• Hi everyone,

    As you all know, Coffee (Dean) passed away a couple of years ago. I am Dean's ex-wife's husband and happen to have spent my career in tech. Over the years, I occasionally helped Dean with various tech issues.

    When he passed, I worked with his kids to gather the necessary credentials to keep this site running. Since then (and for however long they worked with Coffee), Woodschick and Dirtdame have been maintaining the site and covering the costs. Without their hard work and financial support, CafeHusky would have been lost.

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    Thanks for your patience and support!

Steering damper

mike54

mike54

Husqvarna
A Class
Is anyone using one? If so which one?

Before anyone says it's a band aid etc, I have huge head shake under hard acceleration on gravel etc (gearing 15/46). I use the bike as a rally bike only so its set up to perform, not to dual sport. I have a wilbers rear shock and spring set up for my weight, and have just changed the front forks to replacements from 950 super enduro. they've been re-valved and re-sprung etc so more travel and also 48 mil. Everything is set up correctly for me in terms of compression/damping/sag etc etc

The head shake is the same though, with throttle fully open on an uphill incline when i reach the limiter in top gear the shake is scary, so it would be good to know if anyone has fitted a damper and what type and mods were required. I have a different top yoke due to the forks so it might need some modding.
 
Haha, there are a lot of people using them around here... I only have experience with 1 brand, (Motosportz), and couldn't believe how it made the bike feel. They are a solid investment. Motosportz is a site sponsor, so if you are concerned about fitment, contact them directly, and they will help you out.
 
Mike, do try to fix it first. If you reckon sag and rates are right you might try adjusting the relative heights at each end if the forks are a different length. You'll get away with a little more or less sag at the rear and/or lowering the front a little in the triples - check the clearances though. From there work out a more permanent solution which could involve a change to the rear height.

Scott dampers are my choice.

Cheers
 
cheers both.

128, its set up as a balance between quick turn in and straight line. The reason i bought it over the 690 was that it feels more stable and the power more progressive. I feel that I can't adjust any further as it's at its optimum yet the shake is unnerving at high speed. With all my gear on i weight 130 kg and the new spring and shock is perfect - i wouldn't want it to sit lower at the front. I'll check out the scott as well.
 
I was thinking that lowering the front would only be a temporary measure to get a little weight on it. It will alter the rake and trail (therefore stability from R&T) 2/10ths of bugger all. As mentioned if it is a height issue (due to your non standard front end) then the permanent solution might be at the rear. eg having a longer clevis made for the shock.
You're a fair lump and if you have made changes to say the bars or added bar risers that could possibly cause a problem if it props you more upright. Next time you get a wobble going you could try slowly moving your weight forward to see if it disappears (even if your bars are stock height).
 
Cheers. The front is a little lower (as in dropped the forks around 5 mil). I'm 6'4 and like a high bend, I have 28 mil risers and renthal high fat bars. The shake has always been there. It as there with the standard forks and no adjustments would cure it, and it's still there now. I emailed the guys at motosportz about their damper a little ealier and I just got an email notification that I have a reply so i'll go from there. Thanks again.
 
i have an underbar scotts on mine. love it (except when i have to remove the tank!). its the only one i have used so i have nothing to compare it too though. i also like the way it raises the bar a couple of inches.
 
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the motosportz works fine and it's always nice to support the small/product specific guy that supports you. that being said i really like the seperate high speed valving on the scotts. my .02
 
i also have a scotts underbar & no complaints.I modified the pin so i could easily remove the tank on the side of the road if the situation arises{also modified the bolt length to give more clearance under the triple clamp}
 
djc said:
i also have a scotts underbar & no complaints.I modified the pin so i could easily remove the tank on the side of the road if the situation arises{also modified the bolt length to give more clearance under the triple clamp}
Click to expand...

Could you detail further what you did here please? I've been mulling over an underbar Scott's for awhile. Your fix might finally convince me to purchase.

_
 
That bit that goes over the tank bolt hole was too short on mine so I removed it and it has never been missed. I also had clearance issues under the triple but I think that the problems might have been a quirk with my early production bike because I have not heard the same complaints from anyone else. Later on the post was cleaned up properly and refinished.
 

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hi,ihave read some where else on this forum that some one was having clearance issues,the two things i did was the retaing collar on the pin i drilled a hole in the side & fitted a grub screw{its plastic} & gave the shaft a little more clearance so it could be easily pushed up & down,The nylock nuts underneath i machined about 5mm off the height & shortened the bolt,thinking back i dont think the length of the bolt was a great issue,hope this helps{btw i rang scotts & they told me there no fitting issues}
 
128954431 said:
That bit that goes over the tank bolt hole was too short on mine so I removed it and it has never been missed.
Click to expand...

Interesting mod. I would have thought that the tank bolt added required 3 point rigidity to keep the yoke from flexing. But thinking about it not really that much force involved there. How long have you had it installed like that?

_
 
SilverBullet said:
Interesting mod. I would have thought that the tank bolt added required 3 point rigidity to keep the yoke from flexing. But thinking about it not really that much force involved there. How long have you had it installed like that?

_
Click to expand...

The forces are are mostly rotational around the steering centre and there is plenty of area under the clamp to lock it down. I have Scott dampers on a few other bikes and most clamp to the head tube in such a manner without any additional support. Scott got a little carried away with this mount. That tongue over the tank bolt hole is absolutely unnecessary as are set screws and Loctite.
The bike was delivered Q3 2010 (after getting lost in transit!) and the suspension and damper (plus armour) were the first mods. The bike now has about 35,000km on it.
 
128954431 said:
The forces are are mostly rotational around the steering centre and there is plenty of area under the clamp to lock it down. I have Scott dampers on a few other bikes and most clamp to the head tube in such a manner without any additional support. Scott got a little carried away with this mount. That tongue over the tank bolt hole is absolutely unnecessary as are set screws and Loctite.
The bike was delivered Q3 2010 (after getting lost in transit!) and the suspension and damper (plus armour) were the first mods. The bike now has about 35,000km on it.
Click to expand...
Thought about doing the same mod as you did & got all podantic about it & in the end should have just done it like yours &the proof is in your bike
 
Yeah one or both of these solutions makes sense - the pin one being these least invasive but wonder if it would give enough clearance to get tank off. This is the only negative regarding the Scotts - getting tank off without loosening the damper! I opted for the hassle rather than over bar version but may yet circumcise the lower headtube clamp :eek:
 
Does anyone know if the Scott's damper will fit along a Safari tank?
If not, can anyone suggest one which might work?
 
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