GPR Stabilizer FZ-07 *updated*

[mericc]

stabilizer done!

[scordiaboy515]

Steering dampers are nice to have even if a bike isn't prone to head shake. They are used on race bikes in virtually every form of racing. It's far from a useless mod.

Yes they are used on RACE bikes. An FZ07 isn't a race bike. If somebody wanted to do trackdays on a FZ07 or they had Cup Races for FZ-07's...then it might be useful. But even then if our bikes don't exhibit any headshake it's just a poser tool and a waste of money.

.....wow, mr olderthandirt has spoken..........  

[jerryv]

Olderthandirt (I'm actually older) Save the overly strong opinions for political arguments. We do value your expertise and experience but ease up a bit. We want everyone to feel free to voice their comments and opinions and not have them quit the forum. Let's keep this fun and informative.

[V8titanpwr]

Here's a peek at what some of the guys running the Twins class out west are drumming up. Spoiler alert: it will have a steering stabilizer. 
 

 
 
 
 
I need that body kit in my life 

 

[bigity]

Here's a peek at what some of the guys running the Twins class out west are drumming up. Spoiler alert: it will have a steering stabilizer. 
 

 
 
 
 
I need that body kit in my life 

 
 
+1 just fell in love!

[pgeldz]

hey fz fam, finally got the bike back, well awhile ago actually...just finally had time to post the final product, so far i notice the difference riding the bike, but thats just me, should be out by next week or end of the month? anyways here you go 

 
heres what it does, its a hydraulic unit that stabilizes the head from high speed shake,
 the GPR part being the moving part and the arm that goes to it being stationary, use the knob to turn up the valving to help stop head shake and there you go, a piece of mind at 80mph. Pretty much to avoid a tank slap.
 
http://youtu.be/-k26h7XOpHo</a>

I likey! 
Looks like the new risers moves the bars up and forward a bit.  If so, can you tell me by how much?
 
- Paulie
 

[bigity]

Oh yeah, and more on topic, last winter I experienced my first tank slapper and it scared me crazy. It was on my SV650SA. I was just riding to work on a normal day. The ground was a little bit wet. I change lanes aggressively while rolling on the throttle and hit a pothole during the transition. Everything went crazy and all hell broke loose at only 45mph! slap slap slap slap! Having never had a tank slapper before, you can imagine the panic. The SVwas much more stable than my FZ. SV mostly only moved when I changed the steering input, but the FZ seems to change direction anytime I even shift my weight or move my arms the smallest amount. So I will definitely be putting this on.

[mericc]

hey fz fam, finally got the bike back, well awhile ago actually...just finally had time to post the final product, so far i notice the difference riding the bike, but thats just me, should be out by next week or end of the month? anyways here you go 

 
heres what it does, its a hydraulic unit that stabilizes the head from high speed shake,
 the GPR part being the moving part and the arm that goes to it being stationary, use the knob to turn up the valving to help stop head shake and there you go, a piece of mind at 80mph. Pretty much to avoid a tank slap.
 

I likey! 
Looks like the new risers moves the bars up and forward a bit.  If so, can you tell me by how much?
 
- Paulie

 
 
Yeah it did bring it up a bit and the panel more towards you, ill measure it out when i get home from work

[pgeldz]

Looking forward to those measurements
 
- Paulie

[pgeldz]

Were you able to get the measurements?
 
- Paulie

[yoloswaggins]

Should there be a poll to see if it is a good mod or not?

This made me literally "LOL" 

[mikeyfz07]

So when did the FZ07 have stability issues.... sounds like a sales pitch.

[mericc]

So when did the FZ07 have stability issues.... sounds like a sales pitch.

it did improve my riding a little bit on the mountains but thats just me, this aint no sales pitch either....there was a company that wanted to prototype a part for our bikes so i loaned them mine, i really dont know why everyone is really hating on this  , anyways whatever i dont care, free part for me

[mericc]

Were you able to get the measurements? 
- Paulie

yeah sorry it took so long, 3rd shifts at the hospital has been crazy these past few weeks lol, anyways here you go 
 

 
 
 

[mericc]

Were you able to get the measurements? 
- Paulie

part 2 
 

[mericc]

Were you able to get the measurements? 
- Paulie

part 3 
 

[Greenhound386]

Don't sweat it, mericc. That dude rides in sneakers and what appears to be a Batman-inspired helmet. I'll defer to my own experiences with the bike in order to make an educated decision.
 
I'm gonna take the FZ out on the track this Friday towards the end of the day. Racing on Saturday and Sunday, so I won't spend a ton of time on it. Still wish I had a stabilizer, though. I'll run a GoPro on the tank so that you can see how much the front does (or does not) move.
 
 

So when did the FZ07 have stability issues.... sounds like a sales pitch.

it did improve my riding a little bit on the mountains but thats just me, this aint no sales pitch either....there was a company that wanted to prototype a part for our bikes so i loaned them mine, i really dont know why everyone is really hating on this  , anyways whatever i dont care, free part for me

 

[kamalv]

Haha. Don't worry about it bro, @mericc. If it is free, why not. Plus if you are a commuter, there really is no telling what adventure is in store. Couple of months ago, there was a freaking ladder, big heavy thick one, lying across two lanes on I-95 !! I was going 75 mph plus, and by pure luck, the only uncovered lane next to me was free and I was able to quickly zig zag around it. If there were couple of SUVS in the other lanes, no clue what would have happened if I had gone over the ladder or how the SUVs would have reacted. *whew* Instead, if I have stabilizer, my chances are greatly improved of coming out of something like that still going straight

[pgeldz]

Thank you so much for the reference. Since I don't have mine to compare to at the moment, how far up and back is it compared to stock?
 
- Paulie

[mericc]

Thank you so much for the reference. Since I don't have mine to compare to at the moment, how far up and back is it compared to stock? 
- Paulie

its about 7" towards you, ill make a quick video when i get home

[tony]

Maybe I'm late to the party... I just have a word for all this stabilizer bashing... and mind you, I don't like artificial nannies like ABS and stuff. But I had a dubious pleasure of getting into a tankslapper once, on a regular highway. The road was cr@p from the ruts and potholes, and I had a misfortune of getting into one of these... before I knew it, I was riding a wild bronco... People riding behind me said that my rear tire was hopping all over the lane, but I didn't even feel the rear: the handle bars turned into a set of crazed jackhammers, violently and extremely rapidly banging back-and-forth on the fuel tank stops, with my hands paining from the vibration.
 
I was just holding on for dear life, unable to do anything, waiting to be thrown off, and hoping not to get impaled on a median or run over by traffic around me. This lasted for a few seconds, and them miraculously subsided.
 
That happened on a public road, less then a mile from home, during a very conservative ride, at about 50mph (the highway speed limit), with traffic all around. My bike at the time was CBR600RR, which had an electronic steering damper... I still don't know if it was the damper or pure luck that ended the slapper that day..
 
This can happen to anyone, without warning, on some cr@ppy road, which are plenty around. I agree, it's a rare occurrence, but is very deadly, more so on the public street than on the racetrack. So while you cannot buy pure luck, you can most probably buy a damper.

[rick]

AFter 44 years of riding, I've owned and ridden some bikes that were just a sneeze away from a wallow, head shake, or all out attack in an attempt to rip the bars ( some of which were just stubs) out of my hands. Got my R100RS to shake so hard once it threw my feet clean off the pegs. Talk about little stubby bars.
 
That was then. After 12 years, my Aprilia has never once even thought of shaking its head. Can't imagine the FZ misbehaving either as it actually feels more stable than the 530 lb Futura, even though the FZ has far lighter steering.
 
Have to wonder if some of the experiences people have are from brinnelled head bearings, poorly set up/maintained suspensions or even wrong tire pressures. Can say for an absolute fact, a worn out or badly cupped front tire is an invitation for ill handling that just won't happen with new rubber

[Riverfox]

I had a bike that I'd ridden for thousands of miles with never a hint of tank slapping. One day coming down from a slightly crossed up 60mph wheelstand I ended up with a tank slapper. That ended up with me being spit off. Then I got a ride to the hospital where it was determined that I had 16 rib fractures with many ribs being broken in more than one place, lacerated liver and broken collarbone. I think a $500 stabilizer would have been preferable. Luckily all my other safety gear saved alot of other damage. So anybody that says it's wasted money to install a stabilizer, I remember taking a deep breath, hearing and feeling my ribs grinding together. JUST SAYIN!!

[fzhooligan]

Late response to olderthandirt's comments,
 
Everyone is the smartest man alive with the most experience in any subject when you give them a keyboard and a forum to blabber on. F*CK, just let people just run what they wanna run and let 'em do their thing. No need to accost 'em for it.
 
 
 

[Geteup]

Wobble, shimmy, tank-slapper, speed wobble, and death wobble are all words and phrases used to describe a rapid (4–10 Hz) oscillation of primarily just the front end (front wheel, fork, and handlebars). This instability occurs mostly at high speed and is similar to that experienced by shopping cart wheels, airplane landing gear, and automobile front wheels. While wobble or shimmy can be easily remedied by adjusting speed, position, or grip on the handlebar, it can be fatal if left uncontrolled. Wobble or shimmy begins when some otherwise minor irregularity, such as fork asymmetry, accelerates the wheel to one side. The restoring force is applied in phase with the progress of the irregularity, and the wheel turns to the other side where the process is repeated. If there is insufficient damping in the steering the oscillation will increase until system failure occurs. The oscillation frequency can be changed by changing the forward speed, making the bike stiffer or lighter, or increasing the stiffness of the steering( aka. steering damper), of which the rider is a main component.
 
This is from Wikipedia(i know, I know) but the way a motorcycle is built with trail in the steering essentially means that ANY 2 wheeled vehicle with trail and the right conditions can exhibit wobble. On the street, on the track, it doesnt matter. How likely depends on many, many different factors, but it is possible. IMO its cheap insurance to have a damper.