As promised here is my Steering Damper build for the old FXR. I started to get wobbles on corners and sweepers - nothing too bad, but enough to make me take notice. I could have ripped the swing arm and/or steering bearings apart as they are still all OEM and perhaps a little overdue for replacement, but I really needed to have a Steering Damper fitting for some racing I have planned so I figured why not go that route for now.
After researching units for Harleys I was a bit ticked off to find that they all cost about $200 and looked like cheap Chinese chit. There was no way I was going to stick one of them on the bike and then 'hope like hell' it holds up to the rigors of a heavy Harley, so I looked around on eBay and found an old Damper from a 2006 or something GSXR1000 for bugger all (i.e. about $30 to buy and $20 postage as I bought it from the USA).
Being very clever I thought that I would change the oil in the Damper from what was in there to a thicker type seen as the Harley had to need it because it was heavier in the steering; so I put in 15wt oil; and that was a big mistake. After several weeks the oil was leaking so I reverted back to the original weight 5wt – 10wt and all is well. Lesson…leave well enough alone!
How does it perform? Bloody awesome is all I can say! I can take a longer sweeper at 160kph and she rides like she is on rails….I now chicken out before the bike does! Oddly enough I do not notice any difference in the steering when going slow. I had thought that the steering would be stiff or sluggish when trying to move the bike around but that’s not the case at all – in fact you would never know that the damper was even there.
Anyway…here are the pictures, complete with measurements so if you want you can have a crack yourself give it a try – it’s not complicated and you do not need a machine shop. A welder does help, as well as an angle grinder to clean up crappy welds … lol …and a tap set for the damper mounting screw hole.
Frame mount component
Steering Neck component
Mounted to the frame - the two holes help stop the unit twisting around...I drilled a small hole through the bracket and into the frame which i then tapped to take a machine screw.
The large hole on the left is actually a factory OEM one. I think its used for the Crash Bars on the FXRT and FXRP models. It is now used to mount the Damper and hold the front lower scoop on.
This took a while to think through but i got it in the end. The allen bolt is the OEM one that screws up into the steering neck and holds a clamp that the Brake line goes through - all i did was to find a longer bolt. Obviously the steering damper threads into the end near the forks. If left alone and once all fitted the entire thing would pivot around the centre allen bolt, so as per the update in the picture I made a pin for the end which sits into a hole I drilled.
All done!...It looks rough as this is only the dry fitting.
Once i had it all looking and fitting well I cleaned it all up and painted it black (as you do with a Harley...lol) Powder Coat would be better I think and thats my end goal, but once installed I find I'm happy with it.
Feel free to ask any questions.
