New Fork Brace

[lonestarmedic]

Well, I finally got my fork brace installed. As y'all wll remember my width between the tubes was about .005 - .007 too narrow. I got serious today and got all the weight off the front and loosened the axle. Then I loosend the lower triple tree pinch bolts all the way. I got a couple wood wedges between the tubes and the rim on each side. Tapped them in just slightly and watched the brace drop in!! Put in the bolts for the brace just snug. Tightened the axle bolt to 75 ft./lbs. I also tapped the tubes at the bas as I torqued the axle. Thinking the tubes might be like a u-joint youke. Tightened the pinch bolts and finally the brace. Test ride- cornering is now so much quicker I almost leaned into the fire hydrant on the corner! Tar snakes are just worms and tank slap is now a slight vibration. Time to check the head bearings. If the brace width is correct, then my forks were bowed in for some reason. I've seen bowed out but never in.

Thanks for the bulk purchase. It was worth it.

JB

[GigaWhiskey]

Kewl, glad to hear that the bulk of your shimmy is gone.

[friesman]

Well, I finally got my fork brace installed. As y'all wll remember my width between the tubes was about .005 - .007 too narrow. I got serious today and got all the weight off the front and loosened the axle. Then I loosend the lower triple tree pinch bolts all the way. I got a couple wood wedges between the tubes and the rim on each side. Tapped them in just slightly and watched the brace drop in!! Put in the bolts for the brace just snug. Tightened the axle bolt to 75 ft./lbs. I also tapped the tubes at the bas as I torqued the axle. Thinking the tubes might be like a u-joint youke. Tightened the pinch bolts and finally the brace. Test ride- cornering is now so much quicker I almost leaned into the fire hydrant on the corner! Tar snakes are just worms and tank slap is now a slight vibration. Time to check the head bearings. If the brace width is correct, then my forks were bowed in for some reason. I've seen bowed out but never in.

 

Thanks for the bulk purchase. It was worth it.

 

JB

 

Thanks for posting the info, I was starting to wonder if I got a brace that was machined incorrectly or if my forks are messed up as it was a shade from dropping into place. I will give your procedures a try and see.

I am looking forward to trying the bike out after I can get it intalled and see if it affects my handling. I had no glaring issues, but low speed cornering seems sluggish and heavy.

 

Brian:cool10:

[GigaWhiskey]

I added a SuperBrace a while back but noticed no difference. Prolly cause I had no issue there to begin with. Most of my issue turned out to be worn engine mounts and a flexing frame.

 

Might have time in a couple weeks to check out the tightness on those steering head bearings.

 

All in all, still glad you got most of that shimmy resolved!

[Condor]

Sounds like you finally got rid of the slappers JB. Good on ya. I can't think of why your fork tubes were 'knocked knee'd', but that may have been a lot of your problem. When I mounted that SB you sent me on the '83 it sorta oozed on, and the holes lined up perfectly. When I put one on the '91 it was a bit sloppy going on, but the bolt holes still matched up exactely where they should be. I never did take a good look at the difference between the Mark I and Mark II tubes...if any, but there's gotta be some because of the anti-dive's being different???? Anyway, glad it's working out.

[lonestarmedic]

So, we have another with knock-knees! I was wondering if I was unique.

Brian, loosen both bolts on the lower sides until you are sure all of the tension is off the clamps. Loosen the axle clamp bolt and then the axle bolt until it has a visible gap between the flange head and the lower tube. Take a couple wood wedges kinda like door stop wedges and tape them between the rim/tire and the tubes. If not there, godown between the lower tube tips and the wheel hub. In any case watch where you put the wedges to avoid the fender and mounts and the speedo gear etc. I watch the lowers spread about 1/4 inch combined on both sides. That gave me enough slop to tap the brace with my fist and watch it seat. I tightened the axle first. Figured if there was any problems with the tube rotation that torquing the axle would bring things parallel/in line. Let me know your results. Mine were dramatic. I still have a bit of shimmy at 75+ with no hands on the bars. However I think steering head adjustment should help. I will replace the bearings in the steering head this fall.

[lonestarmedic]

Condor- was wondering if your 1991 has bow-legged forks like a cowboy? What would happen if you loosened the front like I did, put in the brace loosely then used a small ratchet strap or something to pull the tubes tight to the brace? Just a curiosity here. Perhaps our 1st gen ventures are indeed prone to a bit of fork stress over the years. The ant-dive and weight during decelleration might cause a bit more stress than Yamaha predicted. Ever see a fork brace that went on the outside and surrounded the tube. Superbrace has a few models like that. If we could make a wrap around the outside and the brace on the inside of the tubes they would be locked into place.

 

JB

[Condor]

I justhadathought. Maybe, the P/O forgot to make sure the spacer was there and torqued down on the axle before noticing that the spacer had gotten legs?? Ergo, Knocked Knee'd?? Just a wild stab..

[Squeeze]

Not to forget that the Pinch Bolts in the upper and Lower Tripple Tree have something to do with the Width of the Fork Legs on the Axle Area.

 

If the Brace won't fit, i highly recommend to loosen anything axcept the Fender, bring the Brace and their Bolts in and tighten anything down from the Bottom to the Top. Which means, Axle first then the Brace then the Pich Bolts on lower Fork Yoke then the upper Fork Yoke.

[lonestarmedic]

I guess that is what I did without thinking. I started at the axle and ended at the top pinch bolts. How much slop is in the pinch bolt area? Always wondered about alignment.

 

How thick is the spacer and what are the results of running without it? Guess I might need to R and R the wheel and check.

 

JB

[Squeeze]

I recently worked on my Forks and found a Gap of more than 1/10 of an Inch with the Pinch Bolts loose.

[Condor]

Condor- was wondering if your 1991 has bow-legged forks like a cowboy? What would happen if you loosened the front like I did, put in the brace loosely then used a small ratchet strap or something to pull the tubes tight to the brace? Just a curiosity here. Perhaps our 1st gen ventures are indeed prone to a bit of fork stress over the years. The ant-dive and weight during decelleration might cause a bit more stress than Yamaha predicted. Ever see a fork brace that went on the outside and surrounded the tube. Superbrace has a few models like that. If we could make a wrap around the outside and the brace on the inside of the tubes they would be locked into place.

 

JB

 

I donno JB. I didn't do anything to the '91. I actually removed an SB, that fit kinda sloppy, and replaced it with one of the newer black braces that also fit loose. However I didn't have a problem with the screw and hole alignments in either case. BTW, that spacer is about 1/2"-3/4" thick, and would definately put a bend in the tubes if the axle was torqued down without it. But like I first posted, it's strictly a stab in the dark....

[Midicat]

I received my brace today. I popped off the old brace and set the new one in place...or at least tried to. I promptly came here to look up the forum for ideas on how to address this, since I figured that I probably wasn't the only one with a small install issue. After reading the above I decided I would give it a go in a different direction. Here's what I did. For those of you who prefer NOT to loosen every bolt in the front end so this brace "falls" into place, may I suggest taking out your Dremel or other high speed rotary tool and using the sanding drum with course sand paper to gently remove the 1000th of an inch of product required to make this brace fit. Remove the aluminum from the inside of the arc that wraps around each fork. It worked for me.

 

BIG THANKS TO CONDOR FOR PUTTING THIS BUY TOGETHER!

 

Thomas

Edited June 13, 2008 by Midicat

[Dano]

I received my brace today. I popped off the old brace and set the new one in place...or at least tried to. I promptly came here to look up the forum for ideas on how to address this, since I figured that I probably wasn't the only one with a small install issue. After reading the above I decided I would give it a go in a different direction. Here's what I did. For those of you who prefer NOT to loosen every bolt in the front end so this brace "falls" into place, may I suggest taking out your Dremel or other high speed rotary tool and using the sanding drum with course sand paper to gently remove the 1000th of an inch of product required to make this brace fit. Remove the aluminum from the inside of the arc that wraps around each fork. It worked for me.

 

BIG THANKS TO CONDOR FOR PUTTING THIS BUY TOGETHER!

 

Thomas

 

Same thing I did, everything was loose but it just wouldn't go in. Just had the forks rebuilt with new sliders, bushings, springs. Didn't want to screw anything up!!

 

Dan

[CrazyHorse]

Same thing I did, everything was loose but it just wouldn't go in. Just had the forks rebuilt with new sliders, bushings, springs. Didn't want to screw anything up!!

 

Dan

 

I machined my brace to make it fit. I was not crazy about bending a fork trying to get the brace to fit. The original brace slid right in on mine didnt even touch the forks. I think the thickness of the brace and how deeply the screws set into the mounts is the true strength of the brace not touching the sides of the forks IMHO. I got lit up for it though but I can take the heat.