Superbrace - Fork Brace - from Pashnit

[dteel]

Just passing on this informaiton in case anyone is interested. Cut and pasted from an email sent to me by a friend. I did visit the site and it is valid until the end of Oct.

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HONDA ST1300 SUPERBRACE - Fork Brace Group Buy

SuperBrace has offered this Group Buy to Pashnit Friends & Family.
Know any ST1300 owners? Let them know about this great deal.
SuperBrace manufacture fork braces to strengthen the fork and improve
handling of your bike. Made from billet aluminum & available in
polished silver or black, check these out. SuperBrace would like to
offer a different brace each month to Pashnit Riders so look for more
of these group buys from them.

SuperBrace says they have not offered a GB for the ST1300 in over 3
years, and no telling when they'll do it again. Get in on this one, won't last.

Click here to learn more:
http://www.pashnit.com/product/superbrace.html

Questions/Discussion:
http://www.pashnit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13959

[Byron]

Dana,

Thanks for the heads-up on this! :D

[curmudgeon]

With 45 mm Forks why the heck does anybody think this thing needs a fork brace?


Phil

[dteel]

Phil, I'm in agreement with you, but I know there are some that swear that it's made an improvement in the handling of their bike. I don't question these things, I just figure, if you're happy, I'm happy. It's a live and let live sort of thing.

When I checked it out on Pashnit they pretty much welcome anyone to join in on the buy, I figured that meant us too!

[UNTMatt]

I keep looking at the SB and then I look at MCL Fork Brace (http://www.motorcyclelarry.com/ST1300FB.aspx) in black, for $90.

What's the difference other than a $100 on the group buy? Yes, Phil, I know your opinion and I've also talked to several that state it makes a substantual difference. Until I ride a bike with one, I cannot say for sure.

I just want to know if there's any real difference between the SB and MCL's offering?

[dteel]

I'll bet if you ask MCL that question, you'll get an ear full. I'd shoot him of an email if I were you.

[bunson]

Just for the sake of discussion. 45mm is not very large for a 700+lb bike at all.

[curmudgeon]

Just for the sake of discussion. 45mm is not very large for a 700+lb bike at all.

Well I know the FJR 1300 uses 48 mm. Concours 1400 uses 43 mm and weighs just a few pounds less then the ST1300.

So other then the FJR which sport tourer uses larger then the ST's 45 mm?

I have heard the Concours handles great and strangely enough uses smaller forks then the ST. How do you account for that?

Phil

[bunson]

The C14 is also an inverted cartridge fork. There is much more to the situation then either the actual size of the fork or the weight of the bike. Geometry, how the frame works as a whole, style of riding and I don't know what else.
It just seems a stretch to say there is no way a brace could improve a bike because it has 43mm forks. Do the forks flex on a ST, how much and under what conditions?
It probably comes down to the individual much like comfort issues. How hard do you ride and how often? What are the roads like that you ride most often? What kind of bikes have you riden in the past? How much disposable income do you have?

[half_a_tiger]

Have come across a lot of negative write-ups regarding the fit of the brace on the STs... Not very reassuring.... I guess the importance of the brace is dependent on how hard you ride your steed, eh???

[Rob Hephner]

Have come across a lot of negative write-ups regarding the fit of the brace on the STs... Not very reassuring.... I guess the importance of the brace is dependent on how hard you ride your steed, eh???

I think that has a lot to do with how well the forks are mounted in the first place.

I just put the Superbrace on my bike (thus insuring a group buy) and it went on without issue, no fitment issue at all.

If your forks are misaligned and forced in place by the axle then you will run into issues higher up where the Superbrace mounts.

The SB makes a minor difference on my bike, but right where I needed. If you want detail PM me.

If you ride the speed limit....don't worry about it.

[half_a_tiger]

Thanks Rob! On my next visit to North Am, I'll check out the brace in the flesh. Should I decide to get one, I'll PM you for the details...

[gegundez]

The discount is nice but MCL is still cheaper bt at least 40%.

[jnsgardner]

I got into the Superbrace group buy with Pashnit and put it on with no problems last weekend. I made sure to loosed the pinch bolts when I did it. I did let the black plastic fork protecters dangle as I wasn't so positive about the effects of the brace to cut them off.
My strongest impression is if the STeed had a steady ride before... it is now rock steady. There is much less of the effects of turbulence from trucks and SUVs and higher speeds are steady. If I put my throttle lock on, I could take my hands off the bars... if I dared! Also, I bet the handling fully loaded with a pillion would be improved.
On the other hand, that rock steady feeling translates into a kind of heavy rocklike steering. I haven't had a chance to try some twisties, but on the slab carving around interchange ramps, it feels like I need to push harder. That feeling seems to be going away as I get used to it.
I'd like to hear from others from that group buy that just got their braces recently. While I've read that others felt no difference, I'm not one of them. The steadier, but heavier feel is unmistakeable to me.

John

[JZH]

I can't argue with anyone's "feeling", but if a fork brace has any utility at all, I would think that it would be at the extremes, not at toodling speeds...

Ciao,

[Byron]

The debate over fork braces has been going on for decades. I'm not going to try and sway anyone in either directions just give you a few of my observations.

To start with I already replaced the entire suspension of my '06 with Hyperpro components (front springs, steering dampener & rear shock). I've been running Avon Storm's for about 5 sets. With each of these additions I noticed an improvement in the bikes handling. With nothing left to modify in the suspension I figured why not try a fork brace. They take literally minutes to install and can be removed just as easily if you don't like it.

After installing the brace I took it for a short ride in the hills behind my house. Even riding up to the hills I noticed a subtle change if the feel of the front suspension. I say "subtle" because it is hard to put your finger on the difference although it was there. It wasn't something that you could point to and say "Wow! what a difference" it was new so I questioned myself as to if there was really a difference.

Once I was into the mountain turns I could see more of what had changed on the bikes feel/handling. It was even more apparent when I hit small rocks or pebbles, especially in a turn. The easiest way for me to explain the feeling is with the following comparison: The difference was like hiking in street leather soled shoes instead of boots. In street shoes when you step on a rock with the edge of the sole it wants to twist your ankle and/or slide off the rock. In boots there is more support so any twisting is minimized and no slipping because of the lugged sole. Because of this you can walk faster with more ease and stability.

I could lean the bike into a turn and it stayed there, truer and without additional required input if I did go over a rock or obstacle (crack or surface irregularity). It made the twisties even more of a pleasure to ride because I was worrying less about what the front tire was going to do when it encountered an irregularity.

You don't have to ride at break-neck speeds to notice this affect either. However, like all my previous suspension modifications I did find myself travelling faster than before the mods. Some will say that this was only a short ride and doesn't really prove anything, you're right and I doubted it myself. So the following day I took it on a longer shake down ride over as many different road surfaces as I could find. After 450 miles of mostly mountain and back-roads with a smattering of freeways thrown in to get from place to place my opinion about the improvement of the brace had not changed. My route took me up to Crestline, Fawnskin, Big Bear, Oak Glen, Idlewild, Mesa Grande, got side of Palomar, Oceanside, Capistrano, and Ortega Hwy before heading home.

Will I be removing my fork brace? Only when required for servicing the bike. Was it's addition mandatory? No, but it has improved my enjoyment of riding and that is what I am after.

[JZH]

Has anyone reputable ever tested any of the claims they make? I've always found this "simulation" laughable, but then, I have been accused of a certain degree of cynicism in the past (ten minutes)...

http://www.superbrace.com/flash/simulation.swf

Ciao,

[shutupnride]

...replaced the entire suspension of my '06 with Hyperpro components (front springs, steering dampener & rear shock). I've been running Avon Storm's for about 5 sets. With each of these additions I noticed an improvement in the bikes handling.

Byron, could you give some more details on the suspension mods you've completed on your bike? What, specifically, did you install/change, and was there a significant change in the handling or stability of the bike? Who did the work? More specifically, could a mechanically challenged person such as myself tackle some or all the components you mention? Can you give a rough guesstimate of cost factors?

I ask these dumb questions because I'm due for tires on my '05. Sounds like you're sold on the Avon Storms -- can you tell me something about them? I'm curious about what tweaks might be useful additions for my bike when I'll have it in pieces in the garage this winter.

Feel free to contact me by email -- conger@mind.net -- if you prefer. Thanks for your help. Ride smart!

[Rob Hephner]

Has anyone reputable ever tested any of the claims they make? I've always found this "simulation" laughable, but then, I have been accused of a certain degree of cynicism in the past (ten minutes)...

http://www.superbrace.com/flash/simulation.swf

Ciao,


Tie a string around your forks right where the Superbrace mounts. Go for a ride and tell us what happens. (Safety wire would tell you more.)

I'm not going to tell you, because if you are as cynical as you claim you might not even believe it when you see it.

[JZH]

Tie a string around your forks right where the Superbrace mounts. Go for a ride and tell us what happens. (Safety wire would tell you more.)Your suggestion that a piece of string could provide the same benefits as a $200 SuperBrace is indeed intriguing...I shall have to find out!

Cheerio,

[Rob Hephner]

Your suggestion that a piece of string could provide the same benefits as a $200 SuperBrace is indeed intriguing...I shall have to find out!

Cheerio,

That is not at all what I am suggesting.....:rolleyes:

[JZH]

Tie a string around your forks right where the Superbrace mounts. Go for a ride and tell us what happens. (Safety wire would tell you more.)

I'm not going to tell you, because if you are as cynical as you claim you might not even believe it when you see it.Btw, I've now done this. (It was the middle of winter when we started this discussion.) I used safety wire. What, exactly, was supposed to happen?

I like to take the speed bumps on my way home from work "at speed" and, in the interests of science, I have managed to hit them at up to 45mph (per Zumo), but I'm not too keen on going much faster. Could you possibly give me a clue as to when the "magic" might kick in? Thanks. :D

Ciao,

[Rob Hephner]

Well, if the forks flexed at all you would have had something happen to the string.

If it fell off, moved or got loose that tells you that the forks indeed move around while in use.

If you just tied sting around one fork and not the other it will tell you nothing. The point was to tie around the outsides of the fork tubes one side to the other.

[JZH]

Well, if the forks flexed at all you would have had something happen to the string.

If it fell off, moved or got loose that tells you that the forks indeed move around while in use.

If you just tied sting around one fork and not the other it will tell you nothing. The point was to tie around the outsides of the fork tubes one side to the other.As I said, I did use safety wire, and yes, around both tubes. And no, nothing happened: Still there, still tight. Maybe I should try 50mph... :lol:

Ciao,

[Rob Hephner]

As I said, I did use safety wire, and yes, around both tubes. And no, nothing happened: Still there, still tight. Maybe I should try 50mph... :lol:

Ciao,

Well, there is your answer. Not needed for how you ride.

[JZH]

Well, there is your answer. Not needed for how you ride.You're in denial, Rob...

The Supa-Doopa Brace is marketed on the claim that OEM forks flex in a particular way that is "solved" through the addition of their rather expensive, but nicely finished, product. The animation on their Web site shows a bike's OEM forks bowing outward under compression. This "demonstration" always struck me as laughably simplistic, but with the help of the experiment YOU DEVISED, I was able to prove that on the ST1300 this flexing did not occur even under the most extreme of fork-compression conditions. The forks simply did not bow outwards under compression (or this was completely arrested by a piece of safety wire...). If the forks remained in alignment under such deliberate punishment, it is unlikely that they would flex under less extreme conditions such as you would find on normal--even curvy--roads.

Back in the day, OEM forks were spindly little sticks, compared to the ones fitted to bikes these days. I'm sure those old forks were flexing in all different directions, which was why companies like Telefix sold as many fork braces as they could make. But from approximately the 1990s, OEM cartridge forks became much beefier and stronger, culminating in the 45mm OD monsters fitted to the ST1300 (same OD as the '92-'98 CBR900RR). Fork braces were simply not considered necessary anymore, not even by the top racing teams who raced production-based motorcycles at that time. If fork braces provided no discernable benefit even under extreme racing conditions, what possible advantage could they provide to middle-aged boy-racers on street-ridden sport-touring behemoths? :shrug2:

Ciao,

[Rob Hephner]

Um, but I can get a piece of string to break on a very technical local road close to me......