Any of you guys having issues with the pin coming out of the damper arm due to the flex of the rubber bar clamp bushings?Do I need to install solid bushings?
Yes. It came out several times so I stuck the damper arm in a vice and bent it about 1/4" and it hasn't come out since.
If you have the clearance (between the top of the arm and the bottom of the damping unit), the top of the pin is threaded, so you can use a shallow head screw to hold it in place. My damper came with the screw, but I don't need it as it's never come out. It's actually pretty tight in the damper arm.
No, it's not necessary, but it is nice. Had I been smart and re-valved my forks first, the steering damper would have slid further down my want list. With the stock fork setup the damper made a huge improvement in handling; with revalved forks the difference is small.
Mine had about 1 or 2mm of clearance between the arm and the damper body. So there's no room for a screw with a straight arm. My friend's older model of Motosportz damper on a ktm 200 has a stepped arm and a screw, like you're describing.
I bought my Motosportz damper in 2010 and have it on my 09TE450. I have never had the pin come out of the arm. I have douned the bike and had the bars tweaked in the rubber bushings of the Handelbar mounts- but that has never effected the dampner. Seem's that if it did that would be horizontal and vertical twisting that would be the cause. Mine only horizontally twist to my knowledge (then put the wheel between my knees and give the bars a jerk and they are straight). Maybe you should inspect the condition of your bushings or the bolts/torque- which could (in theory) be the cause. New solid bushings certainly would help/solve the issue as well. But properly installed new rubber bushings could as well. (depends on how much of a bother they are for you versus the added vibration of not having them)
It can happen but i have not really heard of this much at all. make sure your bushings are in good shape and the collar is in the middle of it.
