- Joined
- Apr 9, 2009
- Messages
- 4
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Claremont Cape Town
- Bike
- Suzuki DL 650 V-Strom
After reading reviews on the improvement a fork brace makes to the ride of a V-strom (a bike that essentially has budget suspension) I decided to risk it and order a Rick's Fork Brace from RichlandRick (a regular contributor on the on the V-Strom Riders International forum).
I was not expecting that much... but this (other than the MadStad adjustable screen bracket) is the best mod I've ever done to the bike.
The brace takes about 10min to fit if your forks are not out of alignment, there are a few tricks you need to follow that are well published in the VSIR forum and by Rick to minimize fork bushing and seal wear from miss-installation. The part looks OEM once installed.
At first I noticed only a stubble difference but after riding a wider range of surfaces & speeds over a few days the more impressed I became. The bike tracks so much better in wind, around corners, feedback on dirt surfaces is improved. I have harder Sonic Springs installed upfront & the brace has made these feel much more supple.
FYI Rick is a Vstrom enthusiast (the Yanks love this bike for some reason) and he makes 3 or 4 v-strom (650 & 1000) farkels as a backyard business but his operation is 100% professional. I used PayPal and it took about 2 weeks to come in the mail cost USD95 (incl postage). Rick put USD 20 value on it so it came through the mail box and thus no post office import duty was levied. The other braces in the market cost over USD130 without postage!
See pics of the brace and all of Ricks details here on the VSRI. https://www.vstrom.info/Smf/index.php/topic,9428.0.html
I was not expecting that much... but this (other than the MadStad adjustable screen bracket) is the best mod I've ever done to the bike.
The brace takes about 10min to fit if your forks are not out of alignment, there are a few tricks you need to follow that are well published in the VSIR forum and by Rick to minimize fork bushing and seal wear from miss-installation. The part looks OEM once installed.
At first I noticed only a stubble difference but after riding a wider range of surfaces & speeds over a few days the more impressed I became. The bike tracks so much better in wind, around corners, feedback on dirt surfaces is improved. I have harder Sonic Springs installed upfront & the brace has made these feel much more supple.
FYI Rick is a Vstrom enthusiast (the Yanks love this bike for some reason) and he makes 3 or 4 v-strom (650 & 1000) farkels as a backyard business but his operation is 100% professional. I used PayPal and it took about 2 weeks to come in the mail cost USD95 (incl postage). Rick put USD 20 value on it so it came through the mail box and thus no post office import duty was levied. The other braces in the market cost over USD130 without postage!
See pics of the brace and all of Ricks details here on the VSRI. https://www.vstrom.info/Smf/index.php/topic,9428.0.html
