SRC Fork Brace

[AZBURP]

Does anyone have an opinion on the SRC fork brace?

Is it worth it? notice any improvements in handling?

let me know ?

[Outrider]

I'm not sure how good it is but it should be much better than nothing at all. The reason I want one is because they also sell an upper fork guard kit with the brace which looks awesome. Those plastic snorkels have to go.

[BWB63]

I use and like the SuberBrase.

http://www.superbrace.com/product.php?part_num=2257

And yes, there is a great difference when hitting rocks, ruts and roots.

[qadsan]

I don't notice a huge difference with or without the SRC brace. Based on pictures I seen and and from talking with others, Scott Summers didn't even use his own brace on the XR650R. I think it's a decent product and I'm sure it ads some rigidity, but I don't think eveyrone will find it worth the price of admission. It definitely makes a difference on the XR400 though, but I didn't find that same level of improvement with my 650R. The upper fork guards do look good and I'd buy them again just for the bling factor ?

[roadcam]

I prefer the SuperBrace design, too ... not to mention the much more reasonable price ...

[rwallace1]

I also make fork braces for these bikes. You can check it out at www.rswracing.com. I started making these for the XR650L and they are really liked. The fork brace really helps while riding over hard things fast it stabilizes the forks at there weekest spot. The brace I make mounts in 15 - 20 minutes and you can use your stock fork boots. You don't have to remove the front end to install the brace. E-mail me with any questions

[michaeln]

I prefer the SuperBrace design, too ... not to mention the much more reasonable price ...

What about the SuperBrace design makes you prefer it over the SRC brace, specifically?

SuperBrace for the XR650L: $139.95

SRC Brace for the XR650L: $129.95

How is the SuperBrace price "much more reasonable"?

[michaeln]

I don't notice a huge difference with or without the SRC brace. Based on pictures I seen and and from talking with others, Scott Summers didn't even use his own brace on the XR650R. I think it's a decent product and I'm sure it ads some rigidity, but I don't think eveyrone will find it worth the price of admission. It definitely makes a difference on the XR400 though, but I didn't find that same level of improvement with my 650R. The upper fork guards do look good and I'd buy them again just for the bling factor ?

The XR650L and XR400R forks aren't as large in diameter as the XR650R's. I think the R forks are much more rigid to start with. The SRC brace certainly does help the L, quite noticeably.

[cheff]

On my L it was like night and day. Money well spent in my opinion. It got rid of most of the head shake, and it tracks much better in street and dirt. It is most noticeable on tight windy roads, when you are flicking the bike side to side aggressively. I think any brace will work just about the same. I like the way the Scotts looks and got that one.

[roadcam]

I paid under $100 for my SuperBrace, and it appears to have more clearance above the tire than the SRC ...

[rwallace1]

Yea, too much money. I make fork braces for the XR's for $70.00. They are made from t6061 billet aluminum. There is a big difference when you put it on and ride, you'll love it. Check it out at www.rswracing.com or email me at ron@rswracing.com.

[HeadTrauma]

I have an SRC and like it. The fork is still soft, but not a flexy-flyer like before. Fork still twisted when I dumped it about a month ago, which I guess probably kept things from bending.

[chunkytfg]

I have them on my 650R...in supermoto trimn they make a huge difference...the bike when cornering used to ''wander'' around the corner...when i fitted them the bike corners much more precicely

[Glaars]

I have the rswracing brace on my XR and it performs flawlessly. Easy install and the billet aluminum looks great. Ron makes excellent products and I wouldn't hesitate to purchase from him again.

Great brace at almost half the price of the others!

[pearblossomal]

I bought a brace for my son's TTR-125L from RSW Racing a couple of years ago. I was impressed with the machine work, the tube center-to-center dim was spot on so there was no binding. On those flexy forks it noticeably increased the stability, much more solid feel. Good value for the bucks and an excellent improvement that should be done to all of those bikes.

Earlier this year I bought a SuperBrace for my XR650R from their location in Huntington Beach. Very nice looking finish on the piece. Nice feature that allows the fork boot to be retained. Took the bike out on my local loop and did notice some increased ridgidity though not nearly as dramatic an improvement as when putting a brace on the TTR-125L. Thus the stock XR forks are pretty decent as is.

An earlier post noted the huge room between the tire and brace. This space is too large as I'll explain. It's common to need to trim some of a front fender when mounting a brace to clear however........................ The problem with the Superbrace is that you lose wheel suspension travel that no matter how much trimming is done. What I did before I trimmed is put the bike on a stand so the the front wheel is topped out. Measure the distance from the the top of the SuperBrace to the lower surface of the fender, where the brace will bottom. It's like 9 inches with the the tubes fully lowered in the clamps. Thus the brace will bottom on the fender with more than 2 inches of fork travel still to be used. This is going backwards so I returned the SuperBrace. I just assumed it was made for those supermoto guys and not intended for offroad.

Don't know about the RSW brace for the XR650R and how it fits in this manner.

[cheff]

An earlier post noted the huge room between the tire and brace. This space is too large as I'll explain. It's common to need to trim some of a front fender when mounting a brace to clear however........................ The problem with the Superbrace is that you lose wheel suspension travel that no matter how much trimming is done. What I did before I trimmed is put the bike on a stand so the the front wheel is topped out. Measure the distance from the the top of the SuperBrace to the lower surface of the fender, where the brace will bottom. It's like 9 inches with the the tubes fully lowered in the clamps. Thus the brace will bottom on the fender with more than 2 inches of fork travel still to be used. This is going backwards so I returned the SuperBrace. .

This can be extremely dangerous if riding off-road. If the suspension does not have the ability to travel fully, the brace can get knocked of its clamp by the fender binding the tire. This will make for a spectacular crash and possibly injury.

With the SRC brace the forks can fully travel after the trim of the fender. Much better and safer I think.

[x400r]

Yeah Ron,

That is a great product. I have been wanting a fork brace but did not want to spend $200 to get one. I'll be ordering. anymore discounts thru TT?

[x400r]

Yeah Ron,

That is a great product. I have been wanting a fork brace but did not want to spend $200 to get one. I'll be ordering. anymore discounts thru TT?

you gotta advertise more and over in the 250/400 forum

[BWB63]

The facts are you do not get the full fork travel that Honda claims for the bike even without the fork brace. Setup right you get 10.6" ~ 10.9" (I have 10.6") of travel with the front wheel off the ground. That is true travel. It's true you have to trim the fenders but, only 9.5" from the brace because the brace will hit the inside bump (between the bolts that hold the fender on) at 9.25". All the way bottomed out smashing the bump some and the brace bending the fender side I can get 9.75" of travel. Yes, I lost .85" of travel. This is about the same with any brace. You have to trim your fender a lot more with the SRC fork brace. I had a CR250 front fender on for awhile and there was no lump in the underside on the fender and I could get 10.2" of travel and the brace broke the fender because I did not trim the sides enough.

[Yeravener]

I tried the SRC on my 04 650l, and used the tried and true method of removing the fork caps and collapsing the front suspension totally to figure out the REAL bottomed position of the SRC relative to the sides and underside wiring harness trough (bump). The end result was that the SRC topped out about 5 -6 mm from the under side of the triple clamps.

I tested with an XR 400 fender, and by the time I ground enough of the fender trough away to ensure that the SRC, at real full compression, was not hitting anything, the trough was gone. I tried epoxying in some kind of cover in an attempt to both protect the wiring harness and prevent mud/water from going through the hole. After a few unsuccessful attempts at this I decided it wasn't worth the hassle, and I was not willing to reroute my wiring harness. Yes, the trough on the XR400 fender is a bit "taller" than the trough on the 650 fender, but it still would not have worked without major mod to the 650 trough.

So, no brace on my bike. Ironically, there was so much clearance between the brace and the tire (~1.75"), that it could have easily been designed to NOT hit the wiring harness trough at all. This led me to suspect that the brace really wasn't designed specifically for the L model. ?