[Guest]

Steering dampers. Does anyone have experience with a steering damper for the little Ninja? I have had a bad speed wobble on another bike and it is terrifying. My old Ducati and BMW had simple friction dampers and they never wobbled.
Sleepy

 

[abe326]

How do they work?

 

[Guest]

The bikes that had them worked really well. ;D

The old school type was just a couple of friction disks and a clamping screw which ran thru the central headset tubes. The modern type are small hydraulic cylinders which clamp to the frame one one end and the headset (triple clamp) on the other end. The friction type are cheap. Say $25. The hydralic are $400 to $500!
Sleepy

 

[Racer X]

I will need one for racing.
I can say the ninja 250 has no problem with speed wobble. Just plain to slow and the head angle is to lax at 26 or 27 deg.
I will use a through rod type mounter front to back . One mount on the fork tube . The other under the voltage regulator.

 

[Red Dragon]

I don't think the 250 needs one, unless you are going to race. I've been on several twisties pushing it hard and haven't had any problems.

 

[crushedcamber]

a dealer i frequent laughed at me when i asked him about steering dampers... dick!
im glad now that i didnt buy my bike from him. ha! take that!

 

[Red Dragon]

Don't you hate a know it all!

 

[crushedcamber]

i took it as an insult as to the fact that i bought a 250, he basically told me my bike doesnt go fast enough to need one ever... and i could see wanting one for piece of mind on the highway so that a pot hole or something cant grab your steering from you... ya know... but whatever screw him, at least im out and doing what i love.

 

[Red Dragon]

Yeah but I bet that a--hole doesn't know that our 250's will out manuever larger bikes in tight twisties!! Take that Mr. I know everything!! LOL! I don't think I've even seen many dampers on 600's either.
Hey Crushed, have you done any research on giving our bikes more power?

 

[virtualmatrix258]

i took it as an insult as to the fact that i bought a 250, he basically told me my bike doesnt go fast enough to need one ever... and i could see wanting one for piece of mind on the highway so that a pot hole or something cant grab your steering from you... ya know... but whatever screw him, at least im out and doing what i love.

Exactly! I fear little tidbits being thrown on the highway, and people really undermind a 250 likes its a friggin tricycle or something. A bikes' a bike, and its still a quick bike. I think it would be great for beginers as well. And nightime riding, never know when you'll have to maneuver around something that will get your ass splattered.

I would've gone off on that guy...temper temper.

 

[crushedcamber]

Hey Crushed, have you done any research on giving our bikes more power?

Not so much, aside from jet kits and exhausts and such, i think if i end up keeping it till the end of the year i might do some performance mods and see what happens. overall i would like to see a turbo 250r. that would be so sick to hear it spool and then the bov. i used to love listening to my audi tt spool up... such a sick sound.

 

[Jester]

That'd be kinda cool. Might get annoying though - people get sick of cars like the wrx I'd they're using it as a daily driver. Idk what your experience with the tt was though.

 

[crushedcamber]

I never get sick of a turbo sound. so badass!

i used to find farm roads and drop the windows and fly down them just to hear the turbo and well get the rush from the all wheel and the tight handling. that car was sick with the esp, i came down around a sandy corner and it started to head for the trees and then the esp ( electronic stability program ) kicked in and applied the right amount of breaking to individual wheels and save my investment and life, it pulled back straight and i was headed back in the right direction, only my heart was beating through my chest... haha

good life lesson. buy a car with esp if you drive like a jerk. ha

 

[Racer X]

When you are going into a turn how much power dose it take?None. because you are on the brakes . Lighter is better. When you are turning how much power do you need? A little. Because you a balancing the traction front to rear. To much power can disrupt that.
You only need power coming out of the turn . Lighter bikes are a lot of fun 2/3 s of the time

 

[Red Dragon]

I agree with Darkhorse. I had a 600 before and of course it had more power, but when you are turning slow, parking or in the twisties the 250 is SO much better! It's like on a bigger bike because of the weight it's like you have to steer or manhandle it more.

 

[Guest]

I will need one for racing.
I can say the ninja 250 has no problem with speed wobble.

IMHO the bike can't tell the difference from racing or non racing. I also believe that the road surface causes wobbles. Ripples etc. The speed has little to do with the wobbles. The one wobble event I went thru was at 25 MPH. I think that for all bikes 99.9 percent of the time a steering damper is useless. It's only in that "hard to define" and hard to anticipate event when everything is just right that it happens. I suspect, but cannot proov, that manufacturers leave them of cheaper bike because the are expensive. I suspect also they avoid the friction type because they have no control over how mush tension the rider will use. There exposure to lawsuit drives it. Ducati put one on the 250 Diana I had so they must have thought it was a good idea. It was about 260 pounds and about the same speed. So I'm going to try to put one on my bike when I get it.
Sleepy

 

[Racer X]

I agree with you 100$ That it is neded as much for the street as for the racing I do . I feel I could use one for the street more so than the track .The rules say I will need one . But

 

[Red Dragon]

So you guys think it would make a big difference to have one?

 

[Guest]

During a wobble there is no control. Having no control can be deadly. Having a damper and using it there shouldn't be anything to notice. It makes a difference in my opinion. Is it big? It's kinda relative.
Just my opinion. But, I would like to learn more about it.

The rules say I will need one

Do the rules state any particular type of damper, that is either friction or hydraulic?
Sleepy

 

[Guest]

I did a search on Wikipedia for speed wobble and there are several interesting articles and off shoots dealing with stability and wobbles. It seems that lifting the front wheel (wheelies) and reducing, momentarily, the weight can set up conditions for this. A superbike accelerating quickly would be an example. A front tire with good lateral stiffness helps avoid wobbles too. Stiff forks, stiff frame, proper air pressure all help to discourage wobbles. Oh, and dampers too.
Sleepy