Some motorcycle makers, Velocette, for example, bought in Webb forks to fit their range of machines. The girder fork, whether of a simple or more intricate design, was the most common front suspension system found on pre-Second World War motorcycles.īy the mid teens most motorcycles were fitted with a girder, and manufacturers included Brampton, Castle, Druid and Webb. RADD proved to be too much technology, and one that motorcyclists simply didn’t buy. Affixed to the front of a C-shape main frame, one arm is for suspension, and the other for braking and steering. With hub-centre steering, the system is essentially two swing arms on the left side of the front wheel. Unlike Britten’s front end, which does resemble a girder, RADD is completely different. Instead of steel tubes, Britten’s girder was constructed of lightweight carbon fibre and Kevlar components, all suspended by a single Ohlins shock.Īnd, Yamaha licenced the rights to James Parker’s RADD (Rationally Advanced Design Development) front end in 1990, and built the GTS1000 from 1993 to 1996 around the alternative suspension system. Race icon John Britten experimented, successfully, with a girder design on his V1000. The visible fork tubes do not provide suspension, rather they hold the front wheel in place and provide steering inputs. Telelever uses an A-arm swingarm that pivots from the engine with a single monoshock attached to the A-arm and the motorcycle frame. BMW’s system doesn’t differ too much from traditional girder theory, but the hardware has been updated. Witness some of the modern examples of the technology, including BMW’s Telelever. Maybe that’s why the girder might just be due for a comeback. It did lack an appreciable amount of travel, but properly set up a girder provided a light, lithe, and sporty ride. It was stronger, wouldn’t dive under braking, and was less prone to stiction. Shame, really, because the girder was a better system, especially in the early days of the telescopic. So absolute was the adoption of the new technology that owners of motorcycles from the 1930s were buying telescopic units and binning their girder forks. When manufacturers in the 1940s replaced what was the industry standard girder fork with the hydraulically damped telescopic unit motorcycles stepped into the modern age. Jake Robbins (right) with son William and their Brough Superior exact replica made in England fork.