Motorcycle streamliner steering and front end

[isiahstites]

Does anyone have any pictures of how the motorcycle streamliners are steering and how the front end is attached to the chassis. I am looking for some ideas.....I have seen how a few of them are done , but I am still left wanting to see some other ways.

Do most use a single sided swing arm for the front?

I have been researching a lot and I have found the Bimota has a traditional swingarm in the front but I am not sure how it turns and I have found pictures of the Yamaha GTS 1000 which is a single sided swingarm.

So any drawings or pictures so I can get rid of some of the fog I have in my brain about this concept would be greatly appreciated.

Scott

[ol38y]

Scott, is it fog or smoke?    No, you're probably right.  LOL

[isiahstites]

Scott, is it fog or smoke?    No, you're probably right.  LOL

How about things are a bit unclear........I have not had smoke on the brain for along time.

Scott

[sockjohn]

Does anyone have any pictures of how the motorcycle streamliners are steering and how the front end is attached to the chassis. I am looking for some ideas.....I have seen how a few of them are done , but I am still left wanting to see some other ways.

Do most use a single sided swing arm for the front?

I have been researching a lot and I have found the Bimota has a traditional swingarm in the front but I am not sure how it turns and I have found pictures of the Yamaha GTS 1000 which is a single sided swingarm.

So any drawings or pictures so I can get rid of some of the fog I have in my brain about this concept would be greatly appreciated.

Scott

There aren't that many motorcycle streamliners out there, so not sure there is a "typical setup"
A leading link suspensions avoids the center hub steering, is this what you're looking for?

This is what I have bookmarked, it is by no means complete.  Don't forget the photo album here and on sumner's webpage.

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/ack-attack/ack-index.html

http://www.arrowracing.org/

http://www.streamliner.com/

http://www.geocities.com/buddfab/buddfab3

Are you just curious or wanting to build one? 

[Dean Los Angeles]

No matter what the method, the geometry remains the same. The rake and trail are determined by the speed and handling desired.

If you had the room, a conventional front fork would do just fine. But you don't have the room. It really doesn't matter if it is single sided or not.

Some use the center hub pivot, where the pivot is inside the wheel. This reduces the front profile to a minimum. You still need to consider suspension unless the vehicle is light and running a smaller engine. The Bimota Tesi uses center hub.

http://www.tonyfoale.com/Articles/Steer/STEER.htm



The Costella liner is using a modified parallelogram for steering. Do a search here and you will find a long discussion.


The Buddfab liner also uses a version of the parallelogram with a top pivot and control arms.
http://www.geocities.com/buddfab/streamliner3.html

[bak189]

Here is a Hub-_Center solo bike that has been tested and works great..........in fact so good that Yamaha made a exact copy on their bike.
(one bike was sold to a customer in Japan....and the next thing we know Yamaha has a Hub-Center bike on the market....small world ....right)

wwwbakker-framebouw.nl

[isiahstites]

Thank you to all that have posted! I have seen alot of the stuff that is posted during my research, but did not see all of the pictures that were posted. So thanks again for the pics.

If anyone else has anything and you don't mind sharing please post.

I center hub steering has my interest, but I am not 100% sure how the wheel is turned from inside the hub.

Dean, what are you using on your bike?

Thanks,
Scott

[JackD]

The fastest FIM record holder in excess of 350 mph has a twin fork method with parts made specifically for the application.
There are a number of very strong parts available that can be easily modified for a streamliner and they don't require starting from scratch.
The LSR bike has not been perfected yet.
Use what works, keep it simple, get it done.

[Sumner]

The fastest FIM record holder in excess of 350 mph has a twin fork method with parts made specifically for the application...............

This one Jack???

   

The BUB 7.

Scott or anyone I just posted pictures I have on my site.  Go to the last item on this index page:

 http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/bvilleother/bville%20other%20index.html

c ya,

Sum

[Rocky R]

The steering on Big Red (in the above picture) originally had an adjustable steering head. The problem with it was it flexed, so it was discarded for the more traditional design. I was always told that center hub steering was more difficult to control and had less "feel". The Ack Attack is the only center hub design that I have driven, and I found it handled just fine and had the same "feel" as Big Red. If done correctly, there are many different ways to get the same results.

The size and shape of the tire also contributes to how it handles. We used to use a really narrow front tire on Tenacious II that had almost a flat profile. Because of this it was really easy to balance and required less input. But, once we started going faster, the downforce created at speed was too much for the tire choice we were using, and had to be replaced with a larger, more radiused design.

[JackD]

Two of the liners that were built by ultimately successful people were cable operated to a center hub.
The cable seemed to be smooth and very precise at home.
The objective was to get around "bump steer" when the suspension moved in relation to the controls.
Sounds good right ?
Well it failed, and the idea was abandoned after both builders tried it.
Actually they built it and very experienced riders failed it.
They didn't understand the geometry is all the bike knows and stray from that with flex or a bad reaction and the result is predictable.
Most new ideas are not new at all, and suffer from being afraid to ask.

"Don't make the same mistake the first time ."
 

[isiahstites]

Thanks for the pictures Sumner and thanks to Rocky and Jack for the input.

Scott