Steering dampner advice

Got a customizing or restoration project? Post your progress pictures and updates here

Moderator: rztom

Post Reply
Message
Author
Questo vecchio rz
Posts: 198
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 2:36 pm

Steering dampner advice

#1 Post by Questo vecchio rz » Wed Jun 14, 2017 11:04 pm

Friend & I need some advice regarding a side mounted steering stabilizer.

It's for a RZ 500 (steel frame) fitted with a R-6 front end.
1.) What's the criteria regarding shock length? It occurs to me that as long as the dampner has full lock to lock motion, that length may not be of too much concern.

2.) As far as a fork bracket, Is that as easy as ordering to correct dia. for the R-6 fork tubes from Fast
From The Past or Woodcraft etc..?

3.) Who and where to source a good brand, Ohlins etc.. But have any of you used "Shindy" as long as it looks & works decent for 100 miles a year..lol that's all that matters.

Need to get this sorted ..want to have the frame powder coated ASAP

Thanks for any reply.
Banshee (Baja) Full Tilt desert race bike
Royal Enfield 500
96 GSXR SRAD, Future Yoshimura TT-F1 Lucky Strike rep.
85 custom Tri-Z
RZ421/YZR track bike(project)
86 VFR750 Flying Fred Merkel replica (project)

MK
Posts: 487
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 12:54 pm
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: Steering dampner advice

#2 Post by MK » Thu Jun 15, 2017 3:22 pm

I used a couple of steering dampers on RD350's, RD500 and lately on my VTR.
Different lengths, different brands and almost all of them did what they expected to do.

Generally speaking there's two basic mount options.
The standard old fashioned way where you have a clamp on one fork leg and a brace on the frame. Damper is then oriented along driving direction and needs a rather long stroke (about 120-160 mm).
Due to the rather large radius of the fork mount point along the steering axis it needs to be rather soft. This unfortunately increases sensitivity to stick slip effects of the seals.
I had to unmount my brand new damper on the VTR due to this reason - on the race track it was close to unrideable.

Most modern bikes have the damper mounted behind the steering head perpendicular to the driving direction. One lever fastened with the steering head nut, the other brace on the frame in front of the tank.
This has a much smaller lever arm, thus much less prone to the described stick-slip effect. Also the damper needs to be much 'stiffer' to have an effect.
Bye
Martin

silverstrom
- - - - -
- - - - -
Posts: 3236
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2012 7:36 am

Re: Steering dampner advice

#3 Post by silverstrom » Thu Jun 15, 2017 3:38 pm

You might find this useful. Stroke and mounting are covered. http://www.rzrd500.com/500phpBB3/viewto ... =4&t=14105" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Questo vecchio rz
Posts: 198
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 2:36 pm

Re: Steering dampner advice

#4 Post by Questo vecchio rz » Thu Jun 15, 2017 6:19 pm

silverstrom wrote:You might find this useful. Stroke and mounting are covered. http://www.rzrd500.com/500phpBB3/viewto ... =4&t=14105" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Shot in the dark, but you wouldn't have come across any more if those nifty little brackets gave you??,
or has anyone duplicated them? We're this OEM option? of custom made?.
I'm thinking It would be easier to utilize that instead of welding or tapping onto the stock steel frame.

I'd like to provide him with anything that will help him get his RZ back into a finished roller.
Since he has a R-6 front end fitted, I'd prefer a stock R-6 triple clamp mounted version, but he prefers the old school ( period correct) look of a side mounted dampner.
Banshee (Baja) Full Tilt desert race bike
Royal Enfield 500
96 GSXR SRAD, Future Yoshimura TT-F1 Lucky Strike rep.
85 custom Tri-Z
RZ421/YZR track bike(project)
86 VFR750 Flying Fred Merkel replica (project)

User avatar
Speed Freak
- - - - -
- - - - -
Posts: 930
Joined: Sun Oct 28, 2012 6:38 pm
Location: Voitsberg, Austria

Re: Steering dampner advice

#5 Post by Speed Freak » Thu Jun 15, 2017 7:24 pm

Maybe not a big help... My Öhlins damper on the R1 can be adjusted from close to 0 damping effect to nearly locked in 20 steps.
As far a s I heard from others cheaper dampers have a much smaller adjusting range.

I`m using the range of 2-3 "clicks" depending on fuel level in the tank, the R1 is a beast if the damper is too soft :smt077
My bikes:
RD500 YPVS 1GE
RD350 YPVS 31K 1985
Honda CBR 1000 RR SC57
Yamaha R1 RN04

silverstrom
- - - - -
- - - - -
Posts: 3236
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2012 7:36 am

Re: Steering dampner advice

#6 Post by silverstrom » Thu Jun 15, 2017 7:58 pm

Questo vecchio rz wrote:
Shot in the dark, but you wouldn't have come across any more if those nifty little brackets gave you??,
or has anyone duplicated them? We're this OEM option? of custom made?.
I'm thinking It would be easier to utilize that instead of welding or tapping onto the stock steel frame.
No, I don't have any right now, but I am in the process of having some made. I'll be at ATR next week.

There was no OEM option available. Over the years many people have made them, but they are all to one common design. I had about 10 last year that I brought in from Germany. That source has dried up.

They work well with a damper stroke of 90 mm.

Post Reply