Do steering dampers effect handling?

Its in your head, esp on the TL
The faster you go on them, the more you feel and need that damper.
I went from stock, stock with heavy oil, to ohlins that i could tighten or loosen depending on speeds. I think the real issue is the TL, not the damper. It takes a little muscle to throw them around. That and the stock setup, lower the preload 2mm and itll turn much much faster..

 

I think thier over-rated. All the new bikes have them just because it's a fad. I love how quick and sharp my bike handles, I would never mess it up by puting one on my bike. Yeah, I get head-shake once in a while but it's usually my fault and easy to correct.

 

those head shakes can easily turn into a tank slapper

I mean if your gonna take off your dampener to imrove handling or cuz their overated may as well take the chain gaurd off to save weight

the problem with circumventing safety issues is that for the most part your gonna be fine but when youd need them its too late.

Its kinda like keeping a condom in the wallet
its there for when you need it
if you dont have it in there an accident can happen

 

I don't have one on my bike and love the way it handles, granted it is 16 years old

 

That's why I like the reactive hyperpro damper I have. You can adjust it, but the more your bike wants to slap the more damping effect it has. Which means it still works well when you have it turned down.

 

I would die without my damper. It's amazing. It's a GPR so I can adjust it while riding if I want to, makes a huge difference

 

+1 my gpr rocks and no more tank slappers.

 

Yeah, I see your point. When I first started riding, I got into a couple of head shakes. It was always a combination of errors. Accelerating hard over a bump with a death grip on the bars. I learned how to loosen up on the bars and no more problem.

I just don't think that thier that big of a deal unless your bike is really unstable. Also, if your bike handled better without it isn't that a more important safety issue? What did people do before race bikes had stabilizers?

 

most people on most 600s don't need them on the street. A properly adjusted damper shouldn't negatively affect your handling. Before they had dampers, they crashed where a damper might have saved them.



On the track, you need a damper. For example, coming over the crest on the back straight the front wheel will lift off the ground without you realizing right as you try to brake for turn 5. Trying to turn the wheel a bit and brake while the front tire is hovering over the ground is bad news without a damper to corrale the slap you are about to get.

 

they crashed all the time,:mrgreen:
dampers are a very good investment if you ride hard.
if you say that you have been in a bad head shake and a damper wuld have not helped then , i really dont think you have had a serious head shake. sorry drd2 not talkin shit here.
crashed once and saved two very bad ones. to be honest i dont know how the hell i came out of the other two. the stock dampers arnt all that great but , they will help aid you in a very violant head shake. the only thing is alot of people crank them down so tight that they can steer properly, then they crash because of that. you want to really not even know they are there. i wish i had a stock one, or one for that matter.

 

A steering damper will not negatively affect your bike's turn-in or handling.... unless it's set way too stiff.

Liking a "quick turning" bike is no reason to not have a steering damper. I like to keep the rubber side down, therefor I have a damper.

 

+1 , some good info here. I wouldn't take it off if I were you but thats MO. Aftermarket dampers are a lot more difficult to deal with in parking lots and slow manuervering, but you'll get the hang of it. I have the stock damper on my R1 and I know it's saved my ass coming down from high speed powerwheelies into a bump in the road. Thats never a good thing, and I have felt the benefits of the damper on more than one occasion. My R6 never had one and one day it would have came in really really handy - but I was just damn lucky.
If you ride hard, you'll want one.

 

Well put everybody. I really have no room to talk, I've never riden a bike with one. Now I want to try it out.

 

:roll:

they are not on the new bikes because they are a fad, there is a reason for them.. a 'violent' head-shake/tank slapper cannot be corrected and that is why dampers are necessary and well worth having one on your bike...

 

Overrated? Are you high??? Wait til you get into a full-blown, lock-to-lock tank slapper and I bet you'll think different. All the bikes have them cuz they NEED them! It's no fad. Have you ever even used one before to form this opinion? I'm guessing not. :roll:

I have one on my dirt bike and motard and wouldn't dream of riding either without, let alone a sport bike.

 

by the sound of that comment i'd say you think sportbikes are a fad as well and that is why you ride one....

 

you have one on your dirt bike and motard?:scratchea , that kinda seems like a waste of money, but to each there own. i wouldnt say that its a nessesity , but it will def help out in the event of a tank slapper. never seen a dirt bike or motard get one tho.

 

obviously you've never ridden a dirtbike hard enough to experience the business end of a whoops section.. until you have/do, you just won't know.. i don't have a damper on each of my bikes but i do swap my one damper back and forth from my sportbike, to my supermoto, and to my dirtbike.