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posted August 04, 2003 11:23 AM
Fork Brace for a 02 ZX12R has anyone ever used , or know if there is one available for an 02 12. I was talking to a buddy the other day, and I keep having a problem that when I drop a wheelie, the forks twist in side the triple tree. and then my handlebars are crooked...I have to lossen all the bolts straighten them out, and tighten them all back down....a buddy said a fork brace may help that. course if I would quit doing wheelies that would help too. But that isnt gonna happen.....Ideas anyone?
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When in doubt, lean farther and go faster....
posted August 04, 2003 12:15 PM
hmmm... i'v dropped plenty of wheelies hard, but never had that problem. i'm not sure how ou would position a brace tho. i dont think there's any room for it like on the non-inverted forks. or am i thinking of something completely different?
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posted August 04, 2003 12:19 PM
i dont know Freek, tha tis why I am asking......it would have to go up underneath the lower fork brace under the triple tree......not sure, never seen one, guess maybe that aught to tell me something.....gonna look for a super brace...like SWFT said...and see
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When in doubt, lean farther and go faster....
posted August 04, 2003 12:25 PM
yeah, i dotn think that would work cause the top of the fender hits the bottom of the scoop already. no room for brace. maybe u jsut need the clamps righter or something? seems odd to me.
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posted August 04, 2003 12:29 PM
that is what I thought Freek, but trust me when I say there were tight.....and the brace would go up on the forks right below the triple tree, the forks shouldnt colapse that far...could be wrong though.....
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posted August 04, 2003 12:41 PM
Dizam G............. HDL, brother something is definitely not right. You shouldn't need a brace IMHO. I've slammed enough wheelies down to constitute my forks being sent to the race shop and be reworked TWICE in 12k miles, and I've never had this happen. Note that I have 1.0 springs,custom revalve and a few other goodies, but the forks see their fair share of wheelies gone bad, and shitty roads.
It almost sounds like something on your bike is tweaked, do the bars always "crook" the same way??? Bike ever been down??? Have you let Bart ride it??? ____________
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posted August 04, 2003 02:34 PM
A "fork brace" is for pencil thin,spindly old forks from the 80s. USD forks are beefy enough to keep braced by the upper and lower triple clamps.
If you forks are getting pushed up or twisted..you either havent tightened them sufficiently or the threads are stripped on the bolts.
You should remove the wheel and check the triples throughly. There are 2 12mm bolts that can be hard to get at without removing the fairings.
posted August 04, 2003 03:20 PM
Agree with Ninjaman12R & TurboBlew. No way you should need this and the problem should not be happening in the first place. You're not getting normal torque/pressure on the tubes. Inspect carefully before you hurt yourself. You've got something else happening there...
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posted August 04, 2003 03:27 PM
that is what I thought, I dont do wheelies often, but I always turn the handle bar when I do, so the wheel is always turned when it comes down, that is when I have an issue.....none of the bolts are stripped, and I tightened them plenty. I know it has to do with the handlebars being turned when it comes down, cause I can feel it when it happens....and the bike has never been down*knocking on wood*.
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When in doubt, lean farther and go faster....
posted August 04, 2003 03:51 PM
When you say "tightened them plenty", are you using the stock torque specs and a torque wrench? Maybe you've over-tightened them too much and they're deformed slightly? It's a fairly common problem on dirt bikes. Common sense tells you to tighten the bejesus out of them, but yet the book will tell you 14 & 17 lbs (YZ450F). More than that will crush the tubes which are pretty thin wall. I don't know off-hand what the spec is on the 12.
Anyway, when you loosen them to straighten them out after you tweak them, maybe they aren't getting complete contact anymore on the entire tube because they're "crushed" ever so slightly? Anyway, just a thought. Really have never heard of your problem on any USD type fork on a sportbike.
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posted August 04, 2003 04:38 PM
k is right. A lot of folks thinking their steering head bearing is loose will WAAAAAAAY over tighten the nut. For me, it is kinda hard to tighten the steering stem nuts with a torque wrench, since I don't have "socket" that would fit what I call "collar" nuts. Still, if you tighten a regular nut or bolt to 14 ft/lbs, you'll realize that it's not much more then "finger tight".
posted August 04, 2003 05:56 PM
Have you slid your forks up more than stock?Maybe your're too close to the tapered part.
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posted August 05, 2003 10:36 AM
nope the forks are in the stock location, and the when we tightened them up we used the specified Torque, though I dont recall what it was...I would have to look. I think I just need to quit turning the handle bars when I pull the tire up......
____________
When in doubt, lean farther and go faster....
posted August 05, 2003 11:16 AM
I don't know what else could be causing it other than what everyone has said already. I think you might want to invest in a steering dampner if you turn the bars when you do wheelies because I just wrecked about three weeks ago and need all new plastic from a headshake when I sat it down. I figured I would at least tell you because I have rode a bunch of wheelies and it never gave even a slight indication.
posted August 05, 2003 01:45 PM
I wonder if he is bottoming out when he lands?
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posted August 05, 2003 05:46 PM
no damage to the front fender....so I would have to say probably not....
I have been looking for a rotary damper, but scotts isnt making one...anyone hear of GPR, and if there damper is any good...?
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