Ducati Monster Forum

Hey guys, I bought a 2013 Monster 1100 EVO in Feb.  Who's using what out there for a steering damper? I'm a new rider with very little experience. Is it worth the purchase?Is there a huge difference in stability? Saw a couple online, some as expensive as $500+ (scott)  Anyone using it? Too much money? Comments?
Thanks,
Rob

Money likely better spent on suspension setup and a good riding course. 

JM

Yep, no need for a SD if your suspension is set up right, most people running SD are just putting a band-aid on and masking flaws in there suspension.

Steering dampers are a crutch... even a poor suspension normally straightens out if the loose nut at the handlebars lets go...

200 MPH Motorcycle Crash (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTfKJFrUi9w&feature=player_detailpage#)

notice as soon as he let go, the bike stopped hating him?  Loose arms, and good body position...

 He shoulda just got back on!

^^This.

I have never felt the need for a steering damper on my road bikes.  Although I do have one on my DR to assist on very loose and/or sloppy surfaces. 

A good damper is not going to be cheap.  I have the Matris brand on my M695 and Ohlins on my 749s.

Don't get it for stability, get it for insurance against those rare and evil "tank slapper" events.  Yes they can happen out on there on public roads at a sane pace given unfortunate circumstances.  Normally you should not really notice its presence.

Is it worth it?  To me, absolutely yes.

As others have noted, a higher priority is to get your suspension setup for you.  That's step #1.

Just wanted to chime in with my support for steering dampers to give another view. 

BK

even with good suspension work a damper can make riding in bad terrain more pleasant. I have a damper on mine and it cleans up a lot of the chatter i get from riding on NYC highways.

A damper shouldn't be bought before the suspension is set-up correctly, but I think they're useful and consider them safety devices. They're essentially useless...until they're needed, at which point they're the best money you ever spent. Kinda like your helmet.  ;)

Everyone can talk about technique, loose arms, blah blah. When a tank slapper happens, especially on the street, good luck riding it out. Tank slappers may be rare, but can happen when the circumstances align...even on a bike with properly set-up suspension, and an experienced rider.

Fixed it for you.


Zakly!

An enormous PLUS 1..........there is a perfect storm of event/dynamics convergence that can occur that will have your flawlessly tuned suspension become meaningless as you are slapping wildly.

I found mine on my "perfectly tuned suspension" when I had my damper turned off....I went into town to do a few errands,

dialed-out the damper for the traffic maneuvering....finished my errands and decided to go home the long way through 2 miles of twisty, forgot to dial up the damper

I was in full lean on a turn at speed and slammed into a pothole next to a manhole cover...right at the apex of the turn

went into a violent slapper, bike came upright and I shot across the on-coming lane in front of a car that missed me by millimeters

hit the curb bike went over and I went sailing into the shrubbery sideways missing a tree by inches that would have snapped my neck had I connected with it

Sometimes the Laws of Physics get a set of circumstances that will send you where you don't want to be, no matter how much of a genius you are at setting sag and rebound etc.

Get a damper, get a good one, it is cheap insurance when weighed against (even the remote) possibility of a hospital stay or a good quality funeral send -off

Spend that money with Lee Parks total control course.

The urge to replace stuff is hard to resist.  Even though I know, it's still a temptation.  I just bought a Kawasaki Concours a few months ago...after reading the forums I had a list of all the stuff I KNEW would need to be replaced, and I'd only ridden it home!  I let the urge dissipate, rode it some, then figured out what to replace.  But I've  been riding 30 years.

Be patient.  Don't buy ANYTHING other than safety gear or riding classes until you get more experience under your belt.  Your bike is PLENTY good.  The additional "stability" you'd get from a damper seems it would be very unlikely to make any difference.  Until you get a lot more experience, you're more likely to make yourself crash with a basic riding issue, and a damper won't fix that.  If you're riding on that thin edge where a damper might save you, you're probably in way over your head, especially given that you're new to riding.

So fight the urge to buy stuff as much as you can until you get more experience.  You DON"T recoup your money, so be patient until you know what you want, otherwise you're pouring money down the drain.  Upgrades are fun and great, but I wish I'd had a bit more perspective when I started.  My bike has a lot of mods and is just about done with what I want to do to it.  But I've gone through three exhausts, etc. 

I play guitar.  If I'd spent literally 2% of the time playing and practicing that I spent looking for new crap to buy or "upgrade", I'd be a hell of a musician instead of a guy who has ten guitars and can't play crap.   ;D

Welcome to the club though.  And nice bike!

Wanna buy a guitar?   [evil]

Joel

1100cc Monster for a low time rider  :o   That being said these are my thoughts
1. MSC class! If you have not already signed up or done one, do it immediately! 
2. As much gear as you can afford ATTGAT! (All the Gear All the Time)
3. Track days. You will learn more in a day than you will on your own, ever.
4. Learn about "The Pace" and understand that riding "fast" is really slow.

Did I mention MSC course, track days and gear yet?

+1
http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=117.0 (http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=117.0)

This weekend I got into a tank-slapper at somewhere between 40-60mph and lost the battle.
As I was skidding along the ashphalt, I recalled thinking, aim for the right shoulder. In this scenario, that was both because A, there are no cars there and B, awesome padded protection. That was a success on both accounts.

This was a "perfect storm" of enthusuastic shifting, potholes and speed bumps (Michigan roads). I wouldn't consider myself by any means an "expert" rider but I have a handful of years under my belt. The slapper came from nowhere and I was chucked in the blink of an eye.

All the gear, all the time? Yes. Or as my motorcycle tech teacher used to say, prepare for the crash, not for the ride.

But this is all getting sidetracked. I've been looking into dampers too, hoping to gain some insight from users. What brands are good, better, bad?
What should I look for?
Should I consider the slap event a fluke and not order one?
And to the people that say modify suspension first, where and how? I love my 796 and would prefer to make it MY monster. I am relatively unexperienced in sport bikes, and am not sure what to ask who as far as suspension tuning.

Rob, congrats on the purchase.  Even after being tossed, I'm excited for replacements to come in so I can get back to riding.

This guys story has me seriously considering a damper as well...

http://www.ducatimonster.org/forums/general-monster-forum/224217-my-first-lay-down.html (http://www.ducatimonster.org/forums/general-monster-forum/224217-my-first-lay-down.html)

I would love to add a dampener as I had one on a couple of other bikes and it helped.  I have not added one to the Duc yet as I have yet to find one that is not bulky, in the way or flat out goofy.  I had one on my Z1000 (Scott) that was behind the lower triple clamp.  The Scott dampener for the monster sits on top the triple tree, it's yucky looking lol.

Bitubo dampner  http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bellissimoto.com/images/DSCN0127.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.ducati.ms/forums/138-streetfighter/100271-bitubo-steering-dampers.html&h=1704&w=2272&sz=767&tbnid=rLHaIxZpyRGo6M:&tbnh=93&tbnw=124&zoom=1&usg=__rgKAuY9MUSpQxw_k9PKkEMgUy7w=&docid=JGy0GxKCiuYJEM&sa=X&ei=2aubUaXeJsTQiwLDpoGYAg&ved=0CIMBEPUBMAQ&dur=2996 (http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bellissimoto.com/images/DSCN0127.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.ducati.ms/forums/138-streetfighter/100271-bitubo-steering-dampers.html&h=1704&w=2272&sz=767&tbnid=rLHaIxZpyRGo6M:&tbnh=93&tbnw=124&zoom=1&usg=__rgKAuY9MUSpQxw_k9PKkEMgUy7w=&docid=JGy0GxKCiuYJEM&sa=X&ei=2aubUaXeJsTQiwLDpoGYAg&ved=0CIMBEPUBMAQ&dur=2996)

Scott Dampener  http://www.motovationusa.com/mvstore/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=1225 (http://www.motovationusa.com/mvstore/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=1225)

Ohlins Dampener #1  http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.shop.kyleusa.com/images/1222704259588-1323350818.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic%3D50767.0&h=685&w=1024&sz=223&tbnid=ZnnQVwW29Z5HBM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=135&zoom=1&usg=__nhxwGD9EV8TR3e5PAarU3u2mD94=&docid=DGJaKhe2hdPFLM&sa=X&ei=haybUbmUCsjmigLLsoCoCg&ved=0CHYQ9QEwBQ&dur=499 (http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.shop.kyleusa.com/images/1222704259588-1323350818.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic%3D50767.0&h=685&w=1024&sz=223&tbnid=ZnnQVwW29Z5HBM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=135&zoom=1&usg=__nhxwGD9EV8TR3e5PAarU3u2mD94=&docid=DGJaKhe2hdPFLM&sa=X&ei=haybUbmUCsjmigLLsoCoCg&ved=0CHYQ9QEwBQ&dur=499)

Ohlins dampener #2  http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ducati.ms/forums/attachments/streetfighter/84845d1297704129-does-749-999-ohlins-steering-damper-fit-sf-999sf.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ducati.ms/forums/138-streetfighter/104984-does-749-999-ohlins-steering-damper-fit-sf.html&h=480&w=640&sz=59&tbnid=pCfsPh5ULH57MM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=123&zoom=1&usg=__VFcklVkNniysYgbt8n3ht4sfjY4=&docid=oMhaEw2cDKr67M&sa=X&ei=haybUbmUCsjmigLLsoCoCg&ved=0CHAQ9QEwAw&dur=381 (http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ducati.ms/forums/attachments/streetfighter/84845d1297704129-does-749-999-ohlins-steering-damper-fit-sf-999sf.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ducati.ms/forums/138-streetfighter/104984-does-749-999-ohlins-steering-damper-fit-sf.html&h=480&w=640&sz=59&tbnid=pCfsPh5ULH57MM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=123&zoom=1&usg=__VFcklVkNniysYgbt8n3ht4sfjY4=&docid=oMhaEw2cDKr67M&sa=X&ei=haybUbmUCsjmigLLsoCoCg&ved=0CHAQ9QEwAw&dur=381)

Yikes!

I've never seen any bike shake like that at low speed and wobble like that at high speed.

Anyone else?

I would hazard a guess that those characteristics have little to do with modern suspension design... and hence the need to get your suspension set up.  

Springs and shock/fork valving are the problem, hence why the guy at the "right" weight didn't have the weave.  It is my opinion that too stiff in the rear for too soft in the front will cause that issue.

Wobble... I say tires (in conjunction with the spring imbalance).  Some do and some don't, but all the tires in that video are from 30+ years ago... and who knows what the runout on those spokes was... or whether they were balanced.