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Failed steering damper 2002 Tenni


H-E-Ross

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When my Bitubo played up at about 67,000 miles, I sourced a Japanese Shindy (pronounced SHIN-juh) from Moto International. Their item number was PUD17-001 at a price of 132.95 US$ in August 2009.

 

I tried riding the Sport with the Bitubo drained, then removed, but didn't like the feel.

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Thanks For the input docc. I have decided to go with the bitubo as I tend to keep things stock. I did a fair amount of reading last night and found a lot of conflicting information; who knew steering dampers could be so controversial! I'm mostly a poser that likes to go fast on smooth roads. No racing for me. I think I will be just fine as long as the replacement doesn't start dripping right away. Thanks again,I apologize for posting before researching. 

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That Shindy looks pretty trick though, racing or no racing...

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. . . I apologize for posting before researching. 

Nah, the posting is good. We're all here to discuss and cajole - no worries!

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  • 4 weeks later...

If your stock damper is an Ohlins like the one that came with my Scura, its the highest quality damper you can buy. If so, I recommend contacting Ohlins and sending to them for a rebuild. You're actually supposed to do this every year or two depending on use. If I recall correctly, it costs around $50.

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The stock Damper on my bike was the Bitubo unfortunately not renewable. I gave some thought to the Ohlins but the cost was considerably more.

Given the dubious usefulness of this accessory I went with the original equipment and called it done.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Looking for any suggestions regarding replacement. aftermarket, upgrade, original equipment? Comments will be appreciated . Thanks

 

Home Depot or Lowes probably has something that can be adapted in their screen door dept. :D

 

Probably last longer than the stock Bitubo too... ;)

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  • 5 months later...

I used my damper once, frightened the crap out of me riding slow in a car park so now I just leave it backed right off.

 

Someone should invent one that changes the damping at low speed.

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Recently, riding on a highway, by my mistake, started wobbling and I crashed. As it turned out later, damper was not working properly. I will not refuse it anyway, furthermore it can be relieved when riding in town.

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I fitted a 75mm Hyperpro (# DS-075RA) to the Sport in 2007 and have had no issues. Not sure if this would be same size on the Tenni.  At the time Hyperpro listed the SDK-MG-101RA (for V11 Sport '99 onwards) but this did not fit so was replaced with the one I have.

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I have the Ohlins on my Sucra and installed a Shindy on my LeMans. I have them both backed off almost all the way - just a a few clicks in. I'm not sure I could tell the difference between dampers. A used Ohlins might require a rebuild - so factor that cost (and time) into your decision.

 

If your bike is wobbling, you might look elsewhere for the cause, instead of at the damper to cover-up the main problem. Causes could include issues with tires, spring settings, steering bearings, or other. Maybe somebody who knows suspension stuff really well can post more detail.

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A failed steering damper can and has caused a V11 to wobble. Other things can also cause a V11 to wobble. I don't personally know if the steering damper was the cause of the issue or a result of the issue. I can't tell that from here.

If the damper is bad, whether it was the cause or a result, you can either replace it with a damper of your choosing that fits the length and stroke requirements of the V11, or you can run without a steering damper. When the steering damper failed on my wife's V11 we removed it planning on replacing it later. The bike handled so much better for her tastes (and mine) without the steering damper that we never replaced it. When her V11 steering damper failed it was subtle but it would cause the bike to wobble. What hers did was it developed stiction, causing a resistance to begin moving. Once moving the initial resistance went away and it moved pretty smoothly. But that initial resistance caused you to have to apply more effort to turn the bars than it would require to keep them turning. This caused you to constantly be over turning the bars back and forth. You did not even know you were doing it. In my line of work it is like when we have a loop that is not tuned right. A loop (in my speak) looks at an input and modifies an output to hit a set point. If the loop constantly overshoots the set point we say the loop is hunting. That was what her V11 was doing. And that hunting was felt as wobbling. I am not sure if that could or would cause you to crash, not am I saying that is what happened in this case. I am just pointing out that a bad steering damper can cause handling problems.

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