Steering dampener-ectomy

[deilenberger]

Recently I noticed few nasty rust point on the unused area of the chromed stick of my Steering dampener... (may upload pics soon)

I know I am kind of a "slob" when it come to clean my bike or proceed scheduled detail cleaning. I am everyday near the ocean so one might help the other or am I wrong ?

Do you have the same rust points in this area ?

No, and I'm 9 blocks from the Atlantic. Sounds defective to me - are you still under warranty? I assume the rusty bit isn't where the damper actually covers it (so no seals are passing over the rusty bit..)?

[deilenberger]

I've given thought to getting a HyperPro adjustable one (I know it fits since Klaus used my bike to design the thing..)

Well rats! I tried to install the Hyperpro steering damper and it doesn't freakin' fit!

First, they sent me a mounting kit for the GS even though my order and the invoice clearly showed R1200R with the OEM mount kit. I called. They sent me the correct mount and a return label for the GS kit which I've returned.

This is from Klaus at EPM-Performance?

So today, eager to install a replacement for the BMW damper which has started to feel too loose on a number of leaned-over turns, I had to start by removing the wheel to get to the fender bolts to remove the fender.

I get it all mounted up, and the fork tube hits the damper body well before the fork hits the left steering stop. This means (besides damaging the damper over time) that I can't lock my fork with the wheel turned to the left, the much more stable side.

I tried adjusting the position of the clamp on the damper body from the recommended 22 mm from the end and even with it pulled back so that the back of the body is but 1 mm from the rod end cap at right steering lock position, the fork tube still impacts the damper body at left lock.

VERY odd.. if it's from Klaus.. since he fitted it on my bike. I know there is another "Hyperpro" company in the US that only sells steering dampers.. (saw them at the NYC moto show last year, and was puzzled and asked Klaus about it.)

I just tried calling Hyperpro and of course they are closed on weekends. So now I have to put the bike all back together with the BMW damper back in place. I'm NOT a happy camper!

Be interested in exactly who you bought it from, and who you're talking to if it's EPM-Performance. Klaus is leading a ride of the German Munch-Mammoth club cross country, but I'm sure his secretary can reach him.

[thepeacebullgrunt]

Absolutely Don the rust is anywhere in contact with the seal...there is no leak that's the reason why I am not too obsess about it but still its a weird detail after just one year and half of ownership... when I'll fix some issue with my flickr account I'll post some pictures. (I have rust points in few other places anyway too.)

[ShinySideUp]

Be interested in exactly who you bought it from, and who you're talking to if it's EPM-Performance.

Ah, therein may lie the problem. I simply googled "HyperPro Steering Damper" and saw the the first 2 hits were http://www.hyperprousa.com. This sounded like the place one should go to buy a HyperPro product!

Klaus's company is nowhere on the first page and is 13th in the listings: http://www.wilbersusa.com.

So... I guess I have to go argue for my $349 dollars back on a unit whose barrel I've now marked up by sliding the clamp back and forth trying to get it to fit. Or get them to make it fit on my bike. Or eat the price and talk to Klaus about buying another that will actually work. The last choice would make this an expensive damper indeed, even by BMW standards!

In refitting the OEM damper, I came to appreciate what real design is all about: It fits so elegantly.

It was interesting to feel how the OEM damper offers noticeably less resistance to moving its rod in and out of the body when off the bike, compared to the HyperPro even on its lowest setting. And when cranking the HyperPro all the way up, it was difficult to turn the handlebars, even with the bike up on a stand. Quite a range of adjustment.

[gibbo111]

I have just been in contact with Klaus and he tells me the factory are making a mounting kit for the RR and it will be available in 4-5 weeks. The factory didnt go ahead with the one he designed for Dons bike. He explained the problems that SSU had so should be sorted soon . I have ordered the kit and aRSC damper

[deilenberger]

I have just been in contact with Klaus and he tells me the factory are making a mounting kit for the RR and it will be available in 4-5 weeks. The factory didnt go ahead with the one he designed for Dons bike. He explained the problems that SSU had so should be sorted soon . I have ordered the kit and aRSC damper

Yes - I stopped at Klaus's shop Labor-Day weekend and we tried fitting the kit Hyperpro was selling. It didn't fit, as you experienced. Turns out the R12R and the R12S use the same PN steering damper from BMW, so apparently Hyperpro thought the kit they made for the R12S would fit the R12R. They didn't take into account the oval cross-section fork sliders of the R12R.

[lewellen]

Recently I noticed few nasty rust point on the unused area of the chromed stick of my Steering dampener... (may upload pics soon)

I know I am kind of a "slob" when it come to clean my bike or proceed scheduled detail cleaning. I am everyday near the ocean so one might help the other or am I wrong ?

Do you have the same rust points in this area ?

No, and I'm 9 blocks from the Atlantic. Sounds defective to me - are you still under warranty? I assume the rusty bit isn't where the damper actually covers it (so no seals are passing over the rusty bit..)?

Hm. Might be that lovely West Coast air.

I live in Monterey (about 150 miles south of San Francisco) and am on my second steering damper. The dealer replaced the first one under warranty - without my having to ask. The second one has done the same as described above.

I've also noticed small brown spots here and there on the frame (and no it's not dirt), where some surface rust is starting to form through the paint. (Yeah, I know ... but that's what it looks like to me.)

Just a couple more data points on rust ... now back to our regularly scheduled thread...

Good roads,

- Lewellen

[gibbo111]

I have just heard from Klaus at EPM that the correct mounting kit for the hyperpro steering damper for the R is now available (and one is on its way to australia. Yipee)

[ContraMoto]

Old thread, but it bears saying...

The reason this bike comes with a steering damper is that the windshield(s) mounts to the fork. Unstable air in windy or crowded-freeway conditions are extra-dangerous when the screen is on the forks. I guess if you ride it naked, you might live without the damper.

But -- dampers are desireable on just about any high performance bike. Why would someone want to downgrade their R? Why not also remove one of the front rotors, or maybe put a more-restrictive exhaust on it? Add some weight. Run the wrong tires...

[Mollygrubber]

Well, I ran without mine right up to the day I sold it with never a problem and rode every day of the year with a 20" Cee Baileys attached. I guess the factory installed it for a reason but I can say it was never an issue for me. YMMV, do what makes you comfortable.

[tinytrains]

Dampers are there to provide stability over the entire range of traction, tire loading, and speed. There are a lot of dynamics in a motorcycle, and they may only be needed at the outer corners, but if BMW felt they needed to spend money to install it, I am not taking mine off.

Scott

[daytonaredeye]

Will throw my 2¢ worth. My dealer found my damper to be defective a few years ago during a routine maintenance checkup.
The service shop manager said she would order one and install it when I brought my bike in a few weeks afterwards for tire replacements. Well, I show up and get the tires and she tells me the part didn't come in (I highly suspect she forgot to order one). She told they would try to get one installed during subsequent maintenance visits but never had one in when I got there. I told her I hadn't been having any noticeable trouble with steering instability and she said with a wink and a grin to just forget it then. I really hadn't given it another thought until reading some of the horror stories in this thread. Perhaps will order one from the boneyard and install it myself. Doesn't appear to be overly complex - just a couple of mount points.....

[M249Joe]

http://www.msgroup.org/Tip.aspx?Num=190

Plenty of Tank Slapping videos on youtube...