can you fit a steering damper to the gs500f

[hmmmnz]

i have never had it in normal conditions, just when i get the front off the ground at the very top speeds, 99.999% of the time the gs is sweet

[deathlucky]

i normaly only get it to shake when eaither im doing 170+ or laying in right down around a bend doing 100+ on an uneven road (i ride on the shaZam! roads to avoid cagers and the bacon)

[CirclesCenter]

I honestly have to believe that there is something wrong with your GS if it is getting head shake regularly.  First...check tire pressure.  If you aren't gripping the tank with your knees and you are keeping your arms stiff as hell...I guess that could possibly cause it.  I just don't see how a GS500 could get bad head shake.  I am totaly unable to upset my GS500 at any high speed, even in a corner.

Anyone else?

-Turd.

Word.

The only time my bike got repeated headshake was when I had a worn Sport Demon on the front wheel. Sometimes when a tire is worn a certain way when you take your hands off the bars the front will start to shake. However, if your hands are on the bars (not even rigid or close to, but rather normal pressure) the bike is stable.

I think it was Pablo who said that most headshake is rider error. My error was taking my hands off the freakin' bars.

+1

I've seen the other side of 110 and had no problems.

[deathlucky]

100+ on a shaZam! road while leaning it right down?

[MarkusN]

Mine does it (not terribly so, but noticeable) in a curve at 80 km/h. I have heard of several GS owners who never could get their ride to run evenly through a fast curve no matter what they did to tire pressure, alignment and such.

And I have seen the Suzuki runout specs on the rims. Since then,I can believe anything.

Also, at 160 on the Autobahn the head gets a bit shakey on mine, not wobbly, but there's a noticeable vibration that I think is resonance of the fork bending frequency wit front wheel RPM.

The GS is a decent bike, a naturally born racer she is not.

[RVertigo]

Your suspension can induce some head-shake/wobble type stuff when leaned over on bumpy roads...  Before I changed out the stock suspension, I got a death wobble going about 70 MPH around a sweeper on a crappy, bumpy freeway.  I thought I was gonna lose it...  I let off the throttle and it lessened...

After I switched out the stock front for progressives and the rear with a Kat shock, I noticed a pretty big difference.  I still get a "shutter" from the front when the road is really bumpy and I'm going too fast, but it's nothing like the old setup.  Once I lowered the rebound on the Kat show from 3 to 2, the shutter in the rear has been a lot better as well.


Something to think about...  If your suspension is crap, your ride it gonna be crap too.


If you've already changed out the springs, you might think about adjusting it differently...  If you go through one of those "Suspension Setup" guides and get it JUST RIGHT.  Maybe change the setting on the rear shock...  Maybe change the spacer and/or oil in the front...

and you're still having issues......  Then a damper might help.

[deathlucky]

well i have progressives on the front and my rear shock is stuffed the dapmer in it is gone so its just a spring that i set to 7 so the back wheel wont bounce off the ground when i take a bend at 140+ because it has done that b4 and i only just missed the meat mincer in the middle of the road by about a foot

[TarzanBoy]

Why would only the '89's get headshake? You think it is because of the clip-ons? The bikes are pretty much exactly the same from 1989 through 2006. If the '89 was getting headshake they'd all be getting headshake.

I believe my post said (only the '89's can tank-slap to my knowledge)

[MarkusN]

Can they? The clip-ons were standard in Europe much longer, and those don't reach the tank.

In fact I have seen a lot more superbike-style handlebars being bent and hitting the tank than clip-ons.

[l3uddha]

I've never heard of a GS having a tank slapper either... or something similar to it with the stock bars.

I know what you guys mean about leaning the bike over and having bumps or small hills in the turn.
there's a turn I take frequently with a small hill in the middle of it. when leaned over the bars give a good jerk as I go over it. I've been leaned over in onramps as well where the road suddenly turns into a bumpy mess. yea it can be pretty freaky.

I think both of these can be solved or greatly improved by a good suspension tuning. try some straight-rate springs and a better rear shock.

[Egaeus]

Isn't a tank slapper the same as headshake, death wobble, etc?

[l3uddha]

Isn't a tank slapper the same as headshake, death wobble, etc?

yea, I think the only difference between a tank slapper and normal headshake is that the headshake is so extreme that the clip-ons start banging back & forth into the tank.

[RVertigo]

Yeah...  You need to get a functional rear shock and find a good setup all around...

Then worry about the damper.   

[Alphamazing]

Yeah...  You need to get a functional rear shock and find a good setup all around...

Then worry about the damper.   

Hell, even bumping the preload on the stock shock helps a lot.

If you are getting serious headshake (only the '89's can tank-slap to my knowledge) then you shook inspect your front wheel/forks/tire/etc or stop riding your motorcycle on cobblstone roads all the time 

And once again, TarzanBoy talks out of his ass about the GS as if he actually knows something.

[Liquidsilver]

Putting a steering damper on a GS500?  Lol, and then what next?  Spools for the swingarm?  (To the newbs: spools enable the use of a rear-stand with a motorcycle)

Well.........take a look at my bike.  (Let it be noted I bought it this way)



Damper and Spools........crazy!!

[RVertigo]

You have a sweeeeeet rat Liquidsilver!!   

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

You have a sweeeeeet rat Liquidsilver!!   

I almost bought that bike...

[Liquidsilver]

Thanks for the compliment, I like the bike too.  Its had its little issues but nothing major.  Just enough to get me familiar with the bike.  And YES the spools are useful since I have no center stand.  I really like the rat look of it, so much so that I'm thinking of starting up a old Honda CB750 bobber project so I can have something of a cruiser too.

[RVertigo]

GS1000!!!

I wanted this bike so bad I could taste it...  But, alas... No money and no room. 




What was this thread about again? 

[Liquidsilver]

Something about motorcycles, and since this is the bike I am looking at I guess I am still on topic......