steering damper lost its damping

[gixermike]

i have a standard 1100k steering damper which needs rebuilding 

has anyone done it or know somewhere that can 

 

[TonyGee]

1 hour ago, gixermike said:

i have a standard 1100k steering damper which needs rebuilding 

has anyone done it or know somewhere that can 

 

when I bought my used GSX1100L years back the OEM damper was fecked, I priced up a new one out of interest and it was over £700  and at the time you could get an Ohlins fully rebuildable and better than the OEM one for £350 !!!!!  

[gixermike]

yeah i have found some on Eblag for 450 odd hence seeing if they can be rebuilt 

[Upshotknothole]

I don't think the stock ones could ever be rebuilt, and if they could, Suzuki would have discontinued the parts years ago. A quick google search and it sounds like you can carefully uncrimp it and take it apart and replace the bushings with generic ones, but there aren't any rebuild kits or anything like that for them.

[Captain Chaos]

and even when new they were pretty crap. Better get a good one (Hyperpro, WP, etc.)

[gixermike]

cool thank you i figured as much 

ok will source a new one 

[Dezza]

Plenty of decent quality steering dampers out there secondhand, and if leaking they'll be cheap. If you go for a Sprint, I know the bloke who used to run the company. He still has mountains of bits and will rebuild a leaky damper for 30 quid, which is basically buttons. It'll cost 4 x that from a suspension specialist, if they can be arsed (many can't be and only do the latest fancy units).

[Joseph]

The damper on the 1989 1100 can be rebuilt because it can be taken apart/unscrewed. All the others are crimped, so not straightforward for a home mechanic

The slabside dampers were much better and can be adapted.

But unless you're on a mission to restore to original specs like said you'd be better off buying new and aftermarket

Edited October 13, 2023 by Joseph

[Upshotknothole]

Any recommendations on the aftermarket ones? My 750 needs one, I've got all the brackets, but I'm sure the damper died years ago and was tossed. Ideally something adjustable.

[Joseph]

The problem with finding an adaptable one is that due to the mounting position it needs to be super long with a super long stroke.

Like it's been said Hyperpro carry one that meets the specs. Ohlins also has one in their catalog but you'd have to have it made to order, which is possible over this side, probably you can inquire at the official supplier where you are

Otherwise another solution is to fit one accross the forks, hidden in the fairing, you need to weld/fabricate a mount on the fairing stay or something down those lines, but then you can use any short damper commonly found

[gixermike]

8 hours ago, Dezza said:

Plenty of decent quality steering dampers out there secondhand, and if leaking they'll be cheap. If you go for a Sprint, I know the bloke who used to run the company. He still has mountains of bits and will rebuild a leaky damper for 30 quid, which is basically buttons. It'll cost 4 x that from a suspension specialist, if they can be arsed (many can't be and only do the latest fancy units).

hi that sounds interesting any chance you could get in touch with him and ask or give me an email or something as i woudl prefer to keep the original one i like it 

[Swiss Toni]

10 hours ago, Dezza said:

Plenty of decent quality steering dampers out there secondhand, and if leaking they'll be cheap. If you go for a Sprint, I know the bloke who used to run the company. He still has mountains of bits and will rebuild a leaky damper for 30 quid, which is basically buttons. It'll cost 4 x that from a suspension specialist, if they can be arsed (many can't be and only do the latest fancy units).

Good to know!

[Blower1]

I think a most of the steering damper seals can be found on shops who are selling parts for hydraulics, etc.

[Dezza]

2 hours ago, gixermike said:

hi that sounds interesting any chance you could get in touch with him and ask or give me an email or something as i woudl prefer to keep the original one i like it 

I'll PM you his number if I can find it. He rebuilt a Sprint damper for me no problem but couldn't find suitable parts for an old leaky WP I had too. I ended up having to get the WP reassembled at much greater expense by a suspension specialist that had some NOS WP bits. WP no longer offer spares for their older dampers, they just want you to spend a fortune on something that looks like it's off the space shuttle and totally out of place on a classic machine. This was a shame as I had another leaky WP I bought for 20 quid rebuilt for 50 quid a while back but the bloke that did it is no longer trading .

[gixermike]

1 minute ago, Dezza said:

I'll PM you his number if I can find it. He rebuilt a Sprint damper for me no problem but couldn't find suitable parts for an old leaky WP I had too. I ended up having to get the WP reassembled at much greater expense by a suspension specialist that had some NOS WP bits. WP no longer offer spares for their older dampers, they just want you to spend a fortune on something that looks like it's off the space shuttle and totally out of place on a classic machine. This was a shame as I had another leaky WP I bought for 20 quid rebuilt for 50 quid a while back but the bloke that did it is no longer trading .

excellent thank you mate