Fork brace on a DR650?

[gocatgo]

I'm banking on tapping into the vast knowledge, experience and wisdom of all you dual-sporter's out there.:hail:
Anybody put a fork brace on your DR? Or any other DS for that matter. Did it make a difference, good or bad? I wouldn't be without the one on my Concours, it dramatically improved handling. But for the DR650 I've been told 1)the fork brace will catch too much crap (mud, rocks,etc) and 2)won't help at all in the dirt and only marginally on the street.
What do you think?:scratch:

[Sleepy Weasel]

:popcorn:

[xrcajun]

I had one on my XR650R. I could never tell any difference at all. While riding through big bend I kept thinking, I wonder what difference this is supposed to make. Then at some point I took a really high leap off of small cliff (so it seemed) and the next thing I know I hear this awful grinding sound coming from my front end. When I stopped I discovered my fork brace had been shoved into my fender which jammed it down into my front tire. Man that wasn't nice. So I got off and fixed it. Then it happened again in the same day. I ripped it off and never put it back and have never been able to tell the difference.

So there you are.
Jim G

[bronco78]

unless your going SM and track days,, Skip the brace

[gocatgo]

OK, so far NO: 2, YES: 0.

Any positive thoughts on DS fork braces? I had been told that handling was improved in ruts. Myth?

[Bagwell]

well, my thinking is everything is flexing on a dirtbike. You actually want flexing in some things. I am not sure I would find a use for a fork brace on a dirtbike since its about controlling how out of control you are. Or something like that. Hope you can make sense of whatever it is I really mean. Hehe.

Vaughn

[Tx Rider]

I've seen guys use them but they can be a pain. I got one for my '96 KTM with a set of spare forks I bought, but I'll never use it. The forks don't need them that much.

Now a steering damper is a different issue, a good scott's damper can save your hide sometimes.

[gocatgo]

Yes from what I understand the KTM forks are heavier than the Zuks or Kawas.
I appreciate all you guy's input on this. I guess it's a moot point now, though. I bought a fork brace shortly after purchasing the bike. Now when I went to have it installed my mechanic said he wouldn't do that, for just the reasons some of you gave. However, he said some like them. Since I couldn't return the *%# things now, I went ahead and had him put them on today, to see what I think myself. If I don't like them....Whatever goes on can come off!!:headbang:

[xrcajun]

OK, so far NO: 2, YES: 0.

Any positive thoughts on DS fork braces? I had been told that handling was improved in ruts. Myth?

Yes! It was easy to take off!

[Mudshark]

This is one of the "better" braces out there:
http://www.rswracing.com/dr650.htm
It lets you keep the fork boots. Also, like with all of them, you will have to
trim the front fender to prvent bottom-out contact between the fender and
the brace. The brace does make a difference in the handling... but, how much
depends on how hard you push your DR. Fork flex is noticed more under stress.
Cut the fender like this:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b140/krazyinski/IMG_2993Large.jpg