Ebay fork brace, figured I'd give it a try!

[great white]

So, I figured for 50 bucks CAD shipped to my door, why not give it a try:



And while I don't want to throw 50 bucks away, it's a small enough amount that I won't be crying over it if I do.

Now it's just waiting for shipping and see what we get......

[Sabre093]

I have one on mine...works fine

[mr blackstock]

G'day,

I tried searching ebay, but couldn't find it.  Do you have the link handy?

cheers, Gareth

[great white]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FORK-BRACE-YAMAHA-FJ1200-FJ-1200-A-FRONT-FORK-BRACE-/251994406329

I have no association with them, just where I bought mine.

[chiz]

Have a identical one and it is shite in that it needed shimming where it goes around the slider., Even with the bolt tight was very loose on sliders.
Chiz

[andyoutandabout]

The RPM one works great

[great white]

Have a identical one and it is shite in that it needed shimming where it goes around the slider., Even with the bolt tight was very loose on sliders.
Chiz

oh well, no great loss at 50 bucks.

If it is shite, I might chuck it up in the lathe/mill and play with it a bit. Make it a weekend afternoon project to see if I can do something with it....

[red]

Have a identical one and it is shite in that it needed shimming where it goes around the slider., Even with the bolt tight was very loose on sliders.
Chiz

Riders,

I have a 4 inch (100mm) Craftsman belt sander, with a metal-cutting abrasive belt.  It would make short work out of smoothly removing some metal from the mating surfaces of the clamp, to make the clamp fit more tightly.  I bought this tool used, but they are very useful.  Even at retail prices, having one of these belt sanders would be worth the expense to me.  Almost anybody you know with a workshop/garage would probably have one that you could use.

[great white]

Have a identical one and it is shite in that it needed shimming where it goes around the slider., Even with the bolt tight was very loose on sliders.
Chiz

Riders,

I have a 4 inch (100mm) Craftsman belt sander, with a metal-cutting abrasive belt.  It would make short work out of smoothly removing some metal from the mating surfaces of the clamp, to make the clamp fit more tightly.  I bought this tool used, but they are very useful.  Even at retail prices, having one of these belt sanders would be worth the expense to me.  Almost anybody you know with a workshop/garage would probably have one that you could use.

I have a small "hobby sized" mill and an older Atlas lathe in the garage, no worries for me. Machining is a bit of a pass-time for me.

I look at stuff I get from china sources as more of a "kit" than a finished product anyways, so cleaning it up and fitting it properly isn't a big surprise to me.

It's routine for me to buy something like a vice or x/y table and have to do some machining and fitting to get it to something reasonably accurate/good.

I was actually thinking I might toss the center section and spin up a center piece that tied the new clamps and the original fender support mounts together. Like a bridge support work arrangement. Would be a beefy piece and probably total overkill. But a nice little project to create in the shop.

Belt sander would work OK, as long as you're not taking much more than a thou or so off it. Much more and the bore goes out of round and you run the risk of adding some deforming quality where it clamps the tube. You might get away with it, might not.....I'm just fussy that way I guess.

[ribbert]

Belt sander would work OK, as long as you're not taking much more than a thou or so off it. Much more and the bore goes out of round and you run the risk of adding some deforming quality where it clamps the tube. You might get away with it, might not.....I'm just fussy that way I guess.

I use a belt sander a lot, so much so I have 3 in different widths. I use them for all sorts of things. They are however one of the most unforgiving (next to a router) tools I own, you can ruin a job in a hearbeat with one.

Just remember, you can't put back what you ground off, they catch a lot of people off guard with the speed with which they remove material.

IMO

Noel

[PaulG]

I remember Randy recently posted somewhere about the lower fork legs being hand sanded/ground at the factory.  This caused them to be not perfectly round.  Hence any brace may not fit perfectly snug.  This winter I installed the RPM brace, and it fit quite well and is fairly beefy also.  Maybe mine were ground by someone who wasn't so hungover that day.

Just take a good look at the areas where you are machining/grinding for defects in the aluminum (I'm assuming it's Al).  Could be perfectly fine, could be recycled patio furniture.

[ZOA NOM]

+1 on the RPM brace... plus it helps support this site.

[ribbert]

......as long as you're not taking much more than a thou or so off it. Much more and the bore goes out of round and you run the risk of adding some deforming quality where it clamps the tube.

I don't believe the top of the fork leg is machine finished ( perfectly round) anyway. Randy mentioned a while back they were hand finished.
My experience with a fork brace was it rode on a few high spots and I was concerned that tightening it would force the top of the leg out of round. The clamping force of the brace easily over powering the top of the leg.

If I felt my bike needed one, I would turn the top of the legs and then shim (if needed) the brace for a perfect fit. I can't see how it can even be effective with anything less than 100% mating of the surfaces.

Pat asked me a week or so back why I don't have a fork brace. I said it was because I don't have one. While that was technically true it was a bit misleading, I did buy a $175 brace some years back but never used it. I could find several reasons not to fit it and no reasons to fit it, so after years on the shelf, I donated it to the FJ Rally Raffle recently and it now has a happy new owner in QL.

IMO

Noel

[great white]

......as long as you're not taking much more than a thou or so off it. Much more and the bore goes out of round and you run the risk of adding some deforming quality where it clamps the tube.

I don't believe the top of the fork leg is machine finished ( perfectly round) anyway. Randy mentioned a while back they were hand finished.
My experience with a fork brace was it rode on a few high spots and I was concerned that tightening it would force the top of the leg out of round. The clamping force of the brace easily over powering the top of the leg.

If I felt my bike needed one, I would turn the top of the legs and then shim (if needed) the brace for a perfect fit. I can't see how it can even be effective with anything less than 100% mating of the surfaces.

Pat asked me a week or so back why I don't have a fork brace. I said it was because I don't have one. While that was technically true it was a bit misleading, I did buy a $175 brace some years back but never used it. I could find several reasons not to fit it and no reasons to fit it, so after years on the shelf, I donated it to the FJ Rally Raffle recently and it now has a happy new owner in QL.

IMO

Noel

Theres an interesting thought, my lathe is certainly big enough to handle the lowers and facing it off/truing it up would be super simple once its all set up properly.

I might think about it. It appeals to my "overkill/accuracy" mindset. But of course, it might just be overkill....

[giantkiller]

I too use my belt sander to make lots of things. I wish I had a small mill and lathe. But I don't. I've made brackets​. I made the clippons for the inverted front ends.(same as the fj handle bars). Zbars and spike intake for the mini chopper.most useful tool for the non machinist there is. Just takes patience.