“Forks”: the most common mistake among motorcyclists?

Quoting from the Treccani dictionary, the fork is “Generally, any wood, iron or other object that at a certain point it widens and bifurcates, taking on approximately the shape of a Y….”. This is enough to demonstrate to the many skeptics on the topic that talking about the fork of a motorcycle, saying "motorcycle forks", is a grammatical error. The confusion perhaps arises from the fact that the sides of the "Y" are two, therefore plural, formed by the two sets of stems and sheaths (classic or reversed, therefore with the sheath upwards), joined by two plates (one in the large majority of scooters), which with the steering head define a "Y", or something close. Yes, because in fact, the fork of a motorbike is more of an "H", with the high side closed by the presence of the upper steering plate and with an extra rod, made up of the steerer (or rather the element that is positioned in the steerer, which is part of the frame). In essence, it is called a fork, but it is no longer so, because the "Y" is clearly recognizable in that of a bicycle, while the evolution of motorcycles has led to a different shape, while maintaining the word to define this element, which however, it remains unique. The plural can be used when referring to multiple forks, of two or more motorcycles and so on. The only motorcycle, hence the inspiration for this article of ours, which allows us to use the plural form, is the Yamaha Niken, which we recently tested in preview (it will not be on sale before next autumn). In this case there are in fact two pairs of suspension elements (stems and sliders), which effectively form two forks, placed externally to the wheels, to allow the motorbike to obtain lean angles of up to 45°.

Why do we deal with a topic that might seem so boring and linked to a widespread error, but which interests those who do it very little? Why, some will smile, but it's something that creates a bit of stomach acidity among professionals every time it happens. In all honesty, even the undersigned as a kid had the bad habit of using that incorrect plural and I still remember a young colleague, now director of one of the most authoritative sector magazines, who corrected me, but my answer was that yes, I could understand the mistake, but in fact everyone did it, so it was okay. Today, after having also gone over to the side of those who write about motorbikes for work, I admit that every time I hear that damned plural, I can't help but get on the stand and correct whoever is doing it. Indeed, even if it would have been correct to do so, in the article dedicated to Niken, with a turn of phrase, I preferred to avoid the plural form, defining it as "a double fork".

Many times in the comments of articles and videos, or listening to conversations between motorcyclists or in advertisements for used spare parts, we have read and heard distortions that go even further than the age-old problem of the wrong plural. There are those who use terms like "hairpins" and "forchette", which if in Italian are synonymous with fork, in the motorcycle world they make you smile, or rather make your skin crawl.

Finally, making a meticulous reflection, there would be another error, which however no one corrects and is unanimously widespread and accepted as a matter of practice. When you say fork you instantly think of the front one, but then there is the rear swingarm of a motorcycle. Even in this singular case, there are fewer doubts here, perhaps due to the fact that it is almost always made up of a single piece, which splits into two to embrace the wheel, which is fixed to it with a pin. However, it is also called swingarm for the single-sided ones, which in fact lack a piece of the "Y". Perhaps no one has ever asked themselves the problem and by convention we all do it, including professionals, continuing to talk about swingarms, even for the single-sided one.

Now that we have analyzed the reason for such a widespread error, you too, who have read this article, will be able to correct anyone who you hear talking about "forks" on their motorbike, perhaps by sending them the link to this page. Let's save the Italian, before this distortion is also cleared through customs, after "the tires" have become "the tires" (but we will continue to use the original and correct form, as long as we live).