I looked at that. The frame gets in the way, You would have to cut and redesign the downtubes or figure a way to duct the carbs around them, which would nullify any advantage from doing it.

Quote from: seshadri_srinathI think I have one left ... $40 + shipping. I have to tell you... the holes for the fork bolts have to be cardboard transfered for max effect... OK I can pre drill them a little big... but that in effect eats away at the effectiveness... and no doubt they have drilled it... but I thought I'll give you the option. So mine are drill and bolt... not ready to bolt.
Cool.
Srinath.

Srinath is right. Ideally, you do not want any movement or shifting from the fork brace under stress. The stock fork brace has holes that are slightly slotted to ensure compatibility during installation (sloppy manufacturing practices IMO --> no spec standards?). This only complicates the original problem of the fork brace being too thin.

I am living proof that the stock fork brace is CRAP. I had a 10mph spill in rain a couple of months back and it just stripped the bolts from their holes (my second spill). It looked just like the picture below:


As hard as I ride on the highway I wasn't about to take my GS back on the road until I fixed the brace. I didn't want to waste my money on another stock fork brace (I even thought about stacking two together) and I wasn't real crazy about shelling over $130 for that aftermarket brace mentioned above. Therefore, I ended up having a friend and machinist fabricate one for me. It is 1/2" thick and the holes are exact. Here is a pic of it:


If youre lucky enough to have a fellow machinist as a friend, then have them make one cheap. Otherwise, buying one from Srinath for $40 sounds lika a good deal.

Does anyone have any opinion/reviews/pics on Srinath's custom fork brace?

oops

Quote from: seshadri_srinathI think I have one left ... $40 + shipping. I have to tell you... the holes for the fork bolts have to be cardboard transfered for max effect... OK I can pre drill them a little big... but that in effect eats away at the effectiveness... and no doubt they have drilled it... but I thought I'll give you the option. So mine are drill and bolt... not ready to bolt.
Cool.
Srinath.

Srinath,  I want to make my own 1/2in. aluminum fork brace.  Will you please describe the 'cardboard transfer' method for exactly placing the bolt holes on the new brace.  

Or any other knowledgeable member, please explain method.

I got a great chunk of aluminum 1/2 X 3 X 6 on ebay for $15.80 shipped!

Thank You  

You need to machine out the outline of the brace on the new material, then the cardboard transfer (Put card board under the brace and press it in and hold it in place and mark it from the bottom) ... and then drill the holes in the aluminium.
Cool.
Srinath.

Thanks Srinath.  I'll post here with the results when it's done.

Can you cut 1/2" aluminum with a jig saw (Sabre Saw) with a metal blade installed?  Never tried to cut metal that thick with one. :dunno:

You can but take it slow. I usually use either a vertical band saw or a porta-band to cut small aluminum pieces.

I had a bad day a work yesterday. So for therapy, I made a left side rearset last night. All I used was a porta-band, drill press with a hole saw and a couple of sanders. Not production work capabilities but the results look good. Took about 1 hour.

That's a good question Cobalt.  I was wondering that myself.  Has anybody cut out the curves on the 1/2in. aluminum for the fork brace with a electric jig saw?   In one of Srinath's posts on the subject he mentioned something about using a hole saw .   I have a nice piece of 1/2 X 3 X 6, cut at the supplier, that cost me $15.80, shipped.  Does anyone know a ballpark figure as to how much a machine shop would charge to machine out the big curves at each end?

Quote from: jaybee333 That's a good question Cobalt.  I was wondering that myself.  Has anybody cut out the curves on the 1/2in. aluminum for the fork brace with a electric jig saw?   In one of Srinath's posts on the subject he mentioned something about using a hole saw .   I have a nice piece of 1/2 X 3 X 6, cut at the supplier, that cost me $15.80, shipped.  Does anyone know a ballpark figure as to how much a machine shop would charge to machine out the big curves at each end?

With a hole saw the piece will have to be longer so you can cut a full hole ... you cant cut 1/2 the hole with a hole saw ... and the good alloys of aluminium are harder to machine ... will eat a holesaw ... whihc is meant for wood BTW ...
With any hand tool even a vertical saw ... you'll not cut nice smooth holes ... they'd need further grinding etc to make it look nice ... but its going to be 90% covered ... so big deal ...
Cost - I believe it will cost you more than the $40 I sell them for ... BTW I found 1/2 dozen braces from last years's run ... these are 1/2 inch and made of 7075 ... $40 and shipping. I have no mounting holes ... so cardboard transfer to your hearts content ... Might as well put a for sale notice I guess ...
Cool.
Srinath.

Quote from: seshadri_srinathWith a hole saw the piece will have to be longer so you can cut a full hole ... you cant cut 1/2 the hole with a hole saw ... and the good alloys of aluminium are harder to machine ... will eat a holesaw ... whihc is meant for wood BTW ...

I cut 1/2 circles last night with a hole saw. The aluminum piece has to be mounted to a board and clamped down to the drill table. I have done dozens of times.

Not all holes saws are made for wood. I have used hole saws on schedule 40 steel pipe plenty of times. Bi-Metal hole saws do cost more.

Great info Guys!  What size holesaw for the correct depth of curve on the 1/2in. thick aluminum plate?

Quote from: dgyver

Quote from: seshadri_srinathWith a hole saw the piece will have to be longer so you can cut a full hole ... you cant cut 1/2 the hole with a hole saw ... and the good alloys of aluminium are harder to machine ... will eat a holesaw ... whihc is meant for wood BTW ...

I cut 1/2 circles last night with a hole saw. The aluminum piece has to be mounted to a board and clamped down to the drill table. I have done dozens of times.

Not all holes saws are made for wood. I have used hole saws on schedule 40 steel pipe plenty of times. Bi-Metal hole saws do cost more.

How thick was the plate you were cutting it in ... and yea pipe yes ... Basically you need a spot for the centering drill to get into then the hole saw will stay in place, use cutting fluid, motor oil and go slow ... but wihtout a place for the center you're hole saw will get pushed out ...
BTW you'd need a 2 inch holesaw I think ... but I've never done with hole saw ...
Cool.
Srinath.

I was cutting 1/2" 6061 aluminum.

The largest metal hole saw I have is 2". IIRC, I had to use a drum sander to remove some of the material on the last brace that I made to fit around the fork tubes. But then this was Katana forks. Not sure if the Kat lower tube is larger in OD, eventhough they use the same fender mounting plate as the GS.

OK then you have a spot for the centering hole to get a good penetration on if you did ... no problem, drill will help keep the hole saw in place. he's got 6 inch wide, the plate needs to be 5 inch wide, there isn't a spot for the drill to fully locate itself in ...
Cool.
Srinath.

Thanks for all the info.  This forum rocks!  I will now procede with the fork brace mod, with confidence!

I really liked the one that I put on my GS.  A racer had it made for his GS, and I put it on my bike when he parted his.  Link:   //www.pbase.com/aplitz

I payed way less than $130, more like $60 shipped.

Got a Superbrace off Ebay for 30. Haven't gotten it all the way installed yet. It's definately in there tight. The stock one was pretty messed up. Bolt holes elongated, etc.

I am living proof that the stock fork brace is CRAP. I had a 10mph spill in rain a couple of months back and it just stripped the bolts from their holes (my second spill). It looked just like the picture below:

Quote


Hey, that looks like my stock fork brace!!!!

What about flatness?  

I was thinking about getting a brace made from flat ground stock for my Katana.  It has the exact same fork brace.  Did anybody making a custom fork brace notice that it doesn't quite sit flat?

BTW, the fork brace has a diameter of 2.58" around the fork tube.