Voodoo fork brace?

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snakecharmr

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Just wondering how much of an improvment the Voodoo Fork brace will be over stock? Found a good deal on one and before I attempt a USD full setup I want to see if I can improve stock with bracing and progressive springs etc...
 
Some people will say that a thicker front fork brace will work, others will say that it wont.

I used to get a bit of a head shake when I would turn hard to the left or the right. A 90 degree turn....like pulling away from a stop sign. My head bearings were tightened. I still had it. After changing the fork brace only...that shake went away.

So....thats been my experience with them.
 
If its pollished nice looks alot better but you wont get a seat of the pants feel out of it. I ride hard and dident feel any different to me with the ufo and i had other bikes with super brace and it was the same. Put a set of shinkos on it and it will ride better. shinkos are rated for 149mph so the side walls are stronger and it give you a better ride and handling.
 
I have a Voodoo Fork Brace and Progressive Springs and I like this setup a lot.
I did the Progressive Springs first and they are a Huge improvement over the stock springs.
I added the fork Brace later and can't really say that it made noticeable difference, but I know it sure didn't hurt.
IMO, anything that adds some stabilization to the front end is a good thing.

And +1 to the Shinko TM 230 tire making a big difference as well.
I usually run a Shino Rear and a Good Sport Touring front tire (Lasertec or Battlax BT-45V).
The Shinko sticks to the road like glue compared to any other rear tire I have ever run on my Vmax and I've run most of them over the years.
 
I found just by replacing the fork springs and making sure your steering head bearing is tightened properly will make all the difference on the vmax. Sean Morley has a nice youtube video on the steering head bearing check:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW-CmACI5xQ



I have a Voodoo Fork Brace and Progressive Springs and I like this setup a lot.
I did the Progressive Springs first and they are a Huge improvement over the stock springs.
I added the fork Brace later and can't really say that it made noticeable difference, but I know it sure didn't hurt.
IMO, anything that adds some stabilization to the front end is a good thing.

And +1 to the Shinko TM 230 tire making a big difference as well.
I usually run a Shino Rear and a Good Sport Touring front tire (Lasertec or Battlax BT-45V).
The yShino sticks to the road like glue compared to any other rear tire I have ever run on my Vmax and I've run most of them over the years.
 
Just a couple questions:
1)How can the OEM fork brace be 'flexing' to cause an unstable front end, and not be breaking one, or more, of it's four little mounting tabs?
2)Do the aftermarket braces such as this VooDoo brand have thicker mounting tabs and longer mounting screws?
 
I say stay with the shinko front tire also. This way you have a match set of tire treads and the front tire is rated for 149mph. If you can get your front not to shake all the way up to 150mph you will walk away from most gen 1 vmaxs on top end because most can only go 125 to 130 and than the front starts to shake bad and most back out at 120mph. My fat ass might not of beat Todds time at the track But he never got around me on top end. And the other michigan hooligans that tried to run top end with me feel way behind. Damon never ran top end with me but i do have a video of a ride and he opened it up and was gone. If your not gonna push your bike over 120mph save your money for gas and go riding. If you are going to go over 120mph do your self a favor and set the bike up so its safe. make sure your swing arm is torque right and make sure your head bearing is set right anda stearing stabilizer helps when you get above 130mph. Todd has stayed with me up to 140mph and i was glad he was behind me because his bike was shaking. when it come's to riding on the edge Todd will push it until you give in. Or both of you go down into a road rash mess. I like riding with Todd but you have to watch out for crazy fuckers like Todd. So what im saying is the tires will hold the road even in the west virginia mountain twisties.
 
Mike, the bike only shook because the front tire was cupped. New tires and I didn't have a shake. Even with 10,000 miles on the front Shinko it started to shimmy a little. Once I replaced the front tire anytime I had a shake it was gone.

My setup was stock springs, stock brace and tightened steering bearing. No special Furbur washer or anything. NO shake until the front tire was worn.

I ride hard , very hard. And I wear tires out fast. I got 1 season out of the front tire and 2 tires in the rear per season. So for every front tire I replaced the rear atleast twice.

I would run 130-135 no problem quite often, but beyond that was pointless since it took all day and a year to get to 145-150 area. The Vmax just doesn't have enough guts on the top end to really make a run for it. Not saying it can't get up there, but it just takes too much space and time to do it. At least for me.

The fork brace, good snake oil! Yeah it will do something, but honestly, unless your going balls out and doing other bracing and upgrades, its not worth the performance feature people try and say it offers. Its strictly a cosmetic thing, again unless you modify the shit out of your bike and then ride the piss out of it.

When I rode the moutains at Thunder, I had lowered the bike 2" inches in front with progressive springs and changed the fork oil, installed a new Shinko front and rear tire and tightened my steering head again. Stock fork brace every time. I rode it hard as Mike says. I lead the group into corners hard, and Mike stayed with me good ( he had the steering stabilizer on his bike btw that is a better option than a fork brace). Regardless, your not going to go around someone in those turns even with a tuned up Vmax. Not unless your a REALLY good rider. Now hope on a Gen 2 Vmax and you could probably make it around someone on the straights, and maybe, just maybe in the turns as well as long as they weren't sharp twisties. But it would take some pretty big balls to do that. And I wouldn't be too appreciative of someone coming around me in some of the turns we entered. Its not a race, just fun and if you want to race, you need a sport bike and a track.

Bottom line, I stretched this out someone with my explanation, but fork brace = cosmetic purchase.

A Vmax with a fork brace is not going to handle any different than a Vmax without one. Bottom line.....unless you have a problem and that fork brace is going to mask that problem for you.

Now the lowered springs I installed, I didn't notice any difference in ride quality either. To me it was a waste of time and money EXCEPT it lowered the bike for me which is what I was after. Maybe if I wanted it lowered and tried to do it with stock springs, that would be a different story. But ride quality of non lowered stock springs and oil to lowered springs with oil wasn't a different in ride. The handling was different because the bike was lower, but not from the springs rate itself, at least not for me to notice.

Todd
 
Just a couple questions:
1)How can the OEM fork brace be 'flexing' to cause an unstable front end, and not be breaking one, or more, of it's four little mounting tabs?
2)Do the aftermarket braces such as this VooDoo brand have thicker mounting tabs and longer mounting screws?

Here is a pic of the stock one, and I was surprised at how thin it is. Here is another pic of my fork brace it, it isn't from voodoo, but you can see how thick it is, and those were the stock bolts that I reused.

So, like I said above, with no other changes, I could tell a difference with mine.
 

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This is some good info, I was looking at replace my fork brace, But I'm trying to find the thicker 1 that looks like the stock vmax fork brace. I seen 1 last year at the Ocean City Bike show on another vmax the bike was park at the Convention Center. I thought it was real cool looking.

Do any 1 here no who makes the 1 that looks the stock vmax fork brace...
 
Here is a pic of the stock one, and I was surprised at how thin it is. Here is another pic of my fork brace it, it isn't from voodoo, but you can see how thick it is, and those were the stock bolts that I reused.

So, like I said above, with no other changes, I could tell a difference with mine.

I guess my next question would be: Since your aftermarket brace has the exact same mounting tabs as does the OEM, and we know from the basic laws of physics that an object can only be as strong as it's weakest point, how can the aftermarket brace be performing any differently than the OEM brace - assuming the OEM brace is not able to flex in the middle without breaking off one of those little tabs?:ummm: I've had my 85's brace off more than once over all these years, and if I recall, that part is made from cast aluminum. And if so, cast aluminum is not notorious for it's great flexibility properties. :confused2:
 
@ Mike,
I always buy V Rated tires and if you remember we hit 145 mph chasing Charlie and Terri Colburn a few years ago coming back to Somerset from Jim's BBQ.
And last year I ran 140 mph with Goose on the 219 on the way back to Somerset from Johnstown.
And I run my bike up to 130-140 at least 2-3 times a year ,every year just because I can. :)
I've actually never had a front end shake except once when my front tire was cupped and needed to be replaced.
I do adjust my Steering Head Bearings every spring though.
I like the Sport Touring V Rated front tires because I do most of my riding on twisty back roads here in NY and they handle a lot better for me than the few cruiser style V rated front tires I've used in the past.
I've never tried a Shinko front tire though, so I have no experience with them.

@ Todd,
I noticed a huge difference after installing my stock length Progressive springs.
The front end is Much tighter/more stable in the twisties than it was with the Stock springs.
My front end nose dive under braking virtually disappeared and I can actually see what's in my mirrors at 65-80 mph now.
 
I guess my next question would be: Since your aftermarket brace has the exact same mounting tabs as does the OEM, and we know from the basic laws of physics that an object can only be as strong as it's weakest point, how can the aftermarket brace be performing any differently than the OEM brace - assuming the OEM brace is not able to flex in the middle without breaking off one of those little tabs?:ummm: I've had my 85's brace off more than once over all these years, and if I recall, that part is made from cast aluminum. And if so, cast aluminum is not notorious for it's great flexibility properties. :confused2:

I dont know my friend. When I bought my bike Dec of 11....it was 100% stock, and when I took the stock brace off, there was a GIANT spider egg sack there, so I dont think it had ever been off. The brace was the 2nd mod that I ever did. The first was steel braided brake lines.

After I changed the brace, I took it back to the same spots (roads) when I would get that shake with turning, and the shake was gone. So EVERYTHING was the same.

Maybe its the weight of the brace? Or maybe the stock one was maladjusted from the factory? I do tend to turn kinda sharp. Several times I got on the lip of the stock dunlops (they do tend to slide then).
 
@ Todd,
I noticed a huge difference after installing my stock length Progressive springs.
The front end is Much tighter/more stable in the twisties than it was with the Stock springs.
My front end nose dive under braking virtually disappeared and I can actually see what's in my mirrors at 65-80 mph now.

See now I noticed a difference when I replaced mine, because my seals blew and it road 100% different. But thats because something was worn and bad needing replacement. But comparing the two to ride quality no difference just bumping down a road. In the turns, I can't say because the bike was lowered.

Maybe if I went to stock length springs, I would have noticed a difference attributed to the stock length vs the lowered length.

Todd
 
I guess my next question would be: Since your aftermarket brace has the exact same mounting tabs as does the OEM, and we know from the basic laws of physics that an object can only be as strong as it's weakest point, how can the aftermarket brace be performing any differently than the OEM brace - assuming the OEM brace is not able to flex in the middle without breaking off one of those little tabs?:ummm: I've had my 85's brace off more than once over all these years, and if I recall, that part is made from cast aluminum. And if so, cast aluminum is not notorious for it's great flexibility properties. :confused2:

Aluminum will definitely flex and deflect, cast not so much from this era of manufacturing ( 1980's ) vs todays tech.

But generally I would say the fork brace is masking other problems. Maybe the marginal increase in rigidity will cover up a problem better, but the bang for buck you are way better off with better tires ( though tires are more expensive ). The shinko will rock your world!

Todd
 
I dont know my friend. When I bought my bike Dec of 11....it was 100% stock, and when I took the stock brace off, there was a GIANT spider egg sack there, so I dont think it had ever been off. The brace was the 2nd mod that I ever did. The first was steel braided brake lines.

After I changed the brace, I took it back to the same spots (roads) when I would get that shake with turning, and the shake was gone. So EVERYTHING was the same.

Maybe its the weight of the brace? Or maybe the stock one was maladjusted from the factory? I do tend to turn kinda sharp. Several times I got on the lip of the stock dunlops (they do tend to slide then).

Enough about fork braces - I want to know more, much more, regarding the eggs from a GIANT spider you found on the bike. And more importantly, do you think you killed all those eggs? Do you think their mamma GIANT spider is still out there some where? And last, but certainly not least: If mamma GIANT spidy is still out there, do you think she, or any of her offspring, could ever make it all the way over to this part of Missouri? :surprise::eek: Freegin' hate spiders..
 
Aluminum will definitely flex and deflect, cast not so much from this era of manufacturing ( 1980's ) vs todays tech.

But generally I would say the fork brace is masking other problems. Maybe the marginal increase in rigidity will cover up a problem better, but the bang for buck you are way better off with better tires ( though tires are more expensive ). The shinko will rock your world!

Todd

I've noticed over the course of owning my 85, that each and every time I ever experience a high speed wobble of any sort, it was always, and I repeat here - always - traced back to the back tire. New tire=wobble be gone. That's just my experience. I never rode hard enough in the twisties back then to ever worry about bracing - forks, or frame. I always made due with the OEM setup. Still do to this day. So, when I ask questions regarding fork bracing, I really am in the learning mode and want to know why they should, or should not, work.

Regarding tires. Over the years since new, my 85 always wore OEM Dunlops, and I usually average around 2K miles for each rear tire. Since buying my 09, and relegating my 85 to what amounts to a daily to/from work rider, last time I needed rear rubber, I decided to save a bit of money and at the same time, try to achieve a bit better mileage out of it by getting my first (OEM size) Shinko for the bike. Less than 400 miles later, that darn Shinko has developed the absolute WORST lateral run-out I have ever witnessed in a tire. I can feel that sucker wanting to wobble 100% of the time. But since I only do 12 miles round trip to work, and don't always get to ride, weather permitting, I have put up with it for over a year now. If I ever wanted to take that bike down to the AR twisties, I'd have to change back to my old faithful Dunlops beforehand. NOTHING WORSE THAN A GEN 1 VMAX IN A LONG, FAST SWEEPER WITH A BACK TIRE CONTAINING LATERAL RUNOUT. Wobbling in a sweeper at over 60-100mph ain't no fun!
 
My fork brace addition helped with steering precision, while it may have been my imagination, the turn-in into corners felt more precise right after I installed it. Be that what it is, at this point I like my brace for it's looks and with the addition of progressive springs (lowering spring added too-1" drop) Ricor intiminator revalve kit, adjustable fork spring tensioners and best of all the addition of a set of Carrozzeria wheels allowing me to run radials.
 
I've noticed over the course of owning my 85, that each and every time I ever experience a high speed wobble of any sort, it was always, and I repeat here - always - traced back to the back tire. New tire=wobble be gone. That's just my experience. I never rode hard enough in the twisties back then to ever worry about bracing - forks, or frame. I always made due with the OEM setup. Still do to this day. So, when I ask questions regarding fork bracing, I really am in the learning mode and want to know why they should, or should not, work.

Regarding tires. Over the years since new, my 85 always wore OEM Dunlops, and I usually average around 2K miles for each rear tire. Since buying my 09, and relegating my 85 to what amounts to a daily to/from work rider, last time I needed rear rubber, I decided to save a bit of money and at the same time, try to achieve a bit better mileage out of it by getting my first (OEM size) Shinko for the bike. Less than 400 miles later, that darn Shinko has developed the absolute WORST lateral run-out I have ever witnessed in a tire. I can feel that sucker wanting to wobble 100% of the time. But since I only do 12 miles round trip to work, and don't always get to ride, weather permitting, I have put up with it for over a year now. If I ever wanted to take that bike down to the AR twisties, I'd have to change back to my old faithful Dunlops beforehand. NOTHING WORSE THAN A GEN 1 VMAX IN A LONG, FAST SWEEPER WITH A BACK TIRE CONTAINING LATERAL RUNOUT. Wobbling in a sweeper at over 60-100mph ain't no fun!

I wonder since you don't ride it that often if the reason you see lateral run out. Maybe its soft enough that it settles while the bike sits in one spot for periods of time.

I have heard of people getting a bad Shinko ( which I have heard the same thing about other major name tires ), but I can only say I have run atleast 10 sets of Shinko's on my last few bikes and never had one shimmy shake or problem UNTIL the front tire had mileage on it. And by Mileage I mean usually 6000-8000 miles. Which is almost the life of the tire for the softer tires. 10,000 is when I changed the last one, and I only stretched it out because I was taking a trip and I had that planned, or I would have changed it sooner.

The Busa rear tire only lasted around 800 miles, but that was alot of power being put down on that tire and it was expected to do alot.

The Shinko on the rear of the Vmax NEVER gave me a problem ever, it was ALWAYS the front that gave me shake. I don't think you could really feel the shake of a rear tire comparably to the front tire ( thats not even a "I dont think" , thats a definite no, you can't feel the same shake from the front to rear tire , its totally different feeling ).

I just want to check, you meant the rear tire correct? Not the front tire?

And my other thought would be the middle strip on the Shinko does grab WAY differently than the stock Dunlop does. That strip in the Shinko you will feel on certain roads as it "crowns" the road. So that might what you felt?

I bought a 97 Vmax last year and it had Metzler tires on it. Those were the worst tires I ever had on a Vmax. They were so hard, that when you got on it in 1st gear it would break loose and slide you all over. It may be cool if you want to do smoke shows and rolling burnouts in second gear, but it was terrible for any sort of traction. I almost dumped the bike with the Metzler LOL. When I rode my 99 home ( with the Shinko ), I was utterly amazed at how even just coasting through a turn it gripped that much better than the Metzler.

So the Shinko's are SUPER soft, you don't get the mileage and you go through them fast. But if you want uber traction then thats the price you pay for it. And I will say that if I had something like a stock Dunlap or Metzler on my 99 when I was racing it, I would probably not have broken drive shafts as much as I did, because I am sure the tire would have spun and not gripped like the Shinko did.

Todd
 

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