Seeley Steering Damper

[garyallenbrown]

I have an 02 GL 1800 with a Champion Conversion (ridgid).

At slow speeds and with some bumps there is steering wobble. The seeley damper is specifically made for the GL 1800 Seeley Products Honda Goldwing Steering Damper Eliminates Steering Wobble and Tire Cupping. Has anyone used one of these, does it work.

Please give me your opinions, suggestions.

Thanks in advance................Gary

[Jim Smyth]

I also have a 2002 GW Lehman and have the same symptoms as you at low speed. I haven't heard of a damper till this. If you get it please report back on how it works. It shows 3-4 hours to do the mod and by the looks of it the one end gets attached to the top of the right fork.

[Jim Smyth]

Just found reviews here.

Steering Damper Kit w/22 Adjustments - Honda Gold Wing Parts & Accessories by WingStuff.com

[Konrad]

Are we talking only about trikes or does this apply to two-wheelers as well?

What percentage of GL1800 bikes/trikes experience this problem?

I'm curious because I have never personally experienced it although I have seen it mentioned on numerous occasions.

[garyallenbrown]

The wobble I am referring to, is unique to trikes...........Gary

[Lee H. Mann]

I have an 02 GL 1800 with a Champion Conversion (ridgid).

At slow speeds and with some bumps there is steering wobble. The seeley damper is specifically made for the GL 1800 Seeley Products Honda Goldwing Steering Damper Eliminates Steering Wobble and Tire Cupping. Has anyone used one of these, does it work.

Please give me your opinions, suggestions.

Thanks in advance................Gary

The SEELEY Damper is pretty neat though a little costly. The promise of Eliminating Tire Cupping not influenced by the steering damper action is a bit over the top. Load Rating, Tire Pressure, Speed in Turns and Braking are the true culprits in Tire Cupping.

[extreme10]

A year ago my wife and I made the trip up to Alaska and back , with added mileage to some of the National parks on the way back. The roads on the Alaskan Highway would test any trikes steering so we had a Steeley damper fitted to our Motortrike iRS. It performed superbly with not a wobblw anywere. My own trike here in Spain is the Eurowing which now fitted with the new MMD airshocks front end, awsome!! The difference that the airshock forks has made to the ride is simply astonishing. With the original Eurowing front end I never experienced wobbles going slow but did on some tight ( and I mean tight) bends with slightly rough surfaces. Now I don't get a tremmer. We have just completed a 4500ml trip around the alps in Europe and these airshocks have really come into their own. Expensive, but they do make a world of difference to the experience of riding a well balanced trike.<br />
<br />
I have recently changed over to rear air shocks by the same company. The ride now is beyond belief.

I recently had a ride on a 1800 , as a passenger, and the ride on the airshocks trike was superiour. Hard to believe but true. <br />
<br />
On our first ride on them we went over a particularly rouch bump , which always shook the wife a bit. As well passed over that section of the road my wife said "let's go over it again , that was incredible' She'd hardy felt a thing.

[garyallenbrown]

I had the Seeley steering damper installed this weekend on my GL 1800.
It was installed by a certified mechanic and took three hours.
The mechanic rode the trike round the block to test the damper, his only comment was "I love this thing". They are going to recommend the damper for all of the trikes they build.

My conversion is a Champion rigid suspension.
Al I can say is wow. The wobble I was experiencing before is completely gone.
I have the damper set at 14 (0-no damping, 22 the most damping).

My arms and hands are very happy,,,,,,,,,Gary

[Shimpy]

Are we talking only about trikes or does this apply to two-wheelers as well?

What percentage of GL1800 bikes/trikes experience this problem?

I'm curious because I have never personally experienced it although I have seen it mentioned on numerous occasions.

I also have a Champion S/A conversion and never had a wobble.

[americanbadass]

<div class="bbcode_container">
<div class="bbcode_quote">
<div class="quote_container">
<div class="bbcode_quote_container"></div>

<div class="bbcode_postedby">
<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>Jim Smyth</strong>
<a href="showthread.php?p=126918#post126918" rel="nofollow"><img class="inlineimg" src="images/buttons/viewpost-right.png" alt="View Post" /></a>
</div>
<div class="message">I also have a 2002 GW Lehman and have the same symptoms as you at low speed. I haven't heard of a damper till this. If you get it please report back on how it works. It shows 3-4 hours to do the mod and by the looks of it the one end gets attached to the top of the right fork.</div>

</div>
</div>
</div>Just curious if you have an ezsteer installed on this trike. I recently rode my first "solid axle" trike with out a rake kit, it was like driving a sherman tank compared to my HD with IRS and a rake kit. The wobble was pretty fierce, and it was Victory pitboss-professionally built by Lehman.<img src="images/smilies/AGGGH.gif" border="0" alt="" title="AGGHH" class="inlineimg" />

[Stephen]

There's probably only two things that cause front end wobble, bad tire (yes even new tires can be bad) and bearings. Most often it's brand new (crapped out) from the factory tires. The only thing your going to do by putting that expensive $600.00 steering damper on is hide the fact that you have a crapped out factory tire on your motorcycle. Save yourselves lots a money and take the crapped out tire back where you got it and get a good one at no charge.

[Jim Smyth]

I am not sure what ezsteer is but the guy I bought my trike from had all the paperwork from when he bought it new in 2002. He had the dealer install the Lehman front end triple tree extension on it to give it more rake. So I assume that's the ezsteer? I have never ridden a stock trike or any other trike than mine so far so I don't have any comparisons to make.

My trike had 5500 original miles on it when I bought it last July. The front tire was pretty badly cupped/scalloped. I had that changed out right away (I thought that was what was causing the low speed wobble) and went with the dealer recommended rear tire mounted backwards on the front. I still have a pretty bad wobble at low speeds (15 mph and below). If I took my hands off the bars it would be unsustainable because it seems to continue to get worse the longer your not holding the bars. I obviously never let it go too far.

I am sure the Seeley Steering Damper would eliminate that wobble completely. But its a very expensive fix IMO. You can get a damper alone for not much money. I work in metal and have a mini machine shop in my basement. I may try to make my own set up next year when the weather breaks again.

Does anyone have any experience with the front steering head bearings? How to check them to see if this is my wobble problem? How to swap them out? I read about replacing them with tapered bearings, are they any good? How big of a job is it to change them out etc?

"All Balls" Steering Head Bearing Kit, GL1800

TIA, Jim

[easymoney]

my shop built trike had the slow speed wobble whenever i turned loose of either side of the handlebars. i installed a steering damper i bought on ebay for a few dollars. it eliminated most of the wobble. i made my own mounting brackets.

[garyallenbrown]

There's probably only two things that cause front end wobble, bad tire (yes even new tires can be bad) and bearings. Most often it's brand new (crapped out) from the factory tires. The only thing your going to do by putting that expensive $600.00 steering damper on is hide the fact that you have a crapped out factory tire on your motorcycle. Save yourselves lots a money and take the crapped out tire back where you got it and get a good one at no charge.

When I purchased my trike (it had 22,000 miles) I replaced the front tire and the wobble was still there. According to my mechanic (D& D Discount Cycles in Tempe, AZ) the wobble is an inherent problem with straignt axel conversions. When going slow, under 15-20mph like in turn, the wobble is caused by one rear wheel hitting a bump and has nothing to do with the tire.
While 600.00 is expensive for a steering damper it is a small price to pay for the improvment in handling and comfort. My trike has over 1,000.00 in aftermarket chrome. I would have much rather spend money on comfort and handling then bling..................Gary

[Stephen]

When I purchased my trike (it had 22,000 miles) I replaced the front tire and the wobble was still there. According to my mechanic (D& D Discount Cycles in Tempe, AZ) the wobble is an inherent problem with straignt axel conversions. When going slow, under 15-20mph like in turn, the wobble is caused by one rear wheel hitting a bump and has nothing to do with the tire.
While 600.00 is expensive for a steering damper it is a small price to pay for the improvment in handling and comfort. My trike has over 1,000.00 in aftermarket chrome. I would have much rather spend money on comfort and handling then bling..................Gary

Everybody has their own opinion on what's wrong with this or that and how to fix it. If you think spending 600.00 will fix your problem then go get her done. I'm just here to babble my thoughts and will fix my problems the way I always have and so will you. As far as mechanics go... I have yet to let one touch my ride. Some mechanics are actually dumber than a donut or just plain lazy so if you tell me your mechanic said something it ain't likely to mean much to me.