The development of the
AME Girder- and Springer forks

The Girder- and Springer forks developed by AME at the beginning of the 1980s can, from a technical point of view, be justifiably be seen as one of the absolute highlights of chopper construction.

In comparison to the typical chopper, these unusual fork types can be seen as a logical continuation of the intensive research and develoment work carried out - styling an unrivaled standard of driving comfort. An expert opinion provided by the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft (Labor für Betriebsfestigkeit, Darmstadt) about the AME Girder- and Springer forks reached the following conclusion:

"…The forks captivate by their very good responsiveness to unevenness in the road surface. In comparison to extended telescope forks, they constitute a considerable improve- ment in terms of the increased rigidity in the operating direction. Good controllability by full braking through considerably reduced natural oscillation as well as a lower stress level whilst driving straight / taking curves in the steering head area of the frame are combined with a better responsiveness on uneven road surfaces. A low-abrasive operation can be expected through directing the forks by double ball bearings…."

Perhaps the market introduction of the AME Girder- and Springer forks have been less spectacular than the TÜV authorization of the various AME frames, but they made clear the direction which the journey within the area of chopper construction would take.

If the previous years were concerned with the attempt to make chopper riding in Germany at all possible, the development work of future years was concerned with solving questions of technical detail.