What is a Harmonic Damper?

The function of a Harmonic Damper is to absorb and dampen the vibrations created by the engine from the firing pulses of the combustion process. A damper is used in conjunction with the crankshaft and flywheel to balance the motor's rotating assembly.

While all Harmonic Balancers are Dampers in a technical sense, the correct use of the word would only be technically correct for those used on externally balanced motors that have an external bolted-on weight. Regardless of the technical wording, since many racers call them “balancers,” most use the terms interchangeably.