Well, it's about time. This is the year when we should see the first mass-produced bikes with front suspensions other than conventional telescopic front forks -- and quantity hundred of the $40,000 Bimota Tesi doesn't really count.
One that will be seen in far greater numbers is the new BMW boxer, the first all-new flat-twin from BMW since 1969 when the /5's came out. Prototypes have been photographed during testing in both South Africa and Europe, and along with the new, fuel-injected, multi-valve engine, the most interesting technical feature is the A-arm reaching from the frame to a ball-joint on a fork brace immediately above the front tire. The bike's fairing obscures the rest of the mechanism, but the BMW's front suspension likely follows the Hossack pattern; the design is explained in the next message. Either design should offer less suspension friction, and thus improve both ride and handling, and either could offer less pro-dive behavior during braking than a conventional fork. The new BMW is expected to be formally introduced this fall.
The other machine expected with the fall intros is Yamaha's RADD, which uses the James Parker suspension design placing one asymmetric A-arm at axle level or below, and another more conventionally shaped A-arm just above the front tire. (More on the design and its characteristics later in this thread.) I believe the Yamaha will be based around the FZR1000 engine; that's the powerplant used in early testing. The bike should be configured as an expensive sport-tourer, aimed more at the European market than the American. The new suspension will of course have novelty value, but should also be lighter and more frictionless than the conventional alternative.