Linear steering damper... On the cheap!

[PDX_Piggy]

In my quest for some steering dampage I was thoroughly disappointed in the offerings for our FZ6. My last bike was a 07' SV650 and I loved it. I especially loved my GSXR steering damper. It was a simple linear/plunger style damper. They run somewhere in the ballpark of $25-40USD. A member over at SVRider.com, Nucular, made CNC machined aluminum mounts for the SV. They were bolt on and worked flawlessly.

So... I wanted the same great damping as I had on my SV. I started by tearing the front end off and seeing what the heck I was working with. The FZ differs greatly from the SV. The SV was minimal in the front end department and had a different frame. The FZ has a two-piece frame connected at the steering head as seen below. Forgive the hole on the left side, that was a mess up I'll explain in a bit...


http://www.flickr.com/photos/61272837@N03/6965630198/http://www.flickr.com/people/61272837@N03/


This is what I came up with using a late model OEM GSXR damper and about $8.00 worth of hardware store materials.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/61272837@N03/7111702093/http://www.flickr.com/people/61272837@N03/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61272837@N03/6965624948/http://www.flickr.com/people/61272837@N03/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61272837@N03/6965626330/http://www.flickr.com/people/61272837@N03/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61272837@N03/7111703579/http://www.flickr.com/people/61272837@N03/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61272837@N03/7111705157/http://www.flickr.com/people/61272837@N03/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61272837@N03/6965630826/http://www.flickr.com/people/61272837@N03/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61272837@N03/7111707727/http://www.flickr.com/people/61272837@N03/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61272837@N03/6965630826/http://www.flickr.com/people/61272837@N03/


And some measurements...



http://www.flickr.com/photos/61272837@N03/6965632098/http://www.flickr.com/people/61272837@N03/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61272837@N03/6965632098/http://www.flickr.com/people/61272837@N03/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61272837@N03/6965633404/http://www.flickr.com/people/61272837@N03/

I had to shave off quite a bit of material on the lower triple to allow the damper to move freely left and right and still retain steering lock. Shaving off the material also allowed me to have full stop to stop motion. It was a lot of trial and error.

The fork mount is a simple piece of flat steel that I drilled two holes in. One of the holes was for the pinch bolt on the lower triple and the other for the mounting point on the damper. The damper mounted about 1.5" from the center of the pinch bolt hole.

I drilled a hole that was large enough to fit a bolt through for the mount on the GSXR damper. It was centered on the foremost portion of the steering stem as see below...


http://www.flickr.com/photos/61272837@N03/6965630198/http://www.flickr.com/people/61272837@N03/

It used the same size bolt as what holds the faring stay on. I used a simple M8 nylon locking bolt on the top and the same for the mount on the fork side. The pinch bolt on the fork is a M10x1.25. It is about 2x as long as the original pinch bolt. I used a simple nylon spacer to allow the extra room for the damper to be moved out. The pinch bolt loses no functionality in doing so. As seen below.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/61272837@N03/7113009359/[/urll]

You lose the mounts on the bottom of the triple. The horn is mounted there along with the brake line mount. I moved the horn to where the go-thru is for the throttle cables. I bent the mount two 90 degree angles and it fits perfectly there. It doesn't interfere with any controls and still maintains it's functionality.

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/61272837@N03/6965629584/]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/61272837@N03/6965629584/http://www.flickr.com/people/61272837@N03/

I haven't completed all the finishing touches yet. I plan on smoothing out all of my grind areas and repainting the lower triple. I need to color match the bolts and find some aluminum spacers for better rigidity. Overall, I am very pleased with the damper. It was very inexpensive and does what it's supposed to do. It clears all the front fairing plastics and doesn't rub on anything. Hopefully this helps someone!

- Z

 

[Motogiro]

Great idea and the steering damper was one of the best mods I did to my FZ6 when I had it.
I do have one concern with your grinding out the front of the lower triple casting. There is a web in that casting that looks very thin. Although there may never be an issue with it, there are design issues in that lower triple that are a concern to me as far as the strength being compromised by the thinning of that web. Please keep an eye on it!
Why was that area ground?

 

[PDX_Piggy]

Great idea and the steering damper was one of the best mods I did to my FZ6 when I had it.
I do have one concern with your grinding out the front of the lower triple casting. There is a web in that casting that looks very thin. Although there may never be an issue with it, there are design issues in that lower triple that are a concern to me as far as the strength being compromised by the thinning of that web. Please keep an eye on it!
Why was that area ground?

The area was ground because it did not allow full steering stop to steering stop motion. I did not grind off enough material to make any structural difference. It mostly consisted of grind the horn mount and about 1/8" off beyond that. Otherwise I don't have full range of motion. No worries and thanks for the constructive feedback!

 

[Randomchaos]

Nice job! That looks really good there.

 

[kennedyted]

dumb question, whats the steering dampening for ? whats it do

 

[lastlaugh]

dumb question, whats the steering dampening for ? whats it do

Good info here. Let me google that for you

 

[YZF73]

I do have one concern with your grinding out the front of the lower triple casting. There is a web in that casting that looks very thin. Although there may never be an issue with it, there are design issues in that lower triple that are a concern to me as far as the strength being compromised by the thinning of that web. Please keep an eye on it!

Agreed, looking at the lower triple I would be quite concerned about its structural integrity. Bear in mind that the strength of the triple is provided mainly by its webbing.

A great example of the strength of the webbing can be seen when bending a ruler, easy to bend about its widest section, but very difficult to bend about its thinnest, if you’re interested, look up Neutral Axis for further explanation of the reasons behind this.

Please watch for cracks forming vertically in the ground areas, I hope it doesn't become an issue, but please be vigilant, for your safety.


Yamahaboyz

 

[pookamatic]

Good info here. Let me google that for you

Let me google that for you

 

[lastlaugh]

Let me google that for you

Good catch! I fat fingered that one. Still got the right result!

 

[QwickFliCk]

GREAT IDEA!:thumbup: i've been trying to figure something like this for a couple months now. do u have the semi faired fz6 or the naked? does the inner rod of the damper make contact with anything?

like wat was previously posted be careful with the whole construction of things

 

[philosopheriam]

I like your motivation, but there are two major problems with your design:

1. Grinding on the lower triple clamp - self explanatory

2. The "tab" that holds one end of the damper and the other end has a bolt that goes through it and then pinches the fork tube. The back/forth motion of the damper is going to cause this tab to loosen and rotate rendering the damper inoperative and the lower pinch bolt to not pinch the fork tube.

 

[KingY]

I am curious as to why this is needed on a FZ6. I am on my second FZ and have never felt the need to have one. I rode an R1 with daper but didnt notice any affect, never had one on my R6, or any of my other bikes.

And i know how to make an FZ dance, road or occasional track usage. and never felt the need, i found the FZ to be fairly planted even with standard front shocks. Still has a jiggle, but nothing to extreme, i would only consider if it was a pure track bike

But congrats on the install. I would like to know how it holds up

 

[PDX_Piggy]

GREAT IDEA!:thumbup: i've been trying to figure something like this for a couple months now. do u have the semi faired fz6 or the naked? does the inner rod of the damper make contact with anything?

like wat was previously posted be careful with the whole construction of things

I have the semi-faired model. It doesn't make any contact with any part of the fairing. I don't know what everyone is worried about. I took off about an 1/8" x 2.5" of material. It's not going to make that big of difference.

 

[PDX_Piggy]

I like your motivation, but there are two major problems with your design:

1. Grinding on the lower triple clamp - self explanatory

2. The "tab" that holds one end of the damper and the other end has a bolt that goes through it and then pinches the fork tube. The back/forth motion of the damper is going to cause this tab to loosen and rotate rendering the damper inoperative and the lower pinch bolt to not pinch the fork tube.

Regarding #1: Can someone explain in a more detail why taking off such a small amount of material is such a bad thing?

Regarding #2: The tab/bolt isn't going anywhere. It's positioned in such a way that it only moves horizontally. Everything is snug and they isn't enough play to warrant it coming loose.

 

[red06]

i found this a while back , any comments?
Universal Blue Steering Damper 330mm 7way Adjust Ducati Yamaha Kawasa Motorcycle | eBay

 

[Motogiro]

Regarding #1: Can someone explain in a more detail why taking off such a small amount of material is such a bad thing?

If the web was there it was there for physical strength. If you had a 3/16" web and ground 1/8" out of the web, you left 1/16" web. That web is for vertical rigidity.

Speaking for my self and maybe a few others. We see the web design as part of the physical strength of the lower triple casting assembly. You may never have a problem and that lower assembly may never get tested to it's designed constraints, but it could. Over time it may become an issue and reveal itself after stress fracturing and failure.
No one is nay saying. I personally really like your idea except for the thinner web. You may have been able to build the assembly outward- more forward and achieved the same clearances.

 

[PDX_Piggy]

If the web was there it was there for physical strength. If you had a 3/16" web and ground 1/8" out of the web, you left 1/16" web. That web is for vertical rigidity.

Speaking for my self and maybe a few others. We see the web design as part of the physical strength of the lower triple casting assembly. You may never have a problem and that lower assembly may never get tested to it's designed constraints, but it could. Over time it may become an issue and reveal itself after stress fracturing and failure.
No one is nay saying. I personally really like your idea except for the thinner web. You may have been able to build the assembly outward- more forward and achieved the same clearances.

Unfortunately, building outward wouldn't work. I attempted to do it, but the fairing clearances would allow. Maybe on a naked FZ, but I have about a half inch of clearance with the fairing as it sits. I will monitor the structural integrity of the triple. Thanks for the input.