Steering dampers?

[pete-blen]

Are they worth the $ they ask for them ?

[rapid van cleef]

I think it depends on what type of riding you do. If your going on a track and want to give it some then Id recommend it. They are not a fail safe. Ive had a few head shakes, albeit minor ones with a damper on my bike which I would imagine would have been far worse if I didnt have a damper...who knows? Its a risk Id rather not take to be honest. And generally I think there is a lot of risk management involved in riding a bike on the road or the track. I've never experienced a major tank slapper but know a few people that have( without a damper) and life flashing before the eyes stories stories are usually recited...

[scott411]

I run a Ohlins under the bar one, and have run GPR and WER in the past as well,

the ohlins is leaps and bounds ahead of the others and i think worth the money, once you get used to riding with them they are hard to go away from,

[tigertim20]

my personal experience has been that they have been more useful on the road than on the track, due to the road having a surface that is typically much less uniform than that of a track.

however, whether my riding was more suited to a road or a track at the time is another conversation altogether.

Id say they are worth it if you can find them in good nick second hand.

[motor_mayhem]

I run a Ohlins under the bar one, and have run GPR and WER in the past as well,

the ohlins is leaps and bounds ahead of the others and i think worth the money, once you get used to riding with them they are hard to go away from,

what about the scott ones? I'm told they're pretty good.

Honda mx bikes from 08 on the 450 and 09 on the 250 have them built in, it's not the best available but it has turned a few (what would likely have been) crashes into near misses.

[scott411]

what about the scott ones? I'm told they're pretty good.

Honda mx bikes from 08 on the 450 and 09 on the 250 have them built in, it's not the best available but it has turned a few (what would likely have been) crashes into near misses.

scott's are made by ohlins, they are good as well,

[p.dath]

My current bike is the first one I have had that came with a steering damper, and I love it.

I think it would be best to say you don't notice having a steering damper, but you notice the absence of one.

It makes riding more enjoyable and carefree, as you don't have to worry as much about the road surface and the bars having private little moments together without you.

[IIIRII]

my personal experience has been that they have been more useful on the road than on the track, due to the road having a surface that is typically much less uniform than that of a track.

however, whether my riding was more suited to a road or a track at the time is another conversation altogether.

Id say they are worth it if you can find them in good nick second hand. .

Yeah......
Im pretty sure this is the off road forum....

I have never had head shake before or after a steering damper, probably dont ride fast enough, but I can tell the difference with or without the damper in sand , it definately helps to keep the bike pointed in the right direction & its really obvious over tree roots etc: like in Maramarua, where the bars might get a hard deflection.

I bought a second hand one for a good price just to try it and ended up keeping it , & then bought a brand new scotts for my new bike as well.

I guess its all proportional to how much you want to spend, I need all the help I can get .......

[Jay GTI]

Yeah......
Im pretty sure this is the off road forum....

I have never had head shake before or after a steering damper, probably dont ride fast enough, but I can tell the difference with or without the damper in sand , it definately helps to keep the bike pointed in the right direction & its really obvious over tree roots etc: like in Maramarua, where the bars might get a hard deflection.

I bought a second hand one for a good price just to try it and ended up keeping it , & then bought a brand new scotts for my new bike as well.

I guess its all proportional to how much you want to spend, I need all the help I can get .......

Yeah people often just read the active topics and don't look at the section, have also posted dirt-specific questions like how best to corner and then got a whole load of replies about how to get my knee down.

Anywho... I've never had head shake either, even though my bike is supposedly known for it, but talking to a guy at Kimmy's with a 350SXF with the Scott (I think) damper he couldn't believe I could ride without one. We were going to swap bikes so I could see for myself, but my mate wanted to pack up at that point. He was similar though, reckoned he could never go back to riding without, so I'd love to try one.

[tigertim20]

[QUOTE=IIIRII;1130619258]Yeah......
Im pretty sure this is the off road forum....



my bad. I just click the threads that look interesting in 'whats new'