Steering damper

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Totally my fault for the closing speed to the truck I came up on. 18 wheeler in the center lane, truck went left to pass as I was closing in on them both. I thought the truck was going faster than it was, or he slowed down some. I got to within 40 feet of the truck, and at 75 mph, there's just no time to really do anything. Median wall to my left, truck in front of me, 18 wheeler to my right, so not a lot I could do except hit the damn rock. I got lucky. Bike probably weighs 425 lbs loaded? I really don't know.
 
Iv got a gpr wouldn't trade it for the world o man. I took it off for a day once and couldn't believe how much I needed it. I'm a dealer dean. If you want to work out a deal I can get one to you for not want they make me sticker them at if you know what I mean haha pm me or just text me man.
 
Iv got a gpr wouldn't trade it for the world o man. I took it off for a day once and couldn't believe how much I needed it. I'm a dealer dean. If you want to work out a deal I can get one to you for not want they make me sticker them at if you know what I mean haha pm me or just text me man.

John422 - sent you a PM with a question.
 
The xb felt a little twitchy riding it yesterday, I know it's probably the steering stem bearings on their way out but I went ahead and got one of these on order today. My 1190 feels soooo much more stable at any speed, it came with a damper stock. It's not an adjustable one, but still, it makes a world of difference. Anyway, figured it couldn't hurt much installing one. This one below is adjustable and rebuildable, I believe they stated it's a Shindy (japanese) made unit.

Finding one of the LSL dampers was a pita and they were a bit higher in price.

AT-damper.JPG

What kind of damper is it and where can I buy it? Does it have damping force adjustments? How is it mounted in the front isolator bolt? You have to drill hole and cut threads in the bolt?
 
It's a 3 year old thread but not a long one.

I believe they stated it's a Shindy (japanese) made unit.
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This one came with the new bolt for the isolator, along with everything else needed.
Post #10

TPHAK, it's a universal adjustable damper I've seen for all sorts of applications, (had one on my YFZ450 Quad). E-bay. You adjust it by turning the knurled knob on the opposite end of the shock shaft. It even comes with the cylinder mount, Tapping the isolator bolt would do it on that end, and I bet you have the skill to make the fork clamp:) But you can find a 43mm (or 41mm) fork clamp pretty easily on E-bay as well.

Edit: Steering bearings are an easy upgrade to tapered units from All Balls. A steering damper may mask an issue but you really should make that easy bearing swap first. Fix it, then modify it;)
 
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Guess the guy isn't on ebay any longer. No feedback for over a year, says he's not a registered user. He was located in MN when I bought mine, I paid $338 shipped for it. Came with the fork clamp, new bolt for the isolator and the damper.
 
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That's where I'm headed...^^^^:)

I don't understand the huge price difference. But I do know if you go too cheap on the damper itself, it will have a undampened dead spot when it switches direction, making it pretty useless. Other than that, it's not like they wear out??
 
Actually, yes, they do wear out over time. Price difference is china made junk vs someone's actual labor to build a quality piece. The good ones are rebuildable. I *think* the Shindy units are made in Japan, they're higher quality for an off the shelf item and I know they can be rebuilt. Same for an Ohlins damper. Sure, you're paying for the name a little bit, but they're damn fine pieces.
 
Warning! Opinions below! haha


I wouldn't argue that wearing one out is impossible, but a steering damper is exactly a shock valved at exactly 50/50. They aren't speed sensitive, so it's not even shim stacks that matter. Its small holes in a piston. The piston rod continues through the whole shock body to equal the surface area of the piston to ensure that. blah blah blah;)
The spec I like to use is from Monroe shocks. It's old but probably still accurate. They say that for every mile a car is driven, the shocks cycle over one million times. Every MILE! Thats a lotta bumps!!
So, how long would it take to wear out even a cheap shock when it's only actuated during steering events? I bet a looooong time:eagerness:.

Don't make the mistake of thinking I'm arguing that a e-bay sourced copy from china is even close to as good as a quality unit (like from Ohlins). This is where the part failures argument applies. If I either was a racer, had unlimited cash to spend, or wanted to impress my biker buddies, that would be my only choice. That is what I meant by not going too cheap, you get a dead spot in the middle when the shock changes direction. Thats lame. If it dies in the middle of the ride to the store, you don't die, and you can buy fifteen of them before you spent as much as ONE Ohilns.

I believe in quality parts. I believe in safety first. I'm the guy who spends the most money on the best tires, the best brakes, and the best gear. I have that $$ left to spend because I don't blindly throw it at brand names. Due diligence is the key to having a $100 steering damper that equals the performance of a $500 one.

What the heck is worth $500 in that thing! I got my 16" X 2.5" bypass reservoir, coil-overs from king shock for that much each!
purerace_3Tbypass_remote_lg_white_1.jpg


TPHAK:
To clarify, there is a huge grey area between the bottom barrel ($30) universal damper and the $500 bolt-on name brand. Personally, I'm not buying either one:tongue-new:
I would buy a quality (Japanese typically) steering damper shock that is the right length, Then I would tap my engine mount bolt, and buy a billet 43'' fork clamp. Stainless hardware from Fastenal, about $100. Boom.
 
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