Wheelbase

The horizontal distance between the ground contact points of the front and rear wheels. Wheelbase is a function of motorcycle frame length, steering axis angle, and fork offset. Wheelbase has a major influence on the longitudinal stability of a bike (along with the height of the center of gravity). Short bikes are much more likely to perform wheelies and stoppies and have the quickest handling characteristics. On the other hand, a motorcycle’s straight-line stability improves with longer wheelbase. For example, sport bikes have a shorter wheelbase and tourers have longer wheelbases.


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  1. Fork : Motorcycle-Glossary.com on June 8, 2007 8:09 pm

    [...] The metal tubes that connect the front wheel to the motorcycle frame via the triple tree. For handling, the front fork is a critical motorcycle component as it allows the rider to steer. The fork, along with its attachment points on the frame establish the critical motorcycle geometry parameters of rake and trail, which in turn contribute to wheelbase. [...]

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