I'm not remotely denying that plating the headstock won't stiffen the frame. Im just saying if Leo is able to roadrace his S-Series/H-engined bikes to the level he does (which is far faster than I intend to go on the street) without headstock bracing, then Im not going to worry about it.
That said, Leo is using braced or box-sectioned swingarms on his bikes.
My '70 H1 has a KZ650 swingarm fitted and it is NIGHT AND DAY difference in cornering feel (and straight line stability) as opposed to a stock early H1. I left the frame totally unbraced as I did not want to modify anything in case someone in the future wanted to bring it back to a bone stock bike. Just the beefier swingarm made the bike solid as a rock at speed....far more so than my stock H2....and I would also argue that the early H1 frame is weaker than an S-series as well.
Every stock early H1 Ive tried to ride quickly feels like its going to throw me into the woods at anything over 90+ mph. The guys that road-raced these things back in the day were dragging their scrotums in corners along with pipes, stator covers.....
Anywhoo....I just know how much of difference in feel the swingarm alone made on the H1.
Believe me, Im not trying to cut any corners on this thing at the expense of "weight savings",but Im not going to add weight that is un-necessary for 99% of us under normal riding.
And since Im not going plating the headstock, it allowed me to hide all of the H1 electrics up under the headstock.. I made a little bracket for the bottom and welded a small tab for the upper mount. Its even rubbermounted.
*original coil mount will be removed*
There isn't a lot of clearance up under this gastank for cables, wires, etc in the first place, and it took me a while to figure out how to get everything up under this tank and out of sight.