i have a cerianni steering damper installed on my 09 nightster that i bought from storz performance ,it works like a charm .hell it has 23 settings on it and i could literally take my hands off of the bars on the highway at high speeds with out any concerns .tracks staight n true.i also have a super fork brace on my sporty as well as the race tech internal cartridge fork emulator kit with the screamin eagle 10 wieght fork oil in it and its like a night n day difference from stock. now the steering damper was not cheap at all ,over $400.00

 

I'd recommend fork re-valving and sprung for weight, including quality rear shocks, before a steering damper.

Head shake is the least of your worries, if the wheels are leaving the road, because of crappy suspension with little to no high speed rebound to it.

Stock HD XL suspension is a simple damper, light weight oil and a spring that's generally suited for a 150-170 person. here's no preload, rebound or damping adjustments, making it a pogo stick in the performance world.

The rear shocks are chrome parts, designed to hold a passenger if applicable, without collapsing. Theyre' even less performance oriented.

This issue (Lack of rebound) is what causes the shocks/forks to pack-up on multiple high speed bumps, found on public roads. This causes the suspension to stop or come close to stop moving and the bike low-sides on you, or worse, starts to low-side, and catches, high-siding. Tires STAYING IN CONTACT with the road is more important.

Don't worry about the damper, when the forks and rear shocks are garbage.

As much as the suspension FEELS GOOD to you, without really having it designed for agressive or spirited riding, with a heavier than overage bike, you're setting yourself up to get bit, and that's expensive.

Been there.

Spent $3500 for forks and a rear shock (yes, one) for my race bike. It was the week after I got too confident with the stock parts and ended up getting a free trailer ride back to the pits.

Replacement bodywork wasn't included in that price......

 

Dave ,the 4 things that i did to my stock real chitty suspention has made a huge night n day difference on my nightster,super fork brace,racetech internal fork cartridge kit ,10 wieght screamin eagle fork oil ,and the cerianni steering damper kit..and it did have bad front end fork flex,headshake .it now tracks a straight as a train on rails now even at high speeds,with the race tech kit at least you can some what internally do some adjustments with the internal spacers and 10 wieght fork oil..

 

I'm with Dave on this one. On a street bike with lazy steering like the Sportster has, if the suspension is set up correctly, a steering damper isn't needed. I put Progressive shocks, Progressive fork springs, and a fork brace on my old Ironhead and it handles fine for any kind of semi-sane street riding.

 

i disagree with u on NOT NEEDING A STEERING DAMPER .my suspention is set up to my weight and my riding style which is kinda still agressive n it makes a huge improvement on my sportys front end handling.xlx have u ever put one on your bike before ? i`m thinking NO ,cause if u have you`d know how much they improve the ride quality! now if your a put around town foo foo rider then i`d say that u dont need one at all..

 

Dave I totally agree with you on the suspension stuff.. Which is why I did fork Springs and rear shocks and I will be getting intimidator fork valves in the future. I also have a fork brace in the mail as we speak.

After even the modest upgrades I made the bike feels a lot better in the corners but I just feel a bit of high speed wobble mid corner that I feel is mainly due to bumpy NY roads... And I'm thinking steering... From the research I have done it is coming from the steering head so I figured a steering damper could help.. Thing is this is why I'm asking because I just don't know what applies to real world and not just theory (most articles I see are all for sport bikes so it is hard to translate that info to my Sporty sometimes)

Thanks for all the info guys!

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I apologize XL.... I wasn't aware you did work to your suspension. Anything over stock is an improvement.

Truth be told, 95% of all bikes have substandard suspensions. If its good suspension, you pay for it.

 

No apologies necessary...

Knowing that do you still think if isn't worth it? Or is it still a bit worth it.


If I'm honest I don't care so much about going faster around turns I just figure the better the suspension the safer it is.. Plus all these doodads look cool and get me all excited cause I'm a nerd.

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My buddy was chasing down a shimmy in the curves on his '05 R. He was thinking head bearings or swingarm bearings were the cause.
He finally changed tires ...end of shimmy. Could be a tire thing.

 

Head set adjustment is the major cause of shimmy. Either too loose, or what most people miss is too tight!

Too tight and the front end can't follow the road quickly enough.

 

I agree.

Another thing you need to understand, is that the geometry of the sportster isn't condusive with high speed cornering, or even cornering.

Race bikes (Sportbikes) have 26-28* of rake, a specific rear swingarm angle and a lower center of gravity, becuase they're DESIGNED to race, not designed to tool around on the street. XL models have a 31* rake angle.

That 3* is a big difference, as is the total weight distribution, with a 3-4 gallon tank, perched up high on the frame, along with a heavy steel frame. There's a HUGE difference in that most sportbikes are sub-400 lbs with fluids, and an XL is 560 DRY. Not to mention, the rider is perched on top of that bike, not seated IN THE BIKE, where their weight is lower in the mass.

Another factor is inverted forks that sportbikes have. That's 54mm of stability when a front fork is compressed and put under load, vs 39mm of a sportster's skinny forks, and probably only 2/3s of the triple tree grip area.

A damper IS a good idea. I advocate them, only because if ANY SPIRITED riding is done, the geometry NOT BEING of a performance machine, leaves any bike vulnerable to headshake. A damper helps keep that under control.

Barber Motorsports Park..... Sportbike lap times, 120.5 for professional Asian-4 riders.

Harley AMA race series (About the only thing stock are the grips) is 134.6 a lap.

Take a look at the technology in these bikes....

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news...news/ama-pro-racing-recaps-the-harley-davidson-race-at-barber-motorsports-park/

Killer video....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up-Xwwoxsv0

 

If it doesn't make it handle better, go faster or stop faster, it's bling.

A damper would be a wise purchase.

Nothing wrong with improving the way a bike handles, as long as you understand the limitations to your expectations, and NEVER exceed them.

 

I must say in the last few years I have never entered a turn at crap my pants speeds. Even on the GSXR I rode I entered slow and carefully rolled on the speed cause lets face it, unless your racing entry speed doesn't really matter so why push it. For me I don't care how fast I am going I care how much fun I'm having and you can do that without pushing a 600lb cruiser to the limits IMO. But I digress...

Another overlooked point: Rider skill.

I've seen excellent riders on junk, ride circles around mediocre riders on top-notch, state of the art machines.

Sometimes it's about skill.....not equipment.

If only I had the money to go to a professional race school!

 

Another overlooked point: Rider skill.

I've seen excellent riders on junk, ride circles around mediocre riders on top-notch, state of the art machines.

Sometimes it's about skill.....not equipment.

 

Amazon.com: DBI Steering Stabilizer/Damper Harley-Davidson Softail and Dyna: Automotive

I kinda like this dampener because it goes under the forks, not on the side like a lot of them do. It got pretty good reviews on another forum but I wonder what the quality is like. It seems pretty cheap compared to others I am looking at. I don't know how complex of one I really need again considering that the old Roadster ain't no sport bike.

As for videos I like the older stuff personally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujPF-mGGqnw

 

Handlebar choice can affect handling to some extent, too. Bars that are fairly low and wide enough for some leverage make a bike like the Sportster easier to flick around, and place you in better position to use some body English.

 

Yea this fact is killing me. I really... Really... Really want to go up with my bars but I know that the handling feel will suffer from it. I just love the style though.

One step at a time. The fork brace may be in tomorrow and then I will go from there.

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No bike NEEDS a steering damper. If it NEEDS one, something is wrong.

I recommend a steering damper to ANYONE who rides more than cruising speeds and especially goes into corners faster than a "normal" street speed.

Public roads have multiple coefficients of friction, bumps and surface changes and on PA roads, all of those can be found in one 6' stretch......

 

I recommend a steering damper to ANYONE who rides more than cruising speeds and especially goes into corners faster than a "normal" street speed. well there ya go thats exactly how i ride due to all my years of racing motocross, if you have never ridden a bike with one than you just dont know what they can do for a bike. and if you rode my nightster befor having a damper n after having one youd be in total ageement with me..dont say that you dont need one and if you do theres something wrong,thats like saying if you need better than stock shocks well then theres something wrong with your bike!

 

Yeah, I'm not saying I'm the fastest rider in the world, but I can scat through the curves pretty well. Definitely not a foo foo Harley couch rider.

Anyway, if you think your bike needs a steering damper and one will cure headshake or whatever other ills you have, then by all means, put one on it.

 

I should have mentioned... You'd likely kick my ass in the turns. I am actually really slow when it comes to turning for what the bike could do... I just won't push it so far on public roads that I am past the point of no return if critters or any other number of possible problems jump out at me.

And I know I don't NEED a steering dampener. I also didn't NEED to spend 3 hours today tuning my ride sag again and swapping fork oils for better performance...It's just my thing.. I friggin love the suspension stuff what can I say!


I guess I just love at the end of the day the feeling of knowing that using basic suspension upgrades on a tight budget, combined with knowledge and experimentation that I can get the bike to handle the way I want it to.

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Cures wobbles, tank slappers, squirrelly front ends, jittery front ends with 21" wheels & tires, side winds & that loose disconnected feeling . Will make the bike behave like its on rails ! Sport bikes & race bikes have very quick turn-in which is what you need for racing , With the damper you will have to make a conscience effort to turn the bike which is what I want so it serves my purpose .
Makes it a lot easier to maneuver if your inebriated too !