Fork brace? To do or not to do?

[Swapmeet Louie]

there close! They "might" overlap...? too hard to tell from that pick. Unless in person they "obviousely" over-lap than they probably do. but, from here. I would measure since, They are fucking close to either over-lapping or not. make sense?

 

[JRK5892]

for sure! i will check it out when i get home, thanks for the tip man

 

[Swapmeet Louie]

Anytime! it's often a concept that is overlooked. Many drill for looks, not function... (not you, Sir. And I'm sure Hurley is and intends to do the best job he can do. Just not sure if that is something he has ever considered...?)

 

[Swapmeet Louie]

And if they dont overlap, in a few hundred miles you'll only have a certain percent of the pads making contact. And they'll develop a crazy vibration every time you grab some brake from HIGH spots on the pads. The high spots will try to "grab" the the holes in the rotor.

 

[Swapmeet Louie]

which will wear the pads much faster.

 

[JRK5892]

here is another shot. i may have to go a bit bigger on a few of them

 

[Mr.E]

Where is all this brace support when newbies are running with no fenders?

Probably absent because most of the newbies approach it like this: "Fuck all you old fuckers. No fender is cool and it adds like 20 hp, plus im gonna score hipster chicks outside Starbucks!"

And there's the old "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink," etc..

Im glad to see guys looking for real answers tho, there's nothing wrong with research and advise seeking

 

[Swapmeet Louie]

here is another shot. i may have to go a bit bigger on a few of them

They dont sir... See how where the pad rides these are big enough to verlap the next "row" of holes...? Thats why "all" the designs are staggered, because thats the only way to drill holes and wear the pads even.

See the diff...?

 

[JRK5892]

thanks man i will look into possibly making some of the wholes a bit bigger to make sure they over lap... never knew that!

 

[Swapmeet Louie]

chamfer the holes as well. to reduce the likely hood of cracking. Modern rotors are not drilled, they are cast with the holes in them. So they wont crack from heat then riding threw a puddle...

 

[Swapmeet Louie]

Hurley, I hope you read this bud. In no way am I trying to dis credit your service. Because it's a great one! Just "come into the light" or "get in, the water is fine". haha

 

[byrdo444]

if i could not find a fork brack... what i did on my tx500 is re enforced the stock fender brace cut away the fender and used that as my brace works great

I like this idea, how'd u reinforce it?

 

[JRK5892]

I am sorry by re enforce, i ment as in re using and using the stock support... completely poor choice of words... if you just cut out your stock fender brace on these vintage bikes you will find that many of them are VERY VERY strong...

 

[scm]

I'll get a bit of head shake on windy days and in higher speed sweeping turns with any bumps

Isn't neccessarily caused by flexing forks...
Anyway, if you mount a fork brace take extra care to make sure the forklegs
will not be tensed up(?), sensible response of the suspension is essential
for good/safe handling.
Btw., the bracing at the underside of OEM fenders is comparatively weak due
to the unfavorite low mount to the slider tubes.

Best regards
Sven

 

[thaglyde]

Re: Re: Fork brace? To do or not to do?

Btw., the bracing at the underside of OEM fenders is comparatively weak due
to the unfavorite low mount to the slider tubes.

Best regards
Sven

Sven
With that being the case, since I don't want to ride with a front fender but I don't want fork flex, using the fender bracket would be a good alternative until I get new forks or find a bracket to fit my 80 cb750c.

*btw thanks for clearing that up Joe. Disregard the pm.

 

[scm]

... since I don't want to ride with a front fender but I don't want fork flex, using the fender bracket would be a good alternative until I get new forks or find a bracket to fit my 80 cb750c.

Guess it's better than nothing, but why the hell do you want to ride without front fender?
I'd strongly recommend to use one, if you don't like the looks of the chrome plated OEM
fender there are small gfk aftermarket fenders, unobtrusive if painted flat black...

Best regards
Sven

 

[Mr.E]

Going out on a limb here, but there is a (small) chance that this head shake could be rooted in the rear end. If axle is out of adjustment at all it could cause the front to sway a tad. Or even swingarm bushings gone wonky. Likely its not those things, but it may warrant a check anyways.

 

[pacomotorstuff]

Let me wade into the fork brace topic with an anecdote.
I was at Mosport the first year the GS750 Suzuki came out (1977?). Fast bike (for the day).
I was in the pits, snooping around as usual, helping out when I could, when the 750 production bikes came in from practice. 'Cause it was "the new boy in town", we all wandered around the big GS. I noticed that on the inside of both of the fork sliders, there were what looked to be black stains on the aluminum. Talking with some guys awhile later, it became apparent that even with the 37mm forks, a fairly substantial axle diameter and everything tightened up to beat the band, the front end was deflecting enough under hard cornering that the front tire was rubbing on the inside of the forks...
The last 4 "old" bikes I've built have all had a fork brace added and like a previous post noted, I couldn't believe how willowy the stock front ends were without one.
We're looking at building a fiberglass front fender for the CB350's. Right now, we're pondering whether to make it to fit the stock front mount (drill out the rivets and remove the stock fender) or go with something that would have a composite fork brace reinforcement built into it.
Put a brace on it, boy!
Pat

 

[rays650cafe]

When I was in one stage or another of building my 650 I decided at some point to be a little antisocial an lose the front fender. The original was rusty and beat up anyway. After removing it I took it on a test ride, went home, drilled the rivets out and put the fender brace on. Went on another ride, world of difference. Just sucks in the rain. I've made better choises in my life. Now I'm kinda lookin for another front fender. Gonna cut it but a fender will be there. Hopefully before rainy season. My .02