Steering Dampner for a 426

[jhrex]

As mentioned elswhere I spent three days riding trails and dirt roads recently and at higher speeds really could appreciate the need for a steering control/dampner of some sort.

Anyone with suggestions or reccomendations on these devices?

How do they affect the slow speed riding and manuevering, What about in the air. am I gonna have to deal with a constant return to center? probably no big deal.

thanx

jh

[sheesfast]

Well I have a Scotts dampener that came with my 426, but the seller had it uninstalled because he said it wasnt necessary for his riding areas. I have not installed it yet so I can't say how it rides.

[Ga426owner]

As mentioned elswhere I spent three days riding trails and dirt roads recently and at higher speeds really could appreciate the need for a steering control/dampner of some sort.

Anyone with suggestions or reccomendations on these devices?

How do they affect the slow speed riding and manuevering, What about in the air. am I gonna have to deal with a constant return to center? probably no big deal.

thanx

jh

They are great for woods riding...especially in rocks and stumps...they slow down the amount of reflection in the steering when hitting things with the front tire....you can adjust the amt of dampning for your riding ability. I have used a Scotts and really like it...in fact I kept it in the event of getting another woods bike. Scotts , WER, GPS make these - they mount several different locations on a 426. front fender, top of triple clamps / behind rear steering stem.

You decide which mounting you prefer and you have to purchase the mtning kit and the dampner. I had the Scotts mounting kit for the top of the triple clamps and loved it.

I may have the mounting kit for a 426 if you are interested....but you can't have my dampner.....

?

[bob426]

I have the Scotts on my 426 along with the Scotts triple clamp and mounting bracket. The nice thing is the adjustability. I ride desert, trails, and track and can adjust it by a quick turning of the knob for different riding. There is no "return to center" as in the bars being "pulled" back to any given position. It simply dampens any forces by making fluid pass through valves, and thus it eats up harsh hits, head shake etc.. Its the only stabilizer on the market with low speed, high speed, and sweep adjustments..

[Polar_Bus]

I have a Scott's on my KX500, which would generate some pretty bad headshake over 40 mph. Now after installing the Scott's unit, I can do 95 mph out on the ice with one hand holding the bars. Absolutely the best darn money you can spend on a bike that exibits headshake. WAY less arm pump, and you can just sit back and relax and enjoy the dirt. Don't even concern yourself about the damper affecting slow speed trail riding. you won't even notice the damper resistance (until you really need it! The Scott's units truly are amazing, I was so nerveous about dropping $400 on something I knew so little about, but like I said, absolutely amazing results! Heres a pic:

[jhrex]

I absolutly agree, THanx for the advice, Gonna get the scotts right away. just the security and comfort of being able to relax a little bit are going to be worth it.

I know its not "if" you'l crash its "when", so anything done to mitigate the inevitability of that event is worth it, right? specialy for us "old timers".

thanx again guyz

jh

[grayracer513]

My '03 had a tendency to kick the front wheel left or right on striking certain hard edged obstacles, setting up a vicious tank slapping headshake episode in the process. I recently added a used Scotts that I reconditioned to the bike, and it hasn't done anything like that since. The worst was once where the wheel kicked over about half as far as it used to, or less, and it straightened right out when it came back to ground. Makes the bike much more fun to ride without the all the apprehesion.

(Scotts is) the only stabilizer on the market with low speed, high speed, and sweep adjustments..

This is an extremely good point. The presence of the high speed valving lets you run the low speed damping a little lighter without giving up the protection against the big deflection.

anything done to mitigate the inevitability of that event is worth it, right? specialy for us "old timers".

You're right. Old guys don't bounce. When you get old, you'll find that out. ?

[ben_suhard]

Yep, I'm using a WER but I'll get a Scotts next. They're definitely worth having, you won't ride without one after you've tried it! It can feel weird for slow riding, but you can just soften up the damping on the Scotts.

[buzzgrizz]

They are great for woods riding...especially in rocks and stumps...they slow down the amount of reflection in the steering when hitting things with the front tire....you can adjust the amt of dampning for your riding ability. I have used a Scotts and really like it...in fact I kept it in the event of getting another woods bike. Scotts , WER, GPS make these - they mount several different locations on a 426. front fender, top of triple clamps / behind rear steering stem.

You decide which mounting you prefer and you have to purchase the mtning kit and the dampner. I had the Scotts mounting kit for the top of the triple clamps and loved it.

I may have the mounting kit for a 426 if you are interested....but you can't have my dampner.....

?

on the mount for behing the stem does it interfear with the dip stick

[Polar_Bus]

Its the only stabilizer on the market with low speed, high speed, and sweep adjustments..

If I remember correctly, Scotts doesnt recommend you fiddle with the HS adj. They further comment when you adj. the low speed, it has a direct relation to also affecting the HS dampening. I believe as you soften (slow) up the LS dampening, you firm up the HS (faster) dampening. It's a little wierd how the valving works, but once I played with the knob for a few hours, I had the valving dialed in perfect. Rocking my bars back and fourth while not riding, I feel almost no resistance, and Scotts comments that that's the way it should be. It's been a few years since I read the Scotts instructions.... I also agree the "sweep" valving is an interesting feature.

[TeamScream]

on the mount for behing the stem does it interfear with the dip stick

It does a little bit, but what I did with mine was put a slight bend in the dipstick so what when you have it all the way unscrewed the bend allows you to get the dipstick out easily, putting it in is the reverse obviously, but it made it a lot easier.

Also for those of you who run bark busters or handguards (like I do) the ProMoto Billet "Version 1" is awesome, they also make top clamp mounts that are adjustable which make fine tuning the damper even better, as it slides back and forth allowing you to move the leverage point of the damper arm.

http://www.promotobillet.com/catalog/index.php/cPath/22

http://www.promotobillet.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/86/products_id/111

[grayracer513]

If I remember correctly, Scotts doesnt recommend you fiddle with the HS adj. They further comment when you adj. the low speed, it has a direct relation to also affecting the HS dampening. I believe as you soften (slow) up the LS dampening, you firm up the HS (faster) dampening. .... I also agree the "sweep" valving is an interesting feature.

You can download their manual here:

http://www.scottsonline.com/literature/manual.pdf

What it says is that the HS valving is more effective the lighter the base, low speed valving is set up. It doesn't say you shouldn't adjust the high speed, only that you should do so after you have some experience with the damper, and then incrementally, testing as you go.