2007 ZX10R Should I Worry About Head Shake?

[LDHunter]

I have recently bought a very slightly used ZX10R from a guy that basically ran one tank of gas through it and decided it was waaaay too much bike for him.

I have only ridden it home about 50 miles so far and experienced nothing but the pure joy of riding a pure racing machine with seemingly unlimited power.

I had no semblence of the dreaded head shake on my ride home but then I drove it with only about 6 turns and a couple of <ahem> "blasts" to make sure the motor ran correctly.

It has finally stopped raining here and I want to take it for a ride but I've been reading a lot about head shake and steering dampers and wonder if I shouldn't make some modifications to the bike before riding it.

Please don't tell me to use the search engine because I've about worn them out on here and several other sites and it seems that people talk a lot about how poorly designed the factory steering damper is and all sort of modifications and replacements but then a lot of people think it's a non-issue.

I'm 57yrs old and although a very experienced rider that has been riding 40 years this is my first sport bike. I'll never ride the bike on a track and if I do a wheelie with it, it will be purely accidental. I bought it to introduce some excitement to my life and give me a bike to ride with my friends that have sport bikes.

Do I need to worry about head shake? If so what should I do about it?

Thanks,
$bob$

[DuckyZX10R]

Since you already stated that you're not going to track the bike nor stunt the bike regularly, and basically you're just going to use the bike on the street to give some spice to your daily ride, and it seems you have a lot experience riding two wheeled beasts...then I wouldn't worry about it.

Just be aware of the conditions/situations that would likely cause the dreaded tank slapper. If you happen to stumble across a good deal/sale on an aftermarket steering damper and you have some $$ to burn, then I would get one but I certainly wouldn't start saving pennies for it for the way you'll be using the bike.

[LDHunter]

Thanks... I was hoping to hear that.

I know that I'll probably take some flak for this but I've looked at and test ridden a lot of sport bikes and I like the look, feel, and power of the 2007 ZX10R more than any other.

I noticed that you have one too...

Any other things I need to look out for or modify on my almost new 2007 model? I believe mine to be 100% box stock other than a fender eliminator.

$bob$

[Shifty1]

Yeah man, if you got the stock damper on there and you don't plan on kicking it in the ass too much then I wouldn't worry about it. The stock damper may not be all that great but should be fine for street riding.

[DuckyZX10R]

Originally Posted by LDHunter

Any other things I need to look out for or modify on my almost new 2007 model? I believe mine to be 100% box stock other than a fender eliminator.

$bob$

Hmmm In all honesty... Any modifications you can do on your bike is totally not needed for simple street riding. The bike is already way overkill in stock condition for street riding. I know one of the biggest safety complaints for the '06 - '07 ZX10R is a spongy feel of the brakes which can be corrected by replacing the master cylinder and/or braided lines. I've been riding my bike for almost 1 1/2 years in regular street riding (and sometimes a little bit over ) and I'm happy with the brakes, granted I probably don't ride as hard as the other people in this forum.

BUT.......!!!One cannot escape one of the joys of owning a sports bike, which is modifying the crap out of it to squeeze every drop of performance out of her and making it your own.
Here's a list of how I ended up modifying my ride from start to current in sequence:
1. Frame Sliders
2. Fender Eliminator Kit
3. Aftermarket Exhaust
4. Power Commander
5. K&N Air Filter
6. Double Bubble Wind Screen
7. Swing Arm Frame Sliders/Spools (serves as sliders and spools for rear stands)
8. Stainless Steel Bar Ends
9. GIPRO w/ATRE
10. Rear Seat Cowl
11. Remove Rear Passenger Pegs
12. Activate Dynojet Fuel Pump Accelerator

Up Next:
Dynojet Quick Shifter, -1 Front Sprocket, Brembo Master Cylinder, Dyno Tune

Hope that gives you some insight

[LDHunter]

OK... I appreciate that.

Seems like a LOT of people are trying to eek every possible bit of performance out of a full on race bike and I doubt that most of them have ever raced or pushed these crazy machines anywhere near their limits.

The frame sliders can save expensive plastic and I'm going to look into them as well as the "Swing Arm Frame Sliders/Spools" that can be used for those handly rear stands for maintenance.

I'll leave the farkling to those that don't have the time to ride and I'm gonna climb on this bike and see if I can sort it out....

I certainly appreciate your input.

UGH!!! It's started raining again here... Seems like every time I decide to get on my ZX10R it starts raining and my yard starts growing again... <LOL>

Can't last forever though... <grin>

$bob$

[ajtmex]

As a supporting post, yea if your going to just do some casual riding then I wouldn't worry much about the damper. However if you do happen to run across a nice deal, I would jump at it just to be on the safe side ya know. I would recommend the Scotts steering damper.

[DuckyZX10R]

Originally Posted by LDHunter

Seems like a LOT of people are trying to eek every possible bit of performance out of a full on race bike and I doubt that most of them have ever raced or pushed these crazy machines anywhere near their limits.

So True. I've always wanted to put in some track time so I can actually learn how to ride these bikes the way they were intended to but trying to find some time in my hectic schedule is difficult a task...plus the fact I'm to afraid to crash/wreck my bike in the process seems to always get the better of me. Maybe one day I'll get over it...

[itrider_o2]

I rip wheelies and do fast stoppies on my 07 zx 10r and have no problems is touchdowns or fast hard corners.