Battistinis USA teamed up with leading suspension and fork manufacturer American Suspension to develop and build a new style set of lower legs. taking its flair from the 70’s Motocross Inspired era. These ”Leading Axle legs’ feature an axle that is offset over 1 1/2” forward and around 1/2” lower to give a perfect trail when fitting a 23” front wheel into any touring bike.
A true bolt on part, the “Leading Axle™ fork legs simply replace the stock lower legs without the need to remove the fairing, trees or altering frame geometry. The “Leading Axle™ fork legs has the corrected trail built right into the legs. The “Leading Axle™ fork legs re-utilize stock brakes, fender and all fork internals. These legs can be installed in under two hours, limiting downtime and labor cost.
The “Leading Axle ™ fork legs feature a wrap around fender mount that has the corrected alignment built-in to allow the use of the stock fender. No need for any extra raise up kits. The caliper mounting brackets are held in place with 2 x 1/2” bolts to ensure extreme rigidity and provide the option of single or dual disc. (a radial mounting bracket and caliper is also available and sold separately). The radial mount caliper can be set up to use 11.5”, 11.8”, 13”, 16” or even 18” rotors. You can start with the stock rotor and upgrade any time you want. Axle can be fitted either way and is secured with an axle cap which protects the leg from possible damage if cross threaded.
This new systems Keeps full factory suspension travel with a 23” front wheel, more than using raked trees or any previous options. No need to install travel limiters or uprated springs. Kit is also compatible with American Suspensions fully adjustable cartridge and suspension kits.
Four available finishes, all chrome, all black, chrome & black or black & chrome, plus various color combos.. Patent pending. At Battistinis USA tel. 949-415-7728
Need more pictures from a few feet away.
Great idea! Anyone who has messed around with their front end knows how important it is to keep the rake/trail within certain dimensions to maintain rideability and safe handling. I do wonder if some mild gussets would both improve the look and add to the strength. It would give it a more inverted front end look I suppose. In fact making inverted front ends using this idea might be a money maker too. Maybe a combo rake at the trees combined with this idea might be another way to go about it. Don’t mind me; just thinking out loud (kinda).
Hard to say in the bike building world what sells and what’s the fad of the month as anyone who has built even one bike knows.
Cool! Will make the bike much more valuable at trade-in time since it can be put back to stock much quicker. Save all the old parts
we have been using american suspension forks for over 20 years now . we have been extremely happy with there product , this looks like a great idea vs chopping neck and welding
So simple why did’nt I think think of it. peace
Gas tank still is the same shape for 40 years
Well, I have known Rikki for a long time and his engineering flair is only equaled by his appetite for the good things in life 🙂 On an even more serious note, this will go a long way towards making OEM front ends work and look much better. My just ordered 2017 Dyna will sport these lead axle legs with pride… MF!…
very interesting…..and low cost…..