Will Thibeault of Fusion Motorcycles tells me his custom “The Machine” is for sale. This bike has a clean look and an aluminum girder front end that I like a lot. I wrote about this bike a few months ago and pointed out a few features you might miss if you weren’t paying attention, like the bolt together frame.
This bike has won a number of awards, competing in the AMD Championship among many others and it’s been featured in quite a few magazine articles, but unlike a lot of customs you’ll see, this one looks like a real rider.
Will says he’s working to get his next project out the door which is called “The Excelerator” and the buyer of this bike will help that project along. He also has another motorcycle in the early stages of development, having to do with a certain dry lake and high speed. Shhhh, … don’t tell him I told you. 😉
If you’re in the market for a really nice V-twin custom, you might want to check this out.
Link: auction has ended
Related: Fusion Motorcycles – The Machine
Gerhard says
I am NOT a tech head, so can anyone explain to me the fascination with girder front ends. It was en vogue on British bikes in the 50’s(?), but seems to me like old technology (I know you can fit it with a modern adjustable coil over damper), but if there is any advantage, why don’t the Japanese use it? I would’ve thought MotoGP and superbikes are pretty much the yard stick in motorcycle design, and therefore, if girders were any good, would’ve appeared on those?
Please enlighten…
Will @ Fusion Motorcycles says
there are some advantages including weight and minimal duck dive on braking. If you look up the Britten V1000 you will see a very successful race bike with a carbon fiber girder http://www.britten.co.nz plus you can change the look and design as much as you want for cosmetics
hoyt says
The Britten is probably the best example of an alternative front-end that was successful in racing (since the telescopic front-end became the standard).
This girder design allowed John Britten to place the engine weight closer to the front wheel which permitted the use of a long swingarm, while maintaining a desired wheelbase. See photo link below
It is baffling that no major OEM besides BMW continues to pursue alternative front-end designs. Funding & “aesthetic acceptance” are always a challenge with developing alternatives to the telescopic front-end. Having a sustained group of riders and racers that are not completely “raised” on teles. is also a obstacle because the difference in feedback is dramatic when pushed on a racetrack. Racers learn to compensate for the theoretical deficiencies of the teles.
http://picasaweb.google.com/bigtwinsportbike/Britten/photo#5080121802040587122
Bob Horn says
Telescopic forks are marketing proof that most manufacturers know that the average motorcycle consumer doesn’t know a whole lot about motorcycles or expect a whole lot more than what they are familiar with.
GP is as much fashion driven as ChopperWorld. What’s on the track has to resemble what’s in the showroom and vice versa – its a vicious cycle, as it were. And next year’s bikes have to look pretty much like last year’s bikes, lest the leftovers stay on the floor forever. You can thank a lot of dealers for that.
New Model Year Previews/Yawn/Repeat
Brian says
Good point, Bob. Hey Will. To make a one-off front end is one thing, to manufacture it in volumes is another. Why change something that the mass majority doesn’t believe is a problem in the first place.
But, small-batch manufacturers and high-end boutiques don’t have to follow the mass majority and can implement what ever they want.
To make a simple girder front end perform at today’s standards, I believe it will cost more to manufacture than an oem telescopic. A girder should have more moving parts, more bearings, etc. Bearings are expensive, especially when you have 16 of them in your front end like the Wraith does. But, we like overkill.
Can a girder perform better than a telescopic? Absolutely, in the same way a double-wishbone on a car performs better than a mcphearson strut.
Keep in mind, what Will has on his bike is a true girder. It’s not like the Britten, really, and the BMW uses a duo-lever/tele-lever which are derivatives of hossack’s designs. Or at least that’s the current popular belief.
I believe the inherent flaw with all true girders is that the wheel trajectory forms an arc or “S” shape through it’s travel. This does funky things to your trail and wheel base. Okay for a B-to-B chopper, but not for a good canyon carver. This is why production girders became obsolete so many years ago, the steering mass was extreme, the pivot bushings would wear out quickly and the geometry was mediocre.
But with today’s technology and components, I believe that true girder geometry can be optimized to provide near linear wheel trajectory, through it’s entire range of travel. In other words, the wheel doesn’t move in the same arc as the multi-links. This gives the rider a familiar telescopic-like feel when the weight of the bike shifts forward. But, the advatages are zero stiction, and very little bump steer, giving the rider more confidence through the turns. We have been trying to make this type of front end better at Confederate since 2004, and by gosh, we’ve got it right. Our cause is not for the track, but for today’s street enthusiast. The prototypes we’ve made will handle pothole-covered mountain roads better than most sportbikes.
My point is, girder’s are expensive.
Good luck Will, hope to see you in Sturgis.
Will @ Fusion Motorcycles says
I do agree Brian, the girders are expensive.
My design also has 16 sealed ball bearings,which I don’t think is overkill just good design sense. Precision ground shoulder bolts ect., all of the right parts needed to make a long lasting functional front end were also used.It all adds up in cost.
I have gone through many designs from the time I left the last motorcycle company in 2000 till now. The geometry of the front end is very critical to the performance of the bike, thats why careful cad design and prototypes were used in the production of this front end.
In fact I have been producing an updated version of this front end for several different bikes, V-rods, Softails, and customs.
As far as Sturgis, I won’t make it this year. My next bike won’t be done in time. I’m trying for the Vegas show in Sept.
Sid says
Brian – who makes the Confederate speedo/tach gauge ?
Will @ Fusion Motorcycles says
Sid,
I saw a guy in Germany that makes a gauge like that. The company is WMD Instruments. Here is the web site, http://www.wmd-instrumente.de
Thanks for looking at the bike,
Will
David says
Will,
How thick are your girders? They are aluminium right?
Also what are the main diferences between the shock/spring on the girder set up compared to a rear shock… might sound stupid but just curious.