gixerkiller
January 27th, 2008, 09:25 PM
AS YOUR STEERING DAMPER I'M THERE AS A FAILSAFE. I WON'T PREVENT A TANK SLAPPER FROM BEGINNING-BUT I CAN STOP THEM FROM GETTING OUT OF HAND.
Tank slappers are complicated to describe, but are basically caused when the bike's steering is knocked out of line. But rather than correcting itself back into line, the momentum of the steering assembly carries it past where it needs to be and actually turns it the other way. The process repeats the other way and becomes more severe-eventually causing the rider to lose control. It's my job to stop this happening while still allowing the steering to move freely in normal conditions. That's why i'm now hydraulic. You see in the past i used friction to slow the steering down (like over tight head bearings), but there were two problems with that. First, i slowed the steering down all the time which did nothing for the bike's handling. And second, although the friction was high, it wasn't high enough to stop a really bad slapper. Now we're hydraulic just like suspension dampers, meaning the faster you try to move us, the more resistance we offer. So your steering remains responsive at low speeds, but if a slapper does start, my resistance gets stronger as it gets stronger. Inside there isn't a lot going on. We generally comprise an outer body, damper rod or vane in the middle, some form of adjuster and an expansion circuit. when fitted, oil is pushed around a circuit in the body and through a valve. The adjuster normally moves a needle in or out of the valve and adjusts the resistance it offers to the oil. In terms of mounting position, there's not much in it. Yoke mounted dampers are easier to adjust and offer more linear response than straight mounted dampers because each degree of steering displaces the same amount of oil in the damper-however they make it harder to remove the yoke and not everyone likes the look. Conventionally mounted dampers are not linear. They convert rotary to linear motion; meaning the movement to oil-displacement ratio is lowest when the damper is at 90 degrees to the steering movement. However, this effect is so small it doesn't make much difference in use. The same can be said for mounting down the side or across the front of the bike. As long as the damper generates enough force to control a slapper it makes little difference how this is done-although from a weight and space point of veiw mounting across the bike is more beneficial.
Tank slappers are complicated to describe, but are basically caused when the bike's steering is knocked out of line. But rather than correcting itself back into line, the momentum of the steering assembly carries it past where it needs to be and actually turns it the other way. The process repeats the other way and becomes more severe-eventually causing the rider to lose control. It's my job to stop this happening while still allowing the steering to move freely in normal conditions. That's why i'm now hydraulic. You see in the past i used friction to slow the steering down (like over tight head bearings), but there were two problems with that. First, i slowed the steering down all the time which did nothing for the bike's handling. And second, although the friction was high, it wasn't high enough to stop a really bad slapper. Now we're hydraulic just like suspension dampers, meaning the faster you try to move us, the more resistance we offer. So your steering remains responsive at low speeds, but if a slapper does start, my resistance gets stronger as it gets stronger. Inside there isn't a lot going on. We generally comprise an outer body, damper rod or vane in the middle, some form of adjuster and an expansion circuit. when fitted, oil is pushed around a circuit in the body and through a valve. The adjuster normally moves a needle in or out of the valve and adjusts the resistance it offers to the oil. In terms of mounting position, there's not much in it. Yoke mounted dampers are easier to adjust and offer more linear response than straight mounted dampers because each degree of steering displaces the same amount of oil in the damper-however they make it harder to remove the yoke and not everyone likes the look. Conventionally mounted dampers are not linear. They convert rotary to linear motion; meaning the movement to oil-displacement ratio is lowest when the damper is at 90 degrees to the steering movement. However, this effect is so small it doesn't make much difference in use. The same can be said for mounting down the side or across the front of the bike. As long as the damper generates enough force to control a slapper it makes little difference how this is done-although from a weight and space point of veiw mounting across the bike is more beneficial.