steering stabilizers?
Thread Starter
Member
Squid
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 55
From: Charlotte, NC
steering stabilizers?
I only weigh about 155lbs soaking wet, so when im hot on the throttle and catch a bump just right or those damn cold patches in the road the front end is so light, it gives me one hell of a shimmy. Enough to make you clench your *** cheeks and make sure your still alive. obviously a stabilizer wont make it perfect and worry free, but im sure itll help.
where do i begin??
who makes them, where do i find one, and the one answer im sure i dont wanna hear...how much?
where do i begin??
who makes them, where do i find one, and the one answer im sure i dont wanna hear...how much?
Senior Member
SuperBike
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,864
From: Fort Wayne, IN
I think Daytona still makes one (sold through Parts Unlimited). I'm also pretty sure you can still get a Scott's for the VTR too. That basically brackets the two extremes of cost. There might be a couple in between too. Ohlins maybe?
Member
Squid
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 49
From: Glasgow Bonnie Scotland
Tank slappers
Hi mate in scotland we call this tank slapping when you have the throttle cracked open you hit some bumps and it starts slapping the bars side to side.Before spending any dosh let 3 to 4 psi out of your front tyre then put your suspenssion legs up through the top yoke or i think you would call it the top tripple clamp by about 10mm.What this will do is put more weight over the front wheel.If this helps brill if not ebay uk sells rear shock spacers what these do is raise the rear end of the bike up hence putting more weight over the front.Another thing to check is the steering head bearings are not to loose. If all this fails your f****d and need to buy a steering damper that is what we call it quite a few come up on ebay uk best brand would be ohlins these units you can also rebuild unlike some of the cheeper brands.Hope this has helped and made scence to you mate
Safe riding and keep safe.
Safe riding and keep safe.
Senior Member
SuperBike
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,269
From: moncton nb canada
tank slappers suck!
i have a hyperpro on my rc51. it's adjustable and seems to work, but what do i know? i'm getting old and don't ride as hard as i used to!
unfortunately when i get on my hawk it feels like the bars are so free that they'll turn on their own.
not sure about shindy, never heard of them.
i have a hyperpro on my rc51. it's adjustable and seems to work, but what do i know? i'm getting old and don't ride as hard as i used to!
unfortunately when i get on my hawk it feels like the bars are so free that they'll turn on their own.
not sure about shindy, never heard of them.
Moderator
MotoGP
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 2,708
Sprint - http://www.sprintdampers.co.uk/
Shindy - http://shindypro.com/
Scotts - http://www.scottsperformance.com/
HyperPro - http://www.hyperprousa.com/
Matris - http://www.matrisdampers.com/
Shindy - http://shindypro.com/
Scotts - http://www.scottsperformance.com/
HyperPro - http://www.hyperprousa.com/
Matris - http://www.matrisdampers.com/
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,934
From: altoona, pa
I only weigh about 155lbs soaking wet, so when im hot on the throttle and catch a bump just right or those damn cold patches in the road the front end is so light, it gives me one hell of a shimmy. Enough to make you clench your *** cheeks and make sure your still alive. obviously a stabilizer wont make it perfect and worry free, but im sure itll help.
where do i begin??
who makes them, where do i find one, and the one answer im sure i dont wanna hear...how much?
where do i begin??
who makes them, where do i find one, and the one answer im sure i dont wanna hear...how much?
I switched bikes with a friend recently and he commented that he experienced similar. And I run lower pressures front and rear. What we figured was causing his problem was holding the grips too tightly since he admitted he did since mine was the first other bike he had ridden. You said you are hard on the throttle when this ocurs, so it's likely that tight grip might be the cause. If this is the case, try relaxing your grip and understand that when you hit a bump with a tense grip, instead of the bump being absorbed by the suspension only, it's transmitted to you and the tight grip magnifies it like a microphone does with sound. Use your grip to steer and relax your grip when you don't need to change directions.
guru of things sparky
SuperSport
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 599
From: Grand Prairie , Texas
Out of all the bikes Ive ridden without dampers, the Superhawk has the nicest front end. maybe its the rear Sag and the other things like fork springs, but my otherwise stock front suspension never shakes its head more than a little when going fast over bumps. Over smooth ground, no shakes at all, ever. ( and I ride plenty fast )
With yours, try checking and adding if possible a little more sag to the rear or lowering your forks in the triple clamps(raise front)
I dont see ever needing Damping with the current setup.
Maybe if I decreased rake and sharpened the steering by taking out some Sag in the rear end it would shake more.
As it is now, I corner hard enough to scrape my foot pegs ends at speed and I dont need any less rake than that.
With yours, try checking and adding if possible a little more sag to the rear or lowering your forks in the triple clamps(raise front)
I dont see ever needing Damping with the current setup.
Maybe if I decreased rake and sharpened the steering by taking out some Sag in the rear end it would shake more.
As it is now, I corner hard enough to scrape my foot pegs ends at speed and I dont need any less rake than that.
Last edited by Circuit_Burner; May 6, 2009 at 10:26 AM.
Thread Starter
Member
Squid
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 55
From: Charlotte, NC
right on,... ill toy w the suspension this wkend. calling for rain so what better time? I lowered the front -shoving the legs through the tree (like tango mentioned) _ last yea r close to the end of the season. i did noticed a big difference. Now that i think about the physics behind it..it makes sense. as well as the tire press. and grip. Ill take all of that into consideration. I just walked in the door... 12:37am, from an all day ride. played hooky at work and got the boys rounded up and split town. Had a great ride, some nice roads and a ton of fun. no issues at all today, so Im not so worked up over it. The day i posted the thread I had 3 incidents that made me think twice... about which spot in the pavement looked the softest :S yuck. Thanks to all the feedback im confident ill get it worked out. Thanks!!
Ride safe, Ride hard, Have fun!
Ride safe, Ride hard, Have fun!
Member
Squid
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 49
From: Glasgow Bonnie Scotland
right on,... ill toy w the suspension this wkend. calling for rain so what better time? I lowered the front -shoving the legs through the tree (like tango mentioned) _ last yea r close to the end of the season. i did noticed a big difference. Now that i think about the physics behind it..it makes sense. as well as the tire press. and grip. Ill take all of that into consideration. I just walked in the door... 12:37am, from an all day ride. played hooky at work and got the boys rounded up and split town. Had a great ride, some nice roads and a ton of fun. no issues at all today, so Im not so worked up over it. The day i posted the thread I had 3 incidents that made me think twice... about which spot in the pavement looked the softest :S yuck. Thanks to all the feedback im confident ill get it worked out. Thanks!!
Ride safe, Ride hard, Have fun!
Ride safe, Ride hard, Have fun!
Senior Member
SuperSport
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 714
From: Fredericksburg, VA
I found a Shindy on kneedraggers.com last year on sale. It definitely helps a lot and I have loved it since. Should correct any headshake problems you have.
One of the nice features of the Shindy is that it is mounted along the radiator under the fairing. Scotts and GPR's mount on the yoke and would make adding gadgets like GPS, radar detectors, or IPODs difficult. I believe Ohlins dampers are mounted down low as well but are way more expensive.
While you're at it get a fork brace. I attempted to get one but the deal fell through. That would really magnify the effect of a damper.
What may be contributing to your headshake is the front tire. Seems like once the front begins to wear on some bikes, it can put itself into tankslapper mode by itself when the bars are released at certain speeds. Very similar to a car shuddering at say 60-65 mph, then going away. Replace the tires and it goes away.
One of the nice features of the Shindy is that it is mounted along the radiator under the fairing. Scotts and GPR's mount on the yoke and would make adding gadgets like GPS, radar detectors, or IPODs difficult. I believe Ohlins dampers are mounted down low as well but are way more expensive.
While you're at it get a fork brace. I attempted to get one but the deal fell through. That would really magnify the effect of a damper.
What may be contributing to your headshake is the front tire. Seems like once the front begins to wear on some bikes, it can put itself into tankslapper mode by itself when the bars are released at certain speeds. Very similar to a car shuddering at say 60-65 mph, then going away. Replace the tires and it goes away.
WERA #44
Superstock
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 265
From: About 57 miles south of VIR
I got the shindy made for the Hawk with all the brackets and such for about $125 new. watch ebay carefully.
It works well, adjusts easily, and looks cool. I like not having a blob and pokey things on the top triple.
It works well, adjusts easily, and looks cool. I like not having a blob and pokey things on the top triple.
Senior Member
Back Marker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 224
From: Hills of Kentucky
Senior Member
SuperSport
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 562
From: NYC
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