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Review: Motosportz Steering Dampener
Is
This Device Really Necessary?
Steering stabilizers, steering dampeners, guys that have them mounted
to their dirt bikes swear by them. Others that don’t, can’t see
the value, or are not ready to shell out the big bucks. They are not a
cheap accessory. If you’re a good rider, you shouldn’t need one,
right?
A couple of the guys I ride with have them and swear by them.
They like the way they work, keeping the bars from swinging
lock-to-lock while riding over roots and rocks. They say it helps to
keep the front wheel going in the direction you intended, especially
in the rough stuff. There is less fighting with the bars and this
helps to reduce fatigue and arm-pump.
You know what deep sand is like at speed. You can be constantly
fighting the bars trying to keep the front wheel straight. Sure you
can sit back on the seat, take the weight off the front wheel, letting
it float. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Who needs a steering stabilizer
then?
I know I’ve personally had a few seconds of terror when I was
ripping down a trail and I hit SOMETHING, not sure even what it was,
that caused the bars to violently swap side to side. Yikes! It’s
truly a scary moment that, luckily for me, did not end in pain.
Let’s
Try One
An opportunity came to test the Motosportz Steering Stabilizer. Never
heard of it? Me neither. I thought there were only 2 brands. I did a
bit of research online on a few bike forums, and the reviews were
positive. OK, it's time to see what all the fuss is about.
The
Equipment
When I opened up the package I found a beautifully crafted device. The
craftsmanship and detail work is excellent. It truly is a work of art.
It came with all mounting hardware and a full set of instructions with
a detailed picture. It also explained how it was designed. They seem
very proud of their product. Mine was an "over-the-bar"
model, which means it mounts over top of the handle bar. Motosportz
now has an "under-the-bar" model available too.
Free
to centre
or not free to centre
According to their web site (www.motosportz.com),
steering dampeners come in 2 flavours, Free to Centre or NOT Free to
Centre.
“Some dampers only damp while going away from center and
coming back they have little or no damping. Some dampers have the same
amount of damping in both directions”
The Motosportz model has dampening in both directions. It has a
quick adjuster from soft to hard that can moved no problem with gloves
on.
Installation
It took me about an hour to install it on my 2006 KTM525EXC. The
directions were straight forward and easy to follow.
(See pics above, before and after.)
The
Test
My first test was during the Northumberland Trail Ride in
Ontario
. I’ve rode in this area before. It’s a mixture of sandy, loamy
single track (with some exposed roots) and fast double track (with
some rocky hills). Not a real torture test, but a good ride to get
used to it. I wasn’t sure where to set the adjuster so I just put it
in the middle. We arrived in the area a day early, so we did some
exploring of back roads and trails. During this time, I couldn’t
feel any difference in the steering. I guess this is a good thing,
right? But will it “come on” when I need it?
During the actual ride in the single track, I did hit a few
roots at speed. The front wheel stayed straight and I kept my line (in
between trees!). On some faster sandy sections I resisted the
temptation to sit back on the seat, but instead sat in the middle. I
found I didn’t have to fight to keep the front wheel going in the
right direction and I didn’t require the usual “death grip” on
the bars.
Was all this the work of the dampener or just my great (or
lucky) riding skill?
Well, the true test came when we were blasting down the double
track. It had long up and down hills with good size rocks and small
wash-outs. I came flying over one of the hills, the front wheel
floating over the top and down in to a pile of rocks. I kept the wheel
focused on the smoothest line when all of a sudden: Bam! I hit a large
rock. The bars did a very quick, and short, left to right flick. I
continued down the trail, not sure at first what had happened and then
realized that dampener had just saved my butt. I’m sure that without
it, instead of a quick flick of the bars, it would have been a severe
bar-swapping incident that would have pushed me off my line, or worse,
doing an unintentional flying “W”! Whew!
I’m a believer, I've been converted. Now I see why many riders
that have steering dampeners, would not hit the trail without one. I
figure if it keeps me riding and out of the hospital, it’s worth the
price!
www.motosportz.com
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