Well, I've read through the steering stabilizer threads and it seems like there are two schools of thought:
(1) I would not ride without one, worth every penny
(2) Never had one, never needed one, expensive, can't see the point
It's hard to reconcile these two sets of opinions. I've read Greywolf's account of a high speed tank slapper without a stabilizer. I presume (but don't know for sure) that a stabilizer would have prevented that. However I'm not likely to be doing 110mph with a full load of luggage and experience aerodynamically induced instability.
Has anyone experienced a tank slapper induced by riding over a road imperfection at more moderate speeds (say up to 80 mph)? Has anyone had a road incident at lower speed that they think a stabilizer might have prevented? Running over potholes, small furry critters, rocks? Not necessarily a tank slapper, but a situation where the incident resulted in an unexpected rapid steering input which resulted in an accident?
Even off road there seem to be the same diverse opinions from "they're great" to "I'd never use one". I'm not likely to do any serious off road riding. Maybe some stretches of gravel, but I'm not inclinded to ride over rocks or through mudholes.
$450 is a serious chunk of change. Insignificant if it saves your life or prevents serious injury of course, but then you can say the same about an airbag jacket, full body armor and ABS. I have ABS and a fork stabilizer, I don't have an airbag jacket or a steering stabilizer. I think I'd rather spend the money on keeping the bike upright than hitting the ground softer if/when it does go down, but it's certainly a toss up as which might be of more value in the long run.
The trouble with the stabilizer is that you never know when it worked. Just because you didn't have a tank slapper or other steering related incident with one, doesn't mean you would have without one. If you drop the bike or highside without one, you don't know that you wouldn't have had the same result with one.
On a racing bike that is often unstable at high speed you may be tell the difference when you add a stabilizer because it clearly becomes more stable. However with the Wee you're adding it to cope with a rare incident, not something that happens every time you ride without one, so there's always a question of whether it's actually doing anything.
You can say that anything that improves safety is worth whatever it costs, but where does that end? You'd need 4 pot brake calipers, upgraded suspension, the best tires money can buy, full leathers with full armor, air bags, crash bars, traction control, ABS and so on. Where is a steering stabilizer on that list?
(1) I would not ride without one, worth every penny
(2) Never had one, never needed one, expensive, can't see the point
It's hard to reconcile these two sets of opinions. I've read Greywolf's account of a high speed tank slapper without a stabilizer. I presume (but don't know for sure) that a stabilizer would have prevented that. However I'm not likely to be doing 110mph with a full load of luggage and experience aerodynamically induced instability.
Has anyone experienced a tank slapper induced by riding over a road imperfection at more moderate speeds (say up to 80 mph)? Has anyone had a road incident at lower speed that they think a stabilizer might have prevented? Running over potholes, small furry critters, rocks? Not necessarily a tank slapper, but a situation where the incident resulted in an unexpected rapid steering input which resulted in an accident?
Even off road there seem to be the same diverse opinions from "they're great" to "I'd never use one". I'm not likely to do any serious off road riding. Maybe some stretches of gravel, but I'm not inclinded to ride over rocks or through mudholes.
$450 is a serious chunk of change. Insignificant if it saves your life or prevents serious injury of course, but then you can say the same about an airbag jacket, full body armor and ABS. I have ABS and a fork stabilizer, I don't have an airbag jacket or a steering stabilizer. I think I'd rather spend the money on keeping the bike upright than hitting the ground softer if/when it does go down, but it's certainly a toss up as which might be of more value in the long run.
The trouble with the stabilizer is that you never know when it worked. Just because you didn't have a tank slapper or other steering related incident with one, doesn't mean you would have without one. If you drop the bike or highside without one, you don't know that you wouldn't have had the same result with one.
On a racing bike that is often unstable at high speed you may be tell the difference when you add a stabilizer because it clearly becomes more stable. However with the Wee you're adding it to cope with a rare incident, not something that happens every time you ride without one, so there's always a question of whether it's actually doing anything.
You can say that anything that improves safety is worth whatever it costs, but where does that end? You'd need 4 pot brake calipers, upgraded suspension, the best tires money can buy, full leathers with full armor, air bags, crash bars, traction control, ABS and so on. Where is a steering stabilizer on that list?