stupid spark plug question

[Ron Kellner]

hello group, Thought I'd offer a defense of Elden on the fork brace issue. I've put 20k miles on an '89 and 35k miles on my'94. This one has suspension by Precision Concepts and a big front dics kit from Braking which is sadly no longer available. I've riden events like the Blackwater 200 and the Land of Enchantment Rally and never felt the slightest need for a fork brace. Just keep everything tight and the fork is fine. Having had the opportunity to put a fair number of miles on BMW F650GS' in the Alps I can offer the opinion that the KLR is much more stable and forgiving. I found the F650's fast and capable but way too sensitive to steering inputs. When I mentioned that observation to Rob Beach he said that he had to agree. I'd also like to thank Elden in this forum for kindly working with Vey de la Cruz(hope I spelled it right) who blueprinted my engine. This project even included sending the crank to Falicon for a balance job. All Elden's vast knowledge of KLR engines was applied. The only "hop-up" was a porting job . We felt that hot cams and more compression were not advisable. Needless to say it runs really fine. Thanks Elden and Vey. As it's been said here before, that's my $.02. Ron Kellner , Buffalo ,NY _________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

[Judson D. Jones]

If I understood Elden correctly, his position is that a fork brace is a bad idea on a klr. I have added fork braces to half a dozen bikes; in every case, the brace hs worked an improvement in handling. I see no reason to doubt members of this list who have reported such an improvement on their KLRs . Elden also seems to think it important to keep the front end as light as possible. If I were going to be lofting the front wheel over logs, I might agree, but given the KLRs streetward bias, the addition of weight low and forward is probably better that high and to the rear. On balanc e, I think what a brace adds in stiffness is well worth the negligible weight penalty. OTOH, I agree that the KLR doesn't need a brace, or more to the point, my KLR needs a lot of other things before it needs a brace. But that's just because I'm willing to live with the high-speed wiggle.

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "Ron Kellner" wrote: > hello group, > Thought I'd offer a defense of Elden on the fork brace issue. I've put > 20k miles on an '89 and 35k miles on my'94. This one has suspension by > Precision Concepts and a big front dics kit from Braking which is sadly no > longer available. I've riden events like the Blackwater 200 and the Land of > Enchantment Rally and never felt the slightest need for a fork brace. Just > keep everything tight and the fork is fine. Having had the opportunity to > put a fair number of miles on BMW F650GS' in the Alps I can offer the > opinion that the KLR is much more stable and forgiving. I found the F650's > fast and capable but way too sensitive to steering inputs. When I mentioned > that observation to Rob Beach he said that he had to agree. > I'd also like to thank Elden in this forum for kindly working with Vey > de la Cruz(hope I spelled it right) who blueprinted my engine. This project > even included sending the crank to Falicon for a balance job. All Elden's > vast knowledge of KLR engines was applied. The only "hop-up" was a porting > job . We felt that hot cams and more compression were not advisable. > Needless to say it runs really fine. Thanks Elden and Vey. > As it's been said here before, that's my $.02. > Ron Kellner , Buffalo ,NY > > > __________________________________________________ _______________ > Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. > http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

[Bogdan Swider]

So your ride is no longer for sale ? Bogdan

> . > I'd also like to thank Elden in this forum for kindly working with > Vey > de la Cruz(hope I spelled it right) who blueprinted my engine. This > project > even included sending the crank to Falicon for a balance job. > Ron Kellner , Buffalo ,NY > > >

[Daniel Martin]

Any suggestions? Worth the $$$? __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com

[Devon Jarvis]

The happy-trails K-9 is really good. I used it for the last 19,000mi and was really happy with it's fit and performance. Whether it's worth the $$$ depends on how well your particular set of KLR forks were machined. My first set were complete crap and the fork brace was a huge improvement. The second set were machined a lot tighter, and the fork brace was still a significant improvement but not quite as miraculous. Devon Daniel Martin wrote:

> > Any suggestions? Worth the $$$? >

[Tengai Mark Van Horn]

At 8:31 AM -0800 2/5/2003, Daniel Martin wrote:

>Any suggestions? Worth the $$$?

I think it really depends on a couple of few factors: 1. Variation from bike -to-bike... some KLRs seem like they're put together tighter than others. 2. Suspension setup 3. Suspension/steering wear For instance, my A2 has really been thrown around quite a bit, but the bike just feels solid. Also, my A3 just wants to stay up and tracks nicely. On the other hand, My Tengai's handling has degraded over the last year and now handles like a rickshaw with a mind of its own. It honestly feels so loose, as if someone cut the bike into three sections and then rejoined them with door hinges such that I'm thinking about getting a brace for it. I went to a lower viscosity fork oil & decreased the preload/damping on my shock for the extreme cold we've been having in the Northeast and that helped quite a bit, but before doing that, I was beginning to fear riding it. However, I'm going to check the entire bike over for problems before committing to the brace. I think my swingarm bearings may be the culprit. Mark B2 A2 A3

[kdxkawboy@aol.com]

I'm running a SRC fork brace and I think it was worth the price. I was already running PS springs and Race Tech valves before adding the brace. With the fork brace my impression is the front end is tracking a true line over the rocky and the deeper sandy sections. On the street it has added another 3-5 mph of cornering speed through the nastier switchbacks on my favorite mountain roads. Pat Schmid G'ville, NV In a message dated 2003-02-05 8:33:28 AM Pacific Standard Time, martida01@... writes:

> Any suggestions? Worth the $$$? > > __________________________________________________

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[mike chartier]

i saw a fork brace on ebay with a rounded top. does anyone know who makes it?

[Jak Lauren]

And do they really make a difference? Jak mike chartier wrote: i saw a fork brace on ebay with a rounded top. does anyone know who makes it? List sponsored by Dual Sport News at www.dualsportnews.com. List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to: DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com . Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DSN_klr650/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Fred Hink]

This just in from the owner of the "Mystery Cycle" that I posted last week. I sold him a Happy Trails K-9 Fork Brace and this is his report. Fred: My Happy Trails fork brace came this morning. I installed it after lunch and rode to Montrose and back by way of a twisty road. I told you I didn't really expect to notice a difference after already improving the front end feel considerably by installing a wider 19" wheel and tire. I was wrong. Both the wider tire and fork brace made equally noticeable differences. Together, they have transformed the motorcycle -- made it feel like a more expensive machine. I've always wanted to try a 19" wheel and a fork brace on a KLR. Experimenting is expensive, though, and I was afraid I might be wrong about the results. But I wasn't wrong. I'm very pleased with the results for the way I ride. A serious rough off-pavement rider might not like it but a KLR isn't intended for serious rough off-pavement riding anyway. I was already cornering fairly fast on the KLR on pavement. Even if I'm not faster now, I'll be cornering with a lot more precision and feel. Now I'm certain I can benefit from a bigger rotor and 2-piston caliper upgrade. Please let me know when they are available. Thanks,

----- Original Message ----- From: "Jak Lauren" To: "mike chartier" ; DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2004 5:28 PM Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] fork brace > And do they really make a difference? > > Jak