Scotts Steering Stabilizer Technical Information
What is a Scotts Steering Stabilizer?
It is a compact, fully adjustable, hydraulic shock absorbing stabilizer that mounts to your
steering head area right above your handlebar mount. By helping to stabilize the front end of your
motorcycle, the rear of the motorcycle will track straighter allowing the rest of your suspension
to work the way it was designed to. In addition, the Scotts Steering Stabilizer eliminates that
sudden thrust-affect of having the handlebars pulled from your hands after unknowingly hitting a
pothole, rock or other obstacle in harms way. It has also has been proven to help minimize rider
fatigue and the dreaded arm pumping situation that occurs while wrestling the front end of your
bike. A Scotts Steering Stabilizer is the single greatest improvement you can make to your
motorcycle. Once mounted, it eliminates the unwanted phenomenon known as “Head-shake” that is
commonly associated with production motorcycles. This is more predominant now a-days due to the
steeper head angles you find on production bikes. It helps keep your motorcycle going straight at
speed, under heavy acceleration when he front end starts to get light and when braking hard,
vastly reduces any vagueness in front end control and steering preciseness, allowing you to apex
turns tighter.
How does it work?
Basically, it operates under the same principle as your front forks. Valving inside the unit
reacts to the slightest of jolts that are transferred through the forks and triple clamps of
your motorcycle. Internal circuitry and hydraulic valving absorbs the energy that would have been
received through your handlebars. The link arm which connects the stabilizer to the frame, reacts
instantaneously, absorbing any unwanted movement. Your suspension was designed to handle the
vertical movement of your motorcycle. The Scotts Steering Stabilizer completes your suspension
package by controlling the unwanted horizontal movement that is continually transferred to your
handlebars.
Where does the Stabilizer work best?
Anywhere there are forces trying to push or pull your front end left to right. You wouldn't think
of riding your bike without suspension now-a-days, so why would you let the front end flail back
and forth without control. If you ride on the track, the Scotts Steering Stabilizer will soon
become your best friend. You will find that it completely eliminates the head-shake and
instability you get while racing at high speed. The momentum created from swinging the bike back
and forth from turn to turn can also create instability that the stabilizer will subdue. It
becomes a safety device in those precarious situations where the rear end may get loose and the
dreaded "whip" occurs, the damper will work with you to absorb the energy trying to force you to
"high side". Should you find yourself off the course in the "rough" that can be a scary
experience and the front end will now have the advantage of our stabilizer assisting you in
maintaining as much control as possible to try and avoid the unwanted crash. Hard acceleration
creates very light contact of the front tire to the ground many times creating a severe wobble as
you set the front end back down. The stabilizer again controls this behavior. Being infinitely
adjustable, there is no reason not to use it. It really has no disadvantages!
Why is our Stabilizer so much better than others?
First off, our stabilizer can be adjusted while riding or racing from turn to turn if so desired.
Having the damper adjustment right at your finger tips gives you a serious advantage over any
other type of damper as you can adjust for road/track conditions as they change without stopping.
Because of its unique mounting position, it remains generally out of harms way. Even a fairly
severe "lay down" will not effect our stabilizer as it's protected from most crashes. The more
common telescopic dampers are damaged in even the most trivial of crashes. Even dropping your
bike can damage the telescopic type. The Scotts damper has a "high-speed" damping circuit. Most
impacts and head-shake at the front wheel are "high speed" movements, where on the other hand,
turning is a low speed movement. If you don't like the feeling the damper provides in turns, you
can adjust it out and still retain the resistance to high speed impacts, no other damper has this
feature! Not only is the damping rate and high speed circuit adjustable, but the arc of damping
movement is adjustable over which it operates. So you have 3 adjustable circuits to customize
your style and riding conditions.
Can the damper be mounted to other bikes I own?
Another nice feature about the Scotts damper is that it is transferable between bikes in seconds.
If you have more than one bike, you only need one damper and a couple of mounting kits to be able
to transfer it from bike to bike. You can use it on Saturday on your GSXR600 for a canyon ride
and on Sunday switch it to your R6 for the races. Unlike suspension or motor mods that you can't
take with you when you sell your bike, the damper comes right off to install on your next bike.
Most applications use very simple bolt on brackets for mounting. If the Yamaha Team Factory R6's
use them, it should be good enough for you.
Will it fit on any motorcycle?
At the moment we are focusing on the sport bike market. There are a few limiting factors that can
prevent it from being mounted on some road bikes but the majority of bikes will be applicable. If
you are interested and not sure if we make one for your bike, give us an email and we'll be glad
to help you. We've helped mount our stabilizer on the fastest drag bikes in the world and the
nicest cruizers in the world, so the applications have a wide range of fitment.
Is it easy to put on?
The majority of road bike applications are a pure "BOLT-ON" installation and take only 10-15
minutes to install. Our unique mounting position allows us to utilize the top steering nut for
location and the rest of our kit uses existing mounting points your bike already has. There are a
few exceptions to this rule but we always try to design the mounts with the customer in mind,
making it as easy as possible. If you have any questions during installation we are here to help
you. There is no welding and it mounts in minutes. The unit comes with a step by step instruction
sheet that would make it easy even for Forest Gump. Remember though, this is a very sophisticated
unit that does more for your motorcycle than any other after market improvement. You need to make
sure you install it correctly to gain the maximum potential.
Does it need constant servicing like some of the other dampers I've seen?
No Way. In fact when mounted correctly it almost needs no attention at all. Just like your forks
and shocks though, you'll need to give it some "TLC" after many hours of usage. It is designed so
there are no wearable parts, however, Scotts Performance Products provides a complete service
program should you need it. Simply UPS the unit to us in between rides or races and will put it
through our ten point inspection program that includes tolerance checks and oil re-freshening. In
most cases you'll have it back in time for your next ride or race.
Is it worth the investment?
Well our very best sales force are the people who own them. Just ask anyone who has one and
they'll give you the speech of how they wished they had installed one sooner. It is not the only
stabilizer on the market, but it is definitely the best and has more features than any of the
others. Remember, we are the originator of the rotary style damper and we own the patent! If you
plan to continue riding for one year or the next ten years, our stabilizer will still be there
when others have long disappointed you. Our unit transfers between bikes in seconds, allowing you
to switch between several bikes or upgrade easily from year to year.
Check out these features:
Where do I buy one?
You can buy one
right here, secured on-line ordering with your credit card.
Or you can order it from your local dealer and if he doesn't carry them, give us a call we'll
probably be able to ship it out the same day you order it.
Can I get more information?
If this hasn't answered all your questions, just
email or fax or call us. If you
would like, we could also put you on our mailing list and ship you our latest catalog.
Just Click Here to give us your information.
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here to see the Scotts Steering Damper Product Line!
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