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Scott's Steering Damper

8K views 37 replies 26 participants last post by  Kuss929 
#1 ·
It has been recommended to me by more than one mechanic that I not use a Scott's steering damper as they were desinged for motorcross/dirt type bikes and is not suitable for a street bike like the Fireblade. Apparently, they have a short life on street bikes and can seize causing you to crash... oppinions please.

Barna
 
#2 · (Edited)
That would suck if it were true. I just went to Scotts (their retail store in Montrose, CA) to pick up a security bolt kit for my damper. They (4 employees) saw me ride up on my bike and everything. For them not to say, "hey that damper is recommended for dirt bikes, and it may seize on your 954" would really SUCK. My first impression when I walked into their store was, wow there is alot of dirtbike stuff in here. I just can't see (at this point) how a street bike could be harder on the damper than an off road bike :idunno:

Please reveal your "source(s)" of that information so I can quiz him/her and check their credentials, cause it sounds like BS. Can your sources be more specific? Can your sources tell a story of how one seized?
 
#3 ·
One guy works at a local dealership, and I can't remember the other since I was there only one time with a guy I only rode with that one time.

Anyway, to further support these guys oppinions, if you go on Ohlins website, they have a damper that looks just like the Scott's damper but it's only for dirt bikes.

I too want to confirm that this is BS because I wanted to get a Scott's damper as well.

Barna
 
#7 ·
I'm under the impression the rotary damper was developed in some kind of partnership with ohlins.

I use one and have found it to be tremendously helpful in making the 954 less twitchy with my ham fisted inputs mid-corner, as well as with dealing with bumps while accelerating from a full lean.

It might be the case that there are better choices, but I am sure Scotts wouldn't have developed mounts for popular sportbikes if the damper weren't suitable.
 
#8 ·
A whole heap of .orgers can't be wrong... I'm pretty sure there would have to be about 30 or more that have them fitted, and I've yet to see anyone post anything about one causing a crash. Most posts are of the "it saved my ass" variety.

Z...
 
#10 ·
rrbarna I think you should go ahead and disregard what the mechanics say. I went for a ride today for the first time with the damper. That damper has changed the way my 954 feels when under acceleration 100% :thumb: The slight wiggle that used to occur when accelerating while leaning is 85% GONE (damper set at factory recommended 8 click from soft) :thumb: When leaning at 60+ MPH it feels nice and true.

If it ever siezes, sue the F out of Scottsperformance for me.
 

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#11 ·
What you were told is only somewhat true.
The damper sold in the United States under the Scotts name is an Ohlins product designed for dirtbikes. Ohlins have been selling the rotary dampers for use on dirtbikes for a quite some time now. Ohlins didn't want to market them for streetbikes, but sold licensing rights to Scotts to do so.
While I personally like the 'piston-rod' type damper much better, I have yet to see any failure of a Scotts rotary on any bike.
 
#13 ·
Boy, what a load of diaper dump! That mechanic just wants to have an opinion for the sake of it. Scotts dampers work fine on sportbikes. No issues. It is an appliance, it just gets the job done. Your basic top quality well designed solution. Mine has been set it and forget it.
 
#14 · (Edited)
I have been using Scotts rotary damper on 929 successfully for 3 seasons now. 95% of my riding is open practice/ track days. I know several others that use them successfully too. There is at least one AMA supersport team that uses Scotts on their Yamaha R6's. I forget who exactly. I must have read / saw this in Roadracing World.

If you are concerned, buy a piston rod style damper. The main thing is to get a damper. Powerful bikes with quick steering can get twitchy when the front gets light under acceleration and surprise you when you may least expect it.

BTW, new CBR 1000 will come from factory with Honda Electric Steering Damper. It is a rotary style damper with electronics controlling damping rate as needed under various conditions.
 
#23 ·
Guys if you don't want to change the oil in it yourself, just send it in and treat the maint. like you would your forks or shock. After 15k, it's probably good maint. to send it in or get the revalving kit from Scotts.

The damper is excellent. Among crash resistance (due to location), the biggest selling point is that you can use it on multiple motorcycles. You sell your bike, cool, all you need is a new mounting bracket for the next bike. Got 2 bikes? You can use it on both. (Although, if you have $ for a multibike garage, you probably have $ for 2 dampers).
 
#25 ·
rrbarna said:
It has been recommended to me by more than one mechanic that I not use a Scott's steering damper as they were desinged for motorcross/dirt type bikes and is not suitable for a street bike like the Fireblade. Apparently, they have a short life on street bikes and can seize causing you to crash... oppinions please.

Barna

He is smokin' dope
 
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