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Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 23 Jan 2009
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I have tried a R100 with steering-damper. Personally I didn’t see much difference but the bike had awful suspension so I’m not sure how valid the test was.

As Mollydog said you should look far ahead and keep speed up.
You should allow the bike to move freely under you. It will get where you are looking so don’t worry when the handlebar is moving in odd directions.

Keep suspension-setting soft. Rear suspension is also important because if it is to stiff your front wheel will be pushed down in the sand when the rear hits something.

My impression is that driving technique is far more important then a steering-damper. To look far ahead can’t be stressed enough.
On the other hand it wouldn’t hurt to install one, so if you fancy modifications…








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Old 23 Jan 2009
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If you don’t reach the top first time…..



…. gain more speed:
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Old 23 Jan 2009
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Sorry but I feel I need to say this, it makes the posts much more enjoyable when the pics are there. Before anybody says anything i'm not trying to be a pain in the arse or add " oh nice pics" etc because we all hate that and it just cloggs up a thead.

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Old 23 Jan 2009
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Without PS you cannot see the mountains.
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Old 23 Jan 2009
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mollydog View Post
Yes, those are nice pics Ali and nice photo shop work cleaning them up!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mollydog View Post
Very well done. When I say photo shop, I don't mean a fake pic, no, I mean with PS you can do stuff to sharpen, to give nice contrast and give the pic a real pro look. The sky is beautiful, looks like a Polarizer filter was used, very nice. Probably helped with PS?

Thanks for comments of the pics. The pics are scanned from Velvia 50 and together with the African sun it didn’t need much retouch (Levels and sharpening). The first one is a bit modified, because it’s taken directly after sunrise with limited light.

But back to old GSes, this time with digital camera:






Split second bedore a crash:



Back to driving in sand, without a damper. How hard can it be. It’s only downhill…

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Old 24 Jan 2009
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My R80/7 did not have a steeringdamper. I got hold of one and tested. The difference was immence. My bikes all have steeringdampers ever since.

I would recommend you to test. The installation is simple. The needed parts are not that expensive at the scrapyards. If you like the performance difference you can always swapp the BMW damper for something better.

You will need to see to that the adjusting knobb is easilly accessible though... in tricky terrain you will want to disengage the damping to enhance swiftness in frontwheel turning, and on transport stretches (autobahn/freeway) you may find that the hardest damping gives the best tracking -
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Old 25 Jan 2009
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Steering dampers
Thanks for the response, guys. Absolutely stunning pictures, I'm amazed you can take a beemer thru sand dunes. I'll have to practice a bit more using a higher speed. The bike starts to slow and then the bars are almost wrenched out of my grip, it's as though the bike wants to go it's own way. It's at that point you fall over. Anyway, I'll carry on with fitting some sort of damper and let everyone know. Thanks again.
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Old 25 Jan 2009
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Originally Posted by dc lindberg View Post
You will need to see to that the adjusting knobb is easilly accessible though... in tricky terrain you will want to disengage the damping to enhance swiftness in frontwheel turning,
Hi DC,
are you talking about shock absorber type hydraulic dampers here? If so, what sort of length. There are lots of cheapo dampers available for testing... but what size - length/diameter?

I would like to look into this after being high-sided on desert roads!

John
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