| Author | Message | ||
     Ustorque |
so i'm thinking about picking up a steering damper and i was leaning toward the lsl based on mounting location. which ones are you guys using and how do you like them?  | ||
| Skinstains |
As soon as I can afford one I'm getting a GPR, they now make them for XB's. | ||
| Ochoa0042 |
I was going to buy a GPR seems to me the best type.. as because the GPR is easily adjustable, is in a great place for someone to say "is that a GPR?!", and looks good The other piston-rod-types either getin the way of your front wheel clearence.... or looks out of place and can stab you in the leg (Message edited by ochoa0042 on November 17, 2008) | ||
| Ustorque |
have you ever used a GPR? not sure how their sport bike ones are, but i have used them on dirt bikes in the past and i was not happy with them. they only dampen when there is a shock to the steering head, it is not a constant friction. | ||
| Ochoa0042 |
??? no damper on any of my bikes I emailed them one time long ago for some picks... havent deleted them yet, here ya go...      | ||
| Ustorque |
yeah i've looked at it, it's a really good looking unit and the ones i had for my dirt bikes were very nice units they just didn't function the way i wanted them to. | ||
| 2008xb12scg |
More noob questions. What does a steering damper do? And why would you want it? | ||
| Desmo900 |
Steering damper's mask poor suspension and chassis setup. Not sure why you would want one. | ||
| Desmo900 |
oh forgot the most important reason.. Major bling points, they really look cool i must say. | ||
| 2008xb12scg |
wouldn't it make more sense to fix the suspension? | ||
| Randomchaos |
Stearing dampers help bikes with extreme rake and trail, like sportbikes. They are prone to going into tank slappers due to if you get the front and rear tires unaligned. Stearing damper will help control that shake and keep the bike under control. Some racing organizations require one on the bike as well. | ||
| Midnight12ss |
I got the GPR unit on my xb, it is worth the extra bucks. I can adjust on the fly, looks great, wide range of adjustability and you can remove it quickly if you want to. It has made the bike more stable on rough mountain roads.  Tried to upload pics but keep getting error on size. If anyone wants to see pics then I can email them to you. | ||
| Ochoa0042 |
no other damper for a buell has 20settings! I wanted to get one because my stoppies were getting unaligned for odd reasons, but I changed my style/method and skipped out on a damper.... My friends supermoto get really mad headshake at =70+ mph, if you get headshake like that you prolly need one, or if you have the cash= for the cool factor | ||
| Petebueller |
I run the LSL. It is tidy and it works for me. You'd needed to drop the forks through by about 70mm on an XB-R or XB-S. Longer suspension may not need it. I had mine through 100mm anyway because I preferred the way it handles like that.   | ||
| Trojan |
LSL state in their instructions that they recommend the forks are dropped through the yokes to avoid hitting the front mudguard (fender), althoughto be honest if you have yoususpensionset properly for your weight this should not be necessary. I have run the LSL damper on both the R and S models without moving the forks without hitting the front fender at all. | ||
| Ustorque |
thanks matt! | ||
| Skinstains |
Many race organizations require one. That is the only reason I would drop 1/2 a G on something I don't need. | ||
| Petebueller |
I'd agree Trojan. The only time that it runs out of clearance is when the suspension is strapped down to put it on a trailer. I don't know how you could get it that low riding it, but the fact that it can touch when strapped down is possibly the reason that LSL recommends dropping the forks down. | ||
| Babyhuey |
i run the lsl on my race bike and believe me that it can touch under hard braking or stoppies. if you can manage to full compress the frontend it'll touch. | ||
| Dc29 |
Man you guys must never get your front tire off the ground. I'm pretty sure my forks bottom out hard when I have a "OH SHAT" moment just at balance point and have to get off the gas and front crashes to the earth. Thats the clearance problem. If your pulling bike down that far your over doing it.Forks should never stay bottomed out. | ||
| Ochoa0042 |
the only way you can stoppie is to bottom out if there is ever space to most in the forks the rear wheel will never lift up And on track days I have lifted the rear wheel a few times with the 1125R and firebolts | ||
| Dc29 |
Bottom out while riding, racing, stunting, happens but forks rebound. If straped down to the bottom to transport bike not good.If you strap down that tight look at angle of forks in relation to level trailer. Sudden stop will flip bike over forwards into tow vehicle. Tie down rear tire or rear of bike when this condition exist. I seen it happen. Am I off topic or what? | ||
| Ochoa0042 |
I seen it happen. Am I off topic or what? ehh 50/50  I must of got the wrong message when reading Dc29  .... I thought you were saying forks should never bottom out when hard braking....  | ||
| Dc29 |
If you don't bottom em sometime you ain't riding it hard enough,or your roads must be smoother than mine.LOL  | ||
| Blackdog |
Here's mine.  | ||
| Dcmortalcoil |
Not so sure about whether it can take the stress from a heavy sharp slapper with a single 1/4" bolt connecting to the frame. | ||
| Trojan |
If you don't bottom em sometime you ain't riding it hard enough Forks should never, ever bottom out. If they do then they are adjusted badly or wrongly for your style of riding. If you do lots of stoppies then you should adjust the forks to suit that (although why you would want to risk damaging frame, steering head bearings and other parts just to show off has always been beyond me really). The whole point of hydraulic forks is to absorb bumps and shocks (hence the name shock absorber). If they are bottomed (or topped) out then they are not doing anything other than connecting the front wheel to the frame and you may as well run solid girder forks  | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
 I like having a steering damper on the bike. It makes it a bit more stable when doing fast transitions, when the front wheel gets light, and when cornering over bumps. I use an Ohlins side mounted damper on my XB12SR, and my Harley FXDX, using home made custom mounts. Personally I like the "naked" mechanical looks of these bicycles, and the "sidewinder" says you are there to do the business. Noam sayin'?  | ||
| Ochoa0042 |
Not so sure about whether it can take the stress from a heavy sharp slapper with a single 1/4" bolt connecting to the frame When I was thinking of buying the GPR, I was going to get a CNC machinists to modd/make the arm to have double struts.... to balance out the looks, and just in case 1arm is not strong enough |
