Motorcycle Chassis

Your two-wheeler's chassis is an integral feature and a crucial specification to consider if you're in the market for a new bike. In the same vein, insurance for your bike is just as important. It helps to protect against damages during accidents or theft. A good bike insurance policy is an investment worth making because the last thing you want to do is spend more on repairs.

A motorcycle's chassis parts will depend on the specific type of frame. You can learn a lot about a 2-wheeler based on its chassis. It can indicate the class and category of the bike and the price range you can expect.

To expand on the last part, the cost of the motorcycle is highly dependent on the chassis. Steel has often been a popular choice. It's cost-effective and provides good stability and durability for low and mid-range performance.

In recent times, aluminium, along with other alloys, has been incorporated into 2-wheeler chassis to provide more lightweight vehicles while maintaining some rigidity to the structure. On the other hand, higher-end, expensive bikes use more expensive materials like carbon fibre, magnesium and titanium to enhance their performance and durability.

These are the different types of motorcycle chassis or frames you can expect to see in the current market in India.

Backbone Chassis

This is the most basic bike chassis frame. Its overall structure involves the engine being attached to the backbone frame, which is shaped like a spine and holds important bike parts in place.

This frame is easier to manufacture than other motorcycle frames, making it the least expensive type of bike frame. As a result, it's a good choice for low-powered vehicles. However, it's not many people's first choice because it lacks strength and torsional rigidity, so it's not a strong frame.

Single Cradle Chassis

It's similar to the structure of a bicycle. The single cradle chassis consists of steel tubes welded together that go down to support the engine. It's a simple and inexpensive chassis in motorcycles to produce and is used in many budget-friendly bikes.

A frame is considered cradled if the bike's engine is cradled in the chassis. This is done in some cases where the engine is attached to the chassis and works with it to share some of the stress.

Double Cradle Frame

It's similar to the single cradle chassis. The only difference lies in the engine support. In a single cradle, the engine is supported by one steel tube, but in a double cradle frame, it's got two tubes that support it.

A double-cradle chassis is stronger and more rigid than a single-cradle chassis. Still, there isn't a massive price difference. However, even though this type of frame is the most popular in India because it is strong and cheap, it is not the best in terms of performance and looks outdated.

Perimeter Chassis

The perimeter frame, also called the Twin Spar frame, is the most popular choice for high-performance sports bikes. This type of motorcycle chassis is less stiff because the distance between the steering head and the swing arm is as short as possible. The engine is surrounded by stiff, light beams that go into the steering head with the swing arm. Before, these were made of steel, but now almost all of them are made of aluminium, which is lighter.

Trellis Frame

The trellis frame is similar to a perimeter chassis in terms of functionality. The primary design here lies in connecting the steering bar to the swingarm. The main difference here is the way the connectors are made. As its name suggests, the steel or aluminium tube of the frame is welded together to form a trellis-like structure.

Monocoque Frame

The monocoque frame is the most expensive frame to construct. It requires top-notch production processes and a lot of fine-tuning, so it's not a viable option for many everyday bikes.

The motorbike chassis, in this case, is a single rigid structure made of lightweight, expensive manufacturing materials like carbon fibre and magnesium.