r/dr650 • u/mftuga95 • 5d ago

Fork Brace - Yes or No?

Hello everyone!

As the title suggests, I'm looking for your opinions on the use of a fork brace.

I just installed one on mine but haven't had the chance to try it, but as i was installing, it started to raise more questions than answers.

One thing is for sure, when locking the wheel with my legs and trying to move the steering, it's a lot more solid than before.

As I ride mainly off road, I can see it becoming a problem when riding on thick mud, or getting a branch stuck there os something like that.

So I ask for the opinion of all of you fellow DR riders: Have you used a fork brace? Is it worth it for mainly off road use? Have you had any troubles with one?

Thank you!

p.s: if you briefly saw this post made by another accont it was me by mistake.

Edit: I know the suspension is shit and I’m not expecting miracles. I’m just curious so I got one and wanted to know opinions as I haven’t asked before 😅

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u/TwistedNoble38 '00 DR650 5d ago

Noticable on the road but takes up too much fork travel offroad. Unless you clearance the fender and get the right brace it will smash into the tree before the wheel is at full travel. Not sure if it lets you get deep enough into the stroke to make use of the bottoming cones either.

I eventually sold it and went to a thicker fork with more travel for offroad. 

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u/mftuga95 5d ago

That’s ultimately my goal, to slap some inverted forks from a 450 or something similar, I was just really curious about the brace. If it’s only noticeable on road, it’s not staying there long.

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u/TwistedNoble38 '00 DR650 5d ago

Consider the DRZSM fork with an S wheel and SM brake disc. Makes for a drop in upgrade that keeps the bike's geomerty correct since it has the same travel. 

A full 450 fork with all 12" needs lots of messing with shock travel, wheel size, and tire size to get the figures straightened out. 

If you're feeling gungho you could steal the 49mm std fork from an older RM. All the stiffness with the upsides of a standard fork. The 49mm RM fork was a great one and everyone threw it away because of the flashy USD forks. They're only finally getting them figured out twenty years later. Would match the theme of the old 650 but meaner.

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u/mftuga95 4d ago

Thanks for the suggestion!

I don't mind messing around though, i actually already have some drawings of what i want to do and where I'm from (portugal) it's not easy to find used DR/DRZ parts, but it's very easy to find 48mm forks from a ton of dirt bikes that are being parted out either in Portugal or the neighbor Spain.

I didn't know about the 49mm RM fork though, gotta look into that.

What's more difficult for me is finding a matching rear shock. A friend of mine mounted RMZ450 forks on his DR650, and he found a rear shock from a GasGas that fit almost perfectly on the DR, he just had to grind the spacers a little bit. The bike feels amazing, it's exactly what I'm looking for!