kawasaki zx6 (600) stering dampers, good idea/worth it ?

[coolfox1]

Hey all

Moving up in the world and and after I successful DAS test today I got myself a proper bike ! zx6r J2 600cc (2002)

Been reading up a bit on about having more power and how to handle it and one thing that seems mighty scary is tank slappers.
Been on a 125 for the last 2 years and have a had a few moments, mainly on cats eyes and rough central reservations where the bikes started to shake badly on the front but i've usually just let loose on the bars and let it sort it's self out.

The thing is having a 600 now slightly wary of it's power to say the least, and after seeing a vid of a tank slapper def not something I want to get into.

Question was
a) Has anyone else got a zx6 and got one fitted ? whats the verdict
b) do I need one on a bike like mine ? or am I waisting cash ?
c) is there a down side to putting one on ?

Many thanks for any help or advice

Ian

[dodsi]

Waste of cash, I dont have one on my J1 ZX6R and never felt the need for one.

It was the B and C models I believe can shake their heads in a straight line rather than the far superior J models.

[coolfox1]

[Visitor Q]

Lol, dont run at 2-3k, you're labouring the engine.

About 4/5k is usually a lot better.

As for steering dampers, they are only really useful if you do lots of stoppies, fast wheelies, or ride very fast.

The downside is A) price and B) the make low speed handling a nightmare.

Also if you have a tank slapper, general concencus is to accelerate.
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[dodsi]

[Huambo81a]

I have the 2003 model 636 B1H, i`m not sure if the suspension setup is the same, or if they went all hardcore for the B1h's but i`ve had a few 'moments' on it, and i`m thinking of sorting out the suspension to be more compliant for our quite frankly awful British roads. It has a tendency to lift the front wheel in 2nd (and sometimes 3rd) on a slightly uneven surface, sometimes it even shakes its head under acceleration, scary.

Thats the B1H anyway and from what i understand, the J models have more road orientated suspension, but i`m sure others will put me right.
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Past: 97 Bandit 600 / 05 Bandit 1200 / 03 ZX6-R / 2006 Tuono R / 2001 VFR 800 / 2010 Street Triple R / 2013 Speed Triple S / 2017 S1000XR

[DEN MONKEY]

Ive got an older g model and havent had any probs so cant see a later model having more issues with it.
I went for a good ride yesterday on some real shit roads and she held fine without any shake. Suspension is on the softer side of hard.
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meh

[G]

I had a J model and never had a big problem with tank slappers either.

If you do have a problem and the rest of the bike is working fine then get a steering damper.

(Though I have a nice Ohlins that should fit it, so I should probably be trying to sell you that ).