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ohlin steering damper

7K views 15 replies 14 participants last post by  walkerwerx 
#1 · (Edited)
Has anyone installed these onto their RS? I was thinking about getting one for christmas. After searching the old forum archives I have noticed a general consensus that our bike probably doesn't need one. Has anyone noticed an increase performance with these or should I spend my money on women and booze.

Also, does anyone know what stroke length for this bike? And what type of mounting kit is required, if any.

ONON-
Mark
 
#2 ·
Mark
I hate to sound really stupid as I only have 7,200mi. of experence with an '04 KRS. But, whats wrong with the damper that is on the KRS?
I have spent a lot of money on women and some on booze. In the end they will cost a LOT more than the bikes.
Bruce C
 
#3 ·
my stock damper was shot, no oil it left. seals leaking. rebuilt the stocker,,, big difference!. I was having a problem with a wobble when I was on the brakes hard, now its gone. I can only guess but I would think a better damper would make a bigger difference. Pirate( i think) posted that he put one on and he loved it. Tho since the old site is gone I cant go back and verify it was Pirate that did that. Jerry? was that you?
 
#8 ·
Damper or Not to Damper?

Yes. I installed one on my RS about a month or so ago.. before I decided to sell it.. Doh!
As far as I know, Ohlin doesn't make a mounting bracket for a damper to be used on the RS. I have a buddy that custom modified a bracket off an MV Agusta which allowed a direct bolt on of the Ohlin damper on my 98. I honestly didn't think I'd notice a difference, but apparently at 42K my damper was shot and I'd just not noticed the deterioration. The difference was VERY noticeable.

I could be wrong but I believe Wilbers is the only manufacturer that makes a complete plug-n-play damper kit for the RS/GT/LT... besides the BMW brand, of course.

This is just my opinion, but ... While the factory shocks are gone at 18-22K.. I think the factory dampers are probably good for at least 30-35K and I see no need to replace them any earlier than that unless you are going from the street to the track and back again.. often..The main benefit of either a Wilbers or Ohlin damper is their adjustability.. LOTS of adjustments which would come in handy on a track.. not so much on the street. If your bike has over 40K you WILL notice a difference if you replace it.. trust me or not.

and that's all I've got to say about that..

jimmm said:
my stock damper was shot, no oil it left. seals leaking. rebuilt the stocker,,, big difference!. I was having a problem with a wobble when I was on the brakes hard, now its gone. I can only guess but I would think a better damper would make a bigger difference. Pirate( i think) posted that he put one on and he loved it. Tho since the old site is gone I cant go back and verify it was Pirate that did that. Jerry? was that you?
 
#9 · (Edited)
Steering Damper

I installed a HyperPro, the adjustable/active model, a few thousand miles ago and noticed more stability in the bike immediately. The bike no longer veers to the right. It's plug and play also. Read about it on the Pirate's site, and I would like to thank him a I was running out of farkles and maintenance items for "The Kwik Kraut".

After my Blackbird spit me off several years ago, due to hitting bad asphalt, I would never own another bike without a steering damper.
 
#10 ·
All credit to the original I-BMW poster who posted pics of the whole assembly. I've just completed a rebuild but I have some reservations. First though, I was seriously looking at HyperPro 'cos it was adjustable but cost said I should justify it, considering mine has been shot for ages.

With the stock damper I read handling is heavier on hard twisties - I'm not on twisties that often throwing my weight around so I wouldn't know. Next a consensus says the stock damper stops low speed wobble - yes I might believe that now I know how it works from the inside.

The stock damper uses two pistons which can slide a small amount back and forth. i.e there is absolutely no damping for small steering movements as much as 10 degrees or more - so most of the time it doesn't do a lot. Once the steering angle increases you get some damping until the internal damper pressure equalises - then you get another 10 degrees of no damper action. So the first turn into a bend gives you damping, but unless you put on more steering, you're soon back to 10 degrees of no damper action. I'm convinced the stock damper is purely to stop oscillation. Now the HyperPro (and possibly Ohlins) has a variable action so it works different to stock and its purpose is more for handling. I haven't seen a negative post about the K's handling - except it's heavy.

All credit to the I-BMW archives for info and photos on damper rebuild, but there are pitfalls. The oil used is a critical part (nobody has really confirmed its viscosity) and in my case, the small piston bypass holes were partially blocked. Also there must be no 'nicks' in the chromes rods passing through the seals. After re-assembly with 10Wt fork oil, aggressive turning of the steering on the stand blew out a seal and oil - very messy!

I'm now trying a lighter oil, the damper action is softer and the seals are holding. I'm researching the original KACO seals for their spec. I've got reservations about the ability of the stock design to hold in oil, the lack of boots or gaiters on the exposed pushrods, the temperatures in front of the radiator in slow traffic to give good service life, and the limited travel distance requiring high internal pressure during damping - but these may be reasons why they don't last that long!

If you are looking at buying a bike and need to check the damper is both working and durable, sit a passenger on the back to raise the front wheel and from the front turn the steering back and forth hard. No resistance = no damper, a load of oil in your face or on the fender is a dead damper!



 
#11 ·
voxmagna said:
After re-assembly with 10Wt fork oil, aggressive turning of the steering on the stand blew out a seal and oil - very messy!

I'm now trying a lighter oil, the damper action is softer and the seals are holding.
I used 10wt oil when I did mine and also blew out seal, however left air in not knowing better, there can be no air left in the damper, you almost have to force the seals on after filling with as much fluid as possible to keep the blow out from happening. No problem with leaks or blow out since rebuilding the correct way.
 
#12 ·
Yes I did all that. Used a hyperdermic to get the oil in, tapped and moved the piston rod to get all the air to the top whilst held in the vice, topped up with oil to above the seal level and pushed on the seal.

It was when I started swinging the steering back and forth to check things were OK and noticed the outer lip seal bulging that I guessed pressures inside might make something happen!



 
#14 ·
Resurrecting this old thread, as I've just experienced the same problem as Voxmagna, with the seals blowing out.

I've read all the threads on the "old" database regarding the repairing of the K1200RS steering damper.
Can anyone advise if the SKF seal ref. 3939 referred to works satisfactorily?
I tried a rebuild with a seal (not the SKF ones) which reversed itself and sprayed oil out when I put pressure on it. Obviously not the correct specification of seal!
The original seal is made by Kaco, and is a 10.20.7/8.5 VGF01.

Is that seal available in the UK, or is the SKF one ok?
 
#15 · (Edited)
Douglas_C: Somewhere in the archives is my post stating categorically that it's not the seal size you should be looking at first, but the pressure specification. The dust lip may have to be ignored to get a seal with the high pressure spec.

You can get seals that look identical to the oem, but they are designed for rotating shafts and only resist a pressure of a few pounds per square inch. The oem seals are quite special in their design so be careful with 'look alikes'.

When you wiggle the front forks hard, the seal reverses itself and oil pours over the bike - you have the wrong spec. seal. My damper is still working fine.



 

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