Quote Andre De Cortanze the ambitious man behind the SSSA design...
"I wanted to get rid of every preconceived notion I had of what a
motorcycle should consist of and look like," he explained. "I wanted
to achieve four aims: lower the center of gravity, incorporate
'natural' antidive suspension, reduce weight and eliminate the chassis
completely as a separate entity. There were secondary objectives: to
achieve an ideal 50/50 weight distribution, lower the frontal aspect
to reduce the drag coefficient (Cx) and be able to change wheels
quickly. I also hoped to improve airflow to the radiator for more
effective cooling, and make the suspension and steering geometry
adjustable quickly and easily in a way that we had begun to accept as
normal on racing cars but which was largely unavailable then on
bikes."
Quote Alan Cathcart
ELF created an alternative motorcycle that would demonstrate its
superiority on the most demanding proving ground-international
roadracing competition.
ELF wasn't the first to experiment with alternative motorcycle chassis
designs, but it was the best publicized and, thanks to the French
petroleum company's vast resources, the best funded, too. Even if its
two-wheeled experiments didn't radically alter motorcycling's future.
ELF made chassis experimentation respectable. Inspired by ELF,
countless designers the world over were encouraged to create the
motorcycle of the future. ELF may not have been the first to dream up
some of the ideas it subsequently claimed credit for (and patented to
recoup some development costs by selling them to Honda), but it
legitimized the effort.
Honda agreed, signing a secret 1985 agreement to evaluate ELF's
patented designs with an eye toward production applications.
Commercial negotiations to lease the patents began, and an agreement
was signed in September 1987. The first Honda to incorporate ELF's
patented single-sided rear swingarm (henceforth dubbed 'Pro-Arm') had
already been introduced to the market.
Quote Rocket Ron Haslam
"You couldn't ride the ELF5 like a traditional GP racer, braking late
and steering with the rear on the way out. The ELF5 needed lean angle
to turn. When steered like a conventional GP bike, it felt heavy and
unresponsive. But apex the corner in a classical Mike Hailwood style
and steering became neutral, though still heavy. It was stable but far
from nimble, unlike the lighter-feeling ELF3, which felt much more
controllable."
What you got in exchange for heavy steering was unparalleled braking
stability. Because of the hub-center design's constant steering
geometry, you could brake harder and later than on any conventional
machine, and turn under braking without upsetting the handling.
Another advantage of the ELF5 was exceptional chassis adjustability;
all the usual suspension settings, plus head angle, wheelbase, trail,
ride height front and rear, as well as weight distribution were all
readily changeable.
including me
Linear Mode
