I know flashtune offers a service that can adjust the sensitivity of the steering damper. At low and medium speeds it seems to work pretty well, but at higher speeds it feels to stiff for me and sometimes makes it harder for me to get the bike to change directions quickly. Has anyone had this done and what are your impressions?
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This is the proper way to fix it 
https://www.motomummy.com/ohlins/ohlins-damper-kits-gsxr-oem-location/
https://www.motomummy.com/ohlins/ohlins-damper-kits-gsxr-oem-location/
The factory damper is not near the same quality, just like the OEM brembos on your bike are not NEAR the quality of real brembos
I dont know of any aftermarket damper that you can enter any sort of values into it. At that SPEED Is far less relevant than over all condition of the track/road you are on.
A damper is a safety device. It is to be completely un intrusive and you shold not even know it is there. It should not make the steering feel heavy, or slow. It should not affect handling at all.
It is there to fix a situation. Either the tire was set down sideways, or it hit a bump while turning or something like that.
If your bike "needs" a damper to ride because it constantly wants to shake its head, it is not the damper it needs... it is suspension work it needs. The bike should handle just fine without a damper actually, unless you hit something to set it off. (Disclaimer, I do NOT recommend riding with no damper. It is unsafe on most bikes).
The OEM damper for street use is more than adequate usually. But if you want to upgrade it adding thicker oil and shit like that is a hack job that does nothing but make the bike feel heavier to turn really. Get a proper quality damper if you are not satisfied with the OEM one.
I dont know of any aftermarket damper that you can enter any sort of values into it. At that SPEED Is far less relevant than over all condition of the track/road you are on.
A damper is a safety device. It is to be completely un intrusive and you shold not even know it is there. It should not make the steering feel heavy, or slow. It should not affect handling at all.
It is there to fix a situation. Either the tire was set down sideways, or it hit a bump while turning or something like that.
If your bike "needs" a damper to ride because it constantly wants to shake its head, it is not the damper it needs... it is suspension work it needs. The bike should handle just fine without a damper actually, unless you hit something to set it off. (Disclaimer, I do NOT recommend riding with no damper. It is unsafe on most bikes).
The OEM damper for street use is more than adequate usually. But if you want to upgrade it adding thicker oil and shit like that is a hack job that does nothing but make the bike feel heavier to turn really. Get a proper quality damper if you are not satisfied with the OEM one.
Has it actually had to do any work? When you say it works well at low and medium speeds, to me, what that means is that you have had it come into play and control waggling bars and/or a tankslapper at those speeds.
Though what I think you are referring to is that at low and medium speeds, it is easy to turn the bars and manouver the bike, and you are unhappy with the way the bike gets harder to turn at high speeds.
That to me, is unrelated to the damper...the faster you go, the more gyro forces you are dealing with, so it will require more effort at the bars to manouver the bike.
May not be the case, but thats what it seems like to me...if that is the case, go lift some weights
No, I haven't had any head shake on the bike, it just feels to tight at highway speeds. One time it was very intrusive and almost caused me to go off roading. I understand with the gyro effect it will be harder to turn the bars, but that's not what I'm talking about. My last bike had no Damper, and my friends and my fiances' R6s don't have dampers and I didn't have to wrestle with those bikes to change directions quickly. Just want to relax it a little, or change the speed at which it really starts to work. I'm not a big guy, but I can put up a little over 300#s. I would imagine that's enough to turn some bars. LOL.
I highly doubt it is the damper. It is simply a difference in bike geometry. Also... when is the last time you checked your front tire pressure? You'd be shocked in how much that can matter. Most street guys rarely check pressure a and as such are often 5-10psi too low and don't know it.
counter-steering is the answer to this.
at highway speeds, of course theres gonna be resistance to turning the bars, youre rolling along in a straight line at 60+mph, you cant just make the bike squiggle back and forth tightly the way you can in a parking lot at low speeds. your bike very likely has any problem BUT an issue with steering damping. fork oil, tire pressure, this, that.
get a GOOD tire gauge, not the usual cheapo pieces of shit and make sure your pressures are at least 30-31 front for the street.
=]
at highway speeds, of course theres gonna be resistance to turning the bars, youre rolling along in a straight line at 60+mph, you cant just make the bike squiggle back and forth tightly the way you can in a parking lot at low speeds. your bike very likely has any problem BUT an issue with steering damping. fork oil, tire pressure, this, that.
get a GOOD tire gauge, not the usual cheapo pieces of shit and make sure your pressures are at least 30-31 front for the street.
=]
ditch the damper then, and get a new one. A proper one. Trying to hack the OEM one is a losing proposition.
Yeah it's a Scott's top mount damper. I liked the ohlins too but just ended up going with the Scott's. Can't remember why lol
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I still run the bone stock steering damper, it has 14000+ miles on it. Never felt a need to change it.
My CBR has an electronic damper on it, it's either so good I never felt it do its job, or I have never needed it. :dunno
My CBR has an electronic damper on it, it's either so good I never felt it do its job, or I have never needed it. :dunno
My buddy's CBR1000's HESD seems to feel really good compared to the stock Suzuki.
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I ran the OEM damper as was on my bike as well for a long time. I got the Ohlins for Road Atlanta basically. Needed a bit tighter there where you are cranked over, and wheelieng over two blind crests lol. It tends to set off even the most well set up bikes. Barber is starting to get bad too though.
I think I have the ohlins on like 11 clicks of like 25? Still not very tight.
I think I have the ohlins on like 11 clicks of like 25? Still not very tight.
Ive just come from a '11 GSXR600 onto a '11 GSXR750 and the damper is much stiffer on the 750 compared to the 600... on the 600 you couldn't even tell it was there.. however on the 750 it takes more muscle to change direction, its like its forcing me keep the bike upright.. It would be great to tone the stiffness down without changing the damper.
Are there any solutions other replacing the damper?
Are there any solutions other replacing the damper?
Are you sure it is the damper? They should be the same.far as I know.
When is last time you checked tire pressures? Has the geometry been altered at all?
When is last time you checked tire pressures? Has the geometry been altered at all?
Never noticed the damper on the sportbike but on the dirt bike oh mah gerd it makes a world of difference but that's a given as terrain is rough
hes gonna try canyon riding at those pressures and end up on his ass.
ppl on this/any forum need to stop advocating highway pressures.
who gives a shit about mileage. YOU SUDDENLY STOP CARING ABOUT HOW MANY MILES YOU GET FROM YOUR TIRES THE MOMENT YOU LOWSIDE YOUR SHIT CUZ YOU WERE RUNNING 36/40 LIKE A DERP.
its a sportbike, not a harley. give yourself the best chances of not going sideways. 34 cold front max, 37 rear cold max. slightly lower for the canyons, slightly lower than that as usual for track days.
ppl on this/any forum need to stop advocating highway pressures.
who gives a shit about mileage. YOU SUDDENLY STOP CARING ABOUT HOW MANY MILES YOU GET FROM YOUR TIRES THE MOMENT YOU LOWSIDE YOUR SHIT CUZ YOU WERE RUNNING 36/40 LIKE A DERP.
its a sportbike, not a harley. give yourself the best chances of not going sideways. 34 cold front max, 37 rear cold max. slightly lower for the canyons, slightly lower than that as usual for track days.
Where do you get this bullshit from?
Once again your screen name is fitting.
Bullshit. If you crash "in the canyons" its not from a difference of two psi on a tire :rolleyes.
YOU need to stop trying to blast solid advice on this forum with your apparently narrow view of what you "think" is right. You're not.
On any modern street tire, and at any relatively spirited pace regularly achievable on public roads there is absolutely ZERO reason to run "track" pressures, which is what you are advocating
Who cares about mileage? Ohh.... only a few hundred threads a year are started about mileage... so I'd say plenty.
And not only does running low pressures kill mileage, it also kills the profile of the tire by causing square edging and cupping. Those things hurt the tires performance at a sport pace FAR more than a 2psi difference.
Granted if you are running "track" pace in "the canyons" then first and foremost you're likely a jackass who will bin his shit soon anyway.... but you may want to run "track pressure" at "track pace"..... turns out a track is just another piece of tarmac that makes a circuit.
Set your pressures for your intended performance needs.
For all around riding a solid "36psi" will work from cruising to fairly high performance with MOST street tires.
For higher needs ("track" pace) as low as 32-34psi works great.
For MOST street tires there is no reason to go lower than about 32psi.... no matter what your buddy told you. Not unless on the particular tire the manufacture suggests lower
Contrary to common belief lower is NOT always better. Often it is MUCH worse in many ways. The tire can over heat..hurts grip. Contact patch deforms... hurts grip. Feedback gets vague. Tire squirms. Wear suffers. Sheded rubber builds up and hurts grip.
And for those commuting asking little of the tires can bump them up into the 40-42 range. Still has plenty of grip for road use without all the I'll affects of too low pressure.
Once again your screen name is fitting.
Bullshit. If you crash "in the canyons" its not from a difference of two psi on a tire :rolleyes.
YOU need to stop trying to blast solid advice on this forum with your apparently narrow view of what you "think" is right. You're not.
On any modern street tire, and at any relatively spirited pace regularly achievable on public roads there is absolutely ZERO reason to run "track" pressures, which is what you are advocating
Who cares about mileage? Ohh.... only a few hundred threads a year are started about mileage... so I'd say plenty.
And not only does running low pressures kill mileage, it also kills the profile of the tire by causing square edging and cupping. Those things hurt the tires performance at a sport pace FAR more than a 2psi difference.
Granted if you are running "track" pace in "the canyons" then first and foremost you're likely a jackass who will bin his shit soon anyway.... but you may want to run "track pressure" at "track pace"..... turns out a track is just another piece of tarmac that makes a circuit.
Set your pressures for your intended performance needs.
For all around riding a solid "36psi" will work from cruising to fairly high performance with MOST street tires.
For higher needs ("track" pace) as low as 32-34psi works great.
For MOST street tires there is no reason to go lower than about 32psi.... no matter what your buddy told you. Not unless on the particular tire the manufacture suggests lower
Contrary to common belief lower is NOT always better. Often it is MUCH worse in many ways. The tire can over heat..hurts grip. Contact patch deforms... hurts grip. Feedback gets vague. Tire squirms. Wear suffers. Sheded rubber builds up and hurts grip.
And for those commuting asking little of the tires can bump them up into the 40-42 range. Still has plenty of grip for road use without all the I'll affects of too low pressure.
36F/40R on the street. Dunlop Q2s.
31F/21R on the track. Dunlop GPAs.
HUGE, HUGE difference. I don't ride track pace on the street, but when the time is right I don't put around Bear Mountain either. 36/42 has NEVER failed me. Technique is a billion times more important than pressures.
31F/21R on the track. Dunlop GPAs.
HUGE, HUGE difference. I don't ride track pace on the street, but when the time is right I don't put around Bear Mountain either. 36/42 has NEVER failed me. Technique is a billion times more important than pressures.
joe is trying way too hard. first he gives ppl a hard time for having a forward opinion, then he asserts this is not allowed, then he does the exact same shit and is therefore guilty of what he bitches at me about..
then proceeds to say most of what i said, but in his own words.
if you crash on the 94 or whatever theres about a 98% chance it was your fault and not your tires, or gear, or tire pressure (unless that directly led to grip and suspension problems directly responsible for you ending on your ass) or sunspots. no one at any point said otherwise.
so lets review; joe, shut the fuck up. nothing i said was incorrect whatsoever. what IS a little off, however, is this odd habit you have of jumping anyones shit with whom you disagree.
you did however ASSUME/INFER from my post lots of nonsense that you used to pick apart, and thats classic straw man argument nonsense to me.
stop telling these kids to run around like dipshits with their tires at 40+ psi, as its common knowledge that tire grip lessens a bit on the higher end of the pressure scale. you did mention how too low is a problem also, albeit for different reasons, but no one including me said anything about dipping into this mysterious and murky pressure range.
if you get some *** on here who just bought his first slicks telling ppl to run their tires at 25psi, k great, but it aint me nor would it ever be. such a person would be a perfectly acceptable candidate for you to pull your headmaster routine with.
then proceeds to say most of what i said, but in his own words.
if you crash on the 94 or whatever theres about a 98% chance it was your fault and not your tires, or gear, or tire pressure (unless that directly led to grip and suspension problems directly responsible for you ending on your ass) or sunspots. no one at any point said otherwise.
so lets review; joe, shut the fuck up. nothing i said was incorrect whatsoever. what IS a little off, however, is this odd habit you have of jumping anyones shit with whom you disagree.
you did however ASSUME/INFER from my post lots of nonsense that you used to pick apart, and thats classic straw man argument nonsense to me.
stop telling these kids to run around like dipshits with their tires at 40+ psi, as its common knowledge that tire grip lessens a bit on the higher end of the pressure scale. you did mention how too low is a problem also, albeit for different reasons, but no one including me said anything about dipping into this mysterious and murky pressure range.
if you get some *** on here who just bought his first slicks telling ppl to run their tires at 25psi, k great, but it aint me nor would it ever be. such a person would be a perfectly acceptable candidate for you to pull your headmaster routine with.
Exactly what did I infer from your bullshit post? You clearly stated "max" pressures in your opinion... those "max" numbers are bullshit. Plain and simple.
You clearly stated "lower than that canyons and lower than that track". Again which is bullshit. Most street tires don't need nor require pressure much if at all lower than 34 on track even cold. Certain lot twice lower... unless you are claiming these guys need 1psi less for canyon and 1psi less again for street.... which is bullshit too on a street tire
And lastly you in two different ways at least tried to insinuate people will crash because of my advice which again is BULLSHIT. If you crash on the street with a street tire set to 36psi it was YOU not the god damn tire or the pressure. You. Nobody else. 2psi down wouldn't have helped. Period. I said 36 is a good all around pressure. It is. You making it seem like it isn't and people are going to crash because of it is utter bullshit.
You make bold bullshit wide sweeping and accusational statements that are plainly "phalse" I'm going to call you out on it every damn time.
You claim nothing in your post was wrong. EVERYTHING in your post was wrong. The entire premise of the post was wrong
You clearly stated "lower than that canyons and lower than that track". Again which is bullshit. Most street tires don't need nor require pressure much if at all lower than 34 on track even cold. Certain lot twice lower... unless you are claiming these guys need 1psi less for canyon and 1psi less again for street.... which is bullshit too on a street tire
And lastly you in two different ways at least tried to insinuate people will crash because of my advice which again is BULLSHIT. If you crash on the street with a street tire set to 36psi it was YOU not the god damn tire or the pressure. You. Nobody else. 2psi down wouldn't have helped. Period. I said 36 is a good all around pressure. It is. You making it seem like it isn't and people are going to crash because of it is utter bullshit.
You make bold bullshit wide sweeping and accusational statements that are plainly "phalse" I'm going to call you out on it every damn time.
You claim nothing in your post was wrong. EVERYTHING in your post was wrong. The entire premise of the post was wrong
It's the GDC way, especially when incorrect/dangerous advice is given. For me 36/42 is the psi for street and what the engineers who designed/built the bike recommends.
I run 30 psi
in my Michelin Cup front tire :biggrin
I just started using them on my 750, had so many race take offs lying around and my 750 needed a front tire I started using them on the street. I love that tire. I still use a plain old pilot power on the rear for mileage since my 200 Cup race take offs won't fit. I'm using slicks on the racebike now so that's a wash in he future. I use 32-36 in the pilot power rear depending on the outside temps. Btw I thought this was about steering dampers :twitch
in my Michelin Cup front tire :biggrin
I just started using them on my 750, had so many race take offs lying around and my 750 needed a front tire I started using them on the street. I love that tire. I still use a plain old pilot power on the rear for mileage since my 200 Cup race take offs won't fit. I'm using slicks on the racebike now so that's a wash in he future. I use 32-36 in the pilot power rear depending on the outside temps. Btw I thought this was about steering dampers :twitch
as usual, most of you are wrong.
samantha posted a pic of the sticker we all know and love, because it shows the most conservative PSI settings FOR OEM TIRES.
honda/suzuki/etcetc does not make tires. do you really think they want you to use 36/42 for all tires? and all the time? thats pretty silly.
look at the tires on your car. is one of them not a match? sometimes that happens.. you get a flat, go to the shop of your choice and slap on a new tire, it has to be done, simple as that. and is it a different brand? look at the lettering on the side of the tire.. does it specify a somewhat different pressure range than the other 3?
use your brain, you dorks. bunch of fucking lemmings in here..
samantha posted a pic of the sticker we all know and love, because it shows the most conservative PSI settings FOR OEM TIRES.
honda/suzuki/etcetc does not make tires. do you really think they want you to use 36/42 for all tires? and all the time? thats pretty silly.
look at the tires on your car. is one of them not a match? sometimes that happens.. you get a flat, go to the shop of your choice and slap on a new tire, it has to be done, simple as that. and is it a different brand? look at the lettering on the side of the tire.. does it specify a somewhat different pressure range than the other 3?
use your brain, you dorks. bunch of fucking lemmings in here..
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