Regular forks - inverted forks

[Mick-e]

There is no fork?

 

[Critter]

There is no fork?

 

[R3DS!X]

that was a great queastion to ask on barf!

 

[Lester Green]

that was a great queastion to ask on barf!

especially when you already know the difference.

 

[Wannaduck]

So I know about the differences of the two. But.. if you were looking at a bike, how would you be able to tell if one is sportbike or a cruiser? is there a dead give away physically?

Thanks

btw, welcome to BARF

 

[racercosmo]

Sportbike:

Cruiser:

 

[acerunner]

Sportbike:

Cruiser:

I still can't tell. Can you be more clear? Is it because one has a hot chick on it, and the other one doesnt?

 

[Feanor]

So I know about the differences of the two. But.. if you were looking at a bike, how would you be able to tell if one had inverted forks or not? is there a dead give away physically?

Thanks

No stupid questions...

Its been pretty well defined in some of the above posts and images. Here is some other info for you.

USD forks are a more rigid system than Regular forks since the triple clamps are attached to the more rigid and larger diameter tubes rather than the shafts. But there is the added concern of deformation of the tube which happens ocassionally when the clamps are overtorqued or the tubes are of lesser quality.

Unsprung weight is only a marginal advantage in the USD system, if you weighed the tube assembly and the shaft and fork piston assembly and the fork oil, there is not a significant difference in mass over the two divisions... With external reservoirs in some of the higher end forks, this advantage disappears in favor of rigidity.

If you blow a fork seal in a regular system, you spot some leakage and keep riding until you can casually schedule a repair at some later point in the month.

If your USD fork blows a seal, it drains completely of oil. USD fork seals have to be perfect, regular fork seals can be "OK"

USD forks are more susceptible to damage and pitting of the shafts from flying debris being closer to the ground and more in the path of objects flung about by the tire. This is actually more a concern for dirtbikes than streetbikes, but still an issue on the street/Freeway.

In some applications regular forks are actually desired over USD forks (Off road trail riding) where the "softness" of the regular system makes trailbike's steering less "twitchy" in tight tracks and over larger obstacles because of the slightly greater flex in the system. Kind of like a poor man's steering damper.

Bikes of all kinds were rippingly fast and still steeped in performance with Regular forks, so though USD forks do have measurable, quantifiable advantages and are more "current" technology-wise, a street bike with USD forks compared to one with regular forks is not equivalent to comparing a model T with a Ford GT40

Stefan

 

[Sane_Man]

I still can't tell. Can you be more clear? Is it because one has a hot chick on it, and the other one doesnt?

 

[Roadstergal]

Wow! It's a PT Sportbike now!