Here's most the facts of the matter.
The steering damper as far as I am concerned is for side car use. The modern hydraulic damper fitted to race bikes is to try and stop a tank slaper situation at some point where the machine has a progressive over correction, a bit like a bad trailer load on a car. every machine has a harmonic point where this will happen. race bike design tries to move this point outside the range of race machine where it will be a problem . The hydralic damper seems to help get through the harmonic , the screw down steering damper for solo work probably best put on for show only. Nortons are well known for their design for road holding, and not allowing a slap, that is why the frame is so popular, If you use the screw down type with any force on solo work you may create roadholding problems instead of solving them.
#1 Reason I now shun steering dampers is they make the light almost thoughtless Cdo steering action a wearing down labor chore just cruising around.
#2 Reason is it prevents a Cdo from self correcting faster than pilot reaction and also fast pilot action to avoid a hazard or save a slip up.
#3 Reason a fully fettered Commando has no need of any steering dampening than
innately designed in.
#4 Reason is damper on Cdo's can tempt you into tank slap power lean changes even a damper can't handle on an untamed-unlinked chassis.
Modern super elites need them as their innate design makes them either fight throwing down to lean or fight picking back up to save - horribly. While a faulty Cdo shakes at rates humans can handle and damper a good bit, modern stiff chassis wait to shake at a blurring speed beyond what humans can handle or perceive. There is a long list of things that urge Cdo's to shake their nose but tire condition front to back - tops the list.
My essentially new fully fettered '72 Trixie but still wearing an original half worn k81 front tire shakes to crash state coasting down into 40's - in about 3 seconds if I let go to fiddle something. My past Ms Peel, new everything but minus the rear link also shook a good bit in 30s mph but with link could be ridden almost to a stop hands off. Uncanny to me. Rod links are not factory so I'm in same mystery camp as everyone else to try the few things I can alter on a factory Combat for least head shake hands off but don't expect to totally eliminate it.
While rest of the world is worrying about hands off head shake I attempted stoppies on Peel only to lean how to ride a locked front tire many yards to a stop.
Its way easier than trying to stay upright with locked front on THE G...
Peel will have my Scott's damper mounted for side car use and some events that rules require them, but will be set to zero, except if it eases side car handling. But even set on 0, this damper still feels sluggish so even if mounted on Peel will not be hooked up for most my flinging fun, on and off road. Two things I glance at to see if worth teasing up a contest is chicken stripes and fork damper showing. Race bikes don't show unused patch area but sport dampers so don't consider them fair game anymore.
