Japanese auto major Honda Motor Co has secured an Indian patent for an invention regarding an innovative steering damper device for motorcycle which helps rider to operate the handlebar relatively nimbly even in the range of large steering angles.

Honda claims the new technological break-through is aimed at preventing the rider from hard-steering during low-speed travelling. Steering damper device typically prevents low speed wobble which may occur in the lower speed range.

The invention consists of a cylindrical damper which is provided between a steering side member which is turned around by a steering stem and a vehicle body side member that could not turned even by operating the handlebar. The cylindrical damper will have a casing and a rod which is slidably displaced in the casing.

Though, the patent office initially had objections regarding the inventive steps, Omvir Singh, assistant controller of patents & designs, New Delhi, after being satisfied with the revised claims, later granted the patent.

Motorcycles are steered by operating a handlebar so as to turn a front fork supporting a front wheel around a steering stem. The steering stem is rotatably inserted into a head pipe located at the front end of a body frame.

Such motorcycles are sometimes equipped with a steering damper device between a steering side member which is turned by operating the handlebar and a body side member which is not turned even by operating the handlebar. According to the patent document filed by Honda, the present inventors have proposed a steering damper device that can meet such requirements using a cylindrical damper which is simple in configuration and low in cost.

The steering damper device is configured such that the damper is composed of a damper casing and a damper rod, one of them is rotatably connected to a vehicle body side member such as a head pipe or the like, and the other is rotatably connected to a steering side member such as a fork bridge or the like.

With such a steering damper device, when the handlebar is turned to the right or left, the damper rod of the damper is slidably displaced in the damper casing in the same direction, which provides symmetrical damper characteristics. When the handlebar is returned, the damper rod is slidably displaced in the opposite direction, therefore, a damping force to be scarcely generated at that time.