good solution for a steering damper?

[ineedanap]

I'm a no talent intermediate rider doing lots of track days this year.  It's not required with the group I run in but I was thinking it might be a good idea.  Think it's worth the hassle?

I'm sure I could rig something up off of ebay, but does anyone have some good neat solutions that won't break the bank? 

[Big Shot]

Pull that thingy off your screen door and see if it works?  (It won't break the bank)

For lack of any useful advice, i made a joke 

Unless you actually try it...


No sleeping on the bike, Bob!

[Big Shot]

When i get a chance i'll take a picture of the damper on my race bike to show you how it was installed.  Doesn't seem like a big deal really   

[ineedanap]

cool, thanks.  My screen door will be happy to hear that.

[ecpreston]

I'm a no talent intermediate rider doing lots of track days this year.  It's not required with the group I run in but I was thinking it might be a good idea.  Think it's worth the hassle?

Have you had steering wobble problems on the GS? I'm just curious as I have yet to experience this. I mean sure if I hop a curb and the front wheel leaves the ground it goes back and forth a bit, but I've never had it make me feel unstable. How do you know if you need a steering damper? Now that I have stiffer front and rear springs I wonder if it's more or less likely to need one.... 

[bill14224]

You know you need a steering dampener if your front end is wobbling but your suspension is just how you like it and your front tire is also how you like it and balanced.  That's assuming your steering head isn't loose.  You already have a fork brace.  That can do it too if you didn't have one or it was loose.

Wobble and weave is generally caused by soft suspension and/or weak dampening plus hard riding.  It's a complex equation of course (where's Wladziu?) but adding dampening and/or stiffness generally makes wobble and weave go away, at the expense of comfort.  And no, my GS never wobbles or weaves and it's stock, but I don't race it.  My XS 750 weaves at 90 if I have the hard bags on it.  When the suspension is such that the front end can oscillate at its resonant frequency, you get wobble.  When the suspension is such that the chassis can shake at its resonant frequency you get weave.  Since the GS has such a nice stiff chassis the weave frequency would be pretty high so it doesn't seem to be a problem for any of us, but wobble could be another story.  A poorly balanced front tire of course can cause it too.  I've heard of guys running steering dampeners just in case because wobble is pretty scary.

My Seca 650 developed wobble after about 5 years of riding it.  A fork brace and a new front tire took care of it.  Damn Dunlop tire.  $110 wasted, and that was a lot of money 20 years ago.  I paid good money for what I thought was a good tire.  All I got was a case of the wobbles after it wore in some.  Changing fork oil didn't help.  I kept the fork brace for insurance!

To me there's nothing scarier than wobble, except for someone turning in front of you!  Hitting a small hole in the road and having your hands ripped from the bars as it goes into a stop-to-stop oscillation, leaving C-shaped skid marks on the road is something I don't ever want to experience again!  How I didn't fall I can't tell you really.  It was over before I had time to think about it.  I just laid on the tank, prayed for a few seconds, (if "oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God!" qualifies as a prayer) then threw my hands back on the bars and threw the bike back onto the road as I was about to go into the ditch.  My left foot ached for many weeks.

[fastedmiami]

I use the stock one of off the newer gsxr's.  It goes up front on the forks, my mechanic welded up a couple of brackets.  You can pick these stock things up for a song on flea bay and they work wonders.  My bracket broke the first time I had it on the track this year and it tank slapped all the way down both straights on my home track.  The bike was virtually unridable at track speeds, but once fixed it is a different bike completely.  Will take a pic this weekend at the track and you can see how I have mine done.

[Hondatwo]

A fork brace....like the sounds of that as a first option.....my GS 'weaves' considerably when pushed thru long sweeping bends in particular...no big deal, but if I can remove this minor hiccup....would make for a more enjoyable ride at pace

Who & where stocks/makes forks braces?   Don't know anything about them , so any info would help.

Cheers

[Bluesmudge]

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=45111.0

[Hondatwo]

So has anyone here actually fitted & used the above mentioned 'fork brace' ?  Did it make any noticable difference....better/worse, etc ?

Keen on purchasing one IF this will help my bike & it's 'weaving' in fast sweepers.

Any info would be really helpful 'gang'.

Thanks

[black and silver twin]

So has anyone here actually fitted & used the above mentioned 'fork brace' ?  Did it make any noticable difference....better/worse, etc ?

yes and it fit perfectly. What I noticed was it pulled less to one side during braking. and it definitely didn't hurt the high speed stability

[Hondatwo]

That'll do me....will get one organised then .

Thanks Guys

[tt_four]

I never considered needing one until my front end started to wobble at around 115mph on my last bike. I was certain I was going to die, then it luckily stopped wobbling, and then half a second later it just started again, but amazingly I lived through the second one as well. Even if they're rare it's definitely something I plan to have on any bike that does a good amount of speed, because the mental reassurance itself is worth the money, even if front end wobble is rare.

[black and silver twin]

I do still get a slight, but scary, shake/wobble in the bars in turns over 90mph. the bike doesnt go any where or loose the line it just shimmies in my hands. I think my front tire is too worn though which could be the cause; anyway with clipons over the tree (lowered front 1 1/4"), 1/2" preload on stock fork springs, 20w fork oil, Buddha's brace, and sport demons with 30psi cold front 32psi cold rear, the wobble I got when stock at 80-95mph is completely gone. I dont get any shaking until 100-110 but its very mild and short and again most likely (hopefully) due to the old front tire.

[sys49152]

Don't bother.  The geometry of the gs is so forgiving that there's really no reason to put on a damper.  If you do start getting a wobble, check your tire pressure and suspension setup.  Don't try to mask the problem by throwing on a damper.