Motorcycle Steering Dampers

Motorcycle steering dampers or steering stabilizers carry out a crucial function of regulating side-to-side movements of the front end of your bike at high speed. The majority of modern street and sport bikes come equipped with steering dampers from the factory, and if your machine is not one of them, you can add such a device as an accessory. Just like the suspension which regulates the vertical movement of your wheels, a conventional steering damper uses the same technology, namely the damping properties of the restricted flow of oil that passes through the holes of fixed or varying diameter. This restriction controls the speed of the steering axle rotations.

Simply put, a steering damper slows down your steering. The main purpose of a motorcycle steering damper is preventing so-called tank slappers – unwanted wobble of the handlebars caused by uneven road surface at high speed. Tank slappers are especially dangerous on sport bikes with a short wheelbase. When speeding, if your front end lands on the road after a bump at an angle, the self-centering force of inertia causes the wheel to turn back towards center triggering a chain reaction of uncontrollable side-to-side movements of your handlebar, which often leads to a crash. By installing one of our motorcycle steering dampers, you can effectively prevent this from happening.

Note that steering dampers are designed to block fast oscillations of the steering axis. They have almost no effect on your normal steering inputs. The aftermarket offers a wide variety of motorcycle steering dampers including radial, linear, and even electronically controlled units. Radial dampers are one of the most popular among riders. They feature a compact size and offer good adjustability. Such a steering stabilizer can be mounted on top of the upper triple clamp in mere minutes. Advanced models allow for up to 25 adjustment clicks on the go and can be used as supplementary ignition immobilizers. By adjusting the stabilizer, you control the angle of damping in relation to the center line.

Linear steering dampers resemble telescopic shock absorbers and come with all of the needed brackets and hardware to be mounted with one end fixed to the bottom of the lower triple clamp, and the other end on the frame. They may come in black powder-coated or chrome-plated finish to match the style of your bike perfectly. Electronically controlled steering stabilizers are designed to vary damping efforts depending on the speed of the bike. For the most part, motorcycle steering dampers don’t make slow-speed steering more difficult since the circuitry of the stabilizer is made rate sensitive. If you turn your bars slowly, you don’t feel much resistance, but the device increases resistance if you try to crank them quickly.

If you own a sport bike with a 600 cc engine or larger, your machine is especially susceptible to tank slappers which cause some of the most dangerous and frightening crashes in the world of motorcycling. A powerful motor, steep steering geometry, and short wheelbase make your bike more maneuverable at the expense of stability increasing the probability of tank slapper situation. Off-road enthusiasts may install steering dampers on their dirt bikes since their front wheels may deflect from the center position on uneven, rough terrain. If you feel that your heavy cruiser or touring bike behaves strangely and becomes unstable when moving on a straight line, it does not mean that it needs a steering damper. You should check the condition of your tires, wheel alignment, and steering head bearings.