What is this?

[rtcpenguin]

What is this thing? I've seen it on several bikes but I have no idea what it is

[Phaedrus]

*squints*

Is that a steering damper of some sort?

[SV Devon]

...no...it's a brace...mounts onto either tank supports or steering stem...holds up the fairing and windscreen....I guess for high speeds...

[scratch]

Yep, fairing brace, or stay; keeps the fairing from flapping around (imagine how much the fairing would flex without those there...and how blurry the mirors would be).

[Alphamazing]

Most bikes now have bodywork that can handle the stress of high speeds. Very few new bikes (I'm talking very new, like, '04 at least) have the fairing brace going over the speedo like that. The most notable exception is the Honda RC-51.