 Steering dampers can be a lifesaver if you're into rallies, cross countries or sandracing, but not many people understand how they work or even how to adjust them. That's exactly what we're talking about today. Anyone that likes to go fast, like really fast, will know the fear of having the handlebars sweeping uncontrollably. And hopefully it doesn't end with a crash. Well, steering dampers are designed to reduce exactly that and big time. Scots has a well-established house in the off-road industry, as they've been around since 1974 and have been equipping several champions since 1986 with their steering stabilizer, in the Baja 1000, cross countries and even the Dakar rally. Still to this day, it's the most adjustable steering damper available, with three adjustable damping circuits. A steering damper is, in essence, a hydraulic shock absorber just for the steering. But why exactly does the handlebar sweep or head shake happen? While the back wheel can only move according to the swing arm axis, the front wheel can move up and down thanks to the forks and also rotate according to the steering axis. When riding fast, hitting rocks or roots can cause an unwanted deflection of the front wheel. Since there's nothing to prevent the wheel from rotating harshly on the steering axis, it can cause the handlebar sweep, severely destabilizing the rider. A steering damper can eliminate this nasty phenomenon with ease, but how can such a small piece of kit prevent such a nightmare? Let's take a look. A steering damper is usually comprised of an assembly of two parts. The tower pin, connected to the frame, and the steering damper itself, connected to the handlebars, which makes use of hydraulic circuits to limit the speed at which the steering turns. On the top cap, there's the base valve, responsible for the low-speed damping and the high-speed valve, responsible for the high-speed damping. On each side of the top cap, there are the sweep valves, responsible for creating damping only when the steering is forced from the centerline to either side and can adjust the range of damping. If we remove the top cap, we'll see the main wing on the oil reservoir. The handlebars will make the main wing push the oil from one side of the wing to the other, through the circuits in the top cap. The main wing is connected to the link arm, which is connected to the tower pin. Since the tower pin is fixed to the frame, any handlebar motion will make the main wing sweep through its stroke. Let's see how these three circuits work together. When the steering is turning to the right, the oil on the left side of the main wing has no open circuit on the sweep valve and is forced to go through the base valve, creating low-speed damping. If the oil pressure keeps increasing, the high-speed valve creates enough damping to control the handlebar motion. Once the main wing is over the first open hole of the sweep valve, it creates an oil bypass, reducing all damping, allowing the handlebars to move freely until the steering stop. When the handlebars go back to the center line, the damper doesn't create any damping because the sphere on the sweep valve no longer blocks the circuit and creates an oil bypass through the motion of the main wing. Who would have thought that such tiny circuits could do so much? Besides all this clever stuff, Scott Steering Stabilizer takes the adjustability of steering dampers to a whole new level and allows you to adjust all three damping circuits separately. Just dissect each one. Each sweep valve has several openings to determine how far the circuit will provide damping. If the sweep adjusters are at a 9 o'clock position, the sweep valve will break damping the earliest and the steering will only have 34 degrees of damping. If the sweep adjusters are at a 12 o'clock position, the second opening one the sweep valve will be unblocked and the steering damper will break damping at 44 degrees. If the sweep adjusters are at a 3 o'clock position, the third opening on the sweep valve will be unblocked and the steering damper will break damping at 54 degrees. When the sweep adjusters are at a 6 o'clock position, there won't be any bypass circuit on the sweep valve and the steering will have damping throughout its whole range. The base valve and high speed valve are positioned in series, which means that depending on how the base valve is adjusted, it will have an effect on the damping generated by the high speed valve. The base valve looks a lot like a traditional low speed clicker adjuster on a fork. The more you turn the adjuster clockwise, the smaller the area between the needle and the canal and the more damping you'll feel on lower speed turns of the steering. This can be suited for sandy conditions or fast and straight type of riding. If you turn the adjuster counterclockwise, the bigger the area and the less damping you'll have, which can be particularly useful if you ride on more technical terrain or single track. The high speed valve consists of a center canal where the oil flows through easily at low speeds, but at really high speeds it becomes too restrictive. The more you tighten the adjuster, the more sensitive it will become to nasty tree roots or unexpected potholes or rocks. The steering damper from Scots can fit almost every riding need and style, whether you're doing tight trails, riding in the sand, or going flat out through the desert. It's just a matter of tweaking it to your liking. For many, a steering damper is a must when stability is of the utmost importance, as it will allow the rider to blast through anything with confidence and with a guarantee he won't get any surprises along the way. If you got curious and want to learn how to take full advantage of your suspension adjustments, take a look at our online suspension courses available on our website. We also provide one-on-one technical sessions to go more in-depth on the topics you want and clear any doubts you might have. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below and thank you for watching. Now let's just power!