Steering dampers

[repiV]

I know they're supposed to prevent tankslappers, but just how effective are they?
I already smashed up one bike due to a tankslapper, and today I had a bit of a scary moment when the bars started to go - I did as I had read and just accelerated out of it and it went away, but it was a bit of a shock. All I did was U-turn on a 50mph road and quickly get up to the speed of the traffic on a Bandit 650. It's not exactly a Fireblade, or even a Fazer...
Again, didn't even feel the front wheel lift.

There doesn't seem to be any way to reliably avoid this happening other than riding like a granny. So is a steering damper the answer? Or do I just need to ride more like a granny until I learn a lot more about bike handling?

[Chriss]

Biggest thing I like steering dampers for is just stabilizing the bike round fast corners.

Probably does stop tank slappers, but you wouldn't know when it does it.
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TheShaggyDA: I've got 3 or 4 pairs that predate my wife, so at least 11.5 years old.

[repiV]

Well, that's fine by me - so long as I can power out of a corner without dreading the possibility of a tankslapper.
Usually you can get a feel for what the bike is capable of and how far you can push it in any given situation, but with tankslappers, the response from the bike is just so disproportionate to the input given. It's not something you can really feel out...if I managed to get tankslappers performing moderate to fairly brisk maneuvers on a Fazer and a Bandit, how do people manage to hoon litre sportsbikes without it happening constantly?

[i_am_tim]

you might struggle finding a fitting kit for a bandit, they arnt really know as the most flightly bikes around

but a worthwhile investment if you can a damper for my R6 is top of the list at the moment, but they are particuarly unstable when accelerating
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previous bike: 2000 Aprilia rs 125 - SOLD

current bike: 2001 Yamaha R6 - sweeeeet

[repiV]

[i_am_tim]

yeah you might have a bit more luck with that, still most dampers are aimed at full on sportsbikes, as they are the types of bikes that are more prone to headshake

yeah i had a big one on the way home after buying it! learnt the lesson of never overtake hard over crosshatchings! no others since then but you can feel the bars become loose when you accelerate hard, any bumps could set it off really. im just being a bit more careful until i can afford one, i think its definatly worth the money if it saves you smashing the bike into the ground!
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previous bike: 2000 Aprilia rs 125 - SOLD

current bike: 2001 Yamaha R6 - sweeeeet

[repiV]

Ouch...fortunately I've had no problems overtaking hard on crosshatchings yet. Both my 'slappers have been as a result of powering out of a corner.

Sounds like they're bloody expensive, what with your saving up and everything?

[Kickstart]

Hi

Steering damper can help, but really don't think one should be needed on a Bandit.

I would say neither of the things you have experienced are tank slappers. Sound more like over hard acceleration and having the back step out. And a steering damper would do nothing about that.

Proper tank slappers are pretty rare and also often VERY violent (violent enough to do you a serious injury even without falling off).

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[repiV]

[Bullet]

whats your front tire like, i find when the front gets squared due to motorway miles it makes my bike very slap happy, i do have it set up rather twitchy anyway though
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nonstop unicorns vomiting sunshine pills into a rainbow toilet
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past: ZXR750 J1, K1 & H1, GPX600R, Yamaha Radian. present: ZXR750 J2, SP-1, CB350

[D O G]

I think we're not really talking about tank slappers here - i.e. when the slight shake of the head magnifies and transmits its way through the bike causing violent and uncontrollable nastiness.

A bit of head shake is quite nice really - I like the feeling when I get a bit of head nodding, tells you the bike is working a bit, ready for the ride etc...but maybe that's just me...

I read in Keith Code's book (written well before steering dampers were commonplace) that a slight headshake is necessary for the bike to work out the forces being applied to it, and isn't something to be scared of. Just don't grip the bars tight and rigid, which starts transmitting the vibration back to where you don't want it!

Learn to like it, don't bother with a steering damper, listen to what your bike is telling you, a steering damper simply takes a bit of information away from you.

[Kickstart]

Hi

No way should it break traction going from 2nd to 1st (assuming you are not just stamping it down the box with the revs somewhere silly).

A tank slapper is caused when the bars shake a bit, and happen to hit their natural resonant frequency so start shaking very hard, likely hitting the lock stops. This is not the odd shake, more like half a dozen times a second with little hope you could hang on to them (and the possibility of a dislocated shoulder if you try).

Rather different to the bars shaking a bit.

A few bikes do suffer from it and need a steering damper to suppress it (but a steering damper will adversly affect low speed handling). Generally though that is bikes that have very sporty geometry. Not the restrained geometry of something like a Bandit.

The first time it happened your description sounded more like you wound the power on and the bike broke traction and the back tried to overtake the front (possibly followed by you shutting the throttle violently and the bike reacting by snapping back into line violently). Hence my comment.

While one bike might misbehave (eg, low tyre pressures, badly adjusted suspension), having 2 seperate and very different bikes do so tends to suggest they are not the problem.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[yzf750r]

just bought one for my ZX10R and ive put one on nearly everybike I have had.

I really dont need to smash my bike up and ive had a few slaps but just had to grit teeth and pull straight through them.


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04 zx10r with mods - 187.4bhp at the wheel! :o

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

As it's only a Bandit I would suggest checking things like tyre pressures, forks, bearings before splashing out on a damper.
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[sickpup]

[repiV]

[repiV]

[Blau Zedong]

A proper tankslapper ALWAYS ends with injury and usually a serious off.
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18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[repiV]

[Chriss]

Hi, if you want to buy the standard steering damper off my SV, give me a shout.
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TheShaggyDA: I've got 3 or 4 pairs that predate my wife, so at least 11.5 years old.

[repiV]

I'll defo let you know if I do decide to go down that route...how much ££ btw?

On a sidenote, I swapped the Bandit for an '06 FZ6 today. It feels like a prototype of some kind...like a fly-by-wire bike of sorts and they haven't quite worked out the kinks yet. Handles brilliantly, extremely well balanced, great design, but that bloody useless fuel injection...it's like riding a bucking bronco. It's hard work to ride quickly due to the revvy engine and hard work to ride slowly because of the snatchy throttle.
The whole setup just doesn't feel natural. It's like you twist the throttle and the message gets distorted along the way...

I definitely won't be buying an FZ6...although in its defence, at least it's not snore-inducing like the Bandit. Give me a Foxeye any day.

[dainesefreak]

Buy a Blade, get a free damper.

[Kickstart]

[.Chris.]

This is probably a bit of a stupid suggestion, but have you checked that the head bearings are properly tight?

My bike had new ones for its MOT in May and after a few hundred miles I could feel some movement and shaking at the bars when I cornered reasonably hard. Checked for play in the head bearings and they had gone slack, tightened it up and all is well again. I (later) read in the manual that it's quite normal for new bearings to 'bed in' a bit and require re-tightening after a bit of usage.

Maybe this is the cause of some of the wobbling you're experiencing?
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Chris
1985 Kawasaki Z550F

[cc123]

Got a Sprint one on my R6, great piece of kit now I can fully appreciate it.

Some roads I've done on the Ninja's the bars used to wiggle like mad on fast rippled section and low gear, agressive overtakes but now on the R6, nothing. It hasn't slapped me about at all. In town riding I spool it right off so its easy to steer then spin it up a few notches for the faster, bumpier stuff.
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