Superbrace

[Cormanus]

Forum sponsor Superbrace ran a competition recently with the prize being one of their fork braces for the CB1100. I won it. Disgruntled members of the forum have claimed all sorts of skulduggery. Not on my part; I can't speak for theirs.

Late last week the shiny Superbrace turned up in the post. This morning I finally had time to fit it. It's always a bit of fun venturing into the Cormanus workshop (so-called) where improvisation is the name of the game and it's never clear that the right tool will be available. In spite of today being no exception, I can say that the Superbrace is easy to install, even for a clutz like me. If it took a little more than the promised 15 minutes, it was because I had to find and watch the teaching video on the forum.

Once on it looks good and like a bit of OEM gear.





I've had a certain anxiety about this moment of truth, because I'm no Freddie Spencer and I've not been sure that I was going to detect any difference once I put the Superbrace on. I haven't had any trouble with the front end and probably would not have bought a fork brace. Anyway, I put on my newly repaired mesh jacket (a welcome bit of gear in the unseasonable spring heat) and went for a quick ride along one of my favourite local roads to try it out.

To my surprise, I can feel a difference. The front of the bike seems different. Firmer, stiffer—I'm not sure what the right word is, but the steering feels more positive to me. Maybe it's my imagination, but some of the right-handers felt a wee bit easier and a couple of bumps didn't seem quite as disconcerting as they have in the past.

Thanks heaps to the guys at Superbrace for the great prize and for the obvious work that's gone into this product. I'll certainly be leaving it on the CB and hope to travel many happy kilometres with it.