lol. you don't NEED one... hell i've put 4000 street miles on my bike since I've had it without one and no problems... but I'm hitting the track this spring and it's one of those things I don't want to look back on and wish I've had... plus I've been able to set my bike down front wheel straight whenever it has lifted up a little bit.... I've set my suspension up to my weight which is always a good idea when you buy a bike. but I also have it set pretty stiff. still no trouble with bumpy roads and I'm from michigan so you know we have our share.

 

A steering damper in NC is pretty much required as all the roads here suck worse the country roads of Russia. Pot holes on every road that they "fix" with either sand or fill it up with un-even asphalt patches, or that they didn't put enough asphalt/concrete to make the road stable and would develop bumps in the roads. And all this will also happen in the apex of every curve and it just sucks.