Heavy Duty – July-August 2019

Words Doc

HARLEY HISTORY

S

pringer forks well pre-date the
motorcycle. That is, if you don’t
count the Daimler Reitwagen of
1885, but it is a bit of a stretch
calling that device a motorcycle.
Way back in 1892, two patents of spring
forks were granted in the US, both of course
intended for bicycles. But our story really
starts with a bloke in New York, one J
Harry Sager, who was producing the Sager
Cushion Fork, and who was supplying
Harley-Davidson in the very early days.
An early advertisement for his forks
reads in part “Can be secured on the
following motorcycles, either as regular
equipment or as an extra,” and then
it goes on to list a number of marques
including Harley-Davidson.
It also says, “Convert your bone-
shaking, nerve-racking instrument of
torture into a comfortable vehicle by the
application of a Sager Cushion fork.”
Now a US motorcycle historian was
recently able to inspect a rare notebook
of Arthur Davidson’s from 1907, which
listed a number of payments from Harley-
Davidson to Sager with one key entry listed

on May 25th reading: “Paid cartage on

spring forks – 50 sets.”

Because it was in 1907 that Harley-

Davidson uses a Sager Cushion fork with

concealed helical coil springs for the first

time and then used a beefed up version

with heavier gauge tubing and larger

springs in 1908.

SPRINGER VS GIRDER

Before we get too far into the story of the

springer forks let’s try and shed a little

light on the difference between the two

types. In doing so we need to consider

that there are endless designs of each kind

with the lines often blurred. However,

here goes.

Springer forks have two sets of legs on

either side. The rear set does not move,

while the front set moves up and down

with the road surface. The springer forks

pivot on the small rockers on the bottom

and use a series of springs at the top for

suspension.

Girder forks have one set of fork legs

that move up and down with the road

surface and use a set of parallel arms

From the very early days the Harley-Davidson

factory used springer forks, right through to

1949. And then brought them back in 1988,
      with good reason ...

1907 Harley-Davidson with

Sager Cushion forks.

Springer