Damper setting!

**AMRRA12** · 06-22-2010, 09:12 PM

I talked about this on another board but I think it would be a good thing to share here

A few weeks ago I was out riding the in the cannons and we met up with some dude on an R6, we stop and we are shooting the **** I happen to notice he was running a GPR top mount V1 that was set to 9 (it has 10 settings!) so I asked the dude WHY THE HELL is you damper tight? He said he had a tank slap once and it scared the **** out of him so he bought the V1 and wanted to make sure it never happened again!........so he set it to 9…………

Here is the problem with that (A) a damper is NOT for tank slaps, it’s for head shake! There is a big difference

(B) The best place for a tank slap is in the front of this bike! <-- this may sound dumb but it’s not! ………… if you are running a damper that is far too tight and you do get a tank slap the force MUST go somewhere (every action has an equal and opposite reaction) the force MUST find a place to go, and that place is ideally the damper! It uses the energy that the head shake generates and disposes it through friction in the damper…. Sounds great right? … so why not just crack that SOB all the way up and it will eat up all the energy the head shake or tank slap has even faster?

Well you cant, when you damper is too tight you effectively shunt the front of the bike and the rear, making it one piece! So the force looks for the path of least resistance and that is NOW through the frame and to the rear tire! And once that violent “left to right” motion hits the rear tire there is NO saving it, and you will crash! Well… more then likely highside!

So the moral of this story is you want the damper loose, but not so loose it does nothing, and you want the damper tight, but not so tight is hydro locks and make the bike a solid unit! I run a V2 it had 20 settings I’m on # 5

......................I hope this helps some one..............

**1000RR** · 06-22-2010, 10:52 PM

Thanks for the details... make sense...

I'm running a Bitubo (has 18 settings) on #7... I've had an occasional head shake off a rise or abrupt/unexpected braking situation... and it seemed to settle right back in.

BUZZ · 06-23-2010, 01:20 PM

the damper wont stop a tank slap but it will help you ride through it,i had one or two bad ones over the years and my last one was one of the worst,i was giving it some over a bridge up in the mountains and the bridge is on the brow of a hill but hitting it at just over140mph the bars nearly ripped out of my hands as the front wheel touched back down on the tarmac,with out the steering damper i would be still in hospital now but i managed to ride out of it by keeping on the gas...they wont stop a tank slap but they will help you ride away from one and the R6's are notoriuos for tank slappers....im quite shocked the bmw one is not electronic as for such a powerfull bike you would think that bmw would of had a similar set up to the gsxr k5/ k6/k7 1000 one as they are pretty good out of the crate and the bmw is based on the gsxr k5/k6 1000....???? i'll still wait and see how good or bad the bmw one is and if its not up to scratch then i'll get the ohlins one as they are cheap in the uk...lol

tcchin · 06-24-2010, 02:06 AM

K5/K6 dampers are hydraulic. The chassis on the BMW is sufficiently stiff that it doesn't require as much damper as the K5/K6 to control headshake. If you have the room and the bottle, you can always lift the front wheel to stop headshake.

pimpmybike · 06-24-2010, 05:31 AM

OKAY here comes the question what the hell is a HEAD shake..is it some modern day blow job???? on the real what is a head shake...a wobble in the handle bars what???

akjitsu · 06-24-2010, 11:33 AM

Absolutely correct AMRRA.

Folks; there's a reason why that front wheel shakes. It's trying to correct an instability problem. And if you screw with it too much by making the front wheel/chassis connection rigid that instability will move to the chassis proper. And you won't like what happens next.

If your damper has settings 1 -10, 2 or 3 is plenty. Just enough to take the edge off. Any more will make the situation worse.

**1000RR** · 06-24-2010, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1000RR

Thanks for the details... make sense...

I'm running a Bitubo (has 18 settings) on #7... I've had an occasional head shake off a rise or abrupt/unexpected braking situation... and it seemed to settle right back in.

So, is #7 OK you think in my application, or should I maybe bring it down a click or two?

**AMRRA12** · 06-24-2010, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1000RR

So, is #7 OK you think in my application, or should I maybe bring it down a click or two?

I would say your fine at 7 if you have 20 clicks as long as you can move the bars freely and easily

**AMRRA12** · 06-24-2010, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pimpmybike

OKAY here comes the question what the hell is a HEAD shake..is it some modern day blow job???? on the real what is a head shake...a wobble in the handle bars what???

Damn Brits don't know American lingo! HAHAHA

yes head shake is what you would call wobble

Mack · 06-24-2010, 03:30 PM

Wobble is the second generation of wiggle.

A little wiggle is tolerable; a lot of wobble isn't. Think like a drunk.

Mack