[Headshrinker]

Does anyone have knowledge of the Super Brace or similar product that helps V-Rods on the highway or cornering? Is it worth the $175?

 

[luxlamf]

I have one on mine, about 45,000 miles with it and Love it, I didn't have it for 20,000 miles and felt a big difference, especially on long high way stretches at speed. I do think its worth the Money, I think they where only $130 when I bought it but still a good deal.

 

[Malcomx]

I've never ridden a bike with a superbrace, but just looking at what they say it will do and how it works made me decide not to bother trying one.

 

[pecee]

your money is better spent on emulator valves and springs for the front forks than a brace.

 

[capncarp]

I like it.

 

[Getnlwr]

I have the Screaming Eagle brace and love it, You can feel a difference. the front end seems more stabil.

 

[luxlamf]

I have the Screaming Eagle brace and love it, You can feel a difference. the front end seems more stabil.

I think the HD ones used to be $40-$50 more than the superbrace and that's why people where buying them but now it sounds line they are about the same price.

 

[mwdhand]

I couldn't actually feel much difference myself. It makes sense that it would help though. I just couldn't actually say "Wow, yeah that feels better". New Sportster 48s come with braces from the moco so they are obviously functional items.

 

[bicho281]

If you are a REAL hard cornering you'll feel the difference and if you add the progressive springs much better

 

[soccercoach61]

New Sportster 48s come with braces from the moco so they are obviously functional items.

I don't know if I'd go that far... :stilpoke:

 

[mwdhand]

I don't know why that one particular model would come with one and others not if there wasn't some testing involved that led an engineer to believe it was needed.

 

[Shaggyhou]

The biggest thing I noticed with mine was the front wheel immediately stopped tracking the cracks in the roadway. I felt a larger difference putting my Ricors in my forks and if I had to do it all over again I would do both items probably before I did my exhaust... yes the combination of the two made that big of difference.

 

[soccercoach61]

I don't see one on the 48 in the pictures on the MoCo's site.

 

[soccercoach61]

The biggest thing I noticed with mine was the front wheel immediately stopped tracking the cracks in the roadway. I felt a larger difference putting my Ricors in my forks and if I had to do it all over again I would do both items probably before I did my exhaust... yes the combination of the two made that big of difference.

Did you change the springs with those Ricors? or just add the Ricors and change the oil?

 

[mwdhand]

Sportster 48 stock:

 

[soccercoach61]

okay, now i see it...

 

[Shaggyhou]

Did you change the springs with those Ricors? or just add the Ricors and change the oil?

I kept the stock springs and used 10w oil.

 

[Philthy]

Sportster 48 stock:

THIS is a proper fork brace, NOT the Superbrace or the similar brace from Telefix. There are two problems with a Superbrace is where it attaches to the fork. The top of the fork tube around the fork seals is the weakest, thinnest part of the fork. It is least able to bear the loads of a fork brace. Number two, such braces do not have sufficient clamping area to do the job. You would need a clamp that grips 50-75 mm (2-3 inches) of the fork stanchion to be effective. Because they attach to the weakest part of the fork, if you tighten them down fully, you will distort the fork seal. If you do not tighten it fully, it is doing little or nothing.
The fork brace shown on the Sportster 49 bolts to the fork leg and will keep the fork stanchions aligned without distorting the fork seal. This works similar to the outstanding fork braces made by CC Products in the 1970's and 1980's.
I have a friend who was with BMW R&D in the 1980's. When Telefix introduced their fork brace in the early 1980's, which Superbrace essentially copies. A lot, and I do mean a lot of BMW owners immediately put this brace on their older Boxers and new K bikes. So did I. BMW R&D saw this and did their own investigation of the product. They found what I stated above, namely that it is ineffective unless it is tightened down so hard the fork seal is distorted and this causes excess stiction. The seal binds on the fork tube. If you look at BMW forks from about 1988 on, they have a fork brace that bolts on to the stanchions not unlike that shown on that Sportster. If you look at some of the old Nova prototypes from the early 1980's (not all, but the one at Trevor Dealy's for sure) you will see the same thing. Ditto early GSXR's when they had conventional forks. It's called good engineering.
Whenever I would bring my old K bike to this guy for work, I would get the bike back with my Telefix fork brace removed and placed in my tank bag. When I complained he would say, "take this sh1t off your bike", in a heavy Bavarian accent like Cousin Ahnold has. He explained the shortcomings of such braces to me, so I pass this along to you.

 

[Philthy]

At 49 mm diameter and the mild cornering angles all but the Street Rod can achieve, I hardly think anyone is flexing the fork from cornering loads, which is the only reason for a fork brace. It does absolutely nothing in a straight line. If maximum cornering loads are your problem on such a large diameter fork, perhaps from hanging a big heavy Road Glide fairing on the front, the weak link would be the lower triple clamp. The lower triple clamp has a huge effect on handling, the upper very little. On a V-Rod, the greatest impact you could have would be to use a Rizoma or similar lower clamp. The large clamping area and three pinch bolts per side will do more to keep the fork legs lined up than any fork brace ever will.

 

[mwdhand]

I would guess, truely a guess, I have no clue, That the trees are wider on a 48 to accommodate the fat front tire and Harley must of added the brace to this one sibgle Sportster model to compensate for the extra leverage available to make things flex there.