tkat vs telefix fork brace

[bikerphil]

What is the difference in a fork that is braced - what are we eliminating?

I have never ridden a bike that was "braced" so I am unsure if it is something I would need - if the ride feels OK without it - what would prompt me to add it?

Thanks
John in San Antonio

The brace reduces the fork flex in these undersized 37MM forks. Put your bike on the center stand, stand over the front wheel facing the handlebars. With the wheel in between your knees, twist the handlebars back and fourth. This is your fork flex, a lot huh? With the brace installed, the flex is virtually eliminated. You'll notice the improvement in handling especially in the twisties.

[dbeardslee]

what are we eliminating?

Reprinted from XS11 Info -

The XS11's front fork lacks torsional stiffness--something it shares with most bikes that do not clamp the front axle on both sides. The most important factor in front fork stiffness is how well the front axle is clamped. Of course, the XS11's axle is clamped only on one side. When new, friction between the fork leg and the axle will hold it pretty well. After a few thousand miles, however, the axle polishes the hole it fits into and the fork assembly will begin to move around. This is one of the reasons wobble problems tend to show up after several thousand miles. The answer is a fork brace.

[jwhughes3]

thanks!

answers my questions -i guess i do not push it hard enough to feel the flex.

i will likely go ahead and put a brace on and see the difference though.

john in san antonio

[motoman]

jwhughs3.......you'll notice the difference right away.......as in turning your first corner at 5-10mph, I almost turned it "under" itself and fell over, response was instant to direction change!

[DeanR]

Very little clearance between the TKat and the fender on my Special. It just clears and it works wonders.

[rover]

Fork Brace

I made my fork brace out of 10 ga stainless. It fits under the fender and attaches to the fender mounts on the inside of the fork. Can't see it from the outside, just fills the slots in the fender ears. This is very hard to do, even with a high tech bending brake. It must be bent perfectly square and even, and the mounting holes drilled in perfect alignment. And the mounting bolts should be about 5mm longer to make up for the added thickness, so they won't pull out of the mounting holes. If my time were worth $10.00 per hour, this would be an expensive way to go.

[Eveready1100]

Just curious. Aren't the sliders a different outside diameter as the inside diameter where the fork seals fit are different?

[cywelchjr]

Just curious. Aren't the sliders a different outside diameter as the inside diameter where the fork seals fit are different?

My understanding is that the sliders are the same diameter, as are the inner tubes, but where they go is machined differently, and the special has some sort of assembly on the end of the inner fork tube as a bushing so they can't be swapped between standard and special. But the fenders mount differently and that means that the special braces need the part that goes over the fender higher than a standard does. Of course I could be 99.9% wrong too, so take the word of anybody who comes in here that has experience with BOTH standards and specials, I'm a standard guy, cause I can't find a special to buy, so I can put a sidecar on it, and turn it half way into a standard with a standard tank and be like Fred.

[Eveready1100]

Hi Cy. Last year, I had dramas with my fork seals which were documented in quite a few posts on here, and through frustration, fitted my Special tubes with Standard sliders, which do fit, and work well. The only real downside is that you end up with instant 4 inch overs, which is good if you're after the chopper look, but is a pain if you just want a bike you can ride, and park safely without it wanting to fall over off the sidestand.
Guess I better dig out my verniers and actually measure them.
I'll let you know the result

[b.walker5]

Here was my reasoning. Telefix is powdercoated, nice if you have a midnight maybe. Telefix cost more.

Tkat is aluminium, looks to be at least mildly polished. Tkat is cheaper, many here use it. I may be wrong here but I dont think so.. Buying from Tkat supports an individual who is presumably also an XS enthusiast.

Tkat won with me, thats why I sent him a check this week.

I painted my Tkat brace wth Rustoleum satin black. Three coats of this looks just like powder coat and it's extremely tough.

Took some getting used to riding with a rigid front end but i wouldnt go back for quids now.

[lancelot455]

Will the Tkat brace fit on a XJ1100?

[dbeardslee]

Dunno. You could probably check with TKAT though - there's and e-mail link at the bottom of this page.

[Elevener]

He had a post on the yahoo groups looking for the thickness so he is probably fixin to make one.

[Crusty Snippets]

Brace

answers my questions -i guess i do not push it hard enough to feel the flex.

i will likely go ahead and put a brace on and see the difference though.

john in san antonio

My front wheel wobbles when I am going slow, no pushing required.
Have ordered a brace from Tkat, looking forward to having it installed.

Crusty

[justme1100]

My understanding is that the XJ has a brace built into (under) the front fender. If that isn't a brace under there it is an extremely beefy fender mount. With no experience with a Special or Standard I can't say if it is different.