Has Anybody Installed A Fork Brace Yet?

[goodrick]

When stopping somewhat briskly, between maybe 15 and 5 MPH, I feel a slight flutter in the front wheel. I do not believe it is related to a warped rotor, as it's happening much too quick, relative to the wheel rotation. Being a single sided brake, I wonder if a fork brace might stop this "high speed fluttering." I wouldn't call it a vibration, as it's just not that fast.

Am I the only person that has felt this? My bike is pushing 2000 miles and has done it since day one.

 

[Beemerphile]

Mine quit doing it when I changed the brake caliper and pad. I don't think 41mm forks are deflecting at 5 mph or that a fork brace would fix it if it were.

I think it is the pad material.

 

[treybrad]

Am I the only person that has felt this? My bike is pushing 2000 miles and has done it since day one.

Nope, mine does this too. Doesn't bother me, but it is there and has done it since new on mine too. It's been mentioned in a thread or two, but I don't think anyone has come up with a solution or even the cause. A fork brace could be a good place to start...

trey

 

[goodrick]

Mine quit doing it when I changed the brake caliper and pad. I don't think 41mm forks are deflecting at 5 mph or that a fork brace would fix it if it were.

I think it is the pad material.

What pad did you install? I might give it a try.

 

[Beemerphile]

They were OEM Honda sintered metal pads for the ABS model. I put an ABS caliper on my non-ABS bike.

 

[Cagedodger]

Fork braces tend to help with cornering stability more than anything else followed closely by traction on grooved cement roads. It ties the two forks together so they act as one instead of independently (so mainly noticed while cornering or situations where the front wheel has a lot of side to side input along it's very narrow contact patch). It should add some improvement in breaking with a single rotor front, but I would look into other causes. It certainly won't hurt, though!

 

[MZ5]

Is a 'fork brace' simply a third clamp a little lower down the fork tube from the triple-clamps?

 

[James59]

Superbrace, fork brace, motorcycle fork brace, super brace, honda goldwing, fork truss

yes it is, you are right
j

 

[HONDABIKEPRO]

If its not broke dont fix it. The flex is normal in all bikes, they even flex with two rotors, most bikes that have after market braces on them really wear out sliders and fork bushings, and they can be stiff, because of binding in the sliders. This is not a race bike. Its like upside down forks , they dont bend at the lower clamps, when hitting a bump. The nc forks will flex at the lower clamp and give a better overall ride. The stiffer a bike frame and forks get the harder it is to get the suspension to work correctly. Look at the crf450r frame they used to be very large rails. Every year they get smaller, for more flex, because they were to stiff and hard to ride. Same thing with road race bikes.

 

[Cagedodger]

I wouldn't criticize it too fast. If a fork brace is engineered properly, it won't bind the sliders and bushings, it will simply clamp the lower fork assemblies together. The point behind fork braces (and with other improvements like cartridge emulators that can make this "tired" old technology perform better than the "sexy" Upsidedown forks) is that it makes the two sides of the fork react as one instead of independently (most noticeable in rough or undulating sweeping corners). Fork braces are completely separate from the frame; they only tie the very lowest part of the front suspension together.

Stouter front suspensions get lesser rakes, that's how they are stabilized. The steering response gets a lot twitchier as a result.

I'm not saying go out and buy any old fork brace, but it you get a properly machined one, it can make a huge difference. That being said, the NC is pretty light, so it might not need one at all.

 

[Beemerphile]

I wouldn't criticize it too fast.

I would. First of all, I can't imagine what a fork brace has in common with a cartridge emulator. Two 41mm cylindrical chrome molybdenum tubes are not going to deflect significantly at a distance of 0-6 inches from the bottom clamp. They are short strong tubes held parallel by the axle at the bottom and the fork clamps at the top, both of which are hell for stout. The little SuperBrace cartoon showing the axle bending and the top of the forks deflecting outward more as they compress instead of less as they approach the very solid bottom clamp is rubbish. The adjacent cartoon showing how the little 1/4" thick aluminum brace stops all this is laughable. Of course, it is "aircraft" aluminum, so maybe that's what makes it work. Further, this treatise assumes that stopping any deflection is even desirable. I'd bet if an airplane didn't flex at almost every connection, it would break when it turned or landed.

Do you know for sure that a bit of flex in this mechanism is not a good thing? A smart cowboy doesn't tear down a fence until he knows why it was put there.

 

[Cagedodger]

I can't imagine what a fork brace has in common with a cartridge emulator.

Aside from them both effecting the front fork assembly, they have absolutely nothing in common and are independent of one another.

I think we've got some wires crossed here. I was speaking from my own understanding and experience with a fork brace and didn't follow that link. I just watched it a few minutes ago and that demo video is 100% BS. I don't know if the NC700X will benefit from a fork brace, but I wouldn't buy it from them. They don't even understand their own product! Yikes! So, yeah, I guess I would judge that company pretty fast.

My understanding of how a fork brace works is that it makes the fork sliders move as one. The standard configuration lets them compress and extend semi-independently, not completely mind you, they're still tied together by the axle. The axle does make them move as one, but the connection isn't rigid since it connects the sliders through the bearings. A fork brace is designed to provide a rigid point where the fork sliders are connected. This reduces the off axis strains on the wheel bearings which smooths out the handling in cornering and washboard road surfaces. Again, I'm not sure I'd even bother with the NC, it's a lite bike. Even if it could benefit from one I certainly wouldn't buy it from "Super Brace". One other thing to note is that if the brace isn't machined perfectly, it will damage your forks and endanger your life. I wouldn't buy anything from a slow boat or from an unknown company.

Hah... looks like I'm kind of against a fork brace at this point, at least for the NC700X. I have one on my Concours (top heavy bike with way too small for it's chassis 41mm forks, a result of parts bin engineering) and it made a noticeable difference. That bike has been around for 26 years, though so there's a few different reputable companies making them.

 

[Freak]

Mine does this as well, there was a really good video done by a lady journalist /rider and she mentioned it in the video.
Really her only issue with the bike.

 

[Beemerphile]

If I had the issue, I'd clean the disc with acetone; grind the pads on a surface plate (or pane of glass) with 800 grit paper; lube the sliding points in the calipers lightly with anti-seize; and put it all back together. Then I'd make four or five hard stops from 60-10 mph without completely stopping. After that I'd try to ride 10 minutes or so without stopping or heavily braking.

Then I'd see if it still did it. If it did, I'd change the pads.

 

[wozza]

Personally I can't see the point of a fork brace on this machine.