Cheapest price fork brace???

[b.walker5]

you must have installed it incorrectly. A fork brace can't make a bike uncomfortable to ride. If it's not installed correctly, it could have interfered with the fork travel.

Certainly did install it correctly James. Theyre not rocket science, and ive been working on bikes for many, many years. Perhaps i didnt word it correctly, or i lost you with Kiwi vernacular, but i didnt mean it hindered the travel of the forks. 'Stiffening the front end' is Kiwi for taking the flex out, and after riding for years without one, i found it uncomfortable with one. I found the flex was predictable, and i learned to ride it perfectly well without the brace. When i sold the bike, the brace was in the box of parts, and unless it comes as standard, i'll never bother with one again.

[Cobia]

I have some thoughts on all our divergent replies. Maybe it all pertains to our riding styles and situations. If you don't encounter twisties and sweepers on your way to work and ride the super slab most of the time you'll probably won't notice the difference.
And don't think that in flat FL I'm carving any canyons, but I do take advantage of opportunities.

[b.walker5]

Fair comment Cobia, but I live in a country where straight and flat is a novelty. New Zealand is built of mountains and Valleys, where twisties are a daily fact of life for bikers. Where I live you'd be hard pressed to find more than 5 miles of straight road in every hundred. And I don't ride like a nana. I just didn't like what a brace did to the handling, so i took it off.

[James England]

Certainly did install it correctly James. Theyre not rocket science, and ive been working on bikes for many, many years. Perhaps i didnt word it correctly, or i lost you with Kiwi vernacular, but i didnt mean it hindered the travel of the forks. 'Stiffening the front end' is Kiwi for taking the flex out, and after riding for years without one, i found it uncomfortable with one. I found the flex was predictable, and i learned to ride it perfectly well without the brace. When i sold the bike, the brace was in the box of parts, and unless it comes as standard, i'll never bother with one again.

Understood now..... Yes, lost in translation.........

[James England]

I'm not an engineer or anything close. I just figured common sense came into play and that a "fork brace" was self-explanatory, that it acted as a "brace" to "support" the forks. How can that not be helpful to a bike that rides like a bent paperclip at high speeds in the curves?

Ah, the voice of reason. I agree. That's why I always fit one to any bike at all, including the XJR, which has much thicker stanchions. Same goes for the swinging arm...I'm having a brace put on my XJR one. Same principle.

[TomB]

The first time I fitted a fork brace to my XS was after I fitted a heavy full fairing, that really showed up the inadaquacies of the forks, I am an engineer so made my own fork brace which improved things lots.

Later I removed the fairing and kept the brace and later still had a bad smash where the fork brace managed to snap off the tops of the forks, the seal holder area that the brace clamps onto. seeing how thick the fork aluminium is at that area it amazes me how they don't break from normal riding, its so thin. When I rebuilt the bike I reworked the forks and didn't fit another brace, the reworked forks unbraced worked better than the original forks with the brace.

My conclusion is that well set-up forks work well, badly set-up forks are definitely improved by a fork brace, and well set-up forks will benefit from a brace if using a fairing. Either way using one won't do any harm apart from add unsprung weight which isn't good for handling, the original unsprung weight on these bikes is high so the difference will be marginal.

Like Brian I ride fast so like to get the best handling from my bikes. I still ride without a clamp on brace, I do like the original mudguard brace, and have fitted a steel brace inside a plastic mudguard.

Just my 2p

[sic]

TKAT input

After 19 years of ownership, I finally put a fork brace on (because my fellow dirt racers talked me into some performance street riding on tuesday nights). I did the TKAT brace and it was priced right with prompt service ($105 domestic -- free shipping).

The brace is a MASSIVE improvement !! I felt it the moment I let the jack down and it hit the floor. That floppy-floppy feeling when you are moving the bike with a dead engine in the garage was gone. Once fired up you notice it at 5 mph. The bike tracks effortlessly out of the driveway. No more fighting the steering (and trying to keep your balance) at parking lot speeds. Pull up behind a car in traffic, stop the bike completely with feet on the pegs and balance it for a few seconds, then power up again and start moving again. Hard to do before, effortless now.

At high speed it rewards as well, gone is that "spaghetti frame" feeling in the corners. No more wallow that even riders behind you notice. Tracks like an arrow.

Buy this brace, especially if you are loaded up for touring with weight. It will reward you in every parking lot and every stop light when you are trying to maneuver below 8 mph. And, of course, when carving at speed it rewards handsomely !

Ken...

My '79 XS1100 (Kerker, K&N, Jet kit, TKAT brace, 43,000 miles)

[James England]

This may open up diverging opinions but..... I think a steering damper improves the XS1100 too. Well, it certainly felt OK on one of mine. The problem usually though is they use one of the oil cooler frame lugs to mount one end of the damper onto and I had one snap off after a long time..lists not really meant to take the strain of a damper. There was even an after-market kit years ago which bolted into the frame near the cooler.

I'm not sure if Hyperpro make a damper for the XS1100. There are some discreet, well-engineered braces about these days.

[sparkfly88]

For a while I wasnt getting any thread updates, then randomly I get a FLOOD of emails...

Goodgod this thread got huge

[sparkfly88]

Hey james, I'm on the website you mentioned and this is in it

"You steer from left to right and you thoroughly enjoy yourself. Next, a straight stretch of road. Ahead of you a lorry comes into view."

Good thing we dont have those in USA...whatever it is

[James England]

Hey james, I'm on the website you mentioned and this is in it

"You steer from left to right and you thoroughly enjoy yourself. Next, a straight stretch of road. Ahead of you a lorry comes into view."

Good thing we dont have those in USA...whatever it is

What? Lorries? Straight stretches of roads?

[James England]

For a while I wasnt getting any thread updates, then randomly I get a FLOOD of emails...

Goodgod this thread got huge

not as eg as my wheel bearing thread. That's setting a record number of views now, second only to the introductory sticky

[IanDMacDonald]

Hey James- I'm weak on knowledge regarding the suspension system, thus my reluctance in doing a FJ fork swap, etc. Can we get more info on dampers.

[TomB]

I had one of those steering dampers you mention James, including the crap fitting kit, it didn't make any difference to the high speed handling and made low speed handling atrocious. It go ditched very quickly.

All of these additions to the bike overcome badly set-up suspension, I spent a long time and a lot of learning/reading up on correct suspension work before I realized this, once your forks are set up well the original XS11 forks work well without braces and steering dampers.

Obviously much stronger better made forks and rear suspension works much better, as does more rigid frames, than crap frames and badly set-up suspension supported by fork braces and steering dampers. The four Jap manufacturers shy away from fitting them as standard which tells us something of their merits.

Once you have decent suspension, this ultimately highlights the XS11's weak frame if pushing hard. I've fitted Kawasaki air forks, billet triple trees, monoshock rear end and braced frame around the steering head and swingarm mounts and can still induce the weave on long 100mph bends .....a modern bike its never going to be.

[b.walker5]

Totally agree Tom. If you want the handling of a new bike, buy a new bike.