[LiLBull]

its a race requirement to have a front end steering dampner on a caferacer bike maybe all bikes and ussually in racing its after something went terribly wrong so if they are required by the race rules and are fitted to most modern bikes .Whats it all about alfee ...is it the obvious so the handle bars wouldnt be snatch out of your hands at speed ...what are the parts involved to fit a vintage bike or is this like rear sets build what you need.Whats the normal set ups for vintage bikes and some sources for the vital pieces.As always thanks in advance for the answers which Im sure are many ...George PS i see mordern bikes have them builtin at the top tree still I like that vintage shock hanging out in the breeze.



Edited by - LiLBull on Oct 24 2005 5:37:20 PM

 

[jbranson]

Some clubs require them, others don't. I think AHRMA or WERA does, while the USCRA doesn't.

On many vintage honda's the mounting holes are already there. In fact if you are lucky you might find an NOS Honda damper that will bolt right on. I have one on one of my bikes, not on the other two. It came from Pro-flo...about $60 I think. Front bolt went right into the OEM mounting hole on the lower fork clamp, drilled a hole in an upper engine mount for the rear bolt.

Weird the way the a whole lot of stock bikes cam with that hole in the lower clamp for a damper...sometimes threaded, sometimes not.
JohnnyB

 

[LiLBull]

jb you have pictures of this set up eye balling things ...I understand better thanks George

 

[jbranson]

Here's a close up from a telephoto shot of the wife's bike while racing...only one I could find that showed a decent view.

http://www.jrbranson.com/showandtell-3.htm

See the black cylinder with the nylon tie on it? Front is connected to the lower side of the bottom fork clamp. Rear is attached to the top engine mount above cylinder head.

Bonus picture of the wife racing below that. She's pretty quick.
JohnnyB

 

[joe c]

the cb77s had them as a stock item. its what im using on my racer. people have said im nuts for using it becasue apparently they are hard to find. but it was rigt there on the 305 in the shop, it worked fine, so i used it.


otherwise, the mounting hole on the lower tree, or they can be bolted up to the fork leg. i have a bracket on my frame for the other side of mine.


jc

 

[Geeto67]

legend has it that the very first kawasaki triples handled so bad that they were outfitted with two steering dampners (one on each side). Personally I have never seen a factory triple without atleast one, and yes they do handle that bad.

I had a full on tank slapper at 90mph on the garden state parkway on my cb750 and I lived to tell the tale (didn't wreck). Since then all my street bikes have one and it makes a world of difference. The old style ones (like replacements for an h1) are about $60. I either weld them on or use a bands clamp to attach them to the frame. most triple trees already have the holes for them, just run a thread.

 

[LiLBull]

ill have to look today to see if any of my bikes have that mount hole.any sources for the dampner,is there a way to measure what you need ,like over all dampner size and throw or one generic size fits all.See a small part of the bike opens up a world of info! George
JohnnyB ive been to your site way before I found this one not only the work you do but lol maintain a web site as up to the minute as yours I know is not easy great job man!

 

[jbranson]

Bull,
Usually it's a generic size. The copies of the unit used on the old Kawi's can be made to fit just about anything. If the tree hole isn't there then you can clamp on to the fork tube (clamps can be bought seperately).

On most race bikes the fork won't (or at least shouldn't) move back and forth far enough to fully stroke the damper...so that gives you even more options for mounting since the damper can be moved around some. Remember the closer the front bolt is to the steering stem the less stroke there will be and the less "effect" the damper will have on the front end...the opposite of course as you move away from the stem.

The mounting bolt on the body side is often on a ball pivot which allows you to orient the bolt any direction you want. The shaft also rotates so the front bolt can mount on the top of the tree, the bottom etc.

From a 100cc bike to a 1000cc there is just not that much difference in the geometery of a bikes neck area and forks.

Glad someone is looking at my site
JohnnyB

 

[LiLBull]

your site is not posted in your bio nor can you get to it from show and tell....me I just erased the show and tell part and I got there.Then saw I already had it in favorites a while back whan i was looking into cafe racer builds.Again great sight and keep posting show and tells a picture to me saw a kazillion words ..lol.

 

[LiLBull]

just a note the 74 360 has a boss for mounting a dampner but undrilled ,the 74 cb450 has the boss drilled and taped so I guess some do and some dont will keep looking for them on bikes its curious we thed have them and not mount a dampner with the extra step of drilling and taping it hey may be they wanted lots of spares for racers or they hoped more would be racing them.

George