Fork brace advice

[martind]

Hello folks,
Just wondering if these Cosmo fork braces are any good? £53 including postage...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fork-Brace-Suzuki-DL650-v-strom-2012-/182717404192?hash=item2a8ace5420:g:cXAAAOxyjxlTNKDA
Does anyone have any experience of them? Or recommend a different brand?
Thank you

[Moo]

I have one and they are brilliant. They firm up the front suspension nicely by bracing the two front forks and preventing them from twisting/Flexing

[hotbulb]

I endorse Moo's comments completely.

You could also buy it direct from Cosmo's website
http://www.cosmo-accessories.com/online-store/electronics-computers/DL650-new/fork-brace-21-info.html
(and there's a forum discount too).

[Ian T]

I just fitted one.

If you read my post and the great replies recently in the specific section it just about covers it

Cheers

Ian

[SuzukiSte]

I endorse Moo's comments completely as well.
I have a Cosmo Brace a must have for  V-Strom

[martind]

Thank you for the advice everyone,

The fork brace has been ordered 

[Graham62]

you won't regret it 

[greywolf]

A fork brace is tied for my top recommended modification along with headlight relays.

[martind]

What is a headlight relay?

[Moo]

It basically powers the headlight straight off the battery so more voltage goes to the headlights, but runs them through a relay plugged into the original sockets.

The main aim is to protect the Vstrom switchgear and provide better lighting

[greywolf]

There are actually two relays, one for high beam and one for low beam. A relay is an electrical switch. It allows light duty switching and wiring like bikes use for lights to carry heavy current without damage. All too many V-Stroms have had contacts and connectors fail because the lights draw so much power for so long. The newer bikes with single headlights don't tax the stock wiring as much as they only have half the draw of dual headlight models. BigPie makes headlight relay kits locally.

http://www.vstrom.info/Smf/index.php/topic,6773.0.html
http://www.stromtrooper.com/information-vault/71046-headlight-problems.html
http://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Bike_Specific/VStrom/vstrom.html

[Hugh Mungus]

A relay conversion is relatively cheap to do.
It helps if you're confident with electrics but anyone with a very basic knowledge can do it - just take your time - there must be a write up on how to do it on the forum somewhere.

[greywolf]

There are wiring diagrams for cars all over the place. A pair of relays and the ability to follow a wiring diagram are all that are needed. If you want to do a plug and play kit that leaves the stock wiring intact, a couple of female and one male headlight connector would be needed too. Here's one diagram. For earth, use the battery negative or a fuse block negative if you have a fuse block. Do not earth to the frame. Most V-Stroms use yellow for the high beam and black/blue for the low beam. Earth is always/black/white.

[martind]

Interesting... thank you for the explanations... Does this effect the Glee or just the Wee?

[greywolf]

All the dual headlight models need headlight relays. The single headlight models will benefit too but are less likely to have headlight loss. Relays lengthen the life of the wiring connectors and switch contacts and deliver a little more power to the lights instead of wasting it as heat in the places that tend to fail. More power means more light. The typical difference at the headlights is one volt and that is a visible difference.

[hotbulb]

This is another relay kit: the wires will be longer than necessary, and it's not as neat & compact as BigPie's
http://www.paddockspares.com/boomslang-performance-headlight-loom.html

[greywolf]

Maybe this will bring the thread back on topic. Stand in front of a Strom with conventional forks, preferably on a centre stand, and wedge a foot on either side to lock the wheel straight ahead. Then wiggle the handlebars. Look down and watch the tip of the mudguard over the tyre. Without a fork brace, you'll see the tip wander back and forth over the tread pattern. With a fork brace, not so much.

I rarely pushed a bike in turns or rode on gnarly surfaces enough to really feel the effect of a fork brace when riding. However, I felt the difference in wind gusts and I think a fork brace might have saved me when I chopped the throttle at a ridiculous speed on a Wee and created a tank slapper. That inexpensive addition could have saved a totaled bike, a hospital stay and pain I feel to this day. Of course, riding smart every minute instead of just taking a few minutes to see how fast the bike would go would have done that too.

[hotbulb]

For me, the fork brace really helped with bump/hollows/gravel/cracked tarmac mid-corner, something we're plagued with here in South Wales (and I dare say everywhere else in the UK).

[martind]

Folk brace now fitted.
Definitely improves how the bike handles imperfections in the road.
Very happy with it :-)

[Brockett]

After fitting the "Cosmo" Fork Brace for less than £50 I was impressed enough to fit one to the Harley. I suppose being shiny  and bearing the legend "Screaming Eagle" was their justification for the £224 price tag.