Hey all, I'll be installing the EM fork brace on my 03' in a few days. Two questions, Am I going to have to raise my fork boots and expose my fork tubes to install the brace? Id rather not do that.
Also, Anybody have any info to share on the difference their fork braces have made to their KLR's?
The brace comes with a lip to re-install the fork boots so the tubes aren't exposed. EM's fork braces are beautifully built just like everything he makes. ....as far as differences go, well, here's my last fork brace discussion;
Ahhh, the fork brace discussion. OK;
- most people will tell you that a fork brace is a good thing because of the "spindly" KLR forks and while I'll concede that the forks are indeed "spindly" compared to modern offroad offerings, it's my opinion that what most people complain about with regards to fork flex is actually inadequate springrates and damping causing diving that they THINK is fork flex. That said a fork brace does increase rigidity and reduces side to side wheel deflection. The debate comes in when you talk about the average owner's ability to ride the bike to the point that it matters.
there is also the thought (which has been professed by many knowledgeable offroad riders) that a fork brace can make the front end too harsh offroad by reducing flex too much.
Another issue is that some fork braces limit clearance to the tire and also the ones that are non-adjustable side to side could cause slight fork misalignment and binding. This problem can be exacerbated by overtorquing or incorrect installation - basically causing more problems than they fix. If you are going to install a brace, I recommend Eaglemike's unit which is very high quality (like everything he makes), is adjustable to reduce the possibility of binding and has adequate clearance for aggressive knobbies.
So, should you get a fork brace for your KLR? If you ride mostly pavement, are aggressive or ride heavily loaded and maybe run sticky street tires then yes. If you ride offroad mostly and don't push the bike that hard then probably not.....in between (like most of us) then maybe! ;-)
I have EM fork braces on both my KLR's and I'm happy with them...but then I was also pretty happy without the braces and my Cogent fork springs and DDC's and I had no instability issues. I do intend a more detailed comparison offroad next summer as I have two identical KLR's (same suspension, same tires, etc.) and can run them back to back and switch off to see what I think. I suspect that in lower speed/more technical offroad work I'll prefer to run without the brace but on higher speed stuff it'll probably be the opposite.
Since I wrote that a couple years back, I had some time to compare the bikes back to back with and without the braces and honestly, I didn't notice much difference in stability on the road with or without the brace. I physically pushed and pulled the wheel at lock with and without the brace and the brace does add stiffness but on the road, there was zero instability with or without the brace on our Cogent equipped KLR's (full DDC's and springs up front, Moab and Ultimate shocks in the rear). We had fork seal issues on both bikes after a two day dual sport event so I removed the braces when I did the seals and haven't put them back on. I'm not saying the braces took out the seals, but it's possible (even though I was careful) that I still had some binding with how they were set up.....and since the bikes were steady at 75-80mph on the road without the braces, even in corners with one hand on the bars, I've left them off for now.
For the record, our KLR's are running light, one 2000 and one 2001, everything from single track to highway but certainly offroad biased. If your usage is significantly different, then likely you opinion on the subject will be too.
Hi Dave thanks for the timely response as always. I do try to find an existing thread on a topic before I start a new one but oh well. Ive heard good things about the brace, The front end of my KLR does get bounced around pretty easily when I'm cruising down the road. I don't take this thing off-road really so im hoping this suits my needs. Ill post my opinion on the brace after a few hundred miles or so on it. Thanks again.
Hello MTKKLR, your front end instability may be due to your suspension setup. If the race-sag is not set correctly, especially if the rear of the bike is too low relative to the front, instability at speed will be the result. A front fork brace will not compensate for incorrect race-sag.
It's a quality pce and regardless of the whole fork/suspension/stability discussion there isn't much in the way of downsides so I think you'll be pleased.
Sliding the fork tubes up thru the triple clamps causes the fork boots to 'coil bind' or pack tight before full suspension travel can cause the front tire to skid on the fender.
So I may be mis-taken that the installation of a fork brace which raises the fork boot installed height may be enough to limit full suspension travel also. But if one is Not using their KLR on off-highway dirt roads and 4x4 roads it should be a non-issue.
There is more space (depending on the fork position, of course) for the boot than there is available travel. Right now my fork boots are about 1/2" below the lower triple - when I had the fork braces on, I had the boot all the way to the top. In either case, I don't think the boots are strong enough to stop suspension travel even if there wasn't enough room for the boots to compress properly.
The OEM boots are 'tough enough' to survive coil binding for sometime.
Do any of you guys remember seeing New Gen 1 units sitting on the showroom floors with the fork tubes 4 inches above the top triple clamps, in the Shipping Position? LOL!
(They used to stack-em 3 high in a semi trailer. There was and is more dealer final assembly required than most people ever realize.)
And on the streets? I had and still do occasionally, but usually with lowering links on the rear.
On a Gen 2 I think you can only raise them up in the clamps 2" or less to avoid running out of clearance between the tire and fender mount bolts at full compression. The specs list the front fork travel as 7.9". On my 2017 I have my tubes raised up 1" in my clamps and when measured from the top of the tire to the fender mounting bolts with the weight off the bike on my service jack stand I only had 9" remaining. This means there is less than 1" inch left to raise them if I ever decide to change my rear links to -2" rather than the -1" that I have now. I'm leaving it where it is because I want to leave some tolerance for different tire tread heights as all tire brands vary. My bike is lowered 1" front and rear and I gained another 2" with my Sargent "Low" seat so I've gained 3" to get both balls of my feet on the ground when stopped.
If there is lets say 7.9 inches of available mechanical travel of the fork legs and the fork boot 'Coil Binds' at 8.1 inches of travel, it really doesn't matter if one has stiffer springs or not if one reduces available travel to 7.4 inches, does it?
It only means the fork legs are less likely to use the remaining available 7.39555 inches of available travel, before Bottoming, on the coil bound fork boots!
I think we are in violent agreement? By your calculation you could raise the in the clamps a maximum of 2.6" above the clamps before bottoming on the "coil bound" fork boots. That still limits the lowering options to 2" lowering links in the rear and 2" fork rise in the front to leave .6" for height variation in slightly taller/deeper tread tires.
I've always said (despite my dislike of lowering in general) that 2" is the max the forks should be "lowered". I still don't think the fork boots have a hope of stopping tire movement before the forks mechanically bottom on a heavy hit.
My only point was that 2" is about as much as you should go even with the compressed fork boot acting as a bumper stop. At the risk of starting another tangent, 2" it is also about as much as you should drop the rear end with lowing links because of the risk of the swing arm banging into the exhaust can when the rear shock is compressed especially with the stock OEM exhaust that has the large lower chamber. (see arrows on attached picture) As you know, there is no reason to drop the front end more than the rear end. I've opted to lower mine only 1" and have a 2" lower seat to get my 29" legs on my 5'8" frame of my tattered 63 year old body 3" closer to the ground with out compromising the bikes design any more than necessary. Cheers
Well I’ve got the Eagle Mike RAISING links, and the stiffest spring available from Top Gun and I’ve got progressive suspension in the front. My front end isn’t what I would call unstable I was just wondering what the benefits were from using a fork brace. Got the brace the other day and it’s a noticeable difference for sure.
I'm glad the Eagle Mike brace is working for you. It's certainly a quality piece of kit and I have one on my Gen II. I installed the brace so that I can mount a fender closer to the tire in an effort to divert road grime and debris away from the engine. I ride mostly on the street so I don't need much fender clearance.
It is my understanding, that fork braces were invented to assist with more immediate steering control between the handlebars & front wheel during the rapid transition between 'S' bend corners on race tracks & fast roads back in the 60s & 70s when all motorcycles had skinny fork legs.
I can not remember reading back then as to whether adding a fork brace might reduce or induce high speed wobble on certain models that were prone to wobbles.
Fork braces also helped maintain desired directional control of longer legged dual sport bikes in rocky or rutted terrain. But easily plug up in muddy conditions & make a ski out of the front tire, which creates zero directional control.
Have any of you ever swapped bikes while on highway rides with riding partners that had similar long skinny fork legs and the brake disc on the RIGHT HAND side?
I'll bet that you had never noticed that our bikes & theirs have a fair bit of "Brake Steer", until you ride a bike with 'opposite' brake steer.
It would be nice to have dual front discs on a Gen 1 or any bike for that matter. All it takes is more money!
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