Steering dampers for a KZ

I got mine from schnitzracing.com. I think they are $75 or so. They also have the little bracket that you can weld to the frame.

Here is one on ebay

Will this help with the heavyness of the steering..?

yes for sure it will improve stability.

sweet..because that girl is hard to steer now, it's drivable but you have got to use some muscle now...So I hope that will help...Also...I have a slight wobble feeling in the back when i turn and stuff....I have never had it before...all I have done in the back is aired up the shocks.

They are adjustable so you can make the steering as tight as you want it. I don't think it will help with how heavy the steering feels. It's a 30 year old heavy bike and there is only so much you can do.

if you are turning tight you have to use a lot of muscle, or your will loose the bike....granted this may take time and effort, and adjusting to get it right, but she can be very scary if you are not careful, it's good that she is not running very well, or it would take me for a ride that i dont really want...

Heavy steering sounds more like a bearing problem than a damper issue. To get real heavy steering you'd have to have large or flat tires, or bearings that are shot.

Dampers help on steering that is real twitchy to take out the shimmy before its a shake. Unless you have chopped the head tube and changed the forks your old beast should be decent. Now a slight shimmy in the corners is not unlikely, but heavy steering at speed through the corners will not be solved with a damper.

No it's just that I have clip on, on a 1100 Cruiser...lol that's why it's heavy...When i turn a corner, i have to really put muscle on the side im turning, and force it in the other direction to complete the turn, or the steering will just fall complete to the side Im going..

That sounds like a bearing issue. I've only seen it once, on another KZ that had old bearings that were shot. The wheel wanted to "fall" into the turn and you had to force it back towards center, once in center it stayed there fine. Thats not a result of the bars. I run very low bars and have ridden larger bikes with low bars and never had to fight the steering like on the bike with bad bearings.

Its 35-45.00 for a set of tapered bearings and they aren't that hard to swap. Unless you have already done this or your are positive that previous owner did (receipt with bike vin on it stating work done by reputable shop) I'd put the bike on the center stand, drop your front wheel and forks, change the bearings, and then look at a damper.

ok So change the bearings...ok I'll get bearings and the damper too..just to be sure...

I'd still hold off on the damper until you see how it handles. Then again, who am I to argue against doing something for kick, giggles, and a slight upgrade in performance.

From what you described, new bearings will completely change the way your bike handles. The KZ650 I rode with bad bearings was amazingly hard to handle and steer as it was counter-intuitive. Then I rode my KZ650 with the new bearings in and it is a world of difference.