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Steering Damper for RVF400

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 2:59 am
by Arvyef
Hey guys, I noticed that most steering dampers for RVF400s are mounted on the left side of the frame under the handle bars. Is there a tube variation which mounts on top of the triple clamp?

Cheers

Re: Steering Damper for RVF400

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 9:38 am
by skinnydog0_0
Like the ducati steering dampers you mean?

Re: Steering Damper for RVF400

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 10:23 am
by montsta56
I dont know why a 35 would need a steering damper??

Re: Steering Damper for RVF400

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 10:52 am
by spud
montsta56 wrote:I dont know why a 35 would need a steering damper??
:plus:

come to think of it nc30 as well , ive never used one ever, dont see the need for one on a 400 road or track bike , but then ive spent the last 6-7 years doing motocross so im use to a bumpy ride , :lol: , do a bit of mx then get back on tarmac super smooth , just my opinion :whistle:

Re: Steering Damper for RVF400

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 11:16 am
by montsta56
yeah have to agree spud I raced both 30 an 35's on tracks an road racing an never felt the need for a steering damper. IMHO i dont see the point in bolting on unneeded weight to any bike???

Re: Steering Damper for RVF400

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 12:02 pm
by skinnydog0_0
It's a bit like saying that a size 9 is the right shoe size. It will fit some but not all. I Use a steering damper on my race bike and so do all my friends, and they are a must on the real road circuits as far as i am concerned. I know people that dont use them, and they are just as fast as anyone, but for me i find the bike behaves better, and gives me the confidence that if the head does start shaking it's not going to put me in a headge.

Re: Steering Damper for RVF400

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 12:46 pm
by nc23rider
, and gives me the confidence that if the head does start shaking it's not going to put me in a headge.[/quote]
If you cut your drinking down a little bit jeff,you'll find your head shakes less.

Re: Steering Damper for RVF400

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 12:51 pm
by skinnydog0_0
nc23rider wrote:, and gives me the confidence that if the head does start shaking it's not going to put me in a headge.
If you cut your drinking down a little bit jeff,you'll find your head shakes less.[/quote]

Hahahaha, Well i need a drink to steady the nervs when there are nutters like you on track :grin:

Re: Steering Damper for RVF400

Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2011 2:43 am
by ludacris
Arvyef wrote:Hey guys, I noticed that most steering dampers for RVF400s are mounted on the left side of the frame under the handle bars. Is there a tube variation which mounts on top of the triple clamp?

Cheers
No there is no such option for the NC's. Most of the time you'll find that, that set up uses front tank mounting bolts or the frame has specific pre-drilled threaded holes for it.

I have seen a pic floating around on here of an RVF that uses a top mounted Scott's/Ohlins rotary steering damper...to me thats a much easier option to work with than the linear telescopic damper you're referring to if you're looking to mount one to the headstock or triple...though it would use the same mounting positions as what I mentioned above.

Re: Steering Damper for RVF400

Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 6:29 am
by Cru Jones
I'm bumping a 3 year old thread because I've finally done something about my steering damper setup and I think others might be in the same boat. My old setup was a Toby damper on the left side, which was annoying when it came to dealing with my choke handle and just look unsightly to me. Having had a few other bikes I was reminded of a cheap setup that seemed to work well; the GSXR steering damper. For those unfamiliar the GSXR damper fastens to the lower triple clamps and to an area below the frame posts where the fairing stay attaches. In the SV650 world putting on a GSXR front end is common place, with people always finding "creative" (aka shitty) ways of attaching the GSXR steering damper to the frame. Well, it seems a while ago some smart individual started to make the various frame mounts for the GSXR damper to work on the SV650 frames. It now is both stronger and less shitty. I contacted such individual after noticing that Lange (rvf.dk) had done a similar thing with the 600RR HRC damper mount and the Hyperpro damper. The benefits of the custom SV mount I went with over the HRC mount is that the HRC mount is really close to the frame's head tube and I wasn't sure I could get that to work with my Tyga steering stoppy thingy. Plus, HRC mounts are a PITA to get (I would have to order it from Japan) whereas this custom mount was in-country and could be had in a few days. So, after confirming that the mounts were close enough to what the RVF needs (SV mounts are 60mm vs 57mm of RVF) I got the mount fitted and found a $15 GSXR damper to see if it worked. Low and behold it does! Now, the $15 GSXR damper can easily be swapped for a short Ohlins/Toby/Sprint/HyperPro or whatever brand you want.

Anyway, here's a pic of the setup. It works as good as I would expect and is out of the way, so that's not too bad for ~$40 all-in.

Image