Bitubo Steering Damper Alternatives

[Guest gooddog]

heres a curious question, are all the stock steering dampeners the same? mine is definately not adjustable(02 lemans). i have jimmied with the dampeners for a range of sports( nakeds) and they seem to be able to tighten or loosen. other lemans(04) do not. did MG release non adjustable dampeners or are they busted like al's. by the way how do you know for sure it isn't working? i've hit some bumps at speed and had my bars jarred almost out of my hands only to have it snap right back in line. an oil slick the other day scarred the sh!t out of me for the milliseconds of wobble that tossed me to and fro, but the goose got right back straight and steady. i chalked the stability up to rake not the steering dampener.

[Guest Brian Robson]

You have tried turning the black plastic knob on the left of the damper?

If you turn it clockwise and then the bars are hard to turn, its working. The opposite also applies

[Mike Stewart]

I dialed mine off....didn't seem to do much, except slow down the initial turn in. The 03 Rosso seems to be very stable. I don't really care for the stock tires, bridgstones, that came with the bike. They seem hard and have mid turn squirm...Great chassis and suspension though!

Droydx,

 

Go with the Metzeler Sportec M1 or the Pirelli Diablo Corsa's (my favorite). You will not believe the difference. I had the stock Bridgestone tires on for about 200 miles and changed them out to get a faster turn in rate. The tires do that and much much more. I have over 3000 miles on the Pirelli Diablo Corsa's and the rear tire has at least 60% more life in it.

 

Mike

[al_roethlisberger]

heres a curious question, are all the stock steering dampeners the same? mine is definately not adjustable(02 lemans). i have jimmied with the dampeners for a range of sports( nakeds) and they seem to be able to tighten or loosen. other lemans(04) do not. did MG release non adjustable dampeners or are they busted like al's.

 

 

Yep, if it's the stock black Bitubo damper we all have, it's adjustable.... about 20 clicks if I recall.

 

As mentioned above, just grab the black knob at the far end of the chrome shaft, and turn it clockwise for more damping, and counter for less(or vice versa, I forget). It might be a bit stiff if it's never been turned, but it will.

 

To answer your question, I don't think MG has ever released a non-adjustable version of these, but I've never seen one that isn't.

 

Anyway, you should notice a significant difference in steering effort at both extremes of the damper's settings, but probably not too much granularly in between as it's sorta a cheapo damper

 

 

My "busted" one was pretty obvious It was leaking fluid all over the shaft, and it felt like there was "gravel" inside the thing when you moved it through it's range of motion

 

 

al

[mik]

Murray, I don't know if my LeMans has a handling problem, but the damper did eliminate the speed wobble at 100mph on the expressway. I was traveling into a head wind and that higher windshield may have contributed to the buffeting. As far as I'm concerned the damper did what it was designed to do. None of the Triumphs I've owned ever had an unsteady feeling at any speed and none were equipped with steering dampers. The Guzzi is a different animal for sure, and I've made some minor adjustments to the front suspension settings. Please tell me that my Italian machinery doesn't have flawed suspension...this is the only anomaly I've run into regarding handling. It's a great motorcycle.

A friend with a Scurra told me all the Bitubos leak , I guess I'll see what Al comes up with for a replacement.

[al_roethlisberger]

I installed the used M Toby damper last night, and it works fine.

 

It is a slightly larger diameter than the Bitubo, but fit the OEM bracket by expanding it a bit.

 

 

Unfortunately I don't have a model number, and I think this an old unit, but at least if someone is curious.... M Toby did have one that fit, and if you contact them, they may still.

 

al

[gh67]

I recently picked up a new Ohlins SD1100 (90mm stroke) steering damper for my v11 Naked. Everything that I've read says that it would be closest fit to the original 80mm Bitubo. Though it looks as thought the SD1100 does not have the "L" shaped bracket and won't bolt on the stock mounts cleanly (coming to this conclusion after an hour of trying to make it work).

 

Here's a diagram of what my SD1100 looks like.

 

 

Here is the Cafe Ohlins damper....does anyone know what model it is? I know that the Ducati SD120 (68 mm stroke) has a similar mount but I don't believe going shorter is a good idea.

 

Any help is appreciated.

[al_roethlisberger]

With the naked bikes, just about any "reasonably close to OEM" length damper will work.

 

I don't know the model # of the Ohlins used on the Cafe Sport, etc.... but you can find used Ohlins on eBay all the time for relatively cheap. So find one that is the right length, and it should bolt right on

 

With the faired bikes(LeMans), clearances between the bottom of the fairing bits, and damper, only allow for a single tube solution, not stacked "wide" tube version like the Ohlins.

 

al

[gthyni]

Though it looks as thought the SD1100 does not have the "L" shaped bracket and won't bolt on the stock mounts cleanly (coming to this conclusion after an hour of trying to make it work). 

 

Just get a longer bolt and some appropriate washers and you will get good steady

mount between the lower joke and the middle of the damper.

Only problem is that it gets very close to the oil cooler.

[JuhaV]

Hi,

 

In my Sport 1100i I have a LSL damper from Stein Dinse :

 

Artikelnummer 300042301 Lenkungsdämpfer LSL Alu L: 290mm/Hub:70 : 124,12 €

 

It seems to work well and it is reasonably priced compared to Bitubo or Öhlins products. This one should fit also a V11. I did make some kind of a combination of the orginal Bitubo attachment parts together with those that came with the LSL. That was however only a 5 minute job.

 

br, JuhaV

 

[gh67]

Just get a longer bolt and some appropriate washers and you will get good steady

mount between the lower joke and the middle of the damper.

Only problem is that it gets very close to the oil cooler.

45432[/snapback]

 

Do have a picture of this configuration? It would seem that a longer bolt would even further reduce the clearance to the oil cooler.

 

The Ohlins SD 120 comes with the Ducati mount bracket that looks very similar (maybe the same) to that of the v11 Cafe version (ie.. "L" shape). It has a 68mm stroke vs the stock 80mm on the Bitubo, does any one see this as a problem? Would it reduce the distance that my steering travels? I went with the SD110 because the 90mm size...but the bracket is for a universal install and Ohlins USA wants $143 for the SD120 L bracket.

[Guest Jeff in Ohio]

I picked up a Matris unit for my Cali. VERY VERY nice. Two Brothers (www.twobros.com) and a few other sites still list them for the V11 models. MG Cycle got me mone for the cali, they might be able to get you a V11 one. It's made of ultra cool titanium too!! I payed $225 and it came with everything needed and fit perfect....

[DeBenGuzzi]

Do the stock ones really go bad that fast? or are ppl just wanting something different? as in buying shoes you don't need but they look good?

[Guest Brian Robson]

Some people are very unfortunate in that the Bitubo seems to lose its fluids. It may well be a symptom of actually using the damper. In 78,000 Km, the damper still works, but it is never turned on.

[DeBenGuzzi]

I have mine cranked pretty low so I hope I am fine I don't have the roads around to even need one. my tires are only worn out in the middle I wish I had better roads but the closest place I have seen some nice roads is an hour drive away, then to drive on the twisties of such low angles no one would be impressed. but the scenery is nice and I'm gonna go there once the season starts up anywho

Anyone know of anywhere in the twin cities area?? neone? I doubt it but I long for the roads you have a plenty in cali and most of europe.