will modifying the frame pass tech?

The GS500 was Bonnie's first "sport" bike. It's a great little bike and we really like them.

Your bike will be fine and pass tech.

 

steering damper....almost like a real bike now rich j/k

 

is there a particular reason you want to put a damper on a GS500?

just seems like putting a spoiler on a front wheel drive car...

 

NOt really a waste of money.

But I am of the mind that a steering damper is there as a backup, to save mistakes.

Too many people buy dampers to straighten out a bike that seems to want to shake its head at the slightest thing. That is NOT what a damper is for, that is what suspension work and proper riding technique is for.

If you think you need a damper for your bike to want to track properly, you actually need suspension work ort practice in proper techniques.

If you need a damper cause WERA requires it, great.

If you want a damper just in case, awesome as well.

And if you just haved $50 to blow, its not a horrible thing to blow it on :lol:

 

That was going to be my question too, if it was really necessary. We put one on the Hawk and eventually took it off because it wasn't doing anything. I haven't missed it.

 

Just for fun - I stil ldon't have one on the 03 600RR, never felt a need for it...well maybe once or twice last year when I clipped the rumble strips at RA....it does help with that hehe

 

Y'all are killing me. There's a reason WERA (and every other racing org) requires it. If the bike is on a track and being ridden like you stole it, you'll either need it or wish you had it (at some point). Bikes like to shake their heads and tails. It's a natural. IMO, any bike being ridden to the limit, must have one. I wouldn't try to ride a bike at 100% without one.

 

but it's a GS500.

no offense to anyone who owns or rides one (my dad has a '99), but the 'limit' of that bike is far slower than the limit of more sport-oriented bikes.

WERA requires them for all bikes because they need a simple and consistent rule. when i talk to the guys who race in the 500 twin class, they've always said the bikes don't need, or even LIKE a damper. handles better without it. one guy told me "buy one that's broken and mount it up so it'll pass tech."

what kind of damper can you get for $50 anyway?

 

Geometry.

The GS500 just doesnt have the geometry that modern bikes do, so it is not going to shake its head unless something is very wrong basically. The suspension, steering bearings, landing a crossed up wheelie (what, it could happen :lol: )

And even on a modern sportbike, if the suspension is sorted out, and the rider has good technique, it is a SAFETY mod in case something goes wrong.

Again, a LOT of riders buy expensive aftermarket dampers to cover up other flaws. If your bike is wanting to shake its head badly and consistently, and you didnt hit a major bump with the wheel turned, or do something else bonehead.... you have a SUSPENSION/GEOMETRY issue, not a damper issue.... or the steering bearings are bad.

FWIW, I am not a god to racing/trackday riding, but I am not slow either :wink: And I run the OEM damper, just like it came out of the factory, on my 06 GSXR 600, and have NEVER needed anything more. Barber, CMP, Jennings, Tally, Roebling...... all of which I have used the entire track and then some (rumble strips, edge of dirt) to get around. My suspension is setup properly though, and I am loose on the bars. heck I even wheelie across the edge of the chicane at tally sometimes and clip the backside of the curbing, and get nothing more than one wiggle of the bars.

 

"Look out novice class, here I come."

If he is in novice on a GS500 the chance he needs a damper is low. He may ride it at 100% someday, but by then he'll probably have/want a bigger bike.

I would avoid any welding or drilling on a frame unless I absolutely had to.

I think that $50 would be better spent on a braided steel brake line, better brake pads, better track tires, suspension set-up or put towards another trackday.

 

while i do agree his 50 bucks is better spent other ways at this time, i, like mr graham won't ride a bike as fast as i can without a damper. hell i would put a damper on my xr 50 if i had the extra money to spend . things happen that are sometimes out of your control and the extra security of a damper is something i want at all times.
I have never agreed with the theory that a properly setup bike with an experienced rider doesn't need a damper. motogp bikes have them and they are arguably the best setup bikes on the planet. im sure people would argue that they have so much power that a damper is needed but i believe even the 125 cc gp bikes are required to have them. dampers are required in every racing org cause it is a good idea no matter what. this is just my opinion. take it as you want

 

I've been riding the Hawk for 3 seasons now, it's a 20 year old 64hp, 110 mph top speed bike, with crap suspension, and I've never experienced head shake on it. It doesn't *need* a steering dampener. The front wheel weighs like, 50 pounds, its spinning force probably works like a dampener. You could argue that I'm not riding the bike to 100% because I'm slow, but anyone is welcome to try riding it. It's got more issues, like it doesn't really accelerate, or slow down, than not having a steering dampener.

We put one on in the first place because X thought that all bikes needed them... until he raced it.

If it's required for WERA rules, well then there's really no choice.

Cresting the hill and hitting the bump for the first time on the front straight at Road America on my 600RR - yeah, I was glad it has one.

 

im not trying to say i know more than anybody or attack anyones opinions at all. that being said, i happen to have a friend that owns a 1988 hawk who was under the same thought that he didn't *need* a damper on his bike. until he got into a wicked tank slapper coming out of the left hand kink on the back straight at beaver.

im just saying that at some race track somewhere, at a certain temperature, at a certain time, at a certain point, in a certain situation, on any bike, that a damper might save your hyde. why take the chance?

 

I have ridden Jen's Hawk... hard enough to slide both ends of the bike at the same time (hey - it doesn't have a whole lot of juice - so you really don't wannt slow down :twisted: ) and I can say I never missed it having a damper. Of course if you know me, know my size, you also know that me riding a Hawk is akin to most people riding a minibike.....

On my gsxr 1000, I wouldn't ride the bike without *some* type of damper on there... even when it had the stocker, it was ok, but there were instances I was wanting something better (cresting the front straight at Road America for instance).

I will say that when I did have the stock damper on there it forced me to make sure everything else on the bike (including me) was working as well as possible. Amazing how gripping the bike a bit more with your legs and less with the arms can do wonders (I know that's what we're supposed to do anyway... but one can get lazy....).

t

 

Once again, nowhere did I say a damper is not needed ever. I said a properly set up bike will only need a damper if something goes wrong.

If the damper is needed, because the bike constantly wants to shake its head, then something ELSE is wrong. But they are needed for safety when pushing a bike to its limits.

Butr for the sake of this thread, a GS500 is wayyyyyyyyyyyyy less apt to need it than a modern sport bike with current geometry