steering damper

[frenchbiker]

hi i am looking for information to install a steering damper on a
1980gs 1100et .where i can find one .i know it's an old bike and i will surely have to fit one from another bike and if someone have some close-up pictures or experience i'll appreciate your input

thank you

[Boondocks]

I wouldn't do it. Whatever handling problems/improvements about which you may be concerned can be addressed satisfactorily without a steering damper. It's not a panacea for handling problems, and is more suitable for lightweight racing bikes with more extreme steering geometry.

[KGB]

I disagree.
I've had a damper on my 1000S for 17 years.
I can tell when it's set to soft.

Our bikes were famous for "headshake" no matter how well sorted out.
Especially at higher speeds they would shake.

Some added insurance is ok.

[Boondocks]

I disagree.
I've had a damper on my 1000S for 17 years.
I can tell when it's set to soft.

Our bikes were famous for "headshake" no matter how well sorted out.
Especially at higher speeds they would shake.

Some added insurance is ok.

Not wanting to hijack frenchbiker's thread, I will close with this post. I have not had a damper on my GS1100ET for 26 years. It is stable at all speeds without it. Headshake or wobble is a high frequency oscillation manifested at lower speeds (usually 25-50 mph). It is an inherent front end vibration mode found on all motorcycles, but if it is well damped it is not noticeable or objectionable. My experience with the same bike that frenchbiker has is that if the suspension and tires are correctly tuned, there is no wobble. A steering damper would help if nothing else worked, but it is not necessary on this bike.

The high speed instability mode known as a weave may start at about 90 mph or so. It is a lower frequency rear end oscillation and is unaffected by a steering damper.

See Frontend Shaking and also

Vibration Modes of Motorcycles

For an outstanding technical analysis, Simos Evangelou's Ph.D thesis (2.66 MB PDF file) on THE CONTROL AND STABILITY ANALYSIS OF TWO–WHEELED ROAD VEHICLES covers the subject in exhaustive detail. It provided suspension tuning information which I used to eliminate a high speed weave.

[frenchbiker]

steering damper

thank you for your input i replace my bridgestone battlax 45 tire with michelin macadam 50 it make a real improvement but the front end feel like it need damping still have a little bit of instability on hard driving and i understand that i have to fix every bug before installing a steering damper.but if someone have a 1980 gs1100 with a steering damper and can send me a photo of the set-up ill appreciate thank you

[yak]

try ebay for busa or gsxr streeing dampner i bought one (new)for under 30.00 built a frame tab and a fork bracket and it took all the head shake out of my 84 1150es fairing hid it so u don,t really see it i,m sure u can find one and it will be money well spent