies & it still doesn't get out of shape and I know I have pushed the 919 a lot harder than most do both on the track & out in the twisty roads and have never had anything even remotely close to a tank slapper... The bike may not offer any feedback, but you can't say it isn't stable.

If you get a slight oscillation of the bars on deceleration then that is because of the cupping on the front tire. Change to a new front tire and the wobble goes away. Very common problem and it has been for the last seven years. I can't even believe this subject still comes up...
 
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