No front fender - do I need a brace?
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 13,105
Likes: 13,049
From: Texas, USA
That should not happen. The fender is not structurally a part of the forks or the wheel . It is just a bolt on device to deflect water. I would check your tire balance and your alignment on the rear tire. If you tightened your chain or belt and on one side is off it could translate into a wobble. Or a worn bearing will do this also. But not riding without a front fender. Dont ride it until you figured it out. You dont want to get the death wobble.
Whoever you are responding to hopefully has it all figured out by now. This thread is almost 7 years old.
Banned
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 300
Likes: 166
From: New Hampshire
LOL! Zombie alert!
Years ago I rode a BMW R90S and had a San Jose fork brace to stiffen up the front end. I had traded up from an R90/6. Maybe it was the bike, but I could feel a difference. The fender is either plastic or thin metal attached by a few bolts with maybe a metal bracket. A proper brace is steel, rigid, attached directly to the fork legs, and doesn't flex. Um, I did push that S pretty hard...
Years ago I rode a BMW R90S and had a San Jose fork brace to stiffen up the front end. I had traded up from an R90/6. Maybe it was the bike, but I could feel a difference. The fender is either plastic or thin metal attached by a few bolts with maybe a metal bracket. A proper brace is steel, rigid, attached directly to the fork legs, and doesn't flex. Um, I did push that S pretty hard...
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 4,359
Likes: 1,219
From: Dubuque, IA
Since this thread has been awoken, the fender doesn't do much in the way of support, but even with it, any bike would benefit from an added fork brace. The stability of a good fork brace is immediately noticeable. My fender came off the Sporty when I had it. Looks much better.
Advanced
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 60
Likes: 5
From: London UK
I'm not inclined to think a brace is needed as the fender is made from thin gauge steel and woundnt give a great deal of support. It maybe an idea to check the front end over wear or even damage as you shouldnt get those kind of symptoms when riding...
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