Do you want to have a stiffer steering damper but don’t want to spend the money
on an aftermarket one or just don’t have the money to spend right now?. You
can do it for a couple of dollars and a few minutes of your time.

Supplies:
<ul type="square"> 12mm socket or wrench 5mm Allen key Star bit screw driver 20wt. fork oil(or what ever weight you want to use) Syringe(can be bought at drug store)
[/list] Your gonna start by removing the little plastic shield under the front
of the bike to make access to the steering damper easier. Remove the steering
damper by removing the 5mm Allen head bolt and the 12mm nut holding the damper
in place and pull the damper out.

Now that the damper is off the bike you can either take it into your house
to do this or do it in the garage. Take out the little screw star head screw on the bottom of the damper and pump the old oil out by moving the rod back and forth through the housing.

Take your syringe and fill it up with fork oil. Put the syringe in
the hole from where you took out the screw and fill the damper back up with
oil. To get any air out that might be with the oil push the rod in and out
very slowly and you will see bubbles coming out of the whole. Make sure not
to do it to fast or you’ll squirt the oil back out of the damper. When there are
no more bubbles coming out put the screw back in. Now all you have to do is
mount the damper back on to the bike and your done.

If you don’t like the way the damper feels all you got to do is change the
oil. If you want the damper softer just change it to a thinner oil. If you
want it stiffer just change it to a thicker oil.

Dave(y2k+1 600)

[ 12-24-2001: Message edited by: admin ]</p>

Is there a certain amount of oil to put in (i.e. fill the damper all the way to the top, only fill it half full with oil, etc.)? Thanks,

Same question as bog, is there a certain amount of oil needed? or just the same amount as what came out? I have a '04' gsxr1000 and i find that it head shakes consistantly when i power out of corners, currently working on suspension set up but thought dampener mods might also help.

fill until no air is in damper

Ah, simple, cheers;)

Whats the heaviest weight fork oil they make? I'd like to make my stock damper feel like an Ohlins (at 14 clicks stiff) Has anyone tried this on their K6?

+1 to this. The stock dampers for the most part suck, and this little fix will help out big time.

20wt fork oil in mine. Bleed it completely until no air bubbles remain. Have not had a tankslapper since, and still not an appreciable increase in turning stiffness once you get used to it.