I am looking to buy a steering damper and have narrowed it down to either a scotts damper or GPR damper anybody got any advice as to the best to go for please…
I’ve got an Ohlins one on my bike which works well. They’re quite pricey though.
If their the two your going for, I’d probably say the Scotts damper as I haven’t heard much feedback from the GPR one… If you have alternative choice, Id go with Chrisdee and say Ohlins which are probably the best in the market but quite expensive. Or if you don’t have that sorta cash Sprint are also quite a good damper, little cheaper and do the job!
-Hennessy
cheers guys for the advice, i have to say i am edging towards the scotts one but like you say they are expensive, so i think i will take my time deciding, give me more time to save my pennies…
njs71, what sort of problem are you having with the handling? Your bike comes with a steering-damper as standard and for most uses of the machine, it should be fine. Most aftermarket dampers are pretty much the same, there’s not much in it, so I’d personally be looking at one which was of the OEM fitting style (so you can still get access to the tank/airbox easily) and a good price.
The one on my Gixxer is fine for the majority of times, still get a few head shakes but I kinda like that 
Ohlins do one that fits where the oE one is, saves you buying a seperate fitting kit and saves a few pennies.
Not sure about about Scott ones, but there has been some good reviews on GRP dampers. They’re quite bulky, similar to the new standard Fireblade damper but I dont think theres anything wrong quality wise - just down to personal choice.
I had a head shake the other day when i was out with friends, prob pushing myself a bit hard…OOOOps, and the advice i was getting was to get a new steering damper.
Don’t forget i have come from a dragstar 1100 to a gsxr 1000 so my corner speed is a little faster than before, and it is a little unsettling, however i am getting used to the ground being a little closer to me when in a corner, can’t fault the gixxer, sticks like **** to a blanket and i am sure my bottle will go before the grip.
I’m still buzzing from my ride yesterday… yeeee haaaa
Head-shake isn’t a bad thing, it just tells you when you’re on the gas. It’s when it goes from innocent head-shake to a full-blown tank-slapper that you know you’ve gone too far. A steering damper won’t save a tank-slapper, it’ll just serve to cover the head-shake.
There’s also the line of thought that fitting a steering damper (or an uprated one, i.e. adjustable) will also cover any suspension setup issues, preventing you from finding the ideal setup for yourself. One fact though is that by fitting an adjustable damper and cranking it up so you don’t feel any shake will mean your steering is slower, as the bars will take more effort to turn.
The suspension should be setup so that you might get some head-shake when under power, no headshake can mean too little weight on the front (from my understanding) wheel, and too much headshake can mean too much weight on the front. Suspension-setup is a highly specialised and important area, most road riders just don’t bother getting to understand suspension, and the benefits it can bring them by having the correct setup.
Prehaps my money would be better spent down at cresent suzuki getting the suspension set up right, do they do that at cresent ?
PS great advice and info on this site…brilliant
For road riding, you don’t need to see any of the suspension pro’s (of which London has one, Setup Engineering in Wandsworth), come down to the Ace Cafe some time and there’s bound to be one of the guys who know their stuff, that can give you their opinion for the price of a drink.
Beyond that, Setup, Kais, or KTech are the suspension pro’s to go see. The first being local, the latter two being the two big names in racing.
get yourself down to one of the local ones if you fancy having it set up properly. I went up to Total traction near Colchester, gave me an excuse to be out all day and see what difference it made - and it! Had the PCIII set up as well and it was a vast improvement.
Head shake is good, just takes some getting used to. One of the beauties of having a sportsbike. I’d save your money for now, but like Jay says tightening the steering up with a damper can make things worse - try it once on the R6, and it was a pig to ride. Turned the damper back down and it was far better.
Think i will save my money and have my suspension done,thanx guys.
What are the best nights to go to the ace? keep saying i will get there.
would be good to meet some of you guys.
Most evenings are busy njs71, there’s also Soho where you get a gang of bikers after 10pm most nice evenings.
Has most have stated just get the sussy sorted, its money well spent and will cure most of the speed wobbles. Also relaxing a bit more can sometimes sort it.
Yea, i think it will just take time to get used to the bike
and boy am i getting lots of practice in…love it
Just put an Ohlins damper on my R1, direct replacement for OEM one, more adjustable etc etc. Probably didnt need it but hell its an Ohlins and matches rear shock, blingbling and all that ********