Fork Brace: worth it?

For anybody still trying to decide on a brace or not, 2 pieces of advice.

1) go read posts 19 & 22

2) Pay attention to those with ACTUAL EXPERIENCE with a brace on their 1300. Ignore all the physicists with their theorems and data points. :rolleyes:

And for those who like to look at it from another angle... you'll find them on Moto GP bikes. What does that tell you? ;)
 
ST Gui said:
I like the idea and have wanted to add one if only to see if I could feel a difference. There are levels of any kind of performance of any object or item. One of the most popular is 'good enough'. The stock suspension is 'good enough' for some of us. It's also good enough for some of us who recognize its failings (for us) but don't care enough to do anything but live with it. Others feel its inadequacies and correct them or try to.

I suspect that many riders would never perceive an improvement with a fork brace. Maybe it won't make that much difference or maybe the rider is not that sophisticated/experienced of a rider.

Or maybe it does make a difference and the rider never knew what they were missing until trying it. Larger fork tubes compared to my 305 (CL77) have lessened fork flex to the Good Enough level for most of us like steering stem ball bearings.

There have been a couple of other threads on fork braces for STs. The results were what I'd expect to see— some improvement no improvement kept the brace removed the brace. Individual data points some extrapolated to be the One True Universal Answer for Us All.
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o_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_O
 
AV8R said:
At $179, this is a pricey add on. But is it worth it?
Will it really make a significant difference in steering stability as advertised, does anyone have first hand experience with these?

9D8FEB3A-DB21-438E-8206-1275FAA11B5A.jpeg


http://www.accessoryinternational.com/product/superbrace-2263-fork-stabilizer.html
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A brace was good enough for the 1100, why not the 1300?

There's a factory brace under the front fender of my 01, but zero braces under my 09.

Am up for buying one of these aftermarkets. And it looks good too.

Thanks AV8R.

 
I have yet to own a Honda that didn't require a fork brace (unless it came with one), and I have had a lot of them. I cry every time I have to buy one. It's a must. Another fix for the ST1300 is the Race Tech springs per their recomendations. I had a ST1100 and loved it. Replaced it with a ST1300 and I was very disapointed with the front forks. A Super Brace was in order and spring replacement. Race Tech gave me the best information and I am well satisfied. I'm not much for endoresments but I would have gotten rid of the ST1300 if not for Race Tech.
 
artstubfors said:
I have yet to own a Honda that didn't require a fork brace (unless it came with one), and I have had a lot of them. I cry every time I have to buy one. It's a must. Another fix for the ST1300 is the Race Tech springs per their recomendations. I had a ST1100 and loved it. Replaced it with a ST1300 and I was very disapointed with the front forks. A Super Brace was in order and spring replacement. Race Tech gave me the best information and I am well satisfied. I'm not much for endoresments but I would have gotten rid of the ST1300 if not for Race Tech.
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Superbrace in Huntington Beach is intending to machine another batch of braces for the ST1300. Availability will be late January or in February of 2020.
 
artstubfors said:
I have yet to own a Honda that didn't require a fork brace (unless it came with one), and I have had a lot of them.
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By "require" do you mean "benefited from"? I have an '01 1100 with a Traxxion Dynamics-built fork; would it make a noticeable difference?
 
Larry Fine said:
By "require" do you mean "benefited from"? I have an '01 1100 with a Traxxion Dynamics-built fork; would it make a noticeable difference?
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Look under your front fender and you should be able to see the oem brace attached to the fork legs of yer 01.
 
Correctomundo...! Called a front fender plate.

www.hondapartshouse.com

2001 Honda ST1100A Front Fender (1)

Shop online for OEM Front Fender (1) parts that fit your 2001 Honda ST1100A, search all our OEM Parts or call at (231)737-4542
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#5
 
The 1300 doesnt have this plate, so am on the wait list for a Superbrace next month or February.
 
lomita said:
Correctomundo...! Called a front fender plate.
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That plate appears to be more of a stiffener for the fender. Is it robust enough to also be up to the same task that a fork brace is claimed to accomplish?
 
Andrew Shadow said:
That plate appears to be more of a stiffener for the fender. Is it robust enough to also be up to the same task that a fork brace is claimed to accomplish?
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Yeah, take it out and try bending it.....it's steel, not aluminum. You bolt that baby in and it does a great job of being a structural brace.
 
I have one on my GL1500 Wing, definitely a must have on such a heavy bike that takes a lot of weight transfer to the front end, especially when ridden hard on twisty roads. Most bikes do come with a very light duty brace installed, sometimes referred to as a "fender stay". And while it helps to space and brace the fork legs it's just not strong enough to handle heavy loads, poor quality roads or aggressive riding.
The only downside is that it makes your bike feel so awesome that you will want to ride it like Valentino Rossi, which might not be popular with the local constabulary.
 
Check out this GW front end engineering. Massive.

 
Andrew Shadow said:
That plate appears to be more of a stiffener for the fender. Is it robust enough to also be up to the same task that a fork brace is claimed to accomplish?
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I'm with you on that.
lomita said:
Yeah, take it out and try bending it.....it's steel, not aluminum. You bolt that baby in and it does a great job of being a structural brace.
Click to expand...

I can't really tell from the parts diagram but where/how is it tying the fork legs together?
 
Larry Fine said:
By "require" do you mean "benefited from"? I have an '01 1100 with a Traxxion Dynamics-built fork; would it make a noticeable difference?
Click to expand...
lomita said:
Look under your front fender and you should be able to see the oem brace attached to the fork legs of yer 01.
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Larry, I should have qualified coments by saying "in my opinion". So hows the fork refurbish working? Did you own the bike before with stock parts? Can you give a before and after?
 
Whooshka said:
I can't really tell from the parts diagram but where/how is it tying the fork legs together?
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If you look at the fork lowers you'll see bosses on them where the fender plate bolts up to each one providing a bridge/brace for the forks.

IIRC either my V65S and/or my VF1000 had a similar plate that went across the top of the fender.

My Wing buddy put a SuperBrace on his 2005 1800 and immediately noticed an improvement. I'm glad to see SB making another run and would like to give one a try.

I'd say Honda didn't put one on the 1300 because they believe it didn't need it. And whadda ya know it saved them money in parts and assembly time. There's a prevailing mindset that if Honda didn't provide it you don't need it. And mortal man cannot improve upon what the Honda Gods wrought.

Did Honda do anything to beef up the 1300's fork tubes or put a little more space between the triple T's? Or did they just drop the idea of putting in a fender brace.

A poorly made third party brace could certainly be a cure worse than the disease scenario. Having a brace similar to the 1100's fender plate would eliminate most naysaying especially if it came from The Big H. Since we don't have that I'm thinking of trying the SuperBrace.
 
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