Fork Braces

Not really needed until going so fast you out run fear but at some point of flinging in deadly tights the forks can twist up delaying turn reaction, which pilot trys to counter, about the time they unwind, to positively feedback-spring back out of synch, till feels like long rubber bands between pilot grip and tire patch. Woohoowee.

RGM brace that extends bush support on fully extended forks, which is also unneeded feature as once forks are at full extension it only takes a feather load to suddenly compress them again on next compression so nil risk to bend em.







Tested to the max, look close or expand photo to see holey fender strap.

Hyde brace

hobot is that RGM brace installed the same as the Hyde? It looks to be a bit stronger than the hyde too? They seem hard to come by, everytime I see one on E-bay it goes out of my price range rather quickly, you looking to sell one of them ?????

Alas I could only afford the RGM one and just plucked someone else's Hyde photo.
i believe and I have heard the RGM is stiffer more robust than the Hyde or similar blade type braces. RGM kit, the long cylinder things screw down in place of the factory seals and stick up above the sliders enough the bridge work slides down on those then the knurled sealed on top to hold in down. One centered on fork legs by cam like offcentered turning of the two cylinders ya nip up the side bolts to lock it. Paper washers, shims fit between the cylinders and top bush so they snug up when turned to allow slider best sliding. Don't so much prevent forks from twisting up in severe loads but does stiffen up enough it raises the fork twist frequency so its not felt by pilot or tire patch. Hope to see others effective less costly examples. Likely w/o tri-linked invitation into wild flings a beefy mudgaurd would be effective. I don't hardly ever ride to need a fork brace on hwy but can't avoid it off road when skipping across series of pot holes and wash boards on slopes.

As I have been looking for many years, I finally won a New Hyde fork brace on Ebay. And for about the same price as one of the shops that I contacted sells them for, if they had any. I know I don't need it on my bike, but I like the look and I think I might fab a small aluminum fender to mount to the underside of it.

http://www.britcycle.com/products/546102AForkBrace.htm

Looks like might have to invent your own.

Cool images on scope of designs

https://www.google.com/search?q=fork+br ... 00&bih=295

Since we're talking about fork braces here i thought i'd see if CNW offered one but found this regarding their triple trees or yokes. ---- "Aligns the fork tube with the steering stem for greater high speed stability compared to the stock design. This alignment also betters the torsional rigidity in the steering neck" ---- Was the original one that bad?

In my humble opinion Roadholders are about the best forks ever sold, after they are re-constructed as originally intended and with a drop in spring spacer since Norton musta cheaped out using up old stock springs to short change the Commandos.

Ms Peels have 6+ inch travel to silent ends on 4+ progressive spring rates plus progressive dampening. But each to his own on internals - this post is about fork braces, which can apply to about any telescopic set of long tubes. They are not really needed or noticed till doing life risking stuff on pavement or injury risking off roading with spirit. If you ever get into tight fast switch backs at stupid speeds that challenge pilot force and speed, you may suddenly be dismayed that there long rubber bands connecting pilot's grip to front axle, ie: you twist one way but action at axle is delayed and then snaps back - about the same as pilot trys to compensate, so suddenly magnifies oscillation upset.

In Ms Peels case I sense the fork brace not so much as stopping the fork twist but stiffening them so their rebound-twist frequency is above that which bothers the isolastic chassis or tire grip or harsh tire scrubbing leaned lines. Also brace provides a mount for foot forward peg bar, then you can both rest legs on long rides plus find out what forks are really doing as ya tip into a turn, they all expand not compress, duh, unless in emergency corner crash saves the corner cripples guys call trail braking, ugh.

I've had some fun on factory Trixie for a yr now, with her new tires I foul stand about once or twice per commuting ride in surprise yet have no desire nor need of fork brace on her and never will by pressing 'hard' on a regular Cdo. So unless stupid as I am on Ms Peel or as wise as racers get in competition, a fork brace is pure bling extra mass only.

Are you telling us that the slider top bush is moved further up the slider by being situated within the brace extension pieces?
Or do the top bushes stay in the same place as original & only the sliders are extended to fit the clamp on brace?
I never had any luck with setting up my Norman Hyde fork brace, every time I thought I got the eccentrics correctly positioned & then clamped it up, it would cause excessive stichion.

Don't bother with a brace, Fork twist is normal and the rider makes adjustment to compensate, Manx forks will twist 3/8,i have seen Manx tyres rubbed by the muduard.

I've yet to here of anyone being initially happy or later with a Hyde brace.
RGM's is discontinued so we are left to someone making up a new style.

RGM brace leaves the top bushes in the top of sliders as normal but does extend the slider support somewhat via raising the sealing bushes ~1.5" above the support bushes. I went nutzo trying to get free action via the RGM eccentric collars, even relieving the adjusting collars, which helped enough to ride ok but I finally checked the stanchion tubes by rolling against each other to find them the cause, so bought new stanchions for Peel, which solved her striction issues and had a shop straighten her old tubes which I now run in plain Jane Trixie just fine, w/o anything extra to alig for free travel. Deer impact bent Trixies forks, ugh. I think Peels first wk drag strip wheelie crash tweaked her tubes landing on me. The extended slider support is a total non issue on fully extended forks on the fly as at full extension a fly weight instantly compress em again so you really can't impact forks sideways on full extension in any condition a normal user could encounter in traffic or most race tracts, only a nut case like me flying like Speed McQueen ~60 mph in raw pasture to hit a bump to lift front off ground then next instant snag front wheel in gopher hole and blast a trench through ~6 inches deep of root bound sod explosion that launched whole bike sky ward with such impact my helmet chin hit the bars hard but landed fine w/o no bend or damaged items detectable, ahhh. Off road don't usually need a fork brace as there is never enough traction to twist up forks unless you hit something like a hidden stump in brush on enough power the forks are extended floating over most the roughness. Only wild ass WOT tight chicanes near red line in 2nd on rough rumpled chopped up frost heaved surface does a fork brace become a useful item to me.

With a rump rod and its 2 helpers I can take my Peel Cod beyond what other bikes can take w/o crashing, nay invites me into it, so She needs a fork brace to take the fork twist up saving a low side trip down by sudden straight steering snatch up to induce a hi side that jerk/flys up off rear tire's forced hook up to lift > throw front in the air to land ~90' to travel at like 55-60 mph at full fork lock and rebound into new line off WOT torque on smashed down rear patch traction. I don't think I'm riding turns fast until front is about useless and lifted out of traction ok, so my Peel needs don't apply to anyone else. I no longer try to ride like this on anything else, be it modern or ancient, as they just can't take it, the poor corner crippled dangerous things.

Someday Mr Hobot i must try the drugs you seem to frequently ingest - they must be fantastic mind altering stuff, good enough to make albert hoffman indeed jealous!

though to be truthful i hope the hallucinations i would experience are temporary !! :shock: :mrgreen:

Thanks for the recognition, I try not to embellish, just lay it out as experienced.
Its not a path for everyone and not completely self chosen by me either but indeed I'd not of made it this far if not for blowing my damaged mind to smithereens and re-assemble into a surreal existence - while it lasts. If I knew what fate lies ahead of me next time out I might never ride again if I really think about it. Timmy Leary and Dick Alpert were my mentors whose experiments I and close buddies repeated, isolation tanks to wired up on meters that said we had almost dead man's brain waves just short of flat line yet were conscious enough to wink and wiggle a finger to show we were still here to get high or suffer with everyone else.

Brain is mainly a big ass filter to block out the good stuff, get that gray matter flowery fluff out the way for brain core - brain stem - spinal cord level function and awarenes. A musician or a racer or stunter does not operate well from higher brain levels, that is only to give the crew instructions to carry out > way better than the 'big new boss' can. Inside brain and outside its a fight for survival of the fittest and pure luck on top of that. Best wishes for safe journey's till your own life style does ya in. They are all fatal - so life is purpose -less to me, but how much can I get away with and still go to Heaven : )

Hehe in Houston when I had a 6.9 liter Mercedes with pre-cell phone radio phone and 600 watt tri amped sub woofed stereo, in days of white purified agricultural powder inhaled i arrived at a famous psychic for a reading someone had made for me, as first sight of me he recoiled back in chair with eyes bulging out frozen an instant, then with seasoned serious eye to eye - told me the only times he'd seen aura like mine were folks having to be restrained in padded cells and straight jacket in full blown psychotic episodes. Being a respected professional in big city I didn't reveal what I was on, ie: over one G force passing gear brain squash with bone conducting sound fidelity, flushed with neurotransmitters over whelming sluggish brain neurons. Only thing I ever had faster harsher than that German battle ship was my P!! in straights and Ms Peel in tights. I expect next Peel to beat the socks off my past flings.

I've just spent 4 afternoons on my Myford 7 macinining up fork top bush holder extensions from solid alloy to fit an ATK fork brace off a Kawasaki 1000.

Sleek adaptation. Curious if you are able to detect its benefits.