Fast Gravel.... I hate it. steering damper?

I'm really not a fan of fast gravel. I always feel like the bike is going to go where it wants unless I'm on it. Would a steering damper be useful? Anyone on here own a damper?

I ride with Scott's dampers on my WRR and Beta 300 two-stroke. On the pavement they're great for controlling head shake at higher speeds. Off-road they're great at reducing wallowing in sand washes and reducing front tire deflection when riding over rocks and roots etc. This is especially helpful when riding narrow single-track on exposed hillsides. It's unlikely that I'll ever own another dirt bike without one.

That said, I honestly don't see how the damper will help much with what you describe. Gravel on dirt roads is more like little ball bearings that allow the bike to "roll" or slide laterally going into or out of turns, especially those turns that aren't banked for riding.

I hear you loud and clear though. For me, riding gravel roads at higher speeds is the scariest riding I do because I feel like I'm in the least control over the bike.

ball bearings is right.


But, I think I want a damper anyway, so I like your reasons for getting one and the wife is all about me riding safely. I think she will buy those excuses.

How fast you trying to go? What tires are you running? I'd think street tires would be a good deal worse than a set of knobbies...

I like the way my bike feels with a longer chain on loose gravel, pretty much everywhere actually. You could try adding a link if you have room... It'd be fairly cheap to try. The little bit the tire moved back seems to make a difference in stability.

Round here we have "cali crowned" roads. So convex with the high point being near the center. Proper use of the rear wheel keeps the front wheel from sliding off the road on the outside of a curve...

dicklane625 wrote:

How fast you trying to go? What tires are you running? I'd think street tires would be a good deal worse than a set of knobbies...

I like the way my bike feels with a longer chain on loose gravel, pretty much everywhere actually. You could try adding a link if you have room... It'd be fairly cheap to try. The little bit the tire moved back seems to make a difference in stability.

Round here we have "cali crowned" roads. So convex with the high point being near the center. Proper use of the rear wheel keeps the front wheel from sliding off the road on the outside of a curve...

I keep my speed at or under 50 on gravel roads. depends on the roads. D606 front and rear. tires are in decent shape still.

That's doable road depending... The other thing I thunk about is to find an untraveled road n practice turnin without hands on the bars... I do it goin downhill so I keep my momentum.... It gets you used to using your weight on the pegs to turn.

Going fast on gravel is sketchy, you need to drift around corners, if the rear tire isn't slipping/sliding a bit the front plows straight ahead.

Your safety layout should rely not only on passive means such as using a damper... cos as mentioned previously: it will not assist on all scenarios, and probably not even on this specific scenario of fast gravel.
IMO you should add active means of protection... in other words: taking advanced off-road riding lessons/course, in order to learn how to tackle fast gravel, or any other scenario that frights you. maybe there is something wrong with your riding technique or your body positioning? in such a course you will learn what to do / what no to do, how to approach it... in addition you will learn how to react if everything "go south" & you start losing control at high speed. not every time you lose control at high speed it has to end with a crash.

If you really care about protection & about your family concerns - I think you should consider this.

My response is pretty much a copy of what wwguy said. I never thought much about steering stabilizers until I rode a bike equipped with one. Now I have Scotts stabilizers on both my bikes (WR250R, KTM 500 EXC). Like others have said, the stabilizer might not help you with this particular situation, but it will help you in many more. I know that it dramatically helped the KTM in the high speed sandy sections, so it might mellow out the gravel a bit too. The main thing is it helps keep the bars from getting yanked hard to one side or the other when you hit an object the wrong way. I consider the steering stabilizer to be a piece of safety equipment.

Lee

As far as riding fast on gravel is concerned I have learned two things:

First, it is an acquired taste. If you are use to riding more on pavement then it will be a bit alarming to you at first as the bike wallows around underneath you. This is fairly normal and standing up, while it sounds crazy, will actually help you get a feel for it.

Second, tires play a big impact on how the bike handles in the gravel and other loose surfaces. For me I like to run either a MT16 or a XCMS front tire. Many prefer a MT21 front as well.

I do run a steering damper on my WRR as well but I did not put it on the bike for gravel riding - I put it on the bike for my occasional high speed blasts down the interstate to get to some of my riding locations.

A steering damper for the reason you mentioned will not make the situation better. it could make it worse if you had one really turned up.

You need to slide your crotch forward get on the gas and hang on. You'll get used to it

The biggest thing I found on fast gravel is to run about 16 to 18 psi air in the front tire and 18 to 20 psi in the rear. This lets the tires sort of wrap around and grip those marble size rocks instead of getting bounced around so much.

I had MT43 tires front and rear for a couple years, running 10 to 12 psi. Greatest gravel runner ever! Felt like a TW 200 - moved around a lot but didn't actually break loose. Get those tire pressures down, put on rim locks.

I have ridden a fair amount of 3/4" gravel on dirt roads in Eastern CT. I agree with the Ball Bearing analogy. I run stock trailwings at about 15F and 18R when doing mild mixed surface riding. Big gravel reminds me of ice riding.

Basically I set up the direction of travel at the beginning of straight sections, crank up the throttle, and get to my stable speed (usually 50-60 MPH). The bike will maintain good stability because of the gyroscopic effect of the fast turning wheels. I do not try to change direction at this speed, so picking the right line at the start is very important.

When a corner comes into sight, I slow down before entering it. Usually 15 to 20 mph, or a bit slower if it is a tight corner. When I get to the next straight I repeat the aim and crank it.

You have to learn to trust that the bike will continue in a straight line as long as the surface is fairly even. Same with ice and sand. The more you do it the easier it becomes.

After running a steering stabilizer I think it's one of the best improvements you can do for two reasons;

- If you have ever had a higher speed tank slapper.

- It takes a majority of the work off your arms. On longer dirt trips where your fighting sand and rocks all day, I'm still going strong after 100+ miles. Before, I'd have spaghetti arms by in less than 40 miles.

Additionally, its nice on slower stuff when an unseen rock would otherwise snatch the bars out of your hands.

The only guys who say they're unnecessary are the ones who haven't run one.

Jerry S wrote:

The only guys who say they're unnecessary are the ones who haven't run one.

Not according to this thread

I have a Scotts Steering Damper on mine and I have found it to perform best when I am riding in sand. I don't see as much benefit in Gravel and the Single Track that I do.

A unique thing with some of the Scotts Dampers is that it is a directional steering damper meaning that it only damps when moving away from center on their dirt bike dampers. As you return back to center there is no damping. I can see their logic in this but I don't think my skill level can see much benefit from this one way damping. If I were to order it again I would chose their street model which has damping in both directions.

For gravel the best improvement was to get my suspension dialed in and then to relax a bit and that comes with experience. The bike will wander a bit and you just need to trust it and relax.

Stillwater97 wrote:

I'm really not a fan of fast gravel. I always feel like the bike is going to go where it wants unless I'm on it. Would a steering damper be useful?  Anyone on here own a damper?

Make sore your bike is perfectly aligned. On pavement take your hands off and it should go down the road stray as an arrow. Dampers are great and a must have but they wont cure a dog tacking bike.

Pirelli Scorpion xcms tires and go race suspension setup properly the wr is very stable. I can ride at 70mph pinched in loose gravel and deep sand with no issues. Yes it is going to drift around a bit and feel loose, just go with it. Squeeze the gas tank with your knees and loosen up your upper body, or even better stand up. Fighting the bike in the loose stuff will put you in the pickers or wear you out.

Rider skill
tires
suspension

=fast rider


When you let off the throttle all the weight shifts forward to the forks, compressing them and making the front tire dig. Try stiffening up the compression clickers on the forks, this will help keep the weight neutral on deceleration