Below are the various parts of the video for your ease, the times are on the timeline: @ Intro @ Why am I making this video? @ What is Steering Damper? @ What causes a Tank Slapper? @ Two Top Tips! @ How does a steering damper work? @ What are the types of steering dampers? @ Do you 'WANT' a steering damper? @ Do you 'NEED' a steering damper? @ Why re-valve the damper? How it benefits you? @ How did the damper helped me? @ Conclusion
It's spooky that you posted this video. I was literally deciding on whether or not to get a steering damper for my R6 after I had a tank slapper happen to me last weekend at the track. I woke up this morning, seen you had posted this video, watched it, ordered an Ohlins damper an hour later haha. Great video as always. Thank you👍
Wow that’s astonishing Unbelievable That was good timing wasn’t it Good choice on the damper mate After market ones are a bit better than OEM supplied with the bike And on a 600 bike it’s a must due to a lighter weight and ever increasing power Thanks for watching and supporting mate
i am so dead curious, why the f88k would you hit 'dislike' - unless you are totally UNaware of those tenths of hours needed to do this 14 min video which, for many, would be very useful.
Hahaha mate, I am pinning your comment lol... I know , I think I had 7 dislikes in 3 mins of posting this video but it is what it is , it takes a long time to do these videos excluding research but certain people don’t understand the effort Thanks for the support and comment as always man .. can’t wait to see your progress in 2021
This is the sweet part of life that when your life in a great stage or you grow up with some good things in your life, some people dislike you. I enjoy these kind of things . It gives more confidence that people are jealous of my life and lifestyle. As I experienced myself .😊
This is one of the most informative presentations I've seen in a while and I thank you! First, I don't do track days, race or off road. Filtering down further, I have 2 bikes, 2006 BMW K1200r and 2006 Yamaha Fz1 (USA). Instantly you can see the dynamics are changed in the design of each machine. The BWM steers horribly in slow tight spots (think parking lots) but is limitless in high speed (160 mph) stability. Low center of gravity and longer wheel base simply helps. But the steering is horrible at low speed. The Fz1 is a masterful machine at 2/3 the weight of the BMW and feather light. At 130 mph the front want to take in a side show, so to speak, and drift a bit. With that said, the Yamaha is the better bike in many ways because it is so easy to ride all day. The Yamaha has no damper! The BMW has the stock damper and it's heavy. I'm going to install a damper on the Fz1 because of the limiting factors of the BMW and my age. Initially it makes no sense to do it but I get fatigued and the damper helps on the BMW when it's a long ride. The Yamaha needs a bit more attention even though it's in great condition. No one know their bike better than a useful owner. I'm likely to keep one of the two motorcycles after this year and it seems the Yamaha will win out. Damper or not. Please consider making more content and thank you.
Wow, thank you for the kind words Luis and sorry for the late reply. The points on that BMW are spot on by you and it's got a stiffer damper for stability which I am sure you know. You definitely need one on the Yamaha and get a good one too , they can be expensive but they are worth their weight in gold , I ride a number of bikes from different era and I can feel the difference straightaway , the ones with damper and not. I will definitely start doing more tech content, I had a bit of a break from RU-vid but I am back on it now. thanks for the lovely constructive , well written comment
Just bought one for my 02 954 RR and it changed everything for me, acceleration, control and overall comfort. Then I go to you tube and find this video which was very helpful to me and learned even more about it. Thanks for video bud. I really appreciate it.
Brilliant Mr Garcia ... really happy that my video was useful ... thank you so much That’s made my day Happy Easter Enjoy the damper It’s a silent best upgrade
Electronic dampers aren’t “AI” or any other fancy stuff. They just increase damping based on speed. So when doing slow speed maneuvers it can be soft and when going 180, it can be stiff. Since slow speed isn’t relevant for racing, it isn’t used. Has nothing to do with it not being “ready”.
I totally agree with you and excellent explanation… i purely meant it for racing not street , I have ridden the new fireblade and RSV4 factory with electronic damper on street and track , the term AI was just used as a metaphor as I am well aware it’s not totally AI
Thanks very much Levi , your pointers were spot on, it’s a topic which doesn’t get mentioned much but can caught out a few people ... thanks again .. can’t wait to see you racing next year
That tank slapper at the start 🤣 Reminded me of one of those arguments where you've just got to sit there and let them get it all off their chest - "okay, have you finished now?" 🤣 The WORST thing you can do is try to fight it!!
Hahaha mate . That’s absolutely spot on , I couldn’t have summed it better myself. I just can’t believe that tank slapped it actually looks a sped up footage but it’s not lol ... good one mate , thanks for watching
Assuming he speedo is vaguely correct: He was going 176mph ... on the road. Its his own damn fault. Roads are not racetrack flat. Motorcycles are not built to do 180mph on uneven and temperamental road surfaces. Want to avoid tank slappers? Dont ride like an idiot.
As a pre-APRC RSV4 owner, I'm happy you made this video. The factory damper is...well it's on the bike at least? I had a GPR V2 on my RC51 SP2 and learned on the track on that bike, when I went to the Ape it was a fantastic change, so nimble, narrow, and responsive...but WOW, the Factory setup on my RSV4 would wobble in very "minor" scenarios. Even things like 2nd gear corner at 40mph, Maybe 30° of lean and on corner exit, just enough to lighten the front and I'd have wobble. I started chasing rebound and compression settings because it was so pronounced. Turns out I had a blown steering damper. The value of having a good one is so important. Great video and breakdown, very well thought out.
wow Brian, first of all sorry for the late reply , some comments slip through the net. Great comment, I am so glad you actually noticed the difference with or without damper or with different settings or a damper which wasn't up to scratch. I love comments like this , cause from your experience and from what you felt and observed , I can learn a thing or two too. Thanks for the constructive reply , makes a lot of sense and I appreciate you appreciating the work gone behind this video. cheers
Thanks for this Ahbi, very informative and great to know these things so you can adjust yourself for your own style. It’s amazing you know Levi Day, he lived just down the road from me here in Adelaide. Very good rider and very knowledgeable.
Wow really !!! Yes mate Billy McConnell and Levi Day both are good mentors and Billy trained me in Spain Almeria circuit 2 years ago , both are gems. Levi also did the livery on my bike , he’s a bloody good racer too , keeps fit, family man , hard working .. it’s wonderful to know he was down the road from you ... just wow ... thanks for watching and supporting mate
@@ChasingTenths definitely will Ahbi, your vlog is excellent and great for us novices to get good tips on everything from the bike to track days. Yeah Levi had a coaching school at Mac Park down at Mt Gambier which is down south of the state from Adelaide, it’s amazing he’s doing great work in the UK now, another guy I watch “Mostly Motorbikes” had his bike livery done by Sublime Designs as well, both your bikes look absolutely magic. Keep up the great work Ahbi! 👍🙏
@@mikeharrison72 yes mate , Mostly motorbikes is a grast friend of mine. I love his work. What a small work aye Michael Absolutely wonderful to hear from you I am over the moon that this information is handy for you It made my day I’ll convey your hello to Levi as a fellow Aussie lol He’s in this comment section
Another tip to prevent wobbles and stop them: Grip your tank with your knees and press your heels against the bike to increase the mass that needs to wobble. Often a to relaxed riding position is part of the reason for a such an event in the first place. On public roads at least.
Only some tank slappers are controllable through more throttle at the onset of the wobble. If it’s going nuts I’ll let go with my left hand first and not chop the throttle but after it increases I’ll let go completely. Unfortunately I have loads of experience with this. I love dampers. They reduce the risk considerably. The last one I had was top speed testing to 160 mph with no problems whatsoever and on the ride home at 80 mph it experienced violent head shake for no apparent reason and I attributed it to road conditions as I couldn’t get it to do it again at similar speeds and inputs. It’s not if but when and you have to be ok with the pucker factor.
Awesome video mate. I know how much work goes into these really detailed ones as I often sit down to think of something and then get distracted so post some low effort nonsense 😂😂 good work mate.
Hahahaha mate , it is hard work making these , first research then put it all on paper then I type it up lol then remember it ... love your stuff too mate , it’s never scripted
Thanks Dan, much appreciate it mate, I try to be thorough, I don’t post too many videos but the ones I make , I make sure they add some value and in the process I learn something too lol ... thanks for watching and supporting mate
Cool video but didn't really touch on the differences between dampers. I'm looking at a Scott's damper for the 2 way, high/ low speed settings. I don't want to add any weight to my steering during everyday riding, but I would love to have some insurance against slappers. Idk, maybe an overly simplistic understanding, but I don't see any competitors offering the same thing.
Good point, I really wanted to do a deep dive into the differences in dampers, that would have just made the video too long and people these days have low attention span , but definitely do another video on it.. personally I have only used the ohlins one on my race bike and 4 other bikes from different eras and it has been faultless and given me great peace of mind. But thanks for the tip on deep dive into the dampers , I think I will do a video on it.
Great video. Tank slappers are no bueno and steering dampers are great. I would have a hard time gassing through one but it makes sense. Like a lot of things, counterintuitive.
Great video as always buddy, like the way you pick subjects that normally get ignored as people are too scared to ask as are worried about looking stupid
Hahaha. Mark, very well said there, honestly when I was going through my research or clips of tank slappers, I couldn’t believe how some of the riders just took the absolute piss with the bike and sometimes the bike fights back , no damper stiffness can save utter stupidity lol ... thanks for watching mate and the support
Thanks Ben, really appreciate that mate, yes, I was told by 3 people during my research that the Kawasaki one has a bit of a delay or sometimes unpredictable But I just never mention any brands in my video ever or disrepute them .. but good to hear mate I do think Kawasaki position their damper really well , perfect position that on the top. Thanks for watching mate and supporting
It’s been better since I got the suspension set up correctly but it’s still no where near as good as it should, doing abit of research someone makes a manual aftermarket kit to fit to the electronic one which makes it a lot more useable so I’m going to invest in that ready for next years track days 👌🏽 hope to see you on one next year bud
@@benjaminlawrence2864 aaahhhh that’s very interesting, I didn’t know about that kit .. but I definitely it’s worth investing in it because if the steering is iffy at times or has it’s own brain then you cannot be confident or at yours best on any decent turn carrying decent speed
@@benjaminlawrence2864 can you explain how it was shocking for you? I found that mine would not react in time when driving out of the corners with front end slightly in the air. Raised the tail 10mm and dropped the front 5mm. Also dialed out some squat on the rear and I no longer have any issues. I've also had extensive suspension setup changes including different valving and weight of oil in front suspension. Would just like to hear what happened and what you did to resolve it.
Interesting, I always found that gas on is the way forward but then my bike is around 178 bhp on the rear wheel and power up definitely cures it And I have spoken to accomplished racers in uk , they say the same
Hey mate , good to hear from you , yeah I didn’t load a video for a while , really need to up my game , ape’s doing really well . Changed my riding style too, less silly and aggressive, and the ape just works beautifully on track . Luckily the damage was hardly any so I got pretty lucky , still it was a mammoth task to bring it up to looking spotless ... thanks for watching and following mate
Dampers are great, however I’ve heard of tales and legends of a great fallback of that some dampers specifically cheap ones get stuck and u end up crashing badly…… don’t buy cheap dampers , and make sure u test it before a ride
That’s a perfect setting mate but you just have to work a little harder on those left right left right turns after the mountain plus the fast left hander after the main straight but at cadwell it’s worth going a little hard mate cause of so many changes of undulating tarmac plus that mountain lol ... thanks for watching I had exactly the same setting as you got at cadwell One below hard
I understand mate what you mean , trust me you will feel it , try turning the settings totally soft to totally hard ... thanks for watching thought mate
Great video! I have FX CNC Racing Steering Damper (which is the linier), the problem is I broke the 'click' switch, how I can fix it? I search on youtube and many references and still don't get any answer. Please help me, thank you
@@ChasingTenths Unfortunately I'm in Indonesia :( I already took my steering damper to the mechanic, but he suggest to drill it, maybe any other way to fix without drilling?
@@miskandarzulkarnain2074 no don’t drill it Don’t mess with it If a steering damper fails It’s suicidal Handbars can get stuck You’ll have to buy a new one then mate or send it to someone who can repair
Hi, I have a CBR1000F exactly like your 89/90 spec and wanted to know if you are intending to put a steering damper on your bike and if so which one? I have not had any problems with stability (using Michelin Power 5) but I am afraid of a speed wobble as I ride two up a lot on that bike. Any advice is much appreciated, thanks
Hey there , thanks for the lovely msg, to be honest I think I won’t need a steering damper on there I don’t think you will need it too And I doubt a company makes one for it You might have to weld the mounts on it The bike is super stable I don’t think it will have the wobble I have really put that bike through it’s paces here in U.K. country roads but had no wobbles or nasty surprises but it’s definitely an interesting thought
i think this is what i am looking ? i have a can am 2022 ryker rally ( reverse trike) at hyway speed the steering is very sensitive. what are your thoughs ?
Absolutely Walter , this will work perfectly and bring some stability into the picture for you. get a good one , its a one time spend. so sorry for the late reply , come comments slip through the net. feel free to ask me any questions
