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Joined: Jan 03, 2010 Posts: 64 Location: Lancaster PA
Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 6:49 pm Post subject: Axles in front
I`d really like to know why some bikes have there axles in front of the forks (dirt bike style) & some don`t . I really think it takes away from the looks of the bike with the front end like that. Take my old XS1100mns i had, it had the axle in front & yet the early XS`s didn`t & there front end looks way better that way. Kind of like they designed the bike & some kid walked by & said where are you going to connect the front wheel to. (can you say after thought) I know it kind of gives more travel & that cruiser look , but i think they should have put it on the bottom of the forks & just rake it a little more if going for that 70`s-80`s custom look. Kind of like the Magna i`m doing , which is a nice looking bike but the front legs turn me off (and i`m sure a leg man)
Joined: Nov 02, 2008 Posts: 1036 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 1:24 am Post subject:
In respect of your Midnight Special my guess is that Yamaha moved the axle forward to lighten the steering,and with an existing base model to work from it is surely much cheaper to change the location of the front axle than to change the rake.On a sport tourer like an XS1100(Thats how we thought of it back in the day) the bars are mainly a place to rest your hands and a convenient mounting point for the other controls and body language and throttle control is a bigger part of steering than handlebar inputs. THe midnight specials and other cruisers moved footpeg locations and changed the way riders interact with the bars requiring considerably more actual turning of the bars to steer the bike in the urban settings it is designed for.
I have seen a recent sidecar converted BMW twin that had heavy plates bolted up to the fork legs to move the axle forward some 6 inches or more.
A more informed forum member will correct me if I'm on the wrong track -my thinking is that the fork lowers extend way below a forward mounted axle on some dirt-bikes for reasons that are more to do with increasing available suspension travel and use-able oil capacity than to do with effect on steering.
Joined: Feb 23, 2007 Posts: 1016 Location: Orlando, FL
Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 5:21 am Post subject:
From what I remember reading back in the late 70s / early 80s when "leading axle" forks were common, it was overwhelmingly a "style" thing - made the front end look longer / more raked / more chopper-like. And remember, that was the day when the 'cruiser' style was really coming on in the showroom. The Custom and LTD and Special/Midnight Special and L models were outselling the standard styles by a huge margin. And it's not fair to knock yesterday's styles today, because of course fashions change.
Sidecars and dirtbikes are a different story. Sidecars are a whole WORLD different and for dirtbikes, Russell is on the right track - travel and available oil volume. And even then, that's not counting "inverted" forks of the modern times.
As Russell said it is for lightening up the steering. Moving the axle forward shortens trail. The rake of cruiser styled bikes required a shorter trail as without it the steering would have been very sluggish at highway speeds. That's why early chopper riders with raked out and extended front ends insisted their bikes were stable. They were with all that trail but changing lanes quickly was another story. Changing the offset of the triples is another option but the leading axle does mimic the lowers of a springer front end a little. I don't like the looks but it works.
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