What is the purpose of inverted forks? The the 39mm sportster xr forks? I'm sure it is for performance but what does it do differently to make them perform better

 

Unsprung weight?

 

For off road bikes I know they switched to inverted for more rigidity. Conventional fork have a lot of flex, for cross country bikes they tend to keep conventional.

More important is proper spring weight and valving

 

That pretty much nails it. Inverted forks have less flex then conventional forks. Makes the geometry a bit more predictable which results in a better handling bike. Most manufacturers have made the switch to them for most of their models except for the lower end machines, Harley hasn't quiet caught up to the 1990s yet.

 

sounds like there is very little difference, Harley is making what now? 43mm forks? that should be plenty stiff, no need for inverted forks.

my front end does vibrate & flex a bit when I hit very hard bumps, but fork brace helped a lot.

seems to me they would leak easier & quicker, & harder/ more expensive for maintenance.


if you want to do something that makes a real difference get a fork brace, for the money they are a must have in my book.