tkat vs telefix fork brace

[cywelchjr]

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

In my experience, if it wobbles at low speed, a fork brace is not going to fix it. Most likely in this case to be the tires or the headstock bearings. I had a wobble at low speed in medium to tight turns and changed tires and it's gone. Still get a bit of a wobble in a straight line sometimes at low speeds, but only on some rides.

[crazy steve]

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.

While a fender will offer some help with fork rigidity, it's nowhere near as effective as a dedicated brace. Any sheetmetal 'bracing' that's U-shaped (whether it's a fender mount or a supposedly dedicated brace) will allow flex. The 'straighter' the connection between the tubes, the more effective the brace will be. That's why both the Telefix and Tkat braces mount as high on the sliders as possible. Anything that mounts to the fender points on these forks will be less effective.

An ideal brace would be a one-piece affair running straight across the tops of the sliders. But in practice, this is pretty much impossible due to variations in manufacturing tolerances; each brace would have to be 'fitted' to each bike. If I were trying to get the best possible performance out of the XS/XJ 37mm forks, I'd lean towards the Telefix brace as it is only three pieces as opposed to the TKat at five; fewer bolted 'joints' means fewer places for flex to occur. But given the inherent limitations of these forks, either one should satisfy all but the most 'banzai' of riders...

[James England]

I bought a vintage Micron fork brace on eBay a while ago. I had an XS1100 in the mid 1980's when Micron braces were all the rage. They fit perfectly and are made so that the rubber fork shrouds can be mounted on the top of them. They're a good, solid brace and do the job.

[Cobia]

Having had both braces, I prefer the tkat brace a lot better.

[natemoen]

Having had both braces, I prefer the tkat brace a lot better.

What makes you prefer tKat over teleflex?

[Crusty Snippets]

Wobble

In my experience, if it wobbles at low speed, a fork brace is not going to fix it. Most likely in this case to be the tires or the headstock bearings. I had a wobble at low speed in medium to tight turns and changed tires and it's gone. Still get a bit of a wobble in a straight line sometimes at low speeds, but only on some rides.

Thanks for that. I will be doing one change at a time. The fork brace is next.
Was planning on changing steering head bearings next year. Will slowly get this Yami handling better.
This past week I romoved about six inches from the top of the Vetter front window. It was too tall. Lot less turbulance now, and I can see over the top and see where I am going.

Crusty

[mharrington]

What is the price of these braces?

[Cobia]

Nathan,
It makes the forks feel more rigind and in synch. The teleflex allows more flex between the individual forks than the tkat one.

[bikerphil]

The teleflex allows more flex between the individual forks than the tkat one.

That's because it's a Tele-flex.

[b.walker5]

What is the price of these braces?

Drop Tkat a line at tkat@tkat.com for pricing and availability.

[somesuch]

Ditto here,
having had both, I too prefer the Tkat one. I think my Telefix was a cast piece that was not very "precise" and allowed more "felt" flex when ridden.

--Nick

Nathan,
It makes the forks feel more rigind and in synch. The teleflex allows more flex between the individual forks than the tkat one.

[yamahansolo]

I have a tkat one and I live in thw mnts. Itworks much better than stock but no where near as good as the racetech emulators!!! You can ride it like a crotch rocket!

[justme1100]

While a fender will offer some help with fork rigidity, it's nowhere near as effective as a dedicated brace. Any sheetmetal 'bracing' that's U-shaped (whether it's a fender mount or a supposedly dedicated brace) will allow flex. The 'straighter' the connection between the tubes, the more effective the brace will be. That's why both the Telefix and Tkat braces mount as high on the sliders as possible. Anything that mounts to the fender points on these forks will be less effective.

An ideal brace would be a one-piece affair running straight across the tops of the sliders. But in practice, this is pretty much impossible due to variations in manufacturing tolerances; each brace would have to be 'fitted' to each bike. If I were trying to get the best possible performance out of the XS/XJ 37mm forks, I'd lean towards the Telefix brace as it is only three pieces as opposed to the TKat at five; fewer bolted 'joints' means fewer places for flex to occur. But given the inherent limitations of these forks, either one should satisfy all but the most 'banzai' of riders...

Just wondering, have you seen underneath the XJ front fender?

[natemoen]

Just wondering, have you seen underneath the XJ front fender?

Take a pic. I know there is an integrated brace but I have never seen an XJ in person. So take a pic and show us all!

[crazy steve]

Just wondering, have you seen underneath the XJ front fender?

Nope. But perform this test: remove the fender, and grasp each mounting 'ear' in each hand. Then push/pull on the ears. If you get any flex, then the fender isn't as effective as a 'real' brace like the TKat or Telefix...