Reversing direction of forks

[GSster]

Just tried reversing the forks on a bicycle that has a leading axle just to see what would happen. The steering is very sensitive and the front wheel wants to 'flop in'. I wouldn't ride it without hands. There seems to be a fine line between where a wheel wants to flop in (twitchy) and where it is quick to steer. I know apples to bananas, bike to motorcycle, so porbably still not a good answer.

[koolaid_kid]

Before GSter and tkent02 kill each other (virtually, of course) I suggest you read this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle...cycle_geometry
There are a lot of factors involved in fork design, and when you change something like that you are inviting problems, if not disaster. If you don't like the way it looks or handles, I suggest you get a different bike instead.

[7981GS]

Shorter wheelbase= easier turn in
Longer wheelbase= smoother on straight aways.


Daniel




More popping as I type.

[GSster]

If you don't like the way it looks or handles, I suggest you get a different bike instead.

Now where is the fun in that? Half the GSs I've seen on here are modified beyond anything I'd even attempt.

[GSster]

Before GSter and tkent02 kill each other

Not me - I actually agree with both Agemax and tkent02 - the trail is increased, but the wheelbase is shorter - what the final result though?

Yamaha had with a trailing axle in their vision bike, so it is not like this is something from Mars here. Honda Rune has a dramatic trailing axle, but that is not really a good example.

[tkent02]

Less trail = easier turn in
More trail = smoother on straight aways.

[GSster]

Took some measurements and reversing the forks would knock off 2.2" off the wheelbase, but add a whopping 3" to the trail for a total of 7". 3"-5" is considered a good range and anything beyond 6" is low speed wheel flop territory.

So yeah, not a good idea.

As for the Kawasaki's, I can only guess that they must not have as much an offset on their axles, so when they are reversed it would not but such a dramatic change to the trail.

[crapwacker]

I suppose, as well, if you had some different trees and clamps to experiment with, that at some point therein you'd find "The Grail"

[Steve]

... - the trail is increased, but the wheelbase is shorter - what the final result though?

The shorter wheelbase will make it turn quicker, but the increased trail will require more effort to do it.

.

[koolaid_kid]

There was a dual-sport Kawasaki bike that was designed from the factory to be able to move the axle. It was called the Bighorn 350. If you Google it you can see the design. True motorcycle magazines and riders panned it. Just thought I would stir the pot.

[Nessism]

First off, putting the fork on backwards is just plain dumb.

Second of all, Tom is right about reducing trail increases steering speed, to a greater extent than shortening wheelbase.

I've built a number of different bicycle frames and forks, and the amount of fork offset, which effects trail, is a significant contributor to how fast the bike steers and the hands off front end stability. Shortening the wheel base doesn't have anywhere near as much impact in the same way.

[5azzmonkey]

another good bike suspension article

http://www.carbibles.com/suspension_bible_bikes.html

[Krunk_Kracker]

I would imagine that would induce instability when when it comes to the likes of tank slapping.

[tkent02]

Bighorn 350 forks...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Kawasaki-Bighorn-350-72-Front-Forks-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem45f492c2dcQQitemZ300456002268QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_1875wt_1167

Played with this quite a bit when I had one.