A steering and suspension system for bicycles and motorcycles that
consists of an axle that is pivotally attached to the forward ends of two
side rails that are postioned along each side of the vehicle wheel. The
rearward ends of the side rails are pivotally attached to the ends of a
rear rail that is paralled to the axle and positioned at the rear of the
vehicle wheel. The length of the rear rail is large enough to allow
sufficient clearance between the vehicle wheel and the side rails during
a turn so that an acceptable steering lock is achieved. When viewed from
the top, the system forms an isosceles trapezoid with pivots at each
corner. The axes of all four pivots are parallel to each other and
perpendicular to the axle axis. This restricts movement of the axle and
side rails in a plane that is perpendicular to the plane of rotation of
the wheel. The vehicle wheel is controlled by applying a longitudinal
force to the axle through conventional control rods and ball joints.
Suspension of the wheel is accomplished by pivotally attaching the rear
rail to the vehicle frame. The axis of the pivot is parallel to the
centerline of the rear rail and perpendicular to the longitudinal
centerline of the vehicle. This allows the side rails and axle to move in
a plane that is parallel to the plane of rotation of the wheel in the
same manner as a conventional rear swingarm suspension. Control of the
suspension is achieved by a conventional coil-over-shock unit acting
through a progressive rate linkage to a lever rigidly attached to the
rear rail.