BMW R1150R front swingarm?

I've seen this R1150R in the bike park the last couple of days and it
has what's best described as an 'interesting' look. I noticed today
that it has what appears to be a front swingarm? Is this right, if so
why? i.e. what's wrong with just having conventional forks?[1]

This pic seems to show the 'swingarm' in question.
http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcbmw/mcphotos/02bmw03.html


[1] yeah I know it's a bmw but there must be more to it?

 

That's the telelever front suspension. It's surprisingly good.

 

A couple of pros I can think of :

1. The forks don't need to be quite as strong and can therefore be lighter -
therefore less unsprung weight - good for suspension.
2. Less flex in the forks as they are fixed in two places rather than one -
therefore should track better through bends.

 

Mike Burnstead wrote in

Ding. Riding on bumpy roads is less tiresome.

If you can, ride a Telelever bike along a straight but bumpy road. Look
through the fairing to see how much the front wheel is bobbing up and down
whilst the handlebars remain undisturbed. Fabulous device.

 

It does seem to be built for comfort, although you don't have any
problem get the speed out of it either.

I didn't actually notice the Telelever on your R1150GS the other
weekend, guess I was too distracted by the yellow beak and the
squinting headlights. I've just seen one site that describes the look
as a 'duck on drugs' ;-)

 

rb wrote in

The official name for my yellow paint is mandarin which IIRC is a breed of
duck. The bike certainly has presence on the road. I get fewer SMIDSY type
incidents compared to my CBR600.