advantages of an inverted fork

hello guys,

i'm from the philippines and i'm reading up on some tech stuff.  i am just wondering what are the advantages of having an inverted fork?  i am very interested in the tech side of things in a bike.  i am currently a fairweather rider of an old beat up 1978 cb550f

thanks!  

One advantage is that you will immediately know if your fork seals are leaking   because you will have a ton of fork oil all over your brake rotors and garage floor.
Just kidding. But not really.

Some people say it gives you a stiffer front end but my personal opinion is that they are more or less a fashion statement.

from elsewhere on the web (not my own words) :

"USD's have advantages as well as disadvantages.

Advantage, the heavier part of the fork is bolted into the triple clamps, so you have less unsprung weight. (as with a conventional fork, the heaviest part of the fork is bolted to the wheel).

Advantage, less flex under braking  

Disadvantage, less flex. Some motorcycles respond poorly to inverted goodness because they flex less. Conventional forks allow for lateral flex during cornering. Whereas inverted don't. This one is hard to call a disadvantage, however, because not all bikes would respond poorly to inverteds.

Disadvantage, they are stronger. Meaning that if you hit something solid with inverted, they are so strong, all the forces are passed into the frame, sometimes damaging the frame. "


 

thanks casey

i figured that the weight would be both negative and positive.

on a normal fork there would be a heavier mass down below, lower center of gravity hence more stable

on an inverted fork weight is higher up less "stable" (how stable i don't know).  

I'd wager the steering geometry of the bike will have much more to do with stability or instability than any difference inverted or conventional forks might make.

The stiffness of the USD forks since also reduces side loads on the sliders, thus less stiction so better suspension performance is possible- provided the setup is at least in the ballpark for the rider.

USDs have been de rigeur for many years on racing motorcycles, so the advantages in favor of USDs far outweigh any disadvantages.

Next up: we'll start seeing gas charged USDs on production bikes in the next 5 years or so.

Of course, go to a trackday and watch as a fast dude on a clapped out EX500 with damper rod forks rails around some newbies on latest spec 600s and once again, it will be proven the rider makes the most of the difference when it comes to performance.