XS650 front fork brace

Looking for the style sold at Mikesxs etc. I can order one no problem, but thought I'd see if there's one gathering dust. Condition is not important - will be powdercoated with frame.

Tin, I was thinking of getting one of those as well....but check out the one in this pic, I think it's even cooler and I think I saw one pass on ebay several months ago and it went for high $$. I ditched my fron fender on my xs a few weeks back and have noticed a significant diff in the ride more so than the handling, I get a little bounce thing going on at speed in a straight line....

If you want a more sophisticated one, Ian put me on to a guy who makes them out of billet aluminum. $92 US shipped to Canada. I saw it in person on Ian's bike and can attest to it's craftsmanship. It even has the right lip on it to accept the dust covers from the stock forks.

I'm looking for a more 'vintage' look so am considering one of the ones from Mikesxs. Either way I'll be running a fork brace - everything I've read suggests the XS650 forks really need one. The axle only clamps on one fork, allowing a lot of flex. The Honda CB forks clamp down on both sides so its less of an issue.

http://www.tkat.com/forkbrace.html

Tim ... You can use this style as well. A lot of flat track guys use this one, they are always on ebay and cheap. Just do search on "fork brace" or "flat track" ..... I will have those swing arm measurements tomorrow for you.

Ian - thanks! After seeing some pics of the Minton-Mods style brace on bikes, I'm not so sure I want one - they're pretty darn big. The style you've shown is nice though, but I'm starting to lean back towards the tkats one.

Tintin said:

Ian - thanks! After seeing some pics of the Minton-Mods style brace on bikes, I'm not so sure I want one - they're pretty darn big. The style you've shown is nice though, but I'm starting to lean back towards the tkats one.

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Ya for the price you can't beat them !!

XS650RR said:

Tim ... You can use this style as well. A lot of flat track guys use this one, they are always on ebay and cheap. Just do search on "fork brace" or "flat track" ..... I will have those swing arm measurements tomorrow for you.

Click to expand...

I got one of these in Paris for $5. Had to drill new holes. The thing looks badass!

And something like this is strong enough? Seems like it would be prone to allowing one fork to move independantly of another, but I guess it must work or people wouldn't bother

We'll see where I end up. Fork bracing can be tacked on anytime. I gotta focus on the critical path to getting the bike assembled and running.

XS650RR said:

Ya for the price you can't beat them !!

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Guess who is about to order one for his bike ;D He actually has one made for my standard, which is unusual

Tripler said:

Guess who is about to order one for his bike ;D He actually has one made for my standard, which is unusual

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Doug ... you sly fox you !!. He is a great guy to deal with. Had mine in 3 days...

Something lke this suit your fancy?


It's for an XJ, not an XS. But I can check the dimensions if ya want.

There's a fender mounted to the bottom of it (painted black with 2 silver pinstripes)...
I was thinking about keeping it in case i got bored with my checkered fender... and I'd like to give it to you for free.

Buuuut I'm poor and I need to buy gauges, lol. Make me a (moderate) offor and it's yours (fender or not)

Center to center the bolt holes are approx 6cm.
Distance across from the outside is about 13.3cm (has some stretch/shrink-ability for squeezing it on, though it is a brace, so it isn't flexible enough to pull it apart with your hands.

Here are a few Pics:
I'm considering e-baying it if ya don't want it.





It's not perfect, and there's a small chip in the paint on the brace (not rattlecanned, base+clear), the fender has the stripes buried under clearcoat, but to be perfect would need a wet sanding and a buff to make the whole surface level.



*Edit* to be perfectly clear - I did make this myself so it's not absolutely perfect (the brace, I never made the fender).
The fender itself has a small "twist" in it. My plan was to drill the mounting holes in the fender just a bit more to allow for some adjustability, but I ended up repairing my stock fender and really liked the way it looked... so this one has just been collecting dust, as you said.