It took some staring at the photos on their website to figure out how everything attached, but it looks like a well-made unit that will work as well as any, and the price is the best of the lot!

As I said, they all work essentially the same by restricting lateral movement of the engine/swingarm assembly, except the Alloy Art, but have different mounting approaches. The Bagger Brace wouldn't seem to cause clearance problems, shouldn't increase engine vibration perceptible to the rider, and its mounting method at the engine seems fine with no extended bolts or standoffs that might stress the threads in the case. The only drawback I might see is if the owner ever needs to use the dog-bone crossmember for jacking or mounting a center stand. Had they offered the BB for sale when I bought my stabilizer last year I would have seriously considered it.

 

The Ridestr8 can be used with the Harley centerstand. I have both on my 08 Ultra Classic

 

I'll be going with the Bagger-Brace when I buy one. From looking at all of them, it's the beefiest of the bunch, and it's the least expensive. Most of the others look flimsy and cheap, not well made at all when compared to the Bagger-Brace.

I don't see any problems with jacking the bike up, my jack doesn't fit in the cross-member anyways so no issue there. I don't have or want a center-stand so no issues there.

$289 with free shipping...........best price going by far.

Steve

 

I did, but only at idle. the engine balances out at about 2k on through the rest of the rev range in step with the engine, so does the bike.

It buzzes a bit at below 2k rpm, but no biggie, othewise it is not noticable and it definetly works.

I would suggest calling him and talking about getting one of these. I am pretty sure he will have a money back guarantee for you if that is what you want.

As for me, it works just like the ad said it would.
I kind of prefer the idea of fixing the problem at its source instead of putting a shock absorber on it to fix the problem.


as always,

YMMV

 

Thanks SloChicken for your honest evaluation and reply.

Here is bootlegged pics of the Bagger Brace and the use of a crossmember positioned floor jack:

low profile side shot
http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/661/bb007hg3.jpg

Floor Jack in position:
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/6686/001ht7.jpg

I personally do not intend of ever having a Center Stand so again, this device seems to fit the bill for me.

DISCLAIMER: Again, not promoting anything, just informing. Buy whatever fits your OWN needs and accomodations.

 

So is this the real problem that everyone is going on about with stabilizers? It is just the rubber bushings in the swing arm pin? I have been trying forever to get one of the stabilizer gurus to explain exactly what the design flaw is in the Harley line that necessitates the need for all the after market stabilizers. So far I haven't heard much other than I'm selling them and everyone that buys one is satisfied. That alone becomes the justification to own one.

Are you saying that all this revolves around two rubber bushing instead of beefed up plastic or poly or whatever you replaced them with now? I can see if that's the issue the swing arm having lateral movement on it's own after the rubber wears thin as being a cause for concern. Do all the "other" shocks being marketed as stabilizers directly address the swing arm issue? My impression was they were attaching at all different points on the frame and had nothing to do with the swing arm lateral movement.

Man, I wish someone would give a simple, comprehensive, and candid answer to this without all the sales hype. This issue has become almost cult like. You either love a particular brand of stabilizer and are willing to slug it out with anyone that disagrees with you or you don't believe in the whole concept at all. Millions of Harley's on the road and the only place I ever hear about the stabilizer issues are on these few boards. Are all the millions of Harley riders out there besides us nuts or are we? LOL.

 

Best explanation I've found is here:


Why does the the bike weave and wobble? What speed can weaving and wobbling start? Why does the rear tire feel low on air but it's not? What's happening ? Is the chassis weak ? Is the chassis bent ? People say it's the alignment ? Why does the bike feel worse when taking a sweaper?


" Would you believe the swing arm pivot is not anchored ( which allows the rubber mounts to compress and the pivot to move from side to side) , contrary to what the inventor ERIK BUELL teaches in his patents ! " ?? . . . WHATS UP WITH THAT ??

Found HERE

HOWEVER, what I've learned, and the reason for so many devices it seems, is that some "fixes" actually transmit unwanted vibes to the frame and then to the rider when trying to harness and alleviate this aforementioned phenomenon.

 

Yes, the engine is connected to the frame via rubber bushings.

Furthermore, the swingarm pivot is connected to the engine, also via rubber bushings. the bushings flex under lateral loading (when leaned over). this, in turn causes the front and rear wheel to mis-align in relationship to each other. This misalignment of the wheels is what results in the "speedwobble"

The Pro-glide replaces the narrow (and softer) OEM bushings that the spindle of the swingarm pivots within, and uses a stiffer, and wider bushing which in turn allows less flex causing misalignment from the front to back wheel.
The cost to the rider is that the rider receives more vibration.
The bushings are the key point in isolating the vibration of a non-counterbalanced motor from the rider.

The bike could be even more stable if the forward mount used stiffer bushings too, but again, this would transfer even more vibration to the rider.

hope this explanation helps.

And no, I don't work for them, but the pro-glide does work for me.

 

I was one of the skeptics when the stabilizers first started showing up because I didn't have the wobbles or so I thought. Just because you don't have the tank slapper doesn't mean this won't benefit you, it will.

I first started thinking about these when I was checking out my bike for suspension damage immediately after a crash (my fault) in the Ozarks this past May. We got back to a gas station and I was sitting on my bike shaking the handlebars back and forth very hard and could feel the rear end shaking back and forth and thought WTF, this doesn't feel right. We tried the same thing on a couple of the other baggers in the group and found they did the same thing so I guess it's normal, and it is but it sure doesn't seem right. Try it on your bike and you'll see what I mean. It's the rear of your motor moving laterally. Mine no longer does this.

Fast forward, I put over 300 miles on the Bagger Brace this weekend and for what I felt it did for my bike it's under priced compared to some of the other things I've spent $300 on. This has improved all aspects of the way this bike feels from low speed corning to the twisties. as others have said "it tracks like it's on rails". Another benefit is it's not near as squirrelly in the wind.This is the way it should come from the factory.

I'm not trying to push one stabilizer over another as I believe they all do pretty much the same thing. I bought the Bagger Brace on an impulse simply because I wouldn't have to remove the exhaust to install it and the price was right. I think my impulsiveness payed off this time because in my opinion this is a very sturdy piece and I believe it's well engineered. The customer service provided by Ron and his group is second to none.

You do need to make sure your brace is flat, mine wasn't and I had to do a little tweaking. I don't have an issue with the jack as mine lifts just in front of the brace.

I've spent a good deal of money upgrading my shocks and forks with Works Performance products and this is the frosting on the cake, I personally would never consider not having it.


Rick

 

Did you change out the shocks before or after the brace? Sounds like you did the shocks first, if so, I was told that the works shocks would eliminate the wobble without the need for any kind of brace.