Steering dampner

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N0rt0nelectr@

N0rt0nelectr@

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I picked up a steering damper at a swap meet last weekend and I am looking for pictures of how they are mounted.

John in Texas
 
Please don't use this clamp system (https://www.oldbritts.com/13_064247.html) if you don't want to leave two horrible dents in both down tubes caused by the flat bar :evil: ...... a well set up Commando rolling chassis won't need a steering damper anyway :wink:
 
nortonspeed said:
Please don't use this clamp system (https://www.oldbritts.com/13_064247.html) if you don't want to leave two horrible dents in both down tubes caused by the flat bar :evil: ...... a well set up Commando rolling chassis won't need a steering damper anyway :wink:
Click to expand...
It all depends on who is on the wrench. :wink: How tight is too tight. I agree with a well set up Commando....statement.
Cheers,
Thomas
 
Anybody who rides without an hydraulic steering damper regardless of what bike it is, is off their trolley. A lock to lock crashing tank-slapper is a beauty to behold. If it ever happens to you, let go of the bars and grab the tank until it stops. The end of my damper is attached to a bracket off the two screws which hold the plate for the rocker spindle in the cylinder head. There are only ever small loads on it. It takes almost nothing to stop the steering from going berserk.
 
OK. It is obvious that I don't have as many of the attaching parts as I might need. There always is, isn't there.
What I have is in the middle of the pile of parts I bought at the swap meet.

Thanks for your help and input.

John in Texas
 

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It appears you are missing the twin tube bracket for the commando frame sold by a few vendors, though I don't believe that specific clamp is necessary. I mounted a generic damper to my primary side downtube using a modified double pin, 1" clamp originally used to mount forward pegs. The important part is that you mount it in such a way as to allow full lock-to-lock motion of the steering head without interference.

As far as the "properly set up don't need damper claim..." My front end is well balanced and set up from wheels through to steering stem yet I would still experience a slight "shimmy" when accelerating hard over uneven surfaces... the damper set to 1/3 tension cured it.
 
You don't need extra clamps. Just mount it in the nearest bin and get to work on setting up your Commando properly.
 
Two diametrically opposed camps, both composed of seasoned, knowledgeable motorcyclists: Don't leave home without it versus don't leave home until you trash the damper. Doesn't appear to be any middle ground.

I had one tank slapper at good speed, I'll never forget it, the motorcycle went from one break-down lane to the other, completely beyond my control; I tried the brakes, the bars and the throttle, nothing improved my situation. Just as I was getting ready to lay it down, better to pick my pasture, control returned. I limped home happy in the knowledge that it wasn't my day to die. The issue was steering head bearings that decided to seat at 115 MPH, I doubt that any damper would have made a difference, the year was 1970; I lost a lot of speed that day...

My R90S was shipped from the factory with a hydraulic steering damper, it will smooth out freeway speeds, but if I forget to turn it down (off) it makes the motorcycle wander at lesser speeds. I put an Olin's damper on a Ducati, but found the same issue, it made more sense on the Ducati that has the geometry of a shopping cart, but, ultimately, was just a passenger.

Good question.
 
I think the damper bracket sold by Clubman Racing is a much better setup than the Norvil one on the Old Britts site.
http://www.clubmanracing.com/suspensionforksnorton.php
The clamps are round and will not crush the downtubes.
And there is no need for the tall bolt to keep the clamp sliding on the downtubes.

I would disregard the comments about ditching the damper and sorting out the bike. Sure, go through the obvious stuff. But the bottom line is some Commandos shake their heads far too easily, and after you have aligned the wheels, sorted the isos, and replaced the tires, blah blah blah, sometimes they still shake their head. If the Commandos were sold today with this handling fault, there would be lawsuits and factory recalls, IMHO.

My bike is great, until I put loaded panniers on it. At which point I hesitate to take my left hand off the bars to signal, for the head shaking that kicks in. I plan to install a damper before my summer road trip.

Stephen Hill
 
This post reminds me of the handling problem I had with my 750 when I first got it. It was unpredictable in long sweepers but generally when it went wrong, you had no real control. I had the wheels trued up and I fitted a steering damper from a Kwaka 900. I made my own bracket which had a 90% contact with the r/h down-tube. It did not fix the problem. It ended up being a defective front tyre. You could not see anything wrong with the tyre, but replacing it fixed the problem. When I rebuilt the bike 4 years ago, I removed the steering damper. neither of mike t commandos has a steering damper , and I have never had the cause to want one. That's not saying it is not necessary, so if you have one, fit it. Safety comes first. That reminds me that maybe I should fit the damper onto my 850. That bike is really stable and i found out after doing 80 click through long downhill sweepers, that my head steady had come away from the head, yet it still handled ok. Gave me the shits when i found out I had lost the allen bolts holding it to the head.

Dereck

PS the steering damper here, http://www.clubmanracing.com/cyclepartsnorton.php, looks exactly like the setup I have in my spares department.
 
RoadScholar said:
Two diametrically opposed camps, both composed of seasoned, knowledgeable motorcyclists: Don't leave home without it versus don't leave home until you trash the damper. Doesn't appear to be any middle ground.
Good question.
Click to expand...

Yes, Good Question.
Looking at it from the past.
When the Norton Commando was introduced to the world, did it come with a steering damper? Even the final Mk3 did not come with a damper nor is there a parts list for it, even in the Proddy service release No.N3/12. (My copy dated Aug. 1972). Only aftermarket.
What did the writers of the Bike Mags have to say during those hay days when they first sat on the Commando to give us a report? What did they say about the handling? These bikes were near new with few miles set up correctly by the dealers. Less than 5000 miles or they would be complaining of bad idle from the clapped out Amals. :mrgreen: (sorry I had to say it). :roll: We are dealing with a +40 year old bike. If parts are worn out and if you don’t address it, then funny things rear their ugly head. A well-sorted bike costs money and time. You smile down the open road when it is well sorted.
Cheers,
Thomas
 
Stephen Hill said:
I think the damper bracket sold by Clubman Racing is a much better setup than the Norvil one on the Old Britts site.
http://www.clubmanracing.com/suspensionforksnorton.php
The clamps are round and will not crush the downtubes.
And there is no need for the tall bolt to keep the clamp sliding on the downtubes.

I would disregard the comments about ditching the damper and sorting out the bike. Sure, go through the obvious stuff. But the bottom line is some Commandos shake their heads far too easily, and after you have aligned the wheels, sorted the isos, and replaced the tires, blah blah blah, sometimes they still shake their head. If the Commandos were sold today with this handling fault, there would be lawsuits and factory recalls, IMHO.

My bike is great, until I put loaded panniers on it. At which point I hesitate to take my left hand off the bars to signal, for the head shaking that kicks in. I plan to install a damper before my summer road trip.

Stephen Hill
Click to expand...

I have panniers and a top box and if I move my feet to the back pegs it will start to weave. First time that happened it gave me religion real quick and I don't do that anymore. New shocks helped and taking the top box off has helped too.
John in Texas
 
I use a pair of these clamps on my downtubes to mount a fixture to support my fairing. They don't injure the downtubes in any way because they have a plastic insert that holds the metal bracket away from the downtubes and also supply the gripping force... The link below is the correct size for norton downtubes. They come in stainless steel too if you want to pony up for that.

https://www.mcmaster.com/#u-bolts/=17jd5qt

Here's the mechanical drawing of the part:
Steering dampner


If a steering damper is considered a band aid for a race bike to cure instability without giving up quicker steering I could see it being used to push the performance envelope of a bike on the track. IF I had a street bike that was inherently unstable, I'd be looking for the cause of the problem. I have an early commando frame with the 27 degree rake and smaller offset forks. I also have extremely narrow bars (24" wide) and my front end feels solid... (thankfully)

I've never had a bike with a steering damper, so I don't have any experience with them,... so I don't really have an opinion worth considering.
 
Perfect, thank you. I wasn't sure if it would interfere with the full length fork gaiter I plan on using.
 
What's the overall length of the steering damper in the kits?
What's the normal stroke of the steering damper: 63MM, 68MM, 90MM, 120MM?
 
My bikes have reduced steering lock. It means that if I ever get the lock to lock tank-slapper, it is not so dramatic.
 
this is the one I have ,works good, doesn't crunch the down tubes, is easily adjustable, loose for around the garage and tight for fast stuff. My bike while decelerating to a stop will head shake slightly with my hands off , I don't like that, and the damper eliminates it. ( Trying to fix it you could spend countless hours and money turning it into a science project and maybe never accomplish anything . Or concede defeat and a install the damper, of course everything should be properly adjusted, etc, the damper should not be used for a giant Band-Aid)

https://andover-norton.co.uk/en/shop-details/16299

Steering dampner
 
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