Actually you're both right. The tree's hold the tubes and the fender and axle keeps the lower sliders from rotating.

You can still get some rotation on a new bike though so the brace is still a good idea. I've been thinking seriously about it for my wide glide front end.

I get some rotation at the risers so the brace wouldn't help with that.

Wasn't there a group buy a couple of weeks ago when the braces cost around $130?

 

Added super brace 1st.Felt the difference in turns.2nd added Sputhe front and rear.Better straight line and curves.3rd added rear works DRS WOW!! even better4th race Tech with valves.CAN"T discribe feel.SMOOTH,STABLE ETC.The works were a e-bay item$162.00 but worth the price.Rach tech took out 75% of front end dive control lose.It IS NOT CHEAP!! BUT WHAT A RIDE!!!

 

Sorry, but yes! The front and rear rubber engine/gearbox mounts allow some sideways movement, which affects handling. My Dyna was awful from new, but a T-T kit solved everything to my satisfaction. It provides stabilizer links front and rear (same as at the heads) and tightens the whole thing up.

Front T-T parts take just a few minutes to fit, but the rear tested my patience to breaking point! I had to walk away a couple of times, before I did something I might regret. However having finally got the thing finished the results are amazing. Bike is better even in a straight line.

I don't find the need to fit a fork brace to my Dyna, although I have fitted them to earlier bikes (not Harleys) with great results.

 

I purchased a Super Brace several months ago when they offered a group buy on this site...I couldn't feel any difference with the brace on so I removed it.

Re-installed it a second time a couple months later to see if I could feel any difference again, but took it off again. Recently, I've noticed on a few roads/highways that had rough pavement or expansion joint that run parralell to the road, my bike was not liking it at all.

So, I put it back on for a THIRD time and noticed an improvement riding these same roads.

I'm gonna keep it on the bike.

 

Count me in the group that noticed a positive difference in handling with the Superbrace. Not a dramatic difference, but still noticeable. Mine is staying on.

Steve

 

I'm sorry but with the front fender on AND the wheel installed w/axle and correct spacers...how on earth are the lowers going to rotate?

I rode with an SE forkbrace and found no noticeable performance gain. To me, it's just a big chunk of chrome that looks completely out of place. It's been removed and sitting collecting dust.

Maybe back in the days of 39mm and 41mm front ends there was a small amount of flex which may have warranted the need for a fork brace but honestly, can you bend a 49mm fork tube or get it to flex? I doubt it.

Any model other than dwg that has relatively short fork legs...how much movement are you getting? Zero. if you feel movement, you might want to pay attention to it as your bike is becoming an accident waiting to happen.

I have a WG..longer legs..more rake. Zero gain from a fork brace.

I did like the looks of the RSD fork brace but only if you have a style of bike that part would complement, but I still see no gains possible.

 

Thanks for all the comments; they've been very educational.

I've been a gear head my entire life and I've developed an attitude of trying to
cover every possibility that I can as soon as I can identify a reasonable way
to do so and the fork brace falls into that category.

Frankly, I don't expect a night and day difference with the Super Brace, but it's
my opinion that there is no reason (besides cost) NOT to install it. Now if the
True Track doesn't make an immediate difference, I'll be really steamed..

I think a lot depends on not only riding style, but also the roads themselves.
I live in an area of the country where the road surfaces are generally very good
but are either super-slabs or serious, high-altitude mountain twisties. A lot
of the mountain roads in New Mexico and Colorado are like the famous "Tail of
the Dragon", but here they also go up and down hundreds of feet per mile and
in some areas have no guard rails (gotta be able to plow the snow somewhere)
and drop-offs well over 1,000 feet.

I don't think I'll ever notice any brace improvement on the slabs, but I might
on those twisties and that's good enough for me. The next step will be tires once
the stock Dunlops wear down enough to justify a change. And, yes, before someone
comments, I think that a better set of tires will probably make more difference than
the fork brace will.

Once I have the brace and True Track installed, I can start playing with the shock
settings because I'll have eliminated several variables and will be better able to see
what difference there is.

Thanks, everyone! I'll post an update after both are installed and I've had a chance
to evaluate them.

 

Mike,

Good luck with the TT and the fork brace.

I did the fork brace years ago (forks are 39mm narrowglide) and also upgraded to Progressive Fork springs and 440 rear shocks and Avon Venom tires. All these changes greatly improved handling.

I've been on the fence regarding the True Track and look forward to hearing your opinion.

BTW, may have mentioned this previously but you live in an awesome part of the country for riding! I've been fortunate enough to ride around your neck of the woods each of the last two years!

Million Dollar Hwy, Durango, roads into and out of Santa Fe, Taos, Colorado Springs, Idaho Springs, Rocky Mtn Nat'l Park... just amazing riding! You're a lucky man.

 

Thanks, Bigdaddy;

I raced SCCA sports cars on on off from 1966 through 2001 and that's part of the
reason why I put such an emphasis on handling. The other part is that, as you have
rightly noted, I live in some of the greatest bike riding territory in the US and I want
to take full advantage of that.

 

Vic:
No one is claiming increadible differences, bike floating down the highway on a cloud. I think we're all just saying the fork brace helps keep the front wheel in line with where we're steering the bike. Where I used to hit series of grooves in the road or an expansion crack like someone else described, I no longer feel like my front wheel is being grabbed and set pointing somewhere different than my handle bars.

Yes 49mm forks do flex, all materails will flex. I've had mine apart to change oil and can tell you that they're no where near as beefy as they look. They are disappointly thin walled, compared to forks built in the sixties and seventies, less than half the wall thickness I would think.

The axel and fender do a good job keeping the lowers from rotating, but in some conditions, I could feel the wheel being pushed to one side, and that indicated to me ... rotation of the lowers.

Try sitting on your bike with front wheel chalked and see how much pressure it takes to move your bars. You'll likely see a good 1/2" to 3/4" of deflection at the end ot the handle bars before putting any major pressure on the bars. That's slop in the joints and flex in the materials. Granted, the majority will be from the top of the triple tree up, meaning moslty handle bar flex and riser slop rubber mounted into the trees, but a bit of it will also be between the bottom of the tree and the axel, meaning rotation of the lowers enabled by slop in the axle and flex in the fender. Try it, it's probably not a big deal to most, each to his own right.

Anyway my apologies to Mike for hijacking his thread, and I'm sure by now there are a bunch of folks sitting there sctratching their heads wondering 1. what I'm, on and 2. if I'll share but the answer is 1. I can't remember and 2. hellno.

t