Steering Dampers on DD bike.?
 

Is there any need to put a steering damper on a DD bike.? i have an Ohlins on my road bike but can honestly say i have never changed the setting...? have seen a few DD bikes with them on and wonder at the benifit....i have had no reason so far that would make be add one to the Bike...perhaps i aint going fast enough.........;)......thoughts.?


Phil

I've got one somewhere, but never fitted it - can't really see why I'd need one either.

Tim

I've had my road bike shake its head at me - which is my main reason for fitting one and it hasnt happened since.

There again - my trackbike also has a Toby damper and has not had a bad moment once really. I guess its a bit of security for me and the hope that it might minimise a bad 'slapper' if one ever happened ???

Frank

[Edited on 21-7-2005 by Iconic944ss]

Would it be correct to assume that a "slapper " is going to occur to a higher degree on the road rather than track.?...a little shake of the head is part of it for me.! i like to feel the bike squirming and moving a little under stress....not ideal for the fastest lap i agree but kinda gives the impression you are on it.?

Got one on mine- was put there to solve a headshake handling problem 2 years ago. In reality the only thing that needed sorting was the springs and oil but bearings were done and new front wheel etc fitted and still it wasn't solved despite being tested by someone who should have known !!
Anyway at beginning of year AJ had a look and asked if i'd got water instead of oil in there :o That sorted and the handlings been fine since (till i messed with ride height)
Anyway that changed and although it's still on the bike it's never switched on. I suspect it has some small effect just as it's there really.

If you start breaking your wrists and denting the tank with flappy handlebars - then you can fit one. Otherwise, whats the point?

:D

exactly

The only reason for a steering damper is to control headshakes, a.k.a. tankslappers, a.k.a. wobble. If you’re not having a problem, you don’t need (or want) a steering damper.

Headshake is basically a dynamic instability. Once it gets going it’s hard to stop, so a velocity-dependent damper can be used to progressively decrease its severity. If you’re not familiar with it here’s an example.

http://www.randtclub.com/Video/cedwa...pper_tt99.mpeg

Headshake is caused by a combination of factors: too steep a steering angle setting , too little trail in the design of the bike, too little weight on the front wheel (usually under acceleration exiting a corner,) a certain bike speed, lean angle, rider weight, and of course a bump or series of bumps in the road to start it all going.

But unfortunately a damper just doesn’t work just during a headshake (high velocity oscillation of the handlebars.) You also reduce the bike’s ability to transition into corners (low velocity bar movements) and more important, you increase the tendency of the bike to weave from side to side at high speeds. So, by its very nature a steering damper will spoil your bike’s steering to varying degrees.

That’s why there are adjustable steering dampers. The trade-off between handling feel and steering stability is a personal choice.

Track surfaces are smoother than typical roads, so often less damping is needed. Also, the steeper steering head angle is less stable (less self-correcting) so more damping should be considered when this setting is used.

Got about 2 inches increased ride height at the rear to steepen the steering angle and haven't come close to a tank slapper anywhere, not even Castle Combe which is notorious for them as it's so bouncy leaned over on the start/finish "straight", so I'll give a steering damper a good ignoring, especially at the prices I've seen :o

That's one hell of a scary crash, and I would also guess that the rider had a steering damper fitted to his bike for the TT course!

Good example of a 'headshake' though (and arse/leg/belly/rectum shake) :o