Thought I would write up some info based on many years of experience that might be helpful to those new to steering dampers and those that might not have thought about things this way. In general i am talking about Motosportz steering dampers but may apply to others. Some quick history: First off I got deeply involved in steering dampers back in the late 90's. Instantly realized the benefits and was into valving suspension and trying fork sub tanks and 20" front wheels and all sorts of stuff. About this time I went to work for a ride buddy Josh whom owned Fastway at the time. We were experimenting with all sorts of suspension setups, early auto clutches, and steering dampers. We had a wild idea to incorporate them into the top triple clamp. Threw some research found out RTT had already filed for such a device. Se contacted them and flew down to Lake Havasu for the WORCS race and to chat. Was real interesting. I had used Scott, RTT, GPR, WER and a few odd balls and realized they all brought something to the table and some were more focused than others. I found this and suspension testing very fun and these were probably some of the best times in my professional life as i was in charge of future products and not running a biz. Lots of testing involved (riding) and I'm always game for that. Anyway lets just say I got to ride a lot of bikes and play with a lot of stuff. At the time this was my test mule (as well as a 2000 WR125 husky and 1999 WR250 husky). It had a 20" front wheel, sub tanked forks (see what looks like a crossbar pad), humped seat, one of the first auto-clutches, offset triple clamps and a Scotts. Was a GREAT bike. My 02 WR250 with one of the first prototype RTT triple clamp integrated dampers... So lets just say I had gobs of time for development and testing. Good times. So..... through this process I tried a lot of stabilizers. Some I liked more than others, some fit my riding style and needs better, they all did something that would be useful in situations. And through all this I learned modifying your approach after installing one was not mandatory but could be rewarding. I ride a lot of tighter woods. Not stupid east coast tight but semi tight. Some flows some is a challenge and the clutch is used more than the shifter. I also get in some faster dez stuff 4-5 times a year and still find a similar approach with the damper is used although bike settings can be (and should be) far different. Semi tight woods riding: I like to run the damper up to a point where it becomes obtrusive and you feel like your fighting it some and then back off to where you can hardly feel it. This allows much more damping than you would think but does not drastically change things. Then I fine if I loosen up my grip (which is much less fatiguing), just guide the bike with my hands and use the bars more for side to side response than steering and (as I stand a lot) I use my foot pressure and knees to steer the bike more. Make a mental note to steer with the pegs and hold the bike with your legs and flow. After a while you will get into a flow and be picking better lines not worrying so much about the terrain and more about the line choice. Most people when talking about damper and what they do always jump to "it saved my ass once when..." which is obviously a good thing but IMHO a really small part of the big picture. I like that they make everything up front feel kind like power steering in a car. You still have feedback and control but it seems muted and less alive so your not always puckering for some obstacle or rut / line you want to take. Its just more relaxed and allows you to focus on line choice over terrain / obstacles (to a point) Basically try running the damper as high as it feels good to you and then steer with your feet. Give it a try. Faster open stuff and sand: No matter how good or what stabilizer you have this stuff takes different bike setup than tighter stuff. Obviously the terrain is far different, what your riding on is and the speed you are traveling. I find stiffer comp damping, more rear rebound, less from rebound and dropping the forks down in the triple well worth the effort before riding this stuff. I also find i run a good bit more damping. Fast sand whoops can get out of control fast if you don't know how to ride them and can't hold it wide open in spots for lengths of time. That’s the gig in that stuff. Lots of steering damper to keep you on line and stand and get back and pin it. Try to double the whoops if spaced right. Dual sporting: I like lots of damping on the street. I love my damper at about 3/4 full on the road. Makes my TE511 with knobs feel planted and takes the nervous feeling out of it. I ride a lot of chopped up back roads and gravel and a damper is great for this stuff. Makes the bike feel so much less loose on gravel and way less nervous on choppy off camber pavement. I don't think a ton of people realize how good steering dampers can be on the back roads. Is it needed, no, not really needed for any terrain, but does it really make things EZer and allow you to enjoy the ride more, I believe so. Bike setup: I have found almost every time I ride a bike for a while and then install a damper I like to set the bike up to turn quicker. Raise the forks and run less sag. Why? The stability and loss of nervous feeling makes you feel like your bike is setup more conservative. This allows more radical quick steering setups / geometries to be used and pay dividends without making the bike a handful. I have noticed this almost every single time i have installed one. The bike is quicker steering (good for me and my woods riding) yet more stable too. Don't do this: Do not buy a steering stabilizer to put a band-aid on suspension setup. Having a lot of experience has taught me a few things and first and foremost is suspension is everything. if you have the wrong springs, the wrong settings, the wrong geometry going on etc, it does not matter how fast your motor is or how spot on your jetting is or how good your steering damper is, you are fighting it. I know it is not cheap but getting the right spring and damping is 75% of getting your bike right. THEN add a stabilizer and motor mods. I have a friend that has a WR250 with pretty bad suspension and he rides it that way because the damper masks it to some point. If he took it off he would be getting a re-valve as it would be borderline dangerous (it was). I am confused why he does not fix this as the bike would be so much better. Suspension first people. Hope this helps someone and please feel free to pile on with your own experiences. this is on the Motosportz section because it is something we sell and i don't want to pollute the CH pages with to much advertising out of my pen. that said feel free to talk about other manufacturers and setup tips etc. Thanks, Kelly Mz
