JP2001071977A - Small motorcycle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the dimension of a vehicle body in its cross direction when it is folded. SOLUTION: The main tube 2 of the body 1 of this motorcycle is separated into a front tube 21 and a rear tube 22, with the front tube 21 connected to the rear tube 22 in such a manner as to be capable of telescoping in its longitudinal direction X. A portion of the front tube 21 is hinged in place by a hinge member 24 and its hinged front end is reversed to either the right or left of the body 1 toward the rear R, whereby the body 1 can be folded in two.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a small motorcycle used, for example, for on-road use, and more particularly, to a compact motorcycle capable of being folded into a luggage compartment of a small truck or a recreational vehicle. The present invention relates to a small motorcycle which is easy to carry.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a motorcycle of this type,
For example, as shown in FIG.
A head pipe 3 is connected to a front end 2a of the front fork 5. A front fork 5 on which a front wheel 4 is supported is rotatably connected to the head pipe 3. Are connected in a rising state, and the upper end portions 6a of the respective handlebars 6 are connected.
And a rear frame 9 on which a rear wheel 8 is supported is connected to the rear end 2b side of the main tube 2, and an engine unit 10 is attached to the rear frame 9. There is a configuration in which the driving force of the engine unit 10 is transmitted to the rear wheels 8 via the drive chain 11 to drive the engine unit 10.

[0003]

However, in the above-described small-sized motorcycle having a conventional structure, for example, a compact motorcycle for carrying a small-sized truck or an RV or the like in a luggage compartment to carry it is required. In the middle of the main tube 2 in the front-rear direction, the main tubes 2 are simply hinged to each other, and the front wheel 4 and the front fork 5 and the handle bar 6 are joined together as shown by two-dot broken lines in FIG. Is turned to the rear of either the left or right of the vehicle body 1 so as to be folded in two, and the front wheel 4 is mounted on the rear frame 9 in the engine unit 10 or in front of the engine unit 10 and the vehicle body 1 The lower end 9a of the rear frame 9 located substantially at the center of the vehicle body 1 so as to overlap with one of the footrests 12 protruding to the left and right. Vehicle widthwise dimension W increases in the state.

Accordingly, when the vehicle body 1 is folded and loaded in a luggage room of a small truck, an RV, or the like,
Since the area occupied by the luggage compartment also increases, a problem arises in that the luggage compartment cannot be used widely and effectively for other loads.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a small motorcycle in which the size in the vehicle width direction in a folded state of the vehicle body can be reduced.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has the following arrangement. According to the present invention, a front fork supporting a front wheel is connected to a front end portion of a body tube of a vehicle body via a head pipe, and a rear frame supporting a rear wheel is connected to a rear end side of the main tube. In a small motorcycle in which the rear wheel drive engine unit is mounted on a rear frame and a pair of left and right footrests are protruded from the lower end of the rear frame, the main tube is a combination of a front tube and a rear tube. A configuration in which the front tube is connected to the rear tube so as to be able to expand and contract in the front-rear direction, and the middle of the front tube is hinged,
A small motorcycle characterized in that the hinge-joining front end is turned rearward to one of the left and right sides of the vehicle body so that it can be folded in two.

In the present invention, one of the footrests projecting left and right of the vehicle body can be inserted into the wheel hole of the front wheel when the vehicle body is folded.

In the present invention, the other footrest can be made foldable.

Further, in the present invention, a pair of left and right handlebars for rotating the front fork is connected to the head pipe in a rising state, and the handlebar can be folded in a forwardly inclined state.

[0010] In the present invention, a grip portion extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle body is connected to each of the handlebars, and each of the grip portions can be folded forward.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In the illustrated embodiment according to the present invention, portions having the same configuration as those of the conventional small-sized motorcycle shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 will be described using the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 1, a small motorcycle according to the present invention has a front fork in which a head pipe 3 is connected to a front end 2a of a main tube 2 of a vehicle body 1, and a front wheel 4 is supported on the head pipe 3. 5 and a pair of left and right handlebars 6 for rotating the front fork 5 are connected in an upright state, and the upper end portion 6a of each of the handlebars 6 is connected to the left and right direction of the vehicle body 1. And a rear frame 9 on which a rear wheel 8 is supported is connected to the rear end 2b of the main tube 2, and an engine unit 10 is mounted on the rear frame 9. The driving force is transmitted by transmitting the driving force of the unit 10 to the rear wheel 8 via the drive chain 11.

The lower end 9a of the rear frame 9 of the vehicle body 1
, A pair of left and right footrests 12 are provided so as to protrude, respectively.
It is arranged in front of the engine unit 10 and at a substantially central portion of the vehicle body 1.

The main tube 2 of the vehicle body 1 has a front tube 21 in which a plurality of pipe-shaped portions are vertically arranged, and a vertically long box-shaped rear tube 2 in the front-rear direction.
2, the front tube 21 is connected to the rear tube 22 so as to be able to expand and contract in the front-rear direction X, and the two tubes 21 and 22 are connected to the rear tube 22. Has a structure that can be fastened and fixed at a predetermined fixed position by the first fixed handle 23.

Further, the front tube 21 is divided into front and rear portions, and hinged to each other at the divided portions by hinge members 24 at hinge members 24. The hinge member 24 can be fixed by a second fixed handle 25 and the second fixed handle 25
When the fixed state is released, the front end 21a side of the front tube 21 on the hinge connection side is turned to the left or right of the vehicle body 1 or, in the illustrated embodiment, to the left side of the vehicle body 1 to the rear and folded in two. , So that it can be folded and rotated.

As a result, as shown in FIG.
With the front fork 5 and handlebar 6
Is turned to the rear R to the left of the left side, and can be folded in a two-fold state.

A pair of left and right handlebars 6 are provided on the head pipe 3 with a bracket 13 and a third fixed handle 1.
4, the handle portion 6 is hinged to the front Y1 so as to be folded forward and rotatable in a forwardly inclined state, and the grip portion 7 provided on each handlebar 6 is also folded forward Y2 via the fourth fixed handle 15. One footrest 12, which is hinged so as to be rotatable and further projects right and left of the vehicle body 1,
In the illustrated embodiment, the right footrest 12 is also hinged so that it can be folded and pivoted rearward and obliquely upward.

That is, according to the above-described small motorcycle according to the present invention, when the vehicle body 1 is folded, as shown by a two-dot broken line in FIG. While the front tube 21 of the main tube 2 is extended forward X, the hinged front end 21a side of the front tube 21 can be folded and rotated by releasing the second fixed handle 25.

When the third fixed handle 14 is released, it is folded and rotated forwardly Y1 through the handlebar 6 in a forwardly inclined state, and when the fourth fixed handle 15 is released, the grip portion 7 is moved forward Y2. After the folding and turning, the front wheel 4 is turned to the rear R toward the left side of the vehicle body 1 together with the front fork 5 and the handle bar 6 as shown in FIG. In order not to interfere with the engine unit 10 mounted on the frame 9,
Can be folded in two folded states.

As a result, the entire body 1 can be folded compactly, and the dimension W in the vehicle width direction in the folded state of the body 1 can be made smaller than before. When loaded in a luggage compartment A of a vehicle body such as a small truck or an RV vehicle as indicated by a broken line, the luggage compartment can be widely and effectively used.

At this time, the right footrest 12 of the vehicle body 1
The right footrest 12 attempts to interfere with the front wheels 4 when the vehicle body 1 is folded in the folded state as described above.

The front wheel 4 of such a right footrest 12
In the present invention, as a measure for preventing interference with the front wheel 4, the front wheel 4 is appropriately rotated to allow the right footrest 12 to be inserted into the wheel hole 41 of the front wheel 4.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0024]

As is apparent from the above description, in the small motorcycle according to the present invention, the main tube of the vehicle body is separated into a front tube and a rear tube, and the front tube is moved in the front-rear direction with respect to the rear tube. Because it is connected to the front tube in a stretchable manner, and the middle of the front tube is hinged, this hinge-joining front end is turned to the rear of either the left or right side of the vehicle body so that it can be folded in two folded states. In addition, when the vehicle body is folded, the front tube of the main tube is extended forward to be folded, so that the interference between the engine unit mounted on the rear frame of the main tube and the front wheel as in the related art can be prevented.

[0025] This makes it possible to reduce the size in the vehicle width direction in the folded state of the vehicle body, so that when the vehicle body is loaded in the folded state in a luggage compartment of a small truck or an RV, the luggage compartment can be widely used. Can be used for

Further, since the footrest can be inserted into the wheel hole of the front wheel when the vehicle body is folded, interference between the front wheel and the footrest as before can be avoided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of a motorcycle according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vehicle body in a folded state.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the vehicle body in a folded state.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing an example of a conventional motorcycle.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the conventional vehicle body in a folded state.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Body 2 Main tube 2a Front end 2b Rear end 21 Front tube 21a Front end on hinge connection side 22 Rear tube 23 First fixed handle 24 Hinge member 25 Second fixed handle 3 Head pipe 4 Front wheel 41 Wheel Hole 5 Front Fork 6 Handlebar 7 Grip Part 8 Rear Wheel 9 Rear Frame 10 Engine Unit 11 Drive Chain 12 Footrest 14 Third Fixed Handle 15 Fourth Fixed Handle R Front Wheel Folding Reversal Direction W Width Dimension X Body front-rear direction Y1 Handlebar folding rotation direction Y2 Grip part folding rotation direction Z Footrest folding rotation direction

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A front fork supporting a front wheel is connected to a front end portion of a body tube of a vehicle body via a head pipe, and a rear frame supporting a rear wheel is connected to a rear end side of the main tube. A small motorcycle in which the rear-wheel drive engine unit is mounted on the rear frame and a pair of right and left footrests is provided at a lower end of the rear frame so as to protrude, wherein the main tube is a combination of a front tube and a rear tube. The front tube is connected to the rear tube so as to be able to expand and contract in the front-rear direction, and the middle of the front tube is hinged, and the front end of the hinge connection side is either left or right of the vehicle body. A small motorcycle characterized in that it can be folded in two folded states by being turned to the rear on one side. 2. The small motorcycle according to claim 1, wherein one of the left and right footrests protruding left and right of the vehicle body can be inserted into a wheel hole of the front wheel when the vehicle body is folded. 3. The small motorcycle according to claim 1, wherein the other footrest is foldable. 4. The head pipe is connected to a pair of left and right handlebars for rotating the front fork in an upright state, so that the handlebars can be folded forward. Item 4. A small motorcycle according to item 1, 2, or 3. 5. The handle bar according to claim 4, wherein a grip portion extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle body is connected to each of the handle bars, and each of the grip portions can be folded forward. Small motorcycle.