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Is there any intrinsic objection to a steering damper being mounted 'the wrong way round' - i.e. with the rod attached to the fork leg and the damper body attached to the frame? I've been making some enquiries about an Ohlins damper for an L4 and the suppliers suggest that for a road bike there is a real possibility of the damper rod punching into the headlight. I was actually thinking of mounting it the other way round, with the rod attached via a hinged fork clamp, so this would not be an issue. Can you mount them this way round ok?

No reason that I'm aware of.

You need to make sure that the damper does NOT act as a lock stop
And that it floats properly at full lock both left and right and of course it must not foul on bodywork etc

It doesn't even get close to the headlight. There's about an inch gap. I can post some photo's if you'd like

Had to jump at the picture whoring opportunity

Thanks, sounds like either way round is an option then. I've measured the travel of the forks from lock to lock and it's 100mm. The damper I am going to get is the SD100, which is now called the SD003 with a stroke of 120mm so that should be ok. The next shorter stroke damper in the range is 90mm so that's obviously not an option.

Bendog66 - can you confirm it's the SD100 / SD003 with 120mm stroke that you've got, please?

140mm stroke on mine

Ok thanks very much for your help . I'll double check the stroke I've measured. At least I know that if a 140mm fits ok then a 120mm is going to leave more than enough room. I wonder if the 140mm is required to give a long enough rod for the whole thing to mount and work? Yours doesn't seem to have much 'spare' rod on right lock so I reckon it needs the length of the 140mm damper. I think I'll avoid any problems by just buying what you've got, then I know it will work. You're running an L4 same as me so it's a no brainer.

no problem . Yes, there's not much rod spare on lock, you can see on the last picture how much is spare on left lock too. I expect pictures to follow...

bendog66 wrote: I expect pictures to follow...

It would be rude not to. Will give the plastic some hammer tomorrow and oblige in due course .

Hmm...... bit of a problem

140mm SD004 damper arrived and fitted but there is not enough travel lock to lock. The damper acts as a lock stop, which as Cargo correctly pointed out is not good. Bendog66 - is your doing this? It's almost long enough, there is only a 2mm gap between the yoke lugs and the steering head lock stops at the limit of the damper travel but nevertheless, that's not right. I don't reckon this will do the damper much good, I'm not sure if it would pass an MoT, and it certainly wouldn't pass race scrutineering.

The solution would seem to be the SD005 with 150mm travel, but as that is longer overall I'm not sure whether it would fit. From the measurements Ohlins give I reckon it would but I would want to see it in situ to be sure. Anyway, that's academic for me as I would lose shitloads of bucks sending what I have back and incurring a return charge.

To remedy the situation I have araldited small cuts of metal plate about 3mm thick to the yoke lugs to reduce the lock-to-lock travel of the forks and stop them before the damper travel is reached. The practical effect is nil as I never use the full lock right up to the stops except when shunting the bike around manually in confined spaces. And the lock hasn't been reduced so far as to affect the engagement of the steering lock Leaving overnight for the glue to set then I'll get some photos.

So, the verdict is - 140mm damper will fit and will give you all the travel you require on the road but you will need to adjust the steering lock-to-lock to avoid the damper acting as a lock stop. 150mm damper may be the solution to the above minor problem but will need checking as to whether it will fit.

Glued pieces of metal on yoke stops not successful. Just been for a run to Matlock -on arrival no sign of them Think the alloy is too shiny for a glue to get a good grip. Damper works nice, though Plan B - extend the stop lugs on the steering head with some chemical metal. Have sanded the lugs first to roughen them up. Will see how it goes.

May have to take it for another run - just to test this fix doesn't drop off either, of course

FWIW i had my damper fitted the other way round.

Tirpitz wrote: Just been for a run to Matlock -on arrival no sign of them

Shoulda said... Could of come had a look at how mines mounted

I'm free all week if you want to bimble over to liverpool.

You can also have a rummage through my spares for anything you might need.

Thanks for the offers guys, much appreciated but I've sorted it. Never thought to call in on you Bendog but we'll have to meet up some time this year.

Ok, so everything's done now and seems fine. I used blobs of chemical metal on the headstock lock limit lugs, then sanded it off enough when dry to just leave a bit of damper travel left with the steering on lock. Bit of silver paint on the blobs from a pot of model making paint (must be over 30 years old - a childhood relic - but there was nowt wrong with it) to finish off and job done. I had enough fasteners and stuff kicking around in a tub of assorted stainless nuts and bolts I've got - never throw anything away, it always comes in handy

Had a bit of a run for some gas and the chemical metal seems to have stuck like the proverbial.

So, Ohlins porn pics as requested below -