Super Brace Pros & Cons

[odowda]

I recently was at a dealer getting my "Ticker" fixed ($3200) and the forks serviced so I asked the shop guy who owns a '05 FJR about putting on a fork brace. He said it was a great improvement so I ordered a Super Brace to put on the bike. I am a little leary about the fork tube protector in as it is very short leaving the upper tubes exposed to the road debris. Then I went on the net to get a general consensus on whether it was a worthy add-on. Mixed reviews including guys who had installed them then changed their minds. Most of the discussion was 5+ yrs old, so I am curious what the current prevailing thoughts are on the fork brace. Any thoughts ???

odowda

 

[Ignacio]

Most of the discussion was 5+ yrs old, so I am curious what the current prevailing thoughts are on the fork brace.

My opinion hasn't changed any in the last 5 years on them. I still have it installed.

 

[Aasland]

Most of the discussion was 5+ yrs old, so I am curious what the current prevailing thoughts are on the fork brace.

My opinion hasn't changed any in the last 5 years on them. I still have it installed.

Nor has my opinion changed, and I regret the money I spent on it which I didn't recoup when I sold it becuase I couldn't tell that it did anything (Gen II).

 

[MCRIDER007]

I don't think they have any added value because the flex in the fork is going to be between the lower fork leg and the tube rather than between the tubes.. A two piece fork brace however, can result in additional stiction in the fork tubes because the alignment between the tubes has to be perfect to avoid stiction. I bought a used GL1800 from a friend that had a Superbrace and the forks seemed to work better without it.

 

[Auron]

Doesn't it depend on how hard you ride/corner?

 

[exskibum]

Most of the discussion was 5+ yrs old, so I am curious what the current prevailing thoughts are on the fork brace.

My opinion hasn't changed any in the last 5 years on them. I still have it installed.

Same here, though I think having GP Suspension rework the forks' cartridges and dialing in the springing and damping to my riding preferences probably made an even greater improvement (arguably obviating the benefits of the Superbrace). Between the Superbrace, the front and rear suspension being dialed by pros and tires I continue to prefer (for price, durability and performance -- PR2s), there's been a significant handling upgrade from the corner wallowing pig I bought new and its current incarnation. I just know that for a heavy ST pig, it is capable of handling twisties (even fully loaded and two up) better than it has any right to.

 

[ionbeam]

In most riding I don't know if I would notice the fork brace or not. Blindfold me, have someone make some noise that may or may not be taking off the super brace and then take it for a ride and see if I can tell if it's on or not. Mostly I couldn't tell. Two up, pounding the front end, yes I can tell.

IF YOUR GEN I HAS ABS BE SURE YOUR SUPER BRACE IS A 'GULL WING' DESIGN OR THE BRAKE LINE BANJO BOLT WILL HIT THE BRACE. The brake line banjo bolt under the headlight will leak it it gets hit hard. I have an early brace so I made some metal chips and cut a relief pocket at the front edge so it would clear the banjo bolt.

As far as the shorter guards - when my FJR was nearly new with the bigger OEM guards I rode through some road paving where asphalt goo was able to get past the bigger shield which held the goo in place, then the asphalt found its way into the fork seal. I was sitting at a traffic light (on my nearly new FJR) when suddenly smoke started coming out of the faring. HOLY MOTHER OF DOG!! I started paddle-footing the bike through traffic desperately trying to get off the road while the smoke intensified. Last thing I wanted was to be sitting on an incendiary device and unable to get off. When I was finally able to get off and look I found most of my fork oil had gotten on the headers and that was the cause of the smoke. The fork was basically empty after that. Which is a long winded way of saying that big or small guards, when you run out of luck you are out of luck.

 

[08FJR4ME]

I am pretty sure recently it was stated from one of the shock rebuilders that it causes premature wear. this may be on the Gen II due to the difference in design.

Dave

 

[FJRMGM]

I have had one on my '05 FJR for over 80,000 miles and to me it makes a big difference.

I especially notice it when I make a sudden countersteer move to avoid something in the road - the bike just turns RIGHT NOW.

I took mine off a while back when I was changing fork fluid and took it out for a ride and it just seemed flexier - put the brace back on and all felt good again.

The forks and tubes on the Gen II and III are bigger and beefier so they probably don't flex as much so wouldn't make much difference on them?

 

[petey]

I don't think they have any added value because the flex in the fork is going to be between the lower fork leg and the tube rather than between the tubes.. A two piece fork brace however, can result in additional stiction in the fork tubes because the alignment between the tubes has to be perfect to avoid stiction. I bought a used GL1800 from a friend that had a Superbrace and the forks seemed to work better without it.

+1 IMHO the FJR has good/strong forks...no need for a fork brace...^^^^^^^ and premature seal ware...

 

[wheatonFJR]

First FJR - no fork brace

2nd FJR - fork brace

I leaned just as hard before as I do now...no big whup.

You should see how skinny the fork tubes were on the 70s liter bikes. How the **** did we ride 'em?

 

[Tanker]

Most of the discussion was 5+ yrs old, so I am curious what the current prevailing thoughts are on the fork brace.

My opinion hasn't changed any in the last 5 years on them. I still have it installed.

Same here and still installed.

No premature where and I do notice a difference on my 03' Gen 1 without it.

 

[08FJR4ME]

The Gen I's IMO could use the extra bracing. They only ride on one bushing while the Gen II's ride on two bushings spaced apart. So no need on the Gen II's. That is unless you have wad's of cash laying around.

Dave

 

[Fred W]

I'm a Gen 1 guy, bought my bike with a brace installed (and 10k miles on the clock). Thought, hey... it must be a good thing, right?

Was messing with my forks 50-60k miles later and decided to see how they felt without the brace back on. There was a definite improvement in responsiveness over small irregularities (theoretically a reduction in stiction) and absolutely no difference in steering feel, fork flex, or anything else even under the hardest of riding circumstances. I kept it off and sold the brace off, and replaced it with the NOJ neoprene fork protectors (for $20) rather than going back to the (expensive) stock ones as they do a much better job of protecting the inner tubes from road spooge and grit.

Think about this on these braces. You aren't really applying all that much leverage/torque on the bars (unless you have car tire on the bike) to where the brace in its position is going to help prevent fork twist. And the axle clamp and fittings on the bottom of the forks does a perfectly adequate job of keeping the wheel parallel to the fork legs.

I would challenge someone to describe what force and flex the fork brace is counter-acting. My current opinion is that the only thing they are really fortifying is the manufacturer's and seller's bank accounts. YMMV

 

[RsvlFeej]

It helped a lot until I upgraded my front suspension. I removed it on the advice of the GPSuspension guru and never missed it because the front end was then properly sprung for my heft

 

[JREW]

A definite improvement on my gen I, a little better on my gen III. I used the MCL fork brace in both cases. IMO they look better and are a lot less money.

 

[SoCalFJR1300]

I had a SUPERBRACE before on the Kawi ZRX1200 I have in my avatar........couldn't tell any difference.

I'll say this though, the SUPERBRACE is a two piece brace......the more pieces the brace has the more it will move, so anymore than two pieces is too many IMOP.