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Steering damper?

So I got out and spent some time looking at the steering head/top triple, currently available mounting locations on the frame, clearance issues, etc. and I'm thinking it's going to end up requiring a cantilever setup. I've been busier than a cucumber in a women's prison lately due to work. Every spare minute I've had once I get home is used to mediate between my wife (stay at home mother) and our three kids (all under the age of 8). I'm working on teaching my eldest AutoCAD and my middle son (4 years old) how to gas mig weld. I've also been putting in 60-65 hour work weeks and have a metal fabrication/drafting business on the side. Needless to say, I have a lot going on lol.

With all that being said, I haven't remotely given up on this. We're supposed to continue to have terrible weather for the next week (no heat in my garage) and I'm out of town this weekend. Once I get some templates made and metal cut I'll update this thread. Just wanted to follow up. (y)
 
I also make this wacky shit that a local artists store sells for me when I just need some alone time in the garage:

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Some friends/family convinced me to start selling the stuff I make a couple of years ago. If anyone here is on Instagram, you can check out some of the stuff I make. It has a dedicated account which is @pastironworks
 
Alright, so just to follow up on this thread a bit. With the cold weather and a bunch of other stuff going on (kids sports, two businesses, a marriage lol) I finally got back to working on this. I believe I have a workable prototype design at this point and should have the two mounting components cut out with the waterjet by end of day tomorrow.

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chris said:
Alright, so just to follow up on this thread a bit. With the cold weather and a bunch of other stuff going on (kids sports, two businesses, a marriage lol) I finally got back to working on this. I believe I have a workable prototype design at this point and should have the two mounting components cut out with the waterjet by end of day tomorrow.

XCLCz7u.jpg

XCiUJtv.jpg
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Dear Chris, many thanks for your pioner retrofit work on the the steering damper with. Kindly ask you for your feadback and experiance of Ohlins instalation? Will apprichate some more photos and driving experiance before & after? Thank you very much for your replay. Cheeres, Rok
 
Sorry for not replying to this sooner! I've been busier than a cucumber in a women's prison lately. The used Ohlins damper I purchased just doesn't have the throw I am looking for. The bracket ended up fitting exactly as intended and I'm just finishing up the mount for the bar/upper triple. I will end up needing a different damper, so the project is on pause currently until I find one that has the travel I'm looking for. I will post back up on this as the project moves along.
 
Hi Guys this winter I am taking chalange with my frind how to set-up stering dumber on th FTR ... pls see some development photos...we use OEM stering dumper from 2014 MV AGUSTA F4 1000 R (SACHS) => we try and even purchased Ohlins but we could not fit it...very smal space. Hence will come back to you when will be final finished made and out of test drive.SteringD_0.jpgSteringD_1.jpgSteringD_2.jpgSteringD_3.jpgSteringD_4.jpg;)
 
Hey...finial finish done...steering damper is pretty well hiden....the steering is fully functional far left and right....I'm waiting for a bit warmer weather (currently 3 degrees in Ljubljana) to test together with V6 ECU Reflash by Lloydz. cheeres. :))
 
First - Rok - You did an excellent job fabricating and installing your damper.
Now for the obvious question. Did the damper make any difference in the handling of you bike? My understanding is steering dampers are designed to stabilize or inhibit an “undesirable” oscillation or wobble that prevents the forks and shock from working properly. I can only recall one forum member reporting experiencing a “tank slapper” while commuting at high speed (80 mph) with one hand off the bars, resting on the air box cover. I don’t think bikes racing in MotoAmerica Super Hooligan class utilize dampers.
 
Nice packaging.

I might have gone a little heavier on the brackets...no criticism intended, I may tend to overbuild things, but the close proximity of the radiator to the damper would mean taking out the radiator if that bracket fails.

Overall it is what I call a sanitary fabricated installation. Good job!
 
mark.lb said:
First - Rok - You did an excellent job fabricating and installing your damper.
Now for the obvious question. Did the damper make any difference in the handling of you bike? My understanding is steering dampers are designed to stabilize or inhibit an “undesirable” oscillation or wobble that prevents the forks and shock from working properly. I can only recall one forum member reporting experiencing a “tank slapper” while commuting at high speed (80 mph) with one hand off the bars, resting on the air box cover. I don’t think bikes racing in MotoAmerica Super Hooligan class utilize dampers.
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Dear Mark, thx for your Q and have sense. I will come back to you in May. I am from Slovenia, Ljubljana and we have still low temperature outside. Hard to wait to test and evaluate the add value.
 
Careful what you wish for. I just went through the process of developing/fitting a steering damper on my other bike. After multiple tries, tests and rebuilding multiple steering dampers I gave up.

It did what I wanted (take the edge off high speed instability on bad roads), but whatever I tried, the bike always felt too sterile and never did EXACTLY what I wanted. Ended up removing it completely.
 
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