If Jean-Michel Thiers (a former Yamaha engineer) has his way the conventional telescopic fork on motorcycles will be a thing of past at least in the super bike category. Jean-Michel developed a single sided hub centric steering concept. He believes in it so much now he has started his own company promoting the idea.

The concept certainly makes a lot of sense. Here are the advantages.

a. 50% anti-dive vs. 90% pro-dive with forks. The classic front fork suspension makes the front of the motorcycle dive under braking which in extreme cases can cause the motorcycle to flip forward. Having a front swing arm allows to design the front suspension with any type of positive dive (like with forks) or negative dive as well as progressive dive. With negative dive the bike will actually raise during braking. Of course most riders like to have some dive to have a feel for how hard they are braking so the ideal bike will have just enough dive to be felt by the rider.

b. Greater comfort. Because the front suspension undergoes less dive during braking it does not tend to compress the suspension as much. This allows for softer springs to be installed.

c. Lighter frame and a lower center of gravity improving handling. There is no longer a need for a sturdy frame around the upper steering column to counter force from the telescopic fork. On some models the engine can be used as the structural main frame of the motorcycle.

d. Suspension rate and dampening can easily be adjusted on the fly as on rear suspensions.

e. Constant stability. Minimal change in wheel base throughout suspension travel.

f. More precise handling. Minimal change in trail throughout suspension travel.

g. Single sided swing arm allows quick wheel removal and installation as only the wheel nut needs to be removed.

h. More compact and aerodynamic overall motorcycle design. Resulting from a lower amount of dive under braking the suspension travel is reduced (although the suspension can be designed to have wide travel for off road use).

i. Increase in braking performance. During braking the reduced dive result in less weight transferred to the front which allows for the rear wheel to absorb more braking power.

j. Greater power to steer the front wheel. Steering ratios can be easily adjusted to provide greater power to steer the front wheel on heavier bike or less handlebar travel to make tighter fairings possible on sport bike. Geared up ratios on sport bikes does not require excessive force at the handle since the four-bar design is easier to steer.

k. More pronounced separation between suspension and steering/control. Allowing adjustment of both to achieve optimum performance. The percentage of anti-dive can be varied with minimal effect to the steering (On telescopic forks, the dive under braking causes the wheelbase to get shorter, the rake to steepen and the trail to reduce.)

Anything that will make it a bit more safer on the road is a winner in our book. We wish Jean-Michel all the best with his idea.