Hawk Fork Brace Mod

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by surfhawk

with your vice were you able to squeeze the round part at the top? That's the widest part on mine putting outward pressure on the forks. The ends are actually easy enough to bend with my hands, but that didn't help the top round part. Thanks.

Yep, that is exactly what I did. I didn't go too crazy with it, just a small squeeze. Mine still puts a bit of pressure on the forks, but it is a lot less than it was before. I think the consistency in manufacturing is off enough that everybody will have different experiences. I would still like to find a different style of brace eventually, but this works rather well and for $20-25 the cost to improvement ratio is really high.

[roundhouse]

Did mine today. I put it on, after having one for a yard. I drilled it out and squished the brace by sitting on it. Bent it just a hair and it fit great. I found my breather hose thingy was all cracked and rotted out so I threw on a pod filter and ordered a little breather to put on the crankcase.

I have mismatched bolts on it now. I will pull it apart next weekend and get new bolts and paint it black. I may use my sawzall to chop off the corners and use a bench grinder to round it off. I think it would look better.

Just have to wait until I get the breather and I will ride it and see how awesome it is with the brace.

[JerryHawk250]

I installed my fork brace last night. Too dark to take pictures and then the rain came so didn't get to ride to try it out. I'll do all that tomorrow and report back. Whoohoo! nice long weekend and lots of ride time.

[JerryHawk250]

Hot as it was over the long 4th of July weekend I did get some ride time in. This is what I found. Front brakes just felt better as in braking felt more controlled. Bike felt more stable at higher speeds especially on rough sections of road. The front didn't feel like it wanted to wonder around. When going over bridges with grating the grating didn't pull side to side like it used to. Then again this could just all be in my head. lol Mod well worth it IMO.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

Then again this could just all be in my head. lol

Not in your head at all. These long thin forks have a lot of flex in them, so the difference in feel when they are braced together is immense. Ride it for a while and take it off for no reason in particular to really notice the difference.

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by Megadan

Not in your head at all. These long thin forks have a lot of flex in them, so the difference in feel when they are braced together is immense. Ride it for a while and take it off for no reason in particular to really notice the difference.

Only time it's coming off is when I replace the fork seals and oil.

[OneLeggedRider]

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

I installed my fork brace last night. Too dark to take pictures and then the rain came so didn't get to ride to try it out. I'll do all that tomorrow and report back. Whoohoo! nice long weekend and lots of ride time.

Where did you find yours?

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by OneLeggedRider

Where did you find yours?

I bought it on Amazon but out of stock now because I bought the last one. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 They all come from the same place, Demons Cycles. You just have to keep checking until they have them in stock again. That's what I did and jumped on it when it was available. There are other styles available but triple the price.

[JerryHawk250]

If you have access to a steel plate roller you could fab one up. I was going to make one from 3/16" x 3" aluminum flat bar because I was tired of waiting on them to come back in stock. A friend of mine has a fab shop and I was going to use his roller to form it. Was going to drill a few holes and polish it up to make it look nice.

[newbie88]

Sorry to revive this old thread but would this one work as well?
https://www.amazon.com/YHMTIVTU-Motorcycle-Tracker-Harley-Chrome/dp/B07H1DCFL7/ref=sr_1_20?keywords=fork+brace&qid=1574953699&s=a utomotive&sr=1-20

[AresROC]

I had the black version and it didn't fit for me... The metal was just too thick and hard to bend properly.
I tried to tell the seller to make a version for the China bikes, but he says factory minimum is 1000 pieces...

[newbie88]

Originally Posted by AresROC

I had the black version and it didn't fit for me... The metal was just too thick and hard to bend properly.
I tried to tell the seller to make a version for the China bikes, but he says factory minimum is 1000 pieces...

That's a shame. Thank you for the info though!

[wally]

Hey all, recently started taking my Hawk on the street and I was looking to add a fork brace.

All the links seem dead, what exact Harley was being used to find the things people linked from ebay ?

Motorcycle Front Fork Brace Tracker Narrow For Harley Sportster 883 1200 1988-17

https://www.ebay.com/itm/144121764322

is something like that going to work ?

[elimark1]

I know this is an old thread, but i'd like to add something.

First, thanks so much for the great idea including part details.

Made it very easy.

I painted mine black to make it blend in with the tire more.

Also, if you raise the front wheel and loosen the axle nut, you can get the brace in and use slightly longer bolts to coax the brace in place enough to then sneak in the original bolts at the other bolt hole.

No need for ratchet straps or removing the front fender.

Looks great and bike feels more stable. Thanks for the idea!

[wally]

Would anyone who has bought one that worked recently mind sharing where they got it from?


I tried to order the one from WPS racing and the emailed me that it was out of stock and wouldn't be coming back...