I could have lived with the slight bit of wobble that Eccles (CX650E based winter machine) had but after driving the 'Wing with the damper I became spoiled and decided I wanted a friction type damper for the 650. After a bit of research I found
this thread on triumphrat that described installing a Farley & Ace steering damper on a modern Triumph. It included these pics:
- Farley+Ace damper.jpg (70.11 KiB) Viewed 164 times
I used a spare tire nut from a car we used to have years ago for the adjustment knob. Since the knob was already tapped for 5/16" UNC, all I had to do was screw it on to the threaded rod, add add a jam nut so it wouldn't turn on the rod and find that blue plastic piece to plug the hole
My bike's top nut was already open on top so instead of trying to machine it and the knob to match, I found a hat shaped washer that fit the threaded rod and made it snug inside the steering stem by adding a bit of rubber tubing. The bushing at the bottom is a rubber piece from the scrap bin.
- Steering Damper Knob.jpg (127.62 KiB) Viewed 164 times
I found teflon Penn fishing reel drag washers (part #56T-714) on eBay that were the perfect size to work with the stainless fender washers I had on hand.
I made my version of the "frame plate" by brazing one of those SS fender washers on either side of a piece of 1/8 x 3/4" steel, centred over a 3/8" hole and anchored the other end of it to the fairing bracket with a clamp. For the "lower nut stop" I brazed a nut onto another piece of that steel (also centred over a 3/8" hole) and bent it into a "Z" shape so that the free end would engage with the bottom of the lower triple clamp. Here it is assembled with 2 of the teflon washers sandwiched between the stainless washers that are brazed on and ones that are free to turn and because it would be possible to loosen it too far and have parts fall off I added a nut & locknut to the lower end of the threaded rod.
- Steering Damper from below.jpg (138 KiB) Viewed 164 times
This worked very well but after a couple of longer than normal trips on Eccles the next spring I realized that it had a serious problem with ergonomics. Comparing it to the 'Wing I realized that all it needed was 2" handlebar risers (my knees no longer ache after 3/4 hour on it) but they put the centre of the handlebars right where the knob was so I had to replace it with something smaller. I modified the end of the threaded rod to accept an old faucet handle; It works OK but I only need to adjust it when it has been apart and its hard to turn that small knob so I'll probably eventually weld a nut on so I can adjust it with a wrench.
- Risers Eccles 6 Oct 2012.jpg (88.28 KiB) Viewed 164 times