Hey There! 👋 Here are 6 universal motorcycle steering dampers reviewed.
Contents
What is a steering damper?
It is a suspension for your steering that prevents wobbling and reduces hand fatigue when riding on uneven terrains like sand or rocks.
How Does a Steering Damper Work?
It works through an oil hydraulic system inside the damper that restricts oil flow through a small hole inside (a good damper will be possible to adjust). Therefore, super-fast handlebar movements from side to side are prevented due to a phenomenon called hydro-locking.
This results in:
- The more stable front end on uneven roads like gravel roads.
- Reduced hand fatigue since the damper will take care of micro-vibrations that would otherwise go into your hands. In other words- it minimizes the effort to control the handlebars.
- Safer deceleration and braking with a lesser wobbling chance.
Why braking may result in wobbling?
During the “nose dive” braking bike geometry changes further reducing the steering angle due to the fork compression. The smaller is steering angle the harder it is for the front wheel to self-correct resulting in a greater chance of wobbling. This is especially noticeable on sport bikes with aggressive steering geometry.
There are 3 main steering damper/stabilizer types:
1) Radial – installed in the center of triply tree clamp. (Mainly used on dirt bikes)
2) Linear – long cylinder that requires more space for installation. However, may be installed in many different ways.
3) Electronic – usually comes installed from the factory and adjusts damping based on bike speed and electronic suspension settings
Do I Need a Steering Damper?
It depends on what bike you ride and where you ride it. If you own a sport bike – yes. If you ride an Africa Twin mainly on pavement – the answer is no, you don’t need a steering damper. However, if you take your Africa Twin off road – there might be some minuscule benefits to installing a steering damper.
Most Motorcycle steering stabilizers are basically the same so just look for damping adjustability and an external oil reservoir (adds pressure to the oil preventing cavitation). And your main choice will lay between either linear or radial systems.
Additional useful hardware for installing a steering stabilizer on your bike:
Motorcycle Steering Dampers & Stabilisers
Best Overall
#1 Ohlins
Adjustable Damping: ✅ 18 levels
External Oil reservoir (removes cavitation): ✅
Type: Linear
Length: 232mm
Piston Stroke: 68mm
Benefits & Features
✅ Highest damping precision, quality, and reliability. If you are going to push the limits on track, this is the one to go for. However, this is overkill for standard road riding.
✅ Made of steel. Other steering dampers in this list are made of aluminum which is less durable compared to steel. Ohlins is more durable and will handle significantly higher loads at higher speeds without damage.
⚠️ Pricey. Quality comes at a high price. However, I am not sure how much of the price is actually hidden in the brand. Even though it is the best steering damper on this list – it might also be the worst for the money.
⚠️ Requires more maintenance. With simple and cheap steering dampers you can simply buy another one after a year when the oil inside degrades and loses its properties. Ohlins is too expensive to simply throw it away. So you’ll have to do maintenance and replace the oil inside, which is another thing for your bike maintenance to keep in mind.
Best Radial Steering Damper
#2 PROOTOM
Adjustable Damping: ✅ 24 levels
External Oil reservoir (removes cavitation): ⚠️
Type: Radial
Length: Not Applicable
Piston Stroke: Not Applicable
Benefits & Features
✅ Easy to adjust as you ride without stopping since it is mounted on the top of your triple tree clamp and is always accessible.
⚠️ May not fit your bike due to the triple tree configuration of your bike. Easy to fit on bikes with Clip-Ons and on dirt bikes that have high handlebar risers allowing for more space between the upper triple-tree clamp and handlebar.
Most Affordable Steering DAMPER
#3 Acouto
Adjustable Damping: ✅ 16 levels
External Oil reservoir (removes cavitation): ✅
Type: Linear
Length: ⚠️ Short Version
Piston Stroke: 35mm
Benefits & Features
✅ Compact installation. Acouto stabilizer is short in length allowing for a tight fit – it can be installed in tight spots making it low profile if it somehow bothers you.
⚠️ Little leverage on the steering. Due to being short and compact, it does not have a wide range of motion. So if your bike has a huge side-to-side steering angle (like 43° on Africa Twin) – this damper may not fully cover the Handlebar range of motion. To compensate – Acouto must be installed closer to the center of the triple tree clamp resulting in less leverage on your steering making it less efficient.
Worth Mentioning
#4 INNOGLOW
Adjustable Damping: ✅
External Oil reservoir (removes cavitation): ✅
Type: Linear
Length: Normal (255 mm)
Piston Stroke: 70mm
Benefits & Features
✅ Wide range of motion allowing for bigger leverage installations. Useful if your bike has a high side-to-side steering angle.
✅ Has an external oil reservoir that puts pressure on the oil inside and prevents cavitation during aggressive offroad riding.
⚠️ May be harder to fit due to the length.
Most Customizable Collor Schemes
#5 Rzmmotor
Adjustable Damping: ✅ 22 levels
External Oil reservoir (removes cavitation): ✅
Type: Linear
Length: 255mm
Piston Stroke: 55mm
Benefits & Features
✅ Large selection of various colors. If that is something important for you – you can get one that fits into the color scheme of your bike.
Honorable Mention
#6 JFG RACING
Adjustable Damping: ✅ 16 levels
External Oil reservoir (removes cavitation): ✅
Type: Linear
Length: 250mm
Piston Stroke: 70mm
Benefits & Features
✅ Great looking carbon fiber finish. The cylinder is actually made of aluminum, not carbon fiber.
⚠️ Users report leaking oil after a month of use.
