new? bike lift/jack

[Lujo Bauer]

Speaking of fork braces, has anyone used the superbrace fork brace? It certainly looks like a nice solid chunk of metal. -Lujo [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[gpokluda]

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "Lujo Bauer" wrote:

> Speaking of fork braces, has anyone used the superbrace fork

brace? It

> certainly looks like a nice solid chunk of metal. > > -Lujo > >

A nice chunk of solid metal indeed. Fred also sells them as anchors to the local jet ski crowd [g] Gino

[Miata Myk]

> --- In DSN_klr650@y..., "Lujo Bauer" wrote: > > Speaking of fork braces, has anyone used the superbrace fork > brace? It > > certainly looks like a nice solid chunk of metal. > A nice chunk of solid metal indeed. Fred also sells them as anchors > to the local jet ski crowd [g]

I just put that on about two days ago. It's big, yes, but very light and made a HUGE difference in the bike. It now runs comfortably at 85-90mph when before it was two hands and a lot of nerves over 70-75. It also dramatically increased the confidence at lower speeds and corners, especially over bumpy stuff. Now I get to take it out and play in the dirt sometime this week and see how much difference it makes there. Next on the list: Progressive front springs!

[bgunn100]

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "gpokluda" wrote:

> --- In DSN_klr650@y..., "Lujo Bauer" wrote: > > Speaking of fork braces, has anyone used the superbrace fork > brace? It > > certainly looks like a nice solid chunk of metal. > > > > -Lujo > > > > > > A nice chunk of solid metal indeed. Fred also sells them as

anchors

> to the local jet ski crowd [g] > > Gino

I put one on. Put about a 1000 miles so far. I noticed a big improvement. bgunn100

[InWoods13@aol.com]

In a message dated 2/13/02 3:12:58 PM Eastern Standard Time, miatamyk@... writes: --- In DSN_klr650@y..., "Lujo Bauer" wrote:

> > Speaking of fork braces, has anyone used the superbrace fork > brace? It > > certainly looks like a nice solid chunk of metal. > A nice chunk of solid metal indeed. Fred also sells them as anchors > to the local jet ski crowd [g]

I just put that on about two days ago. It's big, yes, but very light and made a HUGE difference in the bike. It now runs comfortably at 85-90mph when before it was two hands and a lot of nerves over 70-75. It also dramatically increased the confidence at lower speeds and corners, especially over bumpy stuff. Now I get to take it out and play in the dirt sometime this week and see how much difference it makes there. Next on the list: Progressive front springs! >> You'll like the improvement when cornering off road even more. Night & day difference. Scott A14 "thunderdog" Sorrento

[Stuart Mumford]

> --- In DSN_klr650@y..., "Lujo Bauer" wrote: > > > Speaking of fork braces, has anyone used the superbrace fork > > brace? It > > > certainly looks like a nice solid chunk of metal. > > > A nice chunk of solid metal indeed. Fred also sells them as anchors > > to the local jet ski crowd [g] > > I just put that on about two days ago. It's big, yes, but very light and > made a HUGE difference in the bike. It now runs comfortably at > 85-90mph when > before it was two hands and a lot of nerves over 70-75. It also > dramatically > increased the confidence at lower speeds and corners, especially > over bumpy > stuff. Now I get to take it out and play in the dirt sometime > this week and > see how much difference it makes there. > > Next on the list: Progressive front springs! >> > > You'll like the improvement when cornering off road even more. > Night & day > difference. > > Scott > A14 "thunderdog" > Sorrento

I beg to differ. I have a K9 fork brace from Happy Trails, I absolutely love it on the road. Made the KLR handle like a Ducati on the street. ( A $4K japanese made single cylinder Ducati that has 18k + miles of hard dirt riding and crashing on it). But off road, I think that fork braces suck. I find mine transfers every single little rock and bump straight to my hands. I think you're better off without a fork brace off road, with them long spindly fork tubes flexing a bit, the bike is easier to ride off road. You don't see many dirt bikes with fork braces, do you? And another thing, I have 12.9s in my top subframe mount. I put them there after I saw Russell Scott's break in the middle of nowhere last January. When I went to check mine, I only had one left, and it was a smidge loose if I remember correctly. I routinely overload my bike (tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, Kawi tailbag loaded up with tools, spare tube, clothes, etc,etc.), ride it over rough (I mean really rough) terrain, and I am 250 pounds of man. so far, the 12.9s are holding up, I put them in about 8K miles ago, a little over a year. I think they will last, but if they do fail, I will be sure to tell the group. Stu

[klrz4ever]

snip-->I routinely overload my bike (tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, Kawi tailbag loaded up with tools, spare tube, clothes, etc,etc.), ride it over rough (I mean really rough) terrain, and I am 250 pounds of man. Cool! I can carry all the stuff you do, plus 100 pounds of steak & beer and still not break my bike. That's good news! I'm surprised that your fork brace is that bad off-road. I would think it would make the front end stiffer laterally, but not vertically. Is everything aligned right so you're not getting a lot of stiction? Arden Kysely

[s2mumford]

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "klrz4ever" wrote:

> snip-->I routinely overload my bike (tent, sleeping bag, sleeping > pad, Kawi tailbag loaded up with tools, spare tube, clothes, > etc,etc.), ride it over rough (I mean really rough) terrain, and I

am

> 250 pounds of man. > > > Cool! I can carry all the stuff you do, plus 100 pounds of steak & > beer and still not break my bike. That's good news! > > I'm surprised that your fork brace is that bad off-road. I would > think it would make the front end stiffer laterally, but not > vertically. Is everything aligned right so you're not getting a lot > of stiction? > > Arden Kysely

Ya know, it's not really that horrible. The lateral stiffnes is what I'm talking about. If I hit a rock on the left side of the tire, the force gets transferred to the bars and makes them pull a bit to the right. Without the fork brace, I think the forks can twist (flex) a bit laterally and absorb all the small deflections you get riding off road. I still keep the brace on my KLR, it makes it a much more pleasant ride on road, and I'm willing to accept the extra bumps off road to keep the rail-like handling on road that I am accustomed to. As a side note, the K9 brace will scrape the inside of the front fender when you bottom out. I have the little scratch marks to prove it. Stu

[s2mumford]

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "klrz4ever" wrote:

> Cool! I can carry all the stuff you do, plus 100 pounds of steak & > beer and still not break my bike. That's good news!

SAMURAI SNIP! Arden if you load your bike with 100 lbs. of steak and beer, I have one question for you; Where are we going? Stu

[Devon Jarvis]

You also don't see spindly 38mm forks on dirt bikes either. The best-handling bikes I've ridden off-road so far, Zack's KLR with the KLX front end, and my buddy's DRZ-400s both had forks so rigid that there was no need for a brace. But, the damping and springing still gave a pretty smooth ride. What you describe sounds like a fork brace that is binding your forks a little bit. Also, comparing Ye Olde Damper Rod to a modern cartridge for isn't really fair either. Also, fork braces can catch sticky mud or rocks and jam the tire. I have never had a problem with this myself, but a serious dirt bike wouldn't use a brace for this reason alone. Devon A15 Stuart Mumford wrote:

> snip > But off road, I think that fork braces suck. I find mine transfers every > single little rock and bump straight to my hands. I think you're better off > without a fork brace off road, with them long spindly fork tubes flexing a > bit, the bike is easier to ride off road. You don't see many dirt bikes > with fork braces, do you? >