May I introduce m’self?  I’m Tkat --- the Fork Brace guy.  I’m an ORG [Old Retired Geezer] w/ a 4700 sq. ft. hobby house set up as a general machine shop in Santa Clara, CA.  [Daytime TV sucks!]

I’m geared to small lot, R & D, proof of concept, &c.  I’ll make the 1st 100, s’one else can do the next 10,000, so special projects are always given a look.

I’ve been a life long gasoline gear-head --- both cages and scoots and have run most everything from Jalopies & Hard Tops on 1/4 mile County tracks in the ‘50s to Bonnieville & the Baja 1000.

F/Bs got started when I bot an older XS1100, joined the list, and asked how to make the pig handle.  The answer was “Buy a F/B.  Nuts, I’ll make my own.  You can do that?”  It was 18 months ‘til I could keep one for m’self.  Since then I’ve made over 1300 in 8+ years and shipped them to every continent in the World, ‘cept Antarctica.

I stopped by a dealers y'day and looked @ the 650 Savage.  The project is doable.  The bling-bling plastic tube protectors will hafta get lost & I’m not sure yet how to accommodate the dust wipes/seals.  There also may not be a positive stop for positioning.  So you’d hafta use a cross haired eyeball and hold yer tongue right.  The XS1100s have a dust boot, that style is a lot easier to work w/.

As for cost, the XSs take 2 hrs & $30 in buy-outs each.  Plus I’ve over $200 in custom ground cutters.  Naturally, the tooling and set-up programing has long ago been written off.  I don’t see the LS650 be’n much different so figure around $100 or so delivered domestic.  

As you see, I’m not do’n these to make dollars but to help the group.  In the world of important perspectives the price equates to a little over 3 pitchers of margaritas.

What would be a help is a local owner who could bring his ride by for trial fitting and as a Beta Tester.  The front fender side clearance is a cut and try item.  For this he gets a bottle of GOOD Chardonnay [another story] and a free F/B.  I’m located about 1/2 mile from the Santa Clara Costco & just West of the airport.  

If interested, contact me direct: tkat@tkat.com  408/980-8880.  Pls put Fork brace in the subject.  Any takers?

Tkat,

I wish I was still in the area, but it has been a while.  I grew up in Cupertino and left the area after high school (Homestead, 1967) for parts ... known and unknown.  If I were still local I'd be knocking on your door.  But since I have been stuck in the south for some time now I will have to be satisfied with a cross-country purchase.

By the way, thank you for responding to our need.

Michael
LANCER

Tkat wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:02:


Now that sounds like a job for Paladin

he77 that's right he's in LA!

make that run up/down the coast before and after you could give us a report! -

The Newstrums wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:02:

Very cool.

Of course!!

I am glad that I was able to generate a lot of interest in the tkat brace. I had one on my XS650 I used to own and it made an awesome difference. Wish I lived close enought, oh  well. At any rate, would one (or more) of you mechanically inclined please go to
 http://www.tkat.com/forkbrace/diagram.htm

and provide tkat with the necessary measurements. It would save us all some time. For those of you who have not expressed an interest in this clamp, please email  tkat@tkat.com.

Ike