Steering stabilizer for MX??

Hello guys,

I'm looking at buying a steering stabilizer but I do quite a bit of MX. I have a nagging wrist injury that I now have to deal with till the day I die and I just want to do what ever I can to help it out. What are your opinions on where to mount the thing? I'm not a fan it being over the front fender but I don't want to smash my face on it either. I'm looking to keep the bar position the same. Thanks

JB

Set it up with a Scotts in a "sub mount" and use a lower bend of handlebar, or use the "fender" mount. You ride with a damper for a while, you won't go back.

I have a regular mount scotts stabilizer on my 08 YZ450F, will it be dangerous for MX?, I actually used a spare moose bar pad and trimmed it a little, cut a hole in the middle so is all around the stabilizer covering most of it, I hope this protects my face. What do you guys think? thanks for the advice

I beieve I've seen a damper pad made by somebody, now that I think about it.

Scotts also offers a curved cross bar you can run over the damper and cover it with a conventional cross bar pad.

I run a Scotts damper, but with no padding.

I have the Scotts stablizer with the low mount. (the one over the front fender) Haven't had any problems with it. I too ride mostly mx and have broken my wrist in the past. LOVE IT!!!!!

I also run the fastco flexxbars. They do make a whole world of difference.

When I had my bike, I ran the Scotts over the bar. I used an old bar pad, trimmed it out a little and zipped tied it over the stabilizer. I have only hit my face once on my handlebars (before I put the pad on it) but it gives you a little bit of confidence knowing if you did take a bite it would help some. Also the pad over it hides it from the passerby in the pits.

I beieve I've seen a damper pad made by somebody, now that I think about it.QUOTE]

Are you talking about the dirt-bike-gear.com Scotts pad? I have one on my bike. It is pretty hard, so it would still hurt if you hit it. It is better than hitting the damper itself, which is the reason I bought one.

The company states it is for protecting ONLY the damper. But I think that is to prevent a lawsuit against them.

http://www.dirt-bike-gear.com/damper_pads.html

Applied Racing just came out with a new design for a Scotts Sub-Mount Top Clamp. It frees the bar mounts from the mounting system so the stabilizer and the bar mounts can work as intended. The receivers for the rubber cones have been moved up as well, so now there is no interference with the bar mount bolts and the mounting ring. No grinding required to get lock to lock movement. A much cleaner, more efficient and better performing design.

You can order it through the TT Store!

My bikes will always have a Scotts damper on them, for me it's a safety item. When my son moved up to a YZ250f, I wouldn't let him ride it until we put a Scotts damper on it. If you ride fast it's a must, if you just trail ride it's not vital but still might keep you from crashing someday.

As far as MX goes, it's still a good thing to have, certainly makes ruts and whoops easier. I do turn down the damper sometimes between off-road stuff and track stuff, (less damping when at the track). If you're trying to play around on jumps sometimes too much dampening makes it harder to throw the bike around in the air.

I wouldn't run a damper without some sort of pad on it though. Had a friend of a friend take a pretty hard crash in a desert race, ended up with an imprint of his Scotts damper in his chest. I've hit my bar pad or damper pad pretty hard a few times, hate to think what would have happened without a pad on the damper.

Here's where you can get a pad for Scotts dampers...

http://www.dirt-bike-gear.com/damper_pads.html

Scotts with bent crossbar Renthal bar...

Scotts with Pro-Tapers and dirt-bike-gear pad (they don't make the cover, they should though)...

did you make the cover yourself?? if so . nice handy work!

Nice, good info motobark, this is how I did it. Hope it helps

I run a conventional-mount Scotts. A few riders have given me crap about it - telling me I'll smash my jaw or chest in a crash - but in many years of riding neither my head or chest have ever contacted the bar clamp area in a crash. Besides, that's what helmets and chest protectors are for.

As for the usefulness of the Scotts in MX - I can triple through timing & whoop sections on one of our tracks that my (faster) buddies double through, and there are times when I am sure it has prevented the bars from getting yanked out of my grip when the front tire deflects off square-edged bumps and stuff. The high-speed damping circuit is the deal clincher for me.

The few times I've climbed on my buddies' YZFs, the steering feels so 'loose' and sketchy that I can barely keep the bike upright. I guess I've just gotten so used to the damped feel.

what about this.

http://www.cyclebuy.com/shopping/stabilizers/msportz_stabilizers.htm

It looks cool also.

You try it.

I'm happy with my Scotts.

Rokatt88 do you know how much taller your set up made the bars? Also if so did it take awhile to get use to the extra height?

I think it was Dirt Bike, maybe Dirt Rider - in the last 6 mths prepped a YZ450F for off-road. In the article they mentioned that they put a Scott's damper on the bike and like it so much they were going to keep it on when they converted the bike back to MX. I've got the magazine at home so I will follow-up with the mag name and month later.

What about this new damper from Ohlins?

http://www.cyclebuy.com/shopping/ohlins/index.htm

I think the fact that it is pressurized is interesting.

Öhlins Steering Damper 2.0

Motocross and Enduro Kits

COMING SOON! Call for details or to order.

Öhlins SD 2.0 Steering Damper marks the latest evolutionary leap for handlebar mounted damper technology. Equipped with a new Uniflow valve system, the SD 2.0 controls the flow of hydraulic fluid in one direction and eliminates fluctuations of damping characteristics previously caused by changes in handlebar direction. The system is also pressurized to compensate for any temperature changes.

Damping Level Adjuster (DL) - Controls the general setup, including a high speed valve.

Return To Center Adjuster (RTC) - Variable setup of the damping force on the return.

All aluminum casing.

Mounting kit included.

A new improved low-speed adjuster that secures the adjustment knob from coming

off accidentally and gives a better click-feeling when adjusting the low speed damping.

Damping force fading reduced significantly. Internal friction and wear minimized

giving improved service life.

Flat bottom for easier mounting on bike in either direction.

I run a conventional-mount Scotts. A few riders have given me crap about it - telling me I'll smash my jaw or chest in a crash - but in many years of riding neither my head or chest have ever contacted the bar clamp area in a crash. Besides, that's what helmets and chest protectors are for.

As for the usefulness of the Scotts in MX - I can triple through timing & whoop sections on one of our tracks that my (faster) buddies double through, and there are times when I am sure it has prevented the bars from getting yanked out of my grip when the front tire deflects off square-edged bumps and stuff. The high-speed damping circuit is the deal clincher for me.

The few times I've climbed on my buddies' YZFs, the steering feels so 'loose' and sketchy that I can barely keep the bike upright. I guess I've just gotten so used to the damped feel.

Good to know, at first I was a worried because I got the same crap from all my buddies at the track, but I guess now they're wrong.

Just a question what's your steering stabilizer setup. How many turns?, angle? what's a good setup for a not so fast track?

Thanks

I would mount it in a differant place you need that bar pad intact!

It comes in realy handy when you slam you head into your bars.

I saw that ohlins one also I wonder which one is better between it and the scott? I know scott is made by ohlins but the ohlins one looks smaller. Plus to me it just looks better.