Fork Brace

[kjbsporty]

Has anyone made there own fork brace? I would like to make my own. If some one has a drawing and dimensions I thought it would save me some time. Thanks

[stevo]

Yup .... here's a pic



Made it in a lathe usin 2 pieces of billet....

I have a drawin somewhere BUT I'm not sure where .....

I'll have a look tomorrow


http://www.iqconnect.net.au/~stevo/brace2.jpg

[willprevale]

Be careful when making your own fork brace. Even more so when installing one. It's more complicated than one might think.

[stevo]

nahh .. it was easy Will...

I made it, painted it and installed it in less than a days work....:D

[willprevale]

stevo... I wasn't referring to you. Not everyone has your knowledge and/or understanding of frame geometry.

[stevo]

A fork brace doesn't change any geometry...

It just reduces the flex in the front end......in changeing the flex it can alter the frequency of the oscilations when you hit a bump...

I found I had to fit a steering dampner after I fitted the fork brace as it was too stiff..
Where it would wallow up the mountain beforehand... after fitting the brace I found that some bumps would cause bad, sharp head shake/tankslap..

Nothing to be real concerned about BUT ya can't brake while it's shaking it's head, ya have to power out, so I had to take it a bit easier to allow for it.....annoying...

A steering dampner bracket was fabricated and it went on the folowing week ;)

[willprevale]

What I do when I install a fork brace is to remove the wheel and collapse the forks completely. I then install the brace in perfect alignment with the collapsed fork reliminating any tendency for misalignment that the naked eye can't pick up if ya just bolt it on. I believe it's more precise. Just the way I learned.

Maybe that's why you experience some problems in the twisties?

[stevo]

It was dead straight....

The problem wasn't in a straight line but when I hit a bump with the side of the wheel...
Where it would just flex/twist the front end before, it changed the frequency of the oscillations and would give a sharper/harder shake..

It wasn't a problem other than I couldn't brake while it was doin it...so I had to leave a bigger safety margin...which defeated the whole purpose of fitting a fork brace in the first place ...

SO I fitted a steering dampner and no probs

I fit fork braces with the bike level and everything as it will be...if you do it on the side stand you may have it out of line slightly....

I do a wheel alignment first and then fit the brace while it's level....never had any probs..

I wouldn't fit it without the front wheel in as there is more chance of alignment issues.... you want the system as it is going to be and the fork brace is just to help keep it there.

My bike was solid as a rock past redline in top gear, it was only bumps on the side of the tire that caused a hiccup and that wasn't a bad one, just annoying.

[willprevale]

Like I said, Most don't have your knowledge and experience. Thanks for the discussion. I always learn something new from you.