Thoughts on making a hoop fork brace

[Guest]

I have a friend at work who can weld it up but I have some design questions.Like what type of steel?Rods or tubing for the hoops?Really should have looked closer at the few I've seenThis would be for my 78 1000.

[Buffalo Bill]

Are you talking about this kinda design?


These looks mo betta to me

[salty_monk]

Those "mo betta" ones look like the standard brace that sits under the factory 1100 plastic fender to me....

I like the hoop ones for proper old school. I doubt they do all that much though to be honest. It will be tube not rod. That much rod would weigh a ton!

With tube you get a lot more strength by adding diameter as opposed to adding wall thickness. That looks like 1/2" possibly 5/8" to me..

[Big T]

Go measure up Rob's

I sold him one a few years back

[SVSooke]

Are you talking about this kinda design?


These looks mo betta to me

Yes that's what I'm thinking about in the first pic.What you think looks better looks like the inner brace on my 85 750EF

Those "mo betta" ones look like the standard brace that sits under the factory 1100 plastic fender to me....

I like the hoop ones for proper old school. I doubt they do all that much though to be honest. It will be tube not rod. That much rod would weigh a ton!

With tube you get a lot more strength by adding diameter as opposed to adding wall thickness. That looks like 1/2" possibly 5/8" to me..

This post got me thinking about why to do it.I think they add some rigidity to the forks.The question is with as slow as I tend to ride why do it.I also wonder how I'd get tubes to bend like that without crimping them.Hardly seem worth the effort for a look

[Datsa Noydb]

Hardly seem worth the effort for a look

Oh, come ON. How many guys go to a LOT more effort (think "Sawzall") to achieve a "look"?

Your effort would at least have some practical value.

[Big Rich]

Sooke, the tube ones are near impossible to flex by hand compared to the stock-ish plate style. Can't speak for how they differ mounted to forks though. And the friend doing the welding? Ask him about how to bend tubing. It's really not that bad if you follow the proper procedures.

[Buffalo Bill]

I needed to bend some 1/2" square steel tube for a swingarm brace.
I looked on youtube and found plenty of DIYrs showing how they do it.
I made a bender the right size for my project and now the deed is done.

[Lorenzo]

SS would defo look mo mo betta.

[rudeman]

Remember that you're trying to build a brace. That is, a device that maintains the proper relationship between the left and right fork sliders. You must take caution when bending tubes to be used as a fork brace that you don't put unwanted influence on the fork's position. Don't let form influence function. Just because it looks cool don't mean it works.

[SVSooke]

Remember that you're trying to build a brace. That is, a device that maintains the proper relationship between the left and right fork sliders. You must take caution when bending tubes to be used as a fork brace that you don't put unwanted influence on the fork's position. Don't let form influence function. Just because it looks cool don't mean it works.

I do know the purpose of a brace,it would be made to do it's intended job.Will investigate tube bending further and would most likely make a jig to hold it while it's being welded.Yeah I've been thinking about it but I'm still not sure it's worth the effort.
So I'd like some input on what kind of steel to use.With all due respect this is NOT a place to use Stainless and I do love my SSThe plan is to PC it with my PC kit if I do it at all.

[Buffalo Bill]

Well, that looks like? 1/2" round steel tube?

[SVSooke]

Yeah I'm probably over thinking it

[SVSooke]

In looking around it seems like getting 1/2' steel tube won't be easy to get.I could but it'd be a long tripWhat about doing it in aluminum,provided my welder buddy can do it of course.Bending aluminum rod would be easier to,maybe?

[tkent02]

It would take HUGE hoops to be rigid enough to do any good.