Steering damper

[cardingtr]

Never had one but for our kind of bike riding in the street and highways up to maybe an occasional 100+mph, do you need a steering damper for safety or prevent a tankslapper? My friend on his 900cc Kawa had one but I ride faster than him on any curves and sweepers..and he told me I should get one? I don't think I'm getting one but maybe one of us got one?

Ric

 

[wfooshee]

Show of hands: everybody here who has crashed their Feej and then said, while recovering in the hospital, "Damn it all! If only I'd had a steering damper!!!!!"

Didn't think so.

I dunno. It might help the guys with worn front tires who insist on letting go of the bars, just to see if it shakes. . . .

 

[allrider]

1st of all, guys with Kawasaki's need steering dampers and should not ride without them. He just wants you to be like him.

 

[RadioHowie]

On motorcycles, what one buys and installs on them very rarely equates to "what is needed" as opposed to "what is wanted."

Personally, I've wanted a steering dampener for my Feej from Day 1....not because it needs one....but because I want one!

That being said, to my knowledge (and fair search skills) no one makes one for the FJR. Believe me, I've looked. Good luck.

BTW, I DO have one on my ZRX:

 

[wfooshee]

My '85 Fiero had a steering damper. Really! Best thing I ever did to that POS was remove the steering damper!

Ok, not a valid comparison, but worth every bit of the effort I put into it, and every penny you paid to see it!

 

[RadioHowie]

My '85 Fiero had a steering damper. Really! Best thing I ever did to that POS was remove the steering damper!Ok, not a valid comparison, but worth every bit of the effort I put into it, and every penny you paid to see it!

My! How relevant!

 

[Solo]

I don't got one...maybe someone else got one. Speak up!

[Grate, grate...Maybe someone else has one.]

And I don't miss it either.

Let's see, you are faster than your buddy in curves. He has a steering dampner, and you don't. He thinks you should get one too. Is he trying to slow you down?

 

[Fred W]

Steering dampers are only needed on bikes with a relatively steep rake. That kind of geometry has two effects, it makes the bike turn in quicker and it reduces the stability in a straight line. The stock FJRs steering angle is is fairly relaxed, and therefore pretty stable.

If one were to put on a longer (taller) rear shock, or raising dog bones, or maybe slip the front forks up in the tubes a little in the triple trees, you would effectively steepen the steering angle. It would make the bike turn in quicker, and become less stable. And maybe at that point it would be a good idea to put a dampener on.

 

[ionbeam]

Short wheelbase, steep rake, short trail, steering damper please.

Honda CBR 600 RR

Rake: 24.0°

Trail: 3.7 inches

Wheelbase: 54.7 inches

Long wheelbase, milder rake, lots of trail, steering damper completely unnecessary.

FJR1300 Gen II

Rake: 26°

Trail 4.3 in

Wheelbase: 60.8 inches

Edit: I see Helpful Fred was supplying the correct answer while I was typing.

 

[cardingtr]

Thanks. And besides, even on steeper raked bikes, do you need a steering damper riding it on the streets? I don't see it.

 

[ionbeam]

Thanks. And besides, even on steeper raked bikes, do you need a steering damper riding it on the streets? I don't see it.

I would say yes, even on the streets. In order for a small street bike to be highly responsive it needs to be designed to be on the edge of stability, the steering damper keeps it manageable for the average street rider. High performance military aircraft are also built to be just past the edge of stability and depend on computer controls to keep the airplane flyable.