I got a bit more done on The Bride’s front brake.
The VTR250 didn’t use an actual brake stay. Instead, there was a boss cast into the fork lower that engaged a slot in the brake plate when the wheel was inserted. Not only do my forks not have that brake boss, but the forks are now forward of the axle anyway. But that’s actually a good thing, because it frees up that space for an additional stay assembly.
The stay arm is 7/32″ (5.5mm) thick steel. It mounts to the axle at the bottom and has a 90-degree bend on the other end for transferring brake force against the back of the fork slider. I cut and ground an alloy block to be a tight fit inside the brake panel slot. I still need to mount the block to the arm. I am planning to use a pair of M8 x 1.25 socket head screws with heli-coil inserts in the alloy block for strength.
I will make up an additional bracket that will tie the top of the plate to the fender mounting bosses for a little more strength, and because the brake plate could theoretically rotate the other way when the bike is rolled backward.
