Patent ID: 7021433

Claim:
A rotary steering damper for a motorcycle, said steering damper comprising; a damper housing having an oil chamber formed therein and having a plurality of fluid flow channels in fluid communication with said oil chamber; a damper shaft attached to and extending downwardly from said damper housing; a vane disposed in the oil chamber of the housing and attached to the shaft for concurrent pivotal movement therewith, said vane operating to effectively partition the housing oil chamber into left and right oil chambers; and a hydraulic pressure control valve for varying an attenuating force of said steering damper, wherein, upon pivotal rocking motion of said vane in said housing, working fluid flows between the left and right oil chambers to generate attenuating force, and wherein said housing is adapted to be attached to one of a vehicle body frame side and a steering system side while said shaft is adapted to be attached to the other of said vehicle body frame side and said steering system side, and said housing is adapted to be disposed above a top bridge; wherein said damper housing comprises a housing extension which extends rearwardly behind said top bridge; and wherein said steering damper further comprises an actuator for said hydraulic pressure control valve, the actuator disposed such that an upper surface of said actuator is secured to a lower surface of the housing extension, the lower surface extending in a direction normal to an axis of the shaft.