r 11 r steering dampner?

[grumpyone]

R 1100 R steering dampner. 1996 has 29k on it. The steering dampner has slop in it on the mounts. You can wiggle the dampner at the rear up and down enough to feel the play and the same on the front.???? I am guessing this means the thing is worn out???? I found no oil or leak or anything when we inspected it but the PO had the bike cleaned???? when we got the bike so I would expect the oil and crud to be gone and if it is already leaked it s oil out it would probally not leak anymore since we have it??
Next dumb question since this is a 300 plus dollar part are there any problems getting one from a low milage machine someone either upgraded with or wrecked as long as it has no damage??
Thanks
Jim and Esther

[enjine]

mine wiggles too, in the front.
wonder if that's enough to cause the awful handling of my r11r...
maybe i need a new one too. clymers says to replace, never to fix that piece

[grumpyone]

From what I have learned and been told by reputable people in the BMW world. It s time to change the steering dampner on both bikes. yours and mine.. Good luck finding one ;or at least one a guy can afford.
Jim and Esther

[bikerfish1100]

damper (no "n") will not affect general handling. If working properly, all it does is prevent severe oscillations from happening. I can induce an osillation/deflection (incredibly minor, but discernable) by accelerating strongly over a rise that incorporates a directional change as well. other than that, i never really notice my damper at all.
When they fail (other than just basic leaking) they will either fail with too much damping ("full-on"), creating a condition in which you can't steer, or will fail full-off, producing a condition of no damping whatsoever- just like a bike without a damper.
I read of some BMW dampers failing in the full-on mode, and riders nearly crashing because they could not steer the bike at all. That's when i removed my functioning non-adjustable stocker and replaced it with a fully adjustable HyperPro unit.
For most riders, a damper on a Telelever bike is really not necessary. Unless you are riding hard in the twisties (and for many, even if you are doing so), the Telelever front end works just fine. I like giving my bike a present each year, so the HyperPro was its gift from me 2 years ago.

Unless you guys are pushing really hard, just remove it, and have fun. If you feel like things aren't quite right, then consider the HyperPro unit.