Originally posted by customyzr
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R1 with Girder Front Suspension – Update
Yamaha R1 with Arc Girder front suspension

The start of summer is around the bend which means for some builders another winter project is getting close to completion. Jason Rodman sent us an update on his very cool girder project. The impressive aluminum, arc’d design is carried out with excellent machining.
During the intial mockup, RMD and Jason found proper trail numbers could not be achieved using the original straight legs with the stock 24 degree rake of the Yamaha R1. RMD Billet and Jason eventually came up with the arc in the legs to obtain the desired trail instead of cutting the neck of the frame (for new rake) or fabricating offset races.
After 60 hours of machine work, the resulting milled lattice structure retains rigidity while reducing weight (and also looking trick). The weight of the front-end is about 30 lbs. with 12 pounds attributed to the Penske shock.
Look for his bike at the following events this summer to get a close-up view:
• LA Calendar Show in Long Beach
• Laguna Seca at the MotoGP in July
• BUB Moto Speed Trials at Bonneville in September
Imagine a mass-produced and affordable modern sportbike with little dive in the front-end….
John Britten’s racebike worked very well with a modern interpretation of the girder front-end. The Kneeslider looks forward to hearing about the performance of Jason’s hard work being adapted to the R1. Great job Jason and RMD!


The start of summer is around the bend which means for some builders another winter project is getting close to completion. Jason Rodman sent us an update on his very cool girder project. The impressive aluminum, arc’d design is carried out with excellent machining.
During the intial mockup, RMD and Jason found proper trail numbers could not be achieved using the original straight legs with the stock 24 degree rake of the Yamaha R1. RMD Billet and Jason eventually came up with the arc in the legs to obtain the desired trail instead of cutting the neck of the frame (for new rake) or fabricating offset races.
After 60 hours of machine work, the resulting milled lattice structure retains rigidity while reducing weight (and also looking trick). The weight of the front-end is about 30 lbs. with 12 pounds attributed to the Penske shock.
Look for his bike at the following events this summer to get a close-up view:
• LA Calendar Show in Long Beach
• Laguna Seca at the MotoGP in July
• BUB Moto Speed Trials at Bonneville in September
Imagine a mass-produced and affordable modern sportbike with little dive in the front-end….
John Britten’s racebike worked very well with a modern interpretation of the girder front-end. The Kneeslider looks forward to hearing about the performance of Jason’s hard work being adapted to the R1. Great job Jason and RMD!


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