Brake calipers on the fron of forks ?

[chrisshrops]

Ok chaps so why did BMW put the brake calipers on the front of the fork legs on some models,I have never seen any advantage of this or disadvantage I guess ,however I am curious,so if any of you fountains of knowledge knows spill the beans

 

[chrisshrops]

I am also not sure why my bloody IPad auto correct has alterd front to fron ! Bloody thing

 

[Dogbytes]

Ok chaps so why did BMW put the brake calipers on the front of the fork legs on some models,I have never seen any advantage of this or disadvantage I guess ,however I am curious,so if any of you fountains of knowledge knows spill the beans

Lots of people did, back in the day (early '70s) when discs first started to become popular. The theory was, as I recall, that it gave better cooling to the pads, etc.

 

[cookie]

i thought it was some bollocks about the position of the weight relative to the steering stem?

at least that's what guzzi said when they moved the calipers behind the legs on the le mans. they actually just swapped the legs around, leaving the drains in the wrong place. no great transformation in handling was ever noted

now that all(?) calipers are now located behind the legs, i guess that must be the right place

 

[chrisshrops]

yep think your right Cookie

 

[Dogbytes]

i thought it was some bollocks about the position of the weight relative to the steering stem?

at least that's what guzzi said when they moved the calipers behind the legs on the le mans. they actually just swapped the legs around, leaving the drains in the wrong place. no great transformation in handling was ever noted

now that all(?) calipers are now located behind the legs, i guess that must be the right place

Yep, apparently in front of the legs was good for cooling but bad for the moment of inertia around the steering axis or some such bollox. We used to just swap them around on Jap bikes too but I cant say I've ever noticed any difference. I made sure I put it behind on the ST though

 

[chrisshrops]

Well they look better behind buddy ,I have the front end off my rt at the moment I may swap took

 

[Steptoe]

Braking forces placed in front of the fixed point of rotation and the suspension compression.

Better for fork stability on long travel suspension.

 

[Timolgra]

Best of both worlds .....

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

Or ....... the parts bin only had left hand fork legs

 

[Timolgra]

Or ....... the parts bin only had left hand fork legs

Well yes that was the case with Slippery Sam, I converted my own Trident by making and welding a mount the rh fork leg but the fact remains....front or rear is theoretical bollox

Excuse the excess luggage, there was a reason oh and my map rolled onto the bars .... pre gps

 

[B Murr]

Well yes that was the case with Slippery Sam, I converted my own Trident by making and welding a mount the rh fork leg but the fact remains....front or rear is theoretical bollox

Excuse the excess luggage, there was a reason oh and my map rolled onto the bars .... pre gps

Looks like you ran out of loo roll as well

 

[VAL. H.]

Ok chaps so why did BMW put the brake calipers on the front of the fork legs on some models,I have never seen any advantage of this or disadvantage I guess ,however I am curious,so if any of you fountains of knowledge knows spill the beans

In the case of the 80/90s Rs and Ks they have the same fork legs, but positioned the opposite way round. Rs have the calipers at the front, Ks at the rear. If you look closely at the wheel spindle hole, you will notice that it is off center. Therefore the forks trail can be altered. In the case of the Rs this will make the steering a bit quicker. For the Ks it will make the steering a bit slower. Though this might not be good for the handling. It is however useful if you wish to fit a sidecar, as it will make the steering mildly easier. But only mildly. Only on the K-bikes mind.

I suspect the reason for this to be BMWs use of common parts that work on several styles of motorcycle. In the same way as the frame being the same on both the road bikes and GSs.




Val.

 

[chrisshrops]

Perfect matey