Timberwoof’s BMW R1100GS Page
motorcycle
R1100GS
Features
Favorite BMW R1100GS Features
Telelever
The Telelever
front suspension has these main components:
- Top ball-joint (not shown)
- Bottom ball-joint (above fender)
- Spring-Damper unit
- Telelever Leading Link
- Fork Legs
The fork legs are empty. They do not contain springs or suspension dampers, and above the lower ball-joint, only transmit steering forces. Because they are extra long and have a lot of overlap, the forks are very sturdy. The forks of the GS have a unusually long travel for a street bike, about 7.5".
The weight of the front half of the bike is carried by the spring-damper unit.
The wishbone-shaped Telelever, a leading link, is hinged in back above the cylinder heads. In front it is attatched to the fork tubes by the lower ball joint. The Telelever transmits most of the braking forces to the chassis.
As the front wheel moves up and down, the pivoting Telelever causes the wheel to move vertically, not diagonally back as in conventional suspensions. The motorcycle cannot shorten its wheelbase (much) by compmressing the front fork, so the bike doesn’t dive (much) while braking. BMW could actually set up the bike to have zero dive, but test riders said they wanted just a little dive in the system.
Features
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