Forks.......

[Byrdman]

Why is Honda so scared of inverted forks? EVERY other manufacturer has gone that way (for the right reasons or not) and now, the market seems to require it.

I mean, I look at a bike with standard forks and think that it was cobbled together from the "old parts" bin!

[JB4XX]

that it was cobbled together from the "old parts" bin!

Bingo!

No R&D, no re-tooling, no inspiration.

HONDA

[dehning]

Yeah! not like the high dollar guys...

Exhibit A: My 2010 Hyosung GT250R

[Zero Knievel]

For the technically challenged,

What, pray tell, is the benefit of essentially turning the forks upside down? To me, this makes the fork seal directly exposed to every bit of junk the road kicks up onto the fork tube...ensuring it will breach and need replacement sooner.

I would think the fork would do the same job regardless of which way it telescopes.

[RXX]

For the technically challenged,

What, pray tell, is the benefit of essentially turning the forks upside down? To me, this makes the fork seal directly exposed to every bit of junk the road kicks up onto the fork tube...ensuring it will breach and need replacement sooner.

I would think the fork would do the same job regardless of which way it telescopes.

Taken from: http://pnwriders.com/general-discussion/12...ront-forks.html :

All forks (conventional or inverted) have larger diameter outer tubes, and smaller diameter sliding tubes. I'm fairly certain the main benefit of installing them on a motorcycle with the sliding tubes at the bottom is it allows the larger diameter tubes to be held in place by the triple clamps. By clamping the larger or "stronger" tubes the entire assembly is stiffer with less deflection over bumps, turning, braking, landing wheelies, etc.

and:

The fork bushings are dramatically further apart inside inverted forks making them much more stable. What alot of riders feel as "less flex" may be slightly less actual tube flex, but more importantly, less slop between the upper tube position and lower tube position. Bushings also last longer.

[Redbird]

For the technically challenged,

What, pray tell, is the benefit of essentially turning the forks upside down? To me, this makes the fork seal directly exposed to every bit of junk the road kicks up onto the fork tube...ensuring it will breach and need replacement sooner.

I would think the fork would do the same job regardless of which way it telescopes.

Taken from: http://pnwriders.com/general-discussion/12...ront-forks.html :

All forks (conventional or inverted) have larger diameter outer tubes, and smaller diameter sliding tubes. I'm fairly certain the main benefit of installing them on a motorcycle with the sliding tubes at the bottom is it allows the larger diameter tubes to be held in place by the triple clamps. By clamping the larger or "stronger" tubes the entire assembly is stiffer with less deflection over bumps, turning, braking, landing wheelies, etc.

and:

The fork bushings are dramatically further apart inside inverted forks making them much more stable. What alot of riders feel as "less flex" may be slightly less actual tube flex, but more importantly, less slop between the upper tube position and lower tube position. Bushings also last longer.

That, and if you look at sets of standard and inverted forks side by side you'll note that the inner fork tube comprises much less of the total fork length- again, a stronger, stiffer unit overall (yeah, I know. Let it go).

As far as the seals being more exposed, have you ever looked at the fork tubes on your XX? They collect plenty of crap to scrape up and down through the seal, no less and possibly more than a set of inverted that are usually tucked behinda part of the front fender.

[Byrdman]

As far as the seals being more exposed, have you ever looked at the fork tubes on your XX? They collect plenty of crap to scrape up and down through the seal, no less and possibly more than a set of inverted that are usually tucked behinda part of the front fender.

Also, the actual oil seal is held under the dust cap so it protects the seal too.

[Redbird]

Yeah, most of the damage to the seals is done by stuff stuck to the fork tubes being dragged past the dust cover and then the oil seal. There's no advantage to standard forks there unless you're running gaitors.

[Skull]

[Redbird]

If ever a bike needed stiff forks...

Thinking about it, Honda does use USD forks on all it's (two) sportbikes and has for some time. The the VFR1200 has 'em and so does the VTX. Aside from the totally outdated models in their lineup (ST and VFR800), where else should they be using them?

[tomek]

Advantage of USD forks? Less fork flex,although that might be irrelevant for street riding, and less unsprung weight,relevant in any environment .

[beestoys]

Advantage of USD forks? Less fork flex,although that might be irrelevant for street riding, and less unsprung weight,relevant in any environment .

Ditto on the unsprung weight, makes suspension much more responsive and able to stay glued to mother terra firma.

[jon haney]

I'm not so sure about the "un-sprung weight" advantage. Remember that the inside tubes are usually made of steel and the outside are usually made of aluminum. :icon_think:

[brianmacza]

I'm not so sure about the "un-sprung weight" advantage. Remember that the inside tubes are usually made of steel and the outside are usually made of aluminum. :icon_think:

Dunno... I replaced my fork seals about 3 weeks ago and without checking, I think the aluminium parts were heavier. Might be wrong, but they are fairly heavily engineered chunks of ally.

[EVLXX]

Advantage of USD forks? Less fork flex,although that might be irrelevant for street riding, and less unsprung weight,relevant in any environment .

Ditto on the unsprung weight, makes suspension much more responsive and able to stay glued to mother terra firma.

My thoughts... as well.

[jon haney]

I'm not so sure about the "un-sprung weight" advantage. Remember that the inside tubes are usually made of steel and the outside are usually made of aluminum. :icon_think:

Dunno... I replaced my fork seals about 3 weeks ago and without checking, I think the aluminium parts were heavier. Might be wrong, but they are fairly heavily engineered chunks of ally.

If you are talking about USD forks, then yes, the aluminum outside part is likely very close to the weight of the steel inside tube. On stock BB forks, they are not even close.