Hydraulic steering damper

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Fast Eddie said:
I’m guessing your alloy yokes don’t have the threaded hole in the underside of the bottom yoke?

A stanchion clamp below the bottom yoke is simplest and neatest in that case, IF there is space for it. Alternatively I’d consider a clamp above the top yoke, with a spacer used to lower the point where the damper rod attaches.
Click to expand...
Thanks - I'll consider that if I have to.
 
gortnipper said:
Easy enough to buy the spacer and the nut, washers, bolt.

See the parts list and order from AN

A Spacer 1 06-4256
B Bolt 5/16 x 24, 2 3/8" 1 06-4260
Click to expand...
The AN site gives no details of that spacer (OD, ID, Length,??) - why would I buy that?
 
robs ss said:
The AN site gives no details of that spacer (OD, ID, Length,??) - why would I buy that?
Click to expand...

I think he was referring to the parts required to bolt the rod end to the thread on the underside of the standard yoke. Which (I assume) you don’t have...
 
I was always resistant to fitting a steering damper to my featherbed commando race bike. Until I had a tank slapper around Mallory Park coming through Devils Elbow. This was before they put the chicane in and it was a pretty fast corner with no run off, just the pit wall Armco to catch you if you fell. The tank slapper was so severe that both lock stops snapped off!
The cause was determined to be poor quality fork stanchions that despite being brand new were 4 thou below the specified size.
Even after fixing the forks I cannot bring myself to ride without a steering damper.
 
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One really HARD tank slapper at GTJ speeds on an 8 lane highway was enough for me.
Hydraulic damper fitted.
Backed off on secondary roads.
Happy to have it.
 
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pommie john said:
I was always resistant to fitting a steering damper to my featherbed commando race bike. Until I had a tank slapper around Mallory Park coming through Devils Elbow. This was before they put the chicane in and it was a pretty fast corner with no run off, just the pit wall Armco to catch you if you fell. The tank slapper was so severe that both lock stops snapped off!
The cause was determined to be poor quality fork stanchions that despite being brand new were 4 thou below the specified size.
Even after fixing the forks I cannot bring myself to ride without a steering damper.
Click to expand...

Once you’ve had that kind of fear Steve, it’s hard to forget!
 
When you look down and the handle bars have become a blur, it is really ghastly. However it is not the end of the world - if you have not been silly, there is usually enough room and time to recover. One thing I learned the hard way, is to be very careful when you grab back hold of the bars. It might look as though the oscillations have stopped, but the steering head only has to be rotating slightly for the forces involved to be huge. When you grab back hold of the bars is when you are most likely to get launched.
If you are inexperienced, the adrenalin rush can cause you to panic and make mistakes.
 
Years ago, and before I Realized I had a faulty Avon GP tyre on the front of my 750, I fitted a Kawasaki steering damper. It only made a slight difference to the handling. After replacing the tyre with a new TT100, I never needed it and left it off when I restored the bike. I have never since had the need to fit it back again on either of my 2 Commando's.
I run 5 thou clearances on my Iso's and I replaced all the cushions with hard white plastic-like shims which don't wear. [ must be a similar material to what Ludwig used on his head steady ]. I also run with a Ludwig style head steady based on the cushions used in the front iso's. Once I lost the bolts holding the head steady to he head somewhere near St Arnaud and did 600 miles without realizing they were missing. The handling still felt fine, even doing to 80 clicks winding down from Middlemarch back to Dunedin..
Just about shit myself when I realized I effectively had no head steady. When I broke my head steady on my 750 back in the mid 70's, it was like riding a rubber band.
Dereck
 
A mate of mine claims he go into a real bad tank slapper on his then brand new gsx1100 Suzuki (old air cooled type)
He swears blind that he just gripped the bars really tight and just locked up his upper body and it stopped!!
He swears this is what happened
 
gortnipper said:
Hows it working?
Click to expand...

Dunno. I fixed the wheel offsets and converted to tapered stem bearing at the same time I installed it. Bike is dead nuts stable, even over grooved asphalt, can't say it has much effect as I usually have it dialed down, but I'm happy to leave it for when I hit the twisties or track.
 
The only tank slapper I ever experienced on either of my Commandos was when I replaced the Hagon rear shocks with "better ones" on my 850 and failed to set them up properly. Going into a fairly agressive curve on a very familiar road, tank slapper occurred. I ran off the road into the dirt, across the oncoming lane. Back home I considered whether to work at all the adjustable settings or just say the heck with it and put the Hagons back on. So I worked at length with the high-dollar shocks...

The Hagons have been on ever since... ;)
 
What did you do to improve your "better"shocks and what was different when you first put them on. I am about to put fully adjustable "different "shocks on mine to replace Hagon's.
Dereck
 
When the rear suspension fails, you usually feel it to be the front. With Konis, all you do is remove the springs and bump rubbers, and wind-on a bit more damping.
 
kerinorton said:
What did you do to improve your "better"shocks and what was different when you first put them on. I am about to put fully adjustable "different "shocks on mine to replace Hagon's.
Dereck
Click to expand...

I bought a pair of Ikon aluminum body shocks. The spring preload is 'infinitely adjustable' via threaded fittings. The good part is, of course, that they truly are infinitely adjustable. The bad part is that they are truly infinitely adjustable! This requires considerable care in setup since it's not a matter of 'clicks' or 3-position settings like a Hagon. The Hagons handled really well but I always thought the springs were a bit stiff for me/my riding weight. So I purchased the Ikons with the springs specified for my weight, thinking that would reduce the stiffness and make the ride a bit more comfortable on rough surfaces.

So I set them up per the sag recommendations, etc. That resulted in the tank slapper I mentioned. Frankly, when I got home I just said the heck with it and put the Hagons back on. They worked perfectly on the bike for over a decade and I decided that I just didn't want to futz around trying to get the Ikons set up properly in the hope that they would handle as well with a bit less harshness on rough surfaces. I'm sure that the Ikons can be set up to do so but I just didn't feel like messing around with them. If I was racing and had the ability to do a lap, make adjustments, do it again, etc, I'd certainly do so but I just decided it was too much effort for minimal gain on a street bike.
 
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