Superbrace

[the_undecider_imp]

The stock fender does very little to stiffen the front forks because of the location of the mounting tabs being a couple inches below the cross-section of the fender. If you removed the front fender, you could bend those tabs in pretty easily. I recall seeing some bikes with factory fork braces integrated into the fender.

The brace adds rigidity to reduce both lateral and torsional flex. It keeps the fork tubes more perpendicular to the axle. The reduction in twisting reduces steering deflection. The straighter the fork tubes stay, the suspension works with less stiction with those torsional and lateral loads at work. Reduced torsion also improves steering precision.

To what degree these improve such measures is impossible for the casual user to quantify. I felt a difference when I installed a brace on my CB and it was well worth the money to me. The front suspension isn't defective without it, so I can't fault Honda for not including a brace. The front end's capability far exceeds its intended use and equipping the bike with additional equipment would only add cost. A fork brace isn't needed, but you can buy any number of available products to suit your budget and style preferences.

Wow, that went long!