Tkat
YaBB Newbies
Offline
I love YaBB 1G - SP1!
Posts: 15
Gender: 
|
Well, @ long last I’ve figured how to post to this list --Ta-Da!
I’ve been asked by several people exactly what a fork brace is, how does it work, and why do they need one.
I read the blurb about the SuperBrace & it seemed, perhaps, a bit technical for some. Follow’n this msg is s’thing I wrote up for the XS1100 list years ago that is a dirt simple explanation.
Do you need one? I dunno. Some front ends are rock solid as is. Others are limp willows. You decide. Here’s a way to check.
Stand in front of the bike and clamp the front wheel between your knees. Grab the handle bars on the grips and try to twist the bars. Can you? How much? My XJ900 is rock solid. The XS1100s are wet noodles --- that’s what started the project 1500+ units & almost a decade ago.
Tip: Some late model Savages have plastic stone shields on the top of the sliders. They snap into grooves in the slider. The easy way to get ‘em off is to take a hard piece of wood or soft metal and use it as a punch. Place it against the under side of the protector. Whack the end of the punch w/ a hammer. The plastic will [should] pop up out of the groove. You can then cut ‘em off.
====================================
Fork Brace Physics
That wheel spinning down there is a Hell of a gyro. Twist the bars or lean the bike and s'thing moves --- typically the bars or the bike. BUT NOT THE WHEEL!! The gyro action is just too strong. And what's planted on the road and controls the direction of travel? That's right, Homer, the wheel!
The result is "lazy steering". The weaker the connection between the input and the wheel, the sloppier the directional response. Long, skinny forks = weak link.
A F/B ties the legs together in the middle so the unsupported columns now act as a beam, hence increasing the stiffness of the now single member. Increased stiffness = more positive output/input ratio and the bike tends to go where it's pointed much more quickly.
Conversely, if the wheel is "kicked" by a rut, etc. the H/B doesn't see the directional change as quickly as a stiffer column will.
And, OK, so you say you're not a boy-racer and don't power the machine thru turns --- just a cruiser on Sundays. Fair enuf. But what about that LOL in her USS Caddy land yacht that target fixates on a yard sale sign that requires an immediate left turn? 'Nuff said.
And here endth the Begining Physics 101 Lecture for the day.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::
|
Pages: 1
