What advantages does a steering damper offer?

Chris "00" 300EX

 

A steering dampener dampens the impact shock of hitting large objects such as rain ruts, rocks, tree roots, etc. A dampener also will stop or minimize a condition known as head shake which occurs at high speeds when the front wheels begin to occilate, caused sometimes by aggressive tire tread patterns,making it difficult to maintain a line. I find that a dampener helps a lot with this problem in sand as well as on hard pack. When you take a hard hit from a square hole or other of the things mentioned, the impact shock radiates up thru the steering post to the bars into your arms, and down thru your entire body, causing fatigue, slowing reflexes, etc. That's where the dampener becomes a big help in minimizing the effect.
Dampeners range from relatively simply units like the PEP which I use, at about $99 to the really sophisticated, like the Scott at about $400 which mounts the unit on the bars & can be adjusted while riding for a wide variety of terrain conditions as in GNCC, TT, desert, etc. Another advantage of the Scott is the abitily to use it on several different machines including bikes by buying another mount. If you were going to get involved in any of the above activities, the Scott is a good choice, but otherwise you'd be well served with a simpler, less expensive type. My PEP has three settings.soft, med., & hard. I've tried all 3 and finally settled on soft for most conditions. The Denton has seven settings & is an excellent unit, but for most people I think so many adjustments are overkill.
Finally, with a good suspension up grade plus a dampener you will notice a major improvement in handling and less wear & tear on the bod!


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THE AZ HARD PACKER, calmiller@kachina.net

save the public land FOR you, not FROM you..join the Blue Ribbon Coalition online @ www.sharetrails.org



[This message has been edited by hot_shoe_cv (edited 10-27-1999).]

 

Do the benefits of a steering damper pay off at all speeds? or just high speeds?
90% of my riding is trail riding at medium speeds.

Chris "00" 300EX

 

Want a steering damper also make the steering feel heavier??

 

hot_shoe_cv,

What kind of quad do you have the PEP steering dampener installed on, and where can one be found for my 2000 Warrior?

 

I cant speak for all dampers, but the PEP does dampen at moderate speeds as well as at high speeds. The effect isn't as noticable, of course since the impact isn't as hard. The resistance in steering, mainly in turns is dependant on the amount of dampening you have set it on. The heavier the damping, the more resistance to turning. On my Warrior with the PEP on light I notice very little difference in steering effort, altho I may just be used to it. At any rate it is no bother to me.
If money isn't a consideration, the high end Scottcan be adjusted to have no dampening when the bars are turned, or can be set to reduced dampening in turns, all with a twist of a **** while riding

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THE AZ HARD PACKER, calmiller@kachina.net

save the public land FOR you, not FROM you..join the Blue Ribbon Coalition online @ www.sharetrails.org

 

2000warrior350,
The December issue of DW has an ad from Nac's Racing at (914)246-3086 with the PEP dampener or stabilizer for $94.95. I'm sure any local cycle shop could order it for you as well.

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THE AZ HARD PACKER, calmiller@kachina.net

save the public land FOR you, not FROM you..join the Blue Ribbon Coalition online @ www.sharetrails.org

 

One of my concerns is the "weight" factor. My 300EX is one of the lightest quads on the market, with the "lightest" steering. I don't want to add extra weight to the front end of the quad, or extra effort to steer it. I realize that you can't have everything for nothing. So I'm just trying to weight my options. Something that helps out during a long 150 mile trail haul is very interesting to me.

Chris "00" 300EX

 

Steering dampers help alot, I actually bought one right after I broke my left wrist. After the full-arm cast was removed and a half cast was put on my arm, I actually rode one-handed for 4 weeks in the Blackhills and Badlands of South Dakota. Without a damper, I would have never been able to do it. At least not be able to keep up with motorcycles. Now I won't ride without one.

I wouldn't recommend riding with broken bones to anyone, but I was tired of being cooped up in the dorm room, and that's just me. I did crash once, but that was because I jumped my 300EX with the stock tires on it for the trails and it bounced when it landed It's hard to hold on to a bucking quad with one arm. The cast never touched the ground though, I held it up in the air as I went over the bars, it was actually kinda fun. My friend didn't think it was too funny, but I laughed my head off.

Back to the point, if you buy a steering damper, get either a Denton or I bought one from White Brothers(I believe, I can find out for sure if you want) that is totally rebuildable, has seven click adjustments without having to mess with mounting it in different holes. You can adjust it as you ride. All I did was ordered the one with the longest shaft, so it would have enough travel, and welded a tab on the steering stem and then actually mounted it to one of my frame gussets.

Yes a Denton Steering Damper or the way I went costs maybe $10-20 more, but they are much better than the PEP unit I had on my 300EX. These are much easier to adjust and you can put new oil in them or replace a damaged part if you ever needed to, PEP's you can't.

 

cstark, what you refer to as light steering is they are effertless to steer, actually too effertless in many cases, not weight. A damper probably doesn't even weigh a pound anyway. I used to own a 300EX,and I will tell you that was probably the best improvement made on it, and by the time I was done, almost everything was aftermarket on it. If you are on a 150 mile ride, a damper makes it much easier to do because your arms aren't always getting yanked by the bars and tiring you out like they do without one. I've been one plenty of 150+ mile rides, so I can tell you from experience that a steering damper would probably be the best $100 you can spend on that quad.