Gordon, I like your idea for the A-arm front end, especially in carbon fiber for ulitimate stiffness. Shades of Britten, eh?
I think this will be the next form of front end to grace mass produced bikes, as it is close enough stylistically for the customers, while being easily adapted to conventional frames.
What about a lower swingarm and an upper a-arm, with a single sided strut/spindle between? Veeeerrrrry stiff, although tire clearance problems will make the lower swingarm very bulky, and curved to get out of the way. Limited steering lock will be a problem, although that will probably make it attractive to Ducati Another really trick idea I liked was one I saw in a couple of the bike mags, including Motorcyclist (I think) that was fabbed by an ex-air force mechanic. It was Sportster powered, and had a giant straight steel backbone that ended in a ball joint at the front end, which mated to the, for the lack of a better term, triple tree. At the bottom of the fork legs, there were arms, not unlike tie rods, running from the fork legs to the frame. In this manner, it steers like a radio controlled motorcycle, in that a steering input moves the steering contact patch out from under the bike. I think it was Nick Ienatsch who said it felt utterly normal despite the unique operation, and had little dive under braking, although the small size of the torque tubes/ tie rods did concern them. It seems to me this would be the ultimate in stiffness, as the triangulation is as far apart as possible. The downside is that it retains the sliding tube/spring combination, but stiction losses should be markedly reduced due to the lack of flex in the fork legs due to the triangulation. What thinks you? Kevin, how about you? Inquiring minds want to know