I visited with a fellow today that had what I would call a steering damper on his bike. It is like a small shock absorber attached to the fork.
He said that it made the bike much more stable at high speeds -
Has anybody heard of this, and is it effective and SAFE ?

 

Yes, I have seen them. I don't see that a HD needs one at legal speeds.

 

On certain concrete portions of highway here my front end starts to wiggle. The way MN Dot textured tha concrete causes it (even at legal speeds).

 

I like them . I have been running one on most of my bikes since 1986.

 

Yes safe and yes a product that has been out for a long (long) time.

Perhaps Stortz (sp) a Sportster component company has them that bolt on w/ no modification?
Ohlins (sp) Suspension company also make dampers; look at the price!

If installing yourself just be sure to test the dampener does not bind when you turn left and right before riding.

 

I would put cartridge inserts in the forks and put on a fork brace first. That's what I have done.

Dampers are common on many bikes, and have been for many years. There are a number of types.

 

I run a Daytona dampener in addition to Progressive fork springs and a SuperBrace. Most of the freeways in our area have either been recently widened or restriped, and as a result the drainage grooves more often than not do not run parallel in the lane like they used to. My bike is also hand shifted, and the dampener provides a nice reaffirming "third hand" on the front end while shifting gears when set to its stiffest setting. The installation is a bolt-on utilizing a clamp around the fork and a bracket that mounts by the coil, and the way they mount makes it easy to reach down and twist the adjustment (counter-clockwise = less resistance, clockwise dials in more) while on the move.

 

I run a Pingel on my race bike.

 

I had a Hi speed wobble,,er wiggle when I got mine.
Cured It with proper rider suspension sag, and a Fork Brace,
The majority of my wiggle was eliminated with tire pressure adjustments.
Still running the stock dunlops.
Tracking Is perfect In turns while hard over or on straights..
Rock stable to 104 mph XD

I have Intimidators In now,,for faster responding forks.

FYI most front end wobble's are Induced by the rider.
A too tight grip,,hanging on fighting the wind for Instance.
Bad rider position as In arms straight..

Other common causes are lowering a bike at one end only,,
changing effective rake. Or rasing the back and not Leveling the chassis.

Remember the first thing for good handling Is setting rider sag and
making shure the lower frame rails are Level or lower to the rear.

NEVER Lower to the front as this can lead to the deadly, "Tank Slapper"