new? bike lift/jack

[Miata Myk]

>As I mentioned to Stu in another post, I have heard this "jamming" >business over and over, and have never seen a production dirtbike with a >fork brace. Yet I have a brace on my KLR and even in sticky, muddy >conditions have never had a problem myself. It's likely a myth but I >haven't been riding offroad long enough to comfortably say so. Maybe it >got started by people riding with low fenders in mud, which seems much >more likely to have a problem.

Think of it this way; with the amount of inertia following behind that 21" wheel (about 23-24" at the outside) coupled with the fact that this mud will be very wet and slippery even if something does 'jam' under it you are going to get a nice sickening sliding sound until you pull over and yank it out. More of a problem would be something going through the wheel spokes and catching the forks, but even then the most likely event is going to be a lot of torn up spokes and a rough stop rather than flying end over end. I don't see those spokes holding up too well as a leverage point against several hundred pounds of rider and bike.

[InWoods13@aol.com]

In a message dated 2/14/02 5:26:19 PM Eastern Standard Time, s2mumford@... 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

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 >> Stu...I beg to beg to differ. Hah! The pre braced KLR off road, in sandy or hardpack or (name your condition here), for me....felt vague to put it nicely. Not nicely...stock, it felt like some outside evil force that wants to do you in & crush your radiator or something. With a fork brace, (any fork brace available) you can actually pick a line & hold it in the dirt. That wallowing (I'm gonna go wherever I want & make you crash) feel of the front end is nailed down, so it feels that it's actually working with the rest of the bike. The brace does transfer more vibes/bumps to your hands, but that's a trade-off I'll make anytime, for the much improved handling off road in any type cornering situation. I definitely stand by the night/day difference off road comment. I wouldn't run a KLR of mine off road without a fork brace, now that I've tried one. (anything that helps not crashing off road is big for me, as I do alot of two up off road stuff with wife Lori) The (braced) front end does take on a better feel on road. I probably wouldn't justify buying a brace just for road use though. All that said....we're all different with all different riding styles, & preferences. Who's to say what is the best or not. For me, (doing 80/20 dirt to street) a brace helps to make the mity KLR the best it can be, especially where inspiring confidence off road. All best -Scott A14 "thunderdog" Sorrento, Fl

[dennisrobbins7]

I see alot of posts mentioning the Super Brace for the KLR, has anyone on this list tried the one from www.happy-trail.com and if so what are your opinions of it? Denni Robbins

[dennisrobbins7]

I see alot of posts mentioning the Super Brace for the KLR, has anyone on this list tried the one from www.happy-trail.com and if so what are your opinions of it? Denni Robbins

[Dennis Robbins]

Note: forwarded message attached. --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Chris Krok]

Rephrasing Devon's answer to E.C.'s comment on fork braces:

> The fork brace controversy is a case in point. If you noticed not one > really good dirt bike has a fork brace, and all have minimum unsprung > weight.

If you noticed, the KLR is not one really good dirt bike! Krokko -- Dr. J. Christopher Krok John Lucas Adaptive Wind Tunnel Caltech MS 205-45, Pasadena, CA 91125

[monahanwb]

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., Chris Krok wrote:

> If you noticed, the KLR is not one really good dirt bike!

Hey, I've noticed that too. Seems to me the one thing that truly differentiates dirt bikes from lead sled dual sport bikes like the KLR is weight. Anyone can get a GS1150 Adventure or a KLR airborne, but you've got to land too. That's where the weight really makes the difference.

[Chris Krok]

> From: Devon Jarvis > Subject: Re: KLR fork brace > The happy-trails brace is the only one for the KLR that has > a removeable crosspiece, and is therefore adjustable to your > individual set of forks.

The Telefix brace is also adjustable, although I don't think it's durable enough for off-road use. Should be fine for the street/mild dirt roads. -- Dr. J. Christopher Krok John Lucas Adaptive Wind Tunnel Caltech MS 205-45, Pasadena, CA 91125

[arctec]

Would someone in the group have the dimensions for the fork brace to fit the KLR650. I ran into a deal on a used braced from another Kawasaki, and it is 7-1/16" center to center and 33 mm on the fork hole. I can measure my forks for the hole, but getting an accurate center to center dimension on the folks is fairly critical. Thanks in advance Brian Sawyer Lexington, KY '03 KLR650 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Tengai Mark Van Horn]

At 2:44 PM -0400 6/9/03, arctec wrote:

>Would someone in the group have the dimensions for the fork brace to >fit the KLR650. I ran into a deal on a used braced from another >Kawasaki, and it is 7-1/16" center to center and 33 mm on the fork >hole. I can measure my forks for the hole, but getting an accurate >center to center dimension on the folks is fairly critical.

33mm hole seems awfully small considering the forks are 38mm. The top of the fork slider on the KLR650 is ~58mm if I recall correctly. Mark