Following the technology being used by the Formula One industry, Armstrong designers Mike Eatough and Barry Hart created the first motorcycle using a carbon fiber frame to compete in Grand Prix racing. In 1983, Armstrong motorcycles produced a 250cc Grand Prix motorcycle using a revolutionary carbon fiber frame. Unlike the development seen in bicycle frames where tubular steel frames were succeeded by frames welded out of round or ovalized aluminium tubing, the aluminium in motorcycle frames is almost exclusively welded in more angular forms, and often forming a monocoque frame. All the major manufacturers (AJS, Ariel, BSA, Matchless, Norton, Sunbeam, Triumph, Velocette, BMW, DKW, Ducati, Moto-Guzzi, Harley-Davidson and Indian) used steel tubing. In Europe and the USA, steel tubing was the default material until recent times. As different motorcycles have varying design parameters (such as cost, complexity, weight distribution, stiffness, power output and speed), there is no single ideal frame design, and designers must make an informed decision of the optimum choice. While the use of steel tubing is still common, in modern times other materials, such as titanium, aluminium, magnesium, and carbon-fibre, along with composites of these materials, are now used. In the early days, motorcycles were little more than motorised bicycles, and consequently frames were tubular steel. Some motorcycles include the engine as a load-bearing stressed member while some other bikes do not use a single frame, but instead have a front and a rear subframe attached to the engine. At the front of the frame is found the steering head tube that holds the pivoting front fork, while at the rear there is a pivot point for the swingarm suspension motion. Also attached to the frame are the fuel tank and battery. It supports the engine, provides a location for the steering and rear suspension, and supports the rider and any passenger or luggage. Triton: A Triumph engine in a tubular steel Norton Featherbed frameĪ motorcycle frame is a motorcycle's core structure.

Motorbike frames