I'm really conflicted whether I should get a steering damper.
I had a crash last week. I was merging onto the highway, got onto the throttle hard in 3rd and wound it out. I headed for the left lane , then started turning right to straighten out. Anyway, in the middle of correcting and at peak power, I hit a concrete patch which sent the bike into a violent tank slapper and I was down in under half a second. It went slap slap slap and I was off. I know how to handle a tank slapper, but I didn't get a chance to do or not do anything.
I've never gotten a full blown tank slapper before. I've had little speed wobbles here and there, usually under heavy throttle while on an incline or over a crest. But never a tank slapper. I had the suspension base line dialed in for my weight by a suspension tuner last fall. I rebuilt the forks over the winter. So I don't think it's a suspension issue. The front tire is questionable. It's a Pilot Road 3 take off from a sport touring guy. He did 3,000 miles or so on it then put a new one on for an upcoming trip. I needed a tire, he gave me the take off, and I put that one on in March. It didn't give me any problems. I'm going to check headstock bearings soon.
So knowing people like to use dampers to mask suspension issues, and knowing many triumph fans think that the t595/speed triple/955i daytona bikes do not need one, I'm conflicted on what to do. I don't want to throw on a $500 part that isn't needed, but I don't want to crash again either. I'm a light guy, 130 lbs, which is debate-ably conducive to tank slappers. And if a damper could prevent another tank slapper in the future, I think it's worth investigating.
One last thing, not trying to blame my crash on anyone or anything other than myself. It was me myself and I that caused me to go down. I was being stupid and I take full responsibility for the consequences.
IIRC, Rule of thumb was 24 degrees rake. Above and you are OK, below and there are issues and you need a damper.. It sounds to me like you hit a rough patch on the road. That is what makes the street fun (dangerous). So why do you feel your bike should have handled it any better? Was your front tire in the air? It doesn't matter what sort of steering enhancements you have if your tire is up in the air.. Now the important stufff....
You are OK? Is the bike OK?
Do you love your gear?
I've never found a downside to having my damper. One upside I have found is that, when I'm on the bay bridge, turning it up when winds are high seems to dampen the wobble that makes my bunghole pucker up.
I have ridden bikes with steering dampers but never owned one. So my opinion is half-assed at best. There are those that see ALL my opinions as half-assed so I don't worry about it.
My limited experience is that low speed steering requires way more effort then it should. Although they tell me (they being the local street racers) that the newer, electronic dampers by Honda, BMW and Suzuki are not like that.
I hope to find out. I finally found a bike that might do as a replacement for my trusty Fazer. It is an '08 'blade and has an electronic steering damper.
As far as the high pucker factor, Look in the mirror and tell yourself that you didn't enjoy it deep in your soul. Or at least surviving it one more time.
Cheating death is fun, you just have to remember that death always wins, but not this time.
Sorry about your crash, Mango. Hope you and the bike are okay or at least healing quickly.
Take care of the obvious first, by which I mean your front tire. It's at least suspect. Do you know that the tire pressure was okay? Sometimes when a tire is re-mounted the bead seating isn't so great and they slowly leak air.
Get the bike back on the road with a fresh front tire, pay religious attention to the tire pressure, and ride it for a while before deciding if you need a damper. I suspect you don't, or the bike would have come with one in the first place.
You're on a Street Triple, right? Rake on a Street is 24.3 degrees, compared to a Daytona which has 22.9 degrees and does have a damper. A damper might overcome a problem like a bad tire or an underinflated tire, but it'd be better to fix the main problem rather than add a bandaid.
Yeah, I'm ok. Some road rash which is taking forever to heal but nothing major. Bike is ok too :banana just some scuffs on hard parts. I've found everything to make it look like it never happened. I checked the tire pressure in the am and it was spot on after sitting three weeks. I rode to work, left to go home, then it happened. So I'm pretty sure the tire pressure was ok, but I can't say for 100% sure. I'm going to check the pressure again soon (been sitting a week since the incident, so I'll know if it's leaking)
I'm on a speed triple. Rake should be right at 24. I do realize that dampers are usually bandaids, but I don't see a downside yet besides the cost.
I read something years ago about tankslappers and the article stated that most are caused from improper weight distribution, as in body position on the bike. The only time I had one was accelerating uphill, which of course makes the front end very light.
Never had one on mine, never wanted it. I didn't need a gizmo to ride my bike, it was my job. Yeah, it would go into harmonic oscillations if I got into the right situation. So I stayed out of those situations.
Mine has an easy access dial right on top from 0-20. I normally leave it turned to the happy point where slow speed isn't affected that much but still gives some resistance, but if I want to turn it up or down it takes 2 seconds of my left hand off the bar to do it.
Fast enough for me. Since I ride Jap, I don't need to push.
That is a joke. I have no smilies this morning. You know what they say; "Never miss an opportunity to dig on Euro trash or Harlys.
Oh man. Sounds scary as hell. From what I've heard, the best thing to do is to have as little input as possible and be looose on the bars. You should also keep the gas on within reason.
That being said, if that happened to me, I don't think I could do what is described above. I would probably clench every muscle in my body and make the situation worse. Damned survival responses.
The rear didn't kick out, I assure you. The shock is fine. I wouldn't call a 3 way adjustable showa shock a bargain bin unit either..... It isn't the best, but it's still better than 90% of the stock shocks that come on even on modern bikes. The stock spring is also bang on for my weight.
I guess it was a bad combo of road surface, sport touring front tire (never had a chance to re-grip), poor rider choice, and front end loading at the wrong moment. It never did it before, and hasn't done it since.
My XT660R had Brembo calipers, do you think those Brembo calipers were amazing? Nope, they were just like any other cheap floating calipers with no feel at all. It's mass produced stuff that is made to a price point, any manufacturer can do that, so the brand name does not matter. For example, read the reviews on the newer GSX-Rs with Brembo calipers, notice how no one compliments the brakes on them? Then compare the Brembo calipers on a GSX-R to the Brembo calipers on a Ducati, notice any difference?
The fact that it is a Showa doesn't matter...
What matters is that the shock is 13 years old, there is no nitrogen left in it, the oil in there has been contaminated and won't resemble its former self, not to mention that some of it will be gone. Just like forks, shocks have to be serviced too.
I am confused, regardless of my confusion, is not what you know, but how you act on any giving situation. I would listen to Tripped1 suggestions.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Sport Bikes
3.5M posts
125.7K members
Since 2004
A forum community dedicated to all sport bike owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, track racing, modifications, troubleshooting, maintenance, builds and more!