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'76 60/6 - deleting steering damper

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 8:01 pm
by opus451
Hello hello good people.

I am considering what the title suggests-eliminating steering damper on my 60/6. I am heading in direction of a bratty cafe kind of customization. Mainly for city street/beltway travel around NYC. Potholes are aplenty, but think I can survive it.

I read Snobums article on it and now have a starting basis for the idea and implications. Is there anywhere I can find a step by step or testimonial of someone who has done it?

Opinions?

Easy...
Opus

Re: '76 60/6 - deleting steering damper

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 9:13 pm
by Bamboo812
It's easy; remove the little hydraulic shock (there are wire clips that need to be unhooked and pulled out of the ball joints), unscrew top knob and then remove "rack and pinion" from under the triple tree. The shaft comes out, and you're done...

Re: '76 60/6 - deleting steering damper

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 9:23 pm
by opus451
So easy I'm bound to make it hard.

Thank you!

Re: '76 60/6 - deleting steering damper

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 10:10 pm
by richard t
opus451 wrote:So easy I'm bound to make it hard.

Thank you!
I glued a quarter over the hole where the knob was, I BMW emblem works too

Re: '76 60/6 - deleting steering damper

Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 2:13 am
by Duane Ausherman
If you are concerned that you will lose something, or make a problem, forget it. That item is there for one reason only, to prevent lawsuits.

That damper serves no useful purpose of any kind. While hydraulic is the way to go, the linkage so quickly is worn that it doesn't work. Even when it worked, it wasn't needed.

A bike should be stable all by itself. If some odd situation exists, such as a hack, that isn't the way to do it.

Re: '76 60/6 - deleting steering damper

Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 4:11 am
by Mal S7
Removed mine twenty years and 100 000km ago,
no problems
I still have it somewhere. Might put it back one day, as a period quirk.

Where would the world end up if we discarded ALL useless appendages?

Re: '76 60/6 - deleting steering damper

Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 10:50 am
by jagarra
You can get stem caps without the hole from Toaster Tan, stainless to dress it up.

Re: '76 60/6 - deleting steering damper

Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 11:17 am
by opus451
Thank you folks!

Re: '76 60/6 - deleting steering damper

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 10:06 am
by melville
My R75/6 has no damper and things are just fine. I've had one wobble incident after hitting a bigger than expected bump while I was tensed up. It dissipated as soon as I relaxed.

Be sure to see Duane's write-up on fork alignment.

Re: '76 60/6 - deleting steering damper

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 11:12 am
by Gibson
These bikes are very stable on there own. Never had headshake problem with any BMW's. My R100RS had a damper, but I always kept it on 0 anyway because It just made bike more sluggish at low speeds. Was always a mystery to me...