I just installed a dampener on the bike and have no idea how to set it. I read somewhere (maybe in here) to set it as loose as possible until you can't come out of the turns at full throttle, then turn it one click stiffer. My problem is that I could come out full throttle without it so should I just leave it on the lightest setting? Any help would be greatly appreciated and if I ever get to the point that I think your advice saved me some plastic I will send you a beer .
It depends on what kind of dampner you have and what kind of bike it's on. I can't even imagine running an R6 without one. Most good dampners like Scotts, and Hyperpro have high speed dampening which controls sudden jerks which tank slappers induce. If you bought a cheapo S&C, or Daytona dampner, then throw it away and buy a Scotts. I don't know if you've ever experienced a tank slapper before, but it is most unpleasant. The bike lunges like its possesed. The front tire chirps every time it touches down, slams to each of the steering locks, becomes airborne and this recurs until you get it under control, or until you fall off. This actually sends the bike laterally as you are holding on for dear life. I wasn't using a top of the line dampner at that time... As for setting... It's your preference. I like to set mine by the rate of turn in that I can make. If I can't countersteer the bars without excessive force then I soften it up a bit until I feel a comfortable balance between control and safety. Make sure that your bike is set up properly first. I start out light and go up until I feel it's too much.
There are two settings. There's the Nelson setting, which would be cranked all the way up.... And then there's the setting for everywhere else (about half of the Nelson setting....
Your steering damper is just that, a damper. A shock absorber. You would not think of running your shocks with the damping adjustments turned all of the way up. You shouldn't with the steering damper either. I set mine to a setting that will just allow me to operate the bike very slowly in the pits ( like a slow race) and then maybe a click tighter. You want to dampen the oscillations of the front end to just a slight wiggle when the front end gets light. If you tighten the damper as tight as it will go those oscillations are then transmitted thoughout the frame (from steering head to swing arm) causing the whole bike to feel twitchy. Try setting up this way then go out on the track. If you get too much wiggle in the front end, tighten one click at a time until it feels good, but let it move just slightly. Hope this helps, Dean
I am going to go out with it on the lightest damping setting and go from there. Unfortunately I did buy a Daytona mostly for the fact that the bike did NOT display any bad tendencies without one on there. If I feel the need to upgrade later I will just buy a new bike. The bike is a '99 ZX6r that was fortunately set up for a person fitting my exact description and I couldn't ask for better handling/manners on the track.
Re: Re: Setting a steering Dampener Doesn't Caterpiller make a damper to fit your bike for these conditions?
