Who sells these Commando fork braces?

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This is only an opinion, I have no qualifications in chassis design...

I believe a fork brace has to be extremely heavy duty and stiff before it does any real good at all. Even then, with bikes like ours which are, when compared to modern machinery, already low on power and generally very bendy, I don’t see what even a stiff brace does.

The tubular brace shown has very long bent tubes, welded to a thin plate, secured to the forks by spindly fasteners, I fail to see how that can possibly add strength to a Norton over and above the cast steel yokes and solid steel wheel spindle already in use.

Just because we think we see things twisting pushing the forks down in the shed does not mean they are going to twist detrimentally in use. In fact, the freedom to move a little may even allow a kind of ‘self alignment’ to take place under hard braking.

Most serious classic race bikes in use today do not use fork braces, and they did not use them back in the day either. Even Peter Williams who was (and still is) obsessed with chassis stiffness, did not use a fork brace.

Apart from one or two top class lads on here who race at a good level, the rest of us could not possibly tell the difference with or without a brace... unless there was something else wrong that the brace covers up for. I’ve ridden on road and track with and without various forms of brace and cannot tell any different.

Furthermore, a badly fitted brace is likely to do more harm to the handling than the theoretical upsides of even a good and well fitted brace.

I imagine it’s a different ball game at Moto GP / WSB level, but those boys are on a different planet to us old blokes on our old Norton’s !
 
@Fast Eddie totally agree with your point Nigel!

The elephant in the room for me though is that it just looks sh1t - whether it has merit as to it's effectiveness or not doesn't even come into the mix!

Something I would consider would be this https://www.fastec-racing.co.uk/products/norton-fork-brace

Who sells these Commando fork braces?

It kind of follows the lines of the Norman Hyde ones - which I really like the look of!

...but to mere mortals it's just a piece of bling that makes fitting the front mudguard/fender a nightmare!!!
 
@Fast Eddie totally agree with your point Nigel!

The elephant in the room for me though is that it just looks sh1t - whether it has merit as to it's effectiveness or not doesn't even come into the mix!

Something I would consider would be this https://www.fastec-racing.co.uk/products/norton-fork-brace

View attachment 16086

It kind of follows the lines of the Norman Hyde ones - which I really like the look of!

...but to mere mortals it's just a piece of bling that makes fitting the front mudguard/fender a nightmare!!!
Not to mention the problems fitting it so that nothing binds in a static setup, which is rather different to what happens under load...
In other words, don't bother :)
 
ever have the aluminum rivets break/pop out of the fender to brace? ........ makes ya wonder
 
The bracket has 2 bolts on each leg which are in a bolt pattern that is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the forks who's movement the brace is trying to synchronize. I wouldn't think it would do much except flex along the imaginary line between the two bolts. Besides that, the surface area of the bracket is narrow in the direction from which the force will be applied. I wouldn't use it either. Even if a fork brace does do something significant, I wouldn't use this one. It's a poor design. It would just add weight to the front wheel...
 
I could give you many reasons, but tell us first, what do you know about forks that they did not know?
I'm only asking for ONE reason, (it's my thread, after all).

I did not design this brace, and I do not know nearly as much as any race tuner or motorcycle designer that you could name.

You seem quite certain that fork braces, or at least the one I posted, are a problem.

Why post such a definitive reply, then refuse to give a simple answer?

I was only asking about YOUR reply to MY post, (stating you would never use one, or this one in particular); nothing to do with anything else on earth, especially racing Nortons.

My interest is in determining a fair value for a fork brace, then I will list it for sale.

Very simple question.
 
ZFD wrote:

How much stability the normal front mudguard with stays gives becomes apparent when you ride the JPN with the GRP front mudguard. You see the forks twist as you brake and look through the bottom opening of the fairing down to the front wheel.
If you absolutely insist we can make all the GRP parts to convert a Commando into a JPN.”
 
@Fast Eddie totally agree with your point Nigel!

The elephant in the room for me though is that it just looks sh1t - whether it has merit as to it's effectiveness or not doesn't even come into the mix!

Something I would consider would be this https://www.fastec-racing.co.uk/products/norton-fork-brace

View attachment 16086

It kind of follows the lines of the Norman Hyde ones - which I really like the look of!

...but to mere mortals it's just a piece of bling that makes fitting the front mudguard/fender a nightmare!!!

THAT looks like a fork brace !

I’d actually like to try one of those, it’d be interesting on the track where you could test back to back repeatedly in consistent conditions.

However, my hypothesis is still that it’ll make no difference, so I ain’t prepared to pay £200 just for the intrigue !
 
I'm only asking for ONE reason, (it's my thread, after all).

I did not design this brace, and I do not know nearly as much as any race tuner or motorcycle designer that you could name.

You seem quite certain that fork braces, or at least the one I posted, are a problem.

Why post such a definitive reply, then refuse to give a simple answer?

I was only asking about YOUR reply to MY post, (stating you would never use one, or this one in particular); nothing to do with anything else on earth, especially racing Nortons.

My interest is in determining a fair value for a fork brace, then I will list it for sale.

Very simple question.

Because you insist:

1. There is no real benefit in fitting a fork brace.
Most successful classic bike racers seem to think likewise, (not only Norton) single or twin disk.

2. Believing that a one-piece brace will fit any bike without fettling is an illusion.

3. Your brace relies on 4 tiny 1/4" bolts to keep things together.
I can't find a good English word for it, so let's keep it to 'poor engineering'.

4. Fitting this brace, the very best one can hope for is that it will NOT increase stiction.

5. It adds unnecessary unsprung weight.

Personal reasons:
1. IMO, it is a plain ugly POS.
2. If I really wanted a brace, I could make a better one in an afternoon, at a fraction of the cost you are hoping to sell it for.
3. I have a pretty powerful front brake and a carbon fender on my bike, and never felt the need for a brace.
NO WAY I will spoil it with such an eyesore :

Who sells these Commando fork braces?


Good luck with the sale.
I am sure you will find a taker..
 
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If I really wanted a brace, I could make a better one in an afternoon, at a fraction of the cost you are hoping to sell it for.
I never stated a price I will sell it for.

Thanx for your replies, appreciated and taken under consideration.
 
Who sells these Commando fork braces?


This is the bike from the French Yellow Peril team.
Maybe the best Norton racing team on the planet.
They even cast their own cylinder heads.
No fork brace, only a carbon fender.
( Ducati ditto..)
 
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I think everyone who has replied (except the person that made an offer) fail to account for the MILLIONS of enthusiasts that love to put aftermarket bits on their bike, BECAUSE THEY WANT TO, regardless of whether it makes it better, faster, stronger, or anything else.

I believe this part falls into THAT category.

I further believe this topic is now a proverbial "dead horse"...
 
Who sells these Commando fork braces?


This is the bike from the French Yellow Peril team.
Maybe the best Norton racing team on the planet.
They even cast their own cylinder heads.
No fork brace, only a carbon fender.
( Ducati ditto..)

Amiauler par de belles savoir-faire!
 
GP, you can't get off the hook so easily.
Because you insisted, I answered your simple question.
Now will you please answer my 'simple question' :
What do you know about forks that JPN , Peter Williams or Ron Wood didn't know?
Or even more simple, explain why the potential buyer would benefit from fitting your brace?

Indeed I DID answer with regards to what I know about forks, etc. Didn't you read my reply?
grandpaul said:
I did not design this brace, and I do not know nearly as much as any race tuner or motorcycle designer that you could name.

I never represented ANY benefit for a potential buyer to expect from the fork brace I'm CONSIDERING selling. (Note: I am not actually SELLING it at this time)

Indeed, the ONLY question I asked (in the original post) was "Does anyone know who sells these fork braces".

I NEVER asked "Does anyone know if this for brace will fit a Commando?"
I NEVER asked "Can anyone tell me if this fork brace will benefit a Commando?"
I NEVER asked "Has anyone ever put one of these fork braces on a Commando (or any other) race bike?"
etc...

I already see several post-mortem whack marks on this poor dead horse...
 
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The bracket has 2 bolts on each leg which are in a bolt pattern that is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the forks who's movement the brace is trying to synchronize. I wouldn't think it would do much except flex along the imaginary line between the two bolts. Besides that, the surface area of the bracket is narrow in the direction from which the force will be applied. I wouldn't use it either. Even if a fork brace does do something significant, I wouldn't use this one. It's a poor design. It would just add weight to the front wheel...
I dont think the purpose is to synchronise the slider movement, but rather to prevent the forks from twisting. The axle does a splendid job of keeping them in line, being a fairly substancial lump of steel with quite good clamping to the sliders. Unfortunatly both brace and axle can do very little to control the deflection of the stanchions, since the stanchions are connected to the sliders by a pair of bearings which are designed for minimium stiction 'twixt the two.

I think fork braces work for some people because it makes them feel more confident. Otherwise, like bacon slicers on drum brakes, it's just for the looks.
Which may well be good reason for some people to fit it.

Edited slightly to improve clarity
 
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Indeed I DID answer with regards to what I know about forks, etc. Didn't you read my reply?


I never represented ANY benefit for a potential buyer to expect from the fork brace I'm CONSIDERING selling. (Note: I am not actually SELLING it at this time)

Indeed, the ONLY question I asked (in the original post) was "Does anyone know who sells these fork braces".

I NEVER asked "Does anyone know if this for brace will fit a Commando?"
I NEVER asked "Can anyone tell me if this fork brace will benefit a Commando?"
I NEVER asked "Has anyone ever put one of these fork braces on a Commando (or any other) race bike?"
etc...

I already see several post-mortem whack marks on this poor dead horse...
Hmm, you sound surprised to discover Thread Drift ;-)
 
I sold a black one like that for $15 in great shape at Auburn Mass. many years ago. Never could get it to not stick somewhere. I would have given it away.
 
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