Shifter brace

[fcanary]

After reading all the posts about installing a shifter brace, I have decided to install one on my ‘91 Interstate. It has only 7300 miles, so I think I could probably wait until next riding season as this one is winding down here in the great northeast. My questions are these: Are they all the same? I have seen the one Cyclemax sells for about a buck thirty, and one on eBay for around 70 dollars. Is the quality close? I don’t mind spending the extra money if the quality of the ones Cyclemax sells is superior. I plan on keeping the bike as long as I am able to ride it, I’m 63 now and I’m told 63 is the new 43, so I expect many more years of riding and would prefer to do it once, although I would expect normal wear and tear replacement, not cheaply made replacement. What are the general thought?

Frank

[blupupher]

Get the e-bay one sold by peppi-le-pew (THIS ONE), it is the original, no idea why it is cheaper on e-bay, but it is and it works.

[fcanary]

Yup, that’s the one I saw for 70 bucks. Just wanted to know about the quality of it. As I said I don’t mind spending the extra money, I just want a quality product.

[blupupher]

Totally understand, when I was looking I also wondered what the deal was, never found a real explanation, but did not question 1/2 the price for the same quality product.

Pretty easy to install, just follow the DIY here and/or the video on the product website.
The one from e-bay even comes with the o-ring. I did not replace mine since it was not leaking, but have it on the shelf if it ever starts.

[bellboy40]

I got the same one on ebay that blupupher linked to above. As he said, it is sold by peppi-le-pew who is the inventor and maker of the product. It is a high quality product and fits perfectly. I don't know why it is cheaper on ebay than Cyclemax but it is. Pretty easy to install. The hardest part is removing and replacing the included oil seal for the shifter shaft. Unless yours is leaking oil past the shaft it is not necessary to replace it. I did mine because it had a little oil around that shaft and I already had everything off to get to it. The next hardest is trimming the heat guard around where the brace mounts to give it clearance. Again its not hard but takes some time.

[blupupher]

... The next hardest is trimming the heat guard around where the brace mounts to give it clearance. Again its not hard but takes some time.

I could not figure out why I could not get my lower cover on. After about 5 minutes of messing with it, pulled up the install thread online and realized I had forgotten to trim the guard.

[XJSRider]

I saw this thread and figured I take a shot on one of these shift braces to resolve my sometimes funky 3-4 shift. What did you use to trim the guard?

[bellboy40]

I used some tin snips and then a grinder to smooth it up some. If you have a die grinder it would work ok with a cutting disc.

[bellboy40]

Here is a link to the article in the How-To section for installing the shifter brace.
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=19760

I had trouble getting the shifter shaft off to replace the oil seal on mine. It was one of the ones that didn't have enough clearance to get it off without prying the frame away a bit to make room. Then I ground the shifter arm to give it more cleanance to get it back on.

[blupupher]

I saw this thread and figured I take a shot on one of these shift braces to resolve my sometimes funky 3-4 shift. What did you use to trim the guard?

It did not fix my 3-4 shift (ghost shift, very notchy/grinding shift), but did help with it quite a bit.
Overall shifting is much better though, well worth it.

I used a Dremel with a reinforced cutting disk to trim the guard.