One of the big differences between America’s biggest and most popular two auto racing series, NASCAR and IndyCar, and America’s biggest and most popular motorcycle road racing series, MotoAmerica, besides the obvious fact that cars have four wheels and motorcycles have two wheels, is that NASCAR and IndyCar races are held on both road courses and ovals, but MotoAmerica doesn’t race on ovals.

Or do they?

OK, it’s true that MotoAmerica doesn’t race on oval racetracks, but some of the MotoAmerica Quad Lock Superbike riders do, in fact, race on ovals. Let us explain.

Hydraulic front forks have been the standard of excellence in AMA motorcycle racing pretty much since the very beginning of AMA motorcycle racing. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, inverted or “upside-down” (USD) front forks were introduced because it was discovered that forks with the thicker, more robust stanchions at the top and held firmly by the triple clamps provide better stiffness and reduces the unwanted flex that plagues conventional forks with the smaller-diameter tubes at the top. To this day, USD front forks are de rigueur in all MotoAmerica race classes.

The Moto2 World Championship is often used to test new parts for MotoGP. And, among those new parts currently being tested are “asymmetrical” or oval forks.

The Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing team is always innovating and always incorporating the latest technologies, components, and know-how in the constant pursuit of higher performance. Just like in Moto2, team owner Richard Stanboli, his crew, and his riders Bobby Fong and JD Beach are also experimenting with oval forks in MotoAmerica.

What Exactly Are Oval Forks?

The word “oval” comes from the Latin word ovalis, which means “egg-shaped,” and it is derived from the Latin noun ovum (egg).

Round tubes have a uniform cross-section, which distributes stress evenly around the entire circumference. In applications where pressure is applied uniformly from all directions, such as in hydraulic systems, round tubes excel. Their circular shape allows for efficient load-bearing as the stress is symmetrically dispersed. Mathematically, the moment of inertia of a round tube about its central axis is relatively high for its cross-sectional area, which contributes to its strength in resisting bending and torsional forces.

Oval tubes, on the other hand, have a more complex cross section. They can be engineered to be stronger in specific directions. For example, if an oval tube is designed with its major axis oriented in the direction of the maximum applied load, it can withstand higher bending moments in that plane compared with a round tube of the same cross-sectional area.

Flexibility Side To Side, Rigidity Front To Back.

Öhlins’ oval front forks have oval outer tubes. Lateral forces cause them to bend a little bit, so they better absorb mid-corner bumps, but the oval forks remain rigid under high braking conditions because the tubes are thicker at the front and back than they are on the left and right. Also, special upper and lower triple clamps have oval mounting holes for the oval forks, so the forks can only be oriented one way in the clamps.

Fong and Beach have been testing the oval forks in an effort to give them better front-end feel in the corners along with less flex and better control under heavy braking.

It is still early days for the technology and, anecdotally speaking, Fong and Beach are still coming to grips (literally) with the oval forks.

We’ll all have to keep an eye on the Attack team and see whether the oval forks will remain somewhat of a novelty or if the unconventional oval forks will become, well, conventional.

Also, since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it remains to be seen if and when the other Quad Lock Superbike teams and riders will switch to oval forks on their own bikes.

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