Can anyone explain what a fork brace does and does anybody have one on a 400 and does it make a big difference?
fork brace on xr 400???
Started by justcountry, Oct 01 2007 04:41 PM
16 replies to this topic
Posted 01 October 2007 - 04:41 PM
Can anyone explain what a fork brace does and does anybody have one on a 400 and does it make a big difference?
Posted 01 October 2007 - 05:25 PM
It ties the forks together and takes alot of the flex out of them. If you've ridden in a rutted area and get in one of the ruts the bike seems to want to follow the rut even if you are turning and leaning to get out of it, it eliminates that. If you've happened upon a log lying diagonally in the trail and hit it at speed, the bike seems to want to follow that diagonal log, It eliminates that also. By tying the forks together it makes the front end seem more stiff as well. I used to run one before swapping to CRF forks and I found it quite user friendly, it makes the bike go where you steer it instead of following the terrain.
Posted 01 October 2007 - 07:45 PM
justcountry said:
Can anyone explain what a fork brace does and does anybody have one on a 400 and does it make a big difference?
RockJockey summed it up as good as it gets. It does make a difference. I was going to get all fancy with fork conversions on my 02 XR, but I think I'm just going to install the SRC brace and be done with it. Maybe a revalve later, but for now I'll just do the shim stack mod and be fine. I will be mostly riding my XR on the street, and as a backup dirt bike now anyway so...
The braces are nice, I noticed pretty much ride away that they help on my old bike.
Posted 01 October 2007 - 08:03 PM
I have a Super Brace on my XR400 and my wife has a SRC on her bike. They both do a great job at giving you more control. The bike goes where you point it and ruts are much easier to deal with. You can drive right up out of the rut instead of it controlling you. Sand is easier to ride in as well. The bike is not fighting you. Of the two I like the Super Brace better. It has a more solid mount. With either one, you need to trim the fender. Bottom line..... THEY WORK! One of the best things you can do for your bike.
Posted 01 October 2007 - 08:11 PM
Diddo, I installed one on my DRZ 400 along with a GPR stabilizer makes a world of difference, wish I would have done it sooner!!:bonk:
Posted 01 October 2007 - 08:16 PM
I'm another fork brace believer. I used to cringe when coming upon rocks in the trail.
Posted 01 October 2007 - 10:45 PM
With the extensive MTB background that i have, i need no explaining on what they do or if they are worth having.
They are worth having, simple as that.
The above posts were close enough for an description on how they work.
I say close enough because i don't believe their mounting area is big enough to totally eliminate flex.
What i would like however, is for a magician to put up a link to where i can get one for my 94 250 and my soon to be had 03 400.
Thanks.
Nm on the links ...
They are worth having, simple as that.
The above posts were close enough for an description on how they work.
I say close enough because i don't believe their mounting area is big enough to totally eliminate flex.
What i would like however, is for a magician to put up a link to where i can get one for my 94 250 and my soon to be had 03 400.
Thanks.
Nm on the links ...
Posted 02 October 2007 - 04:31 AM
My XR400 had a brace on it when I bought it. I keep hearing about how much of a difference they make, I've been tempted to take it off just to see how much worse it is, just haven't done it yet.
Posted 02 October 2007 - 08:04 AM
Give it a try Milje it is different. Put your crash gear on first. Once you get used to having one it is just not the same without it.
Posted 02 October 2007 - 09:49 AM
I have some nice rocky hillclimbs that I may go play on, see what it's like.
Then at least I can give a good comparison of what it's like with and without the brace.
Then at least I can give a good comparison of what it's like with and without the brace.
Posted 02 October 2007 - 11:31 AM
I've read so much about this upgrade I'm convinced enough to do it. Seems the 2 players are SRC & Superbrace. For whatever reason I'm getting the SRC w/ the fork guards (got them for $35 on ebay!!) & mudskins setup. Don't care for the accordions too much. Called SRC Friday & they said they were still a couple weeks away from having some in stock.
Next is the steering damper. Another choice & more so due to cost of investment. I thought I was set on the Scotts, but read here on TT (I think) that the GPR is also fantastic even w/o the other adjustments the Scotts has. Anyone here have a GPR & a pic of the setup w/b sooo appreciated. Hmmmm...
Next is the steering damper. Another choice & more so due to cost of investment. I thought I was set on the Scotts, but read here on TT (I think) that the GPR is also fantastic even w/o the other adjustments the Scotts has. Anyone here have a GPR & a pic of the setup w/b sooo appreciated. Hmmmm...
Posted 02 October 2007 - 03:14 PM
Well, tried out the bike sans fork brace. Ran a rocky, washed out hillclimb with and without the brace. The front end was a bit harder to control without it, when I had it on I could pretty much go where I wanted to. I imagine it would have been more noticeable if I was on a faster trail (the hill I was on was 1st gear material, really rough, not much speed at all) with some ruts or washouts.
Posted 02 October 2007 - 05:50 PM
I don't know about the dirt performance. Maybe I go so slow I can't tell, but it makes a HUGE difference on the street if you run grippier tires. That is why most sport bikes run them. Without it, the bike seems if some demon has hold of the front end.
Joe
Joe
Posted 04 October 2007 - 05:58 AM
Thanks for all the input guys, Im going to look around and see if I can afford one now! Do they work with out trimming the mudskins fork covers? If so what brand?
Posted 04 October 2007 - 06:10 AM
justcountry said:
Thanks for all the input guys, Im going to look around and see if I can afford one now! Do they work with out trimming the mudskins fork covers? If so what brand?
The websites for both SRC & Superbrace explain it pretty well.
http://www.superbrac...l.asp?prod=2258
http://www.superbrac...nstall/2258.pdf
http://www.srcinc.net/html/forks.html
