Hey! Got the call about a week back from Tkat, the Fork Brace Guy that was contacted from here several months ago, that the actual fork clamps were done! Picked them up, came home, tried them, and
perfect! He finished the cross brace itself on Sunday, and it bolted on perfectly. Pretty exciting that I have the first one he made on the bike!
The little black plastic piece is not used, mostly to simplify the setup, limiting dirt and muck from collecting in the fork brace. Everything goes together smoothly, and as you can see in the third picture, a perfect fit. When I went to bolt it together, I almost didn't think the fork clamps were going to fit. But he machined them within a(as he told me later on) 10,000ths tolerance. Awesome fit. And a slight lip on the inner top to match the top of the fork tube where the seal sits. Very nice. Easy setup. Bolted it up loose to square it up and tightened. Easy. I tried to take pictures to show where it meets the rubber seal, and the clearances he made for the fender and such.
On the road, I tried some nice and twisties not too far from me (Bay Area, easy find) before and after. Obvious difference for a positive feel. Not as loose. I've never tried a Superbrace, but I would hope that it would make the bike feel like this. It is easy for me to rave about it, since it is my wife's bike (and I am much taller than her) and I just want to set up her bike better all the time. Since I am oversize on it (6'1") it doesn't take much for me to get the suspension and frame movin'. Definitely an upgrade.
Thanks again to the members here that helped make this happen. I liked this brace so much, I ended up buying one for my bike, a 79' KZ1000LTD. Really heavy, really fast. Night and day difference with it on. (I didn't realize my forks were that flimsy!)
To get one contact Tkat at tkat.com. $85 seems like a bargain. Helluva nice guy.
Thanks again.
Ethan and Sarah Newstrum