JP2003237659A - Scooter type motorcycle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability of a rear cushion unit, and to improve riding comfort while lightening a vehicular body. <P>SOLUTION: A battery 42 storing box (a third cross member) is provided at a rear end of a vehicular body frame 4 and near a rear cushion unit 16 installing portion. The battery 42 is stored in the battery 42 storing box. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a scooter type motorcycle in which a unit swing type power unit having rear wheels is supported at a rear portion of a vehicle body frame.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional scooter type motorcycle, a vehicle body frame is formed so as to extend rearward and upward toward the lower side of a seat behind a footrest portion, and a front portion of a power unit is vertically extended in the inclined portion. It is swingably connected. In the power unit, a transmission case that supports the rear wheels in a cantilevered manner at the rear end is integrally formed with the engine crankcase,
The crankcase is coupled to the vehicle body frame as described above, and the rear end portion of the transmission case is connected to the rear end portion of the vehicle body frame via the rear cushion unit.

The rear cushion unit extends upward from the transmission case and has its upper end pivotally supported by the vehicle body frame. For example, the rear cushion unit expands and contracts when the rear wheels pass over bumps on the road surface. The shock transmitted to the vehicle body frame side is alleviated and the vibration of the vehicle body is damped. The characteristics of the rear cushion unit are set corresponding to the weight of the vehicle body so that the rear cushion unit operates well. In other words, this characteristic is set so that the impact when the rear wheel crosses the small unevenness of the road surface is not transmitted to the seat, and the vertical movement of the vehicle body after the rear wheel crosses the relatively large unevenness. The vibration is set to be damped as quickly as possible.

[0004]

In the scooter type motorcycle, it is required to reduce the weight of the vehicle body in order to facilitate the handling. However, when the vehicle weight is reduced in response to this request, there is a problem that the riding comfort is reduced. This is because the weight above the rear cushion unit is reduced, and the load that presses the cushion unit from above is reduced.

That is, when the power unit swings upward, the cushion unit is unlikely to contract, and the rear portion of the vehicle body frame moves greatly together with the power unit in the up-down direction, resulting in reduced riding comfort. Such a problem can be solved to some extent by changing the characteristics of the rear cushion unit so that the spring force of the spring is reduced. However, if the spring resilience is reduced,
For example, when taking a sudden start, the rear part of the vehicle body is unnecessarily lowered, making it difficult to ride.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to improve the operability of the rear cushion unit and improve the riding comfort while reducing the weight of the vehicle body.

[0007]

In order to achieve this object, a scooter type motorcycle according to the present invention is provided with a battery storage box at the rear end of the vehicle body frame near the rear cushion unit mounting portion. The battery is stored in the battery storage box. According to the present invention, since the battery, which is an essential and essential component, is mounted on the rear end of the vehicle body frame, the weight of the rear end of the vehicle body increases without changing the total weight of the vehicle body. Therefore, it is possible to increase the load for pressing the rear cushion unit from above while reducing the weight of the vehicle body.

A scooter type motorcycle according to a second aspect of the present invention is the scooter type motorcycle according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the rear end portions of the vehicle body frame are formed so as to form a pair in the vehicle width direction. However, a battery storage box is interposed between these rear ends. According to the present invention, the battery storage box functions as a cross member and reinforces the rear end portion of the vehicle body frame.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of a scooter type motorcycle according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 is a side view of a scooter type motorcycle according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a body frame, FIG. 3 is a side view of a front half of an upper frame, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the same. 5 is a side view of the rear half of the upper frame, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of the same. FIG. 7 is a side view of the lower frame, and FIG.
Is also a plan view. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of the left down frame in FIG. 3, FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line XX of the vehicle body left front-rear direction extension in FIG. 5, and FIG. 11 is a vehicle body left side front-rear direction in FIG. FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the body frame, and FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line XI-XI of the extending portion.

In these figures, reference numeral 1 denotes a scooter type motorcycle (hereinafter, simply referred to as a scooter) according to this embodiment. This scooter 1
A unit swing type power unit 3 having a rear wheel 2 is supported on a rear portion of a vehicle body frame 4. In FIG.
Reference numeral 5 is a front wheel, 6 is a front fork, 7 is a steering wheel, 8 is a seat, and 9 is a vehicle body cover.

The power unit 3 has a structure similar to that well known in the art, and the engine 10
And the transmission case 11 are integrally formed to form the rear wheel 2 at the rear end.
And transmits power from the engine 10 to the rear wheels 2 via a V-belt type automatic transmission (not shown) provided in the transmission case 11. In FIG. 1, the reference numeral 12 provided above the transmission case 11 is an air cleaner of the engine 10. In the power unit 3, an upper portion of a crank case 13 is swingably connected to a vehicle body frame 4 via power unit supporting brackets 14 and 15 (see FIG. 2) described later, and a rear end portion of the transmission case 11 is a rear portion. It is connected to the rear end of the vehicle body frame 4 via the cushion unit 16. The rear cushion unit 16 also has a structure similar to that well known in the related art, and includes a cushion spring and a hydraulic damper (not shown).

The vehicle body frame 4 is an upper frame extending from a head pipe 21 that rotatably supports the front fork 6 and the steering handle 7 to a rear end portion of the vehicle body through a footrest portion 22 and a lower portion of the seat 8. 23 and a lower frame 24 extending downward from the middle of the upper frame 23. The upper frame 2
3 is made of an aluminum alloy, and the lower frame 24 is made of an iron-based alloy. That is, the body frame 4 is made lighter by forming the upper portion thereof with a relatively lightweight aluminum alloy.

The upper frame 23 is the head pipe 2
A front half portion 25 extending from 1 to the footrest portion 22 and a rear half portion 26 welded to the rear end portion of the front half portion 25 and extending to the rear end portion of the vehicle body are separately formed. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the front half portion 25 includes the head pipe 2
1, a pair of left and right down frames 27, 27 extending rearward and downward from the head pipe 21, and two cross members 2 interposed between the down frames 27.
8 and 29, which are formed by so-called gravity casting to integrally form the respective parts. The gravity casting is a casting method in which a molten metal is filled in a mold by gravity.

As shown in FIG. 9, the down frame 27 is formed in a box shape having a closed cross section. Further, of the two cross members 28 and 29, the front cross member 28 located on the side of the head pipe 21 is formed to have a closed vertical cross-section as shown in FIG. The numeral 29 is formed in a V shape in cross section. A mounting seat 30 for mounting a front end portion of a lower frame 24, which will be described later, is provided in the vicinity of the rear cross member 29 in each of the down frames 27.

The rear half 26 of the upper frame 23 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 6, a left front-rear extending portion 31 and a right front-rear extending portion 32 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body at both end portions in the vehicle width direction, and these front-rear extending portions 3 are formed.
1, 32 are composed of first to third cross members 33 to 35 connecting the front end portion, the central portion, and the rear end portion to each other, and are formed by a vacuum die casting method to integrally form the respective portions. Has been done.

The left and right front and rear extending portions 31, 32 are
The front portion of the power unit 3 is swingably connected in the vertical direction to the center portion of the vehicle body in the front-rear direction via brackets 14 and 15 for supporting the power unit. A cushion unit bracket 36 for connecting the upper end portion of the rear cushion unit 16 is provided at the rear end portion. Further, brackets 37 for connecting midway portions of the lower frame 24, which will be described later, are provided at the front end portions of the left and right front-rear extending portions 31, 32 so as to project downward.

The two brackets 14 and 15 for supporting the power unit are provided so as to extend rearward and downward inside the vehicle body of the longitudinally extending portions 31 and 32. Cylindrical bosses 38 and 3 provided in pairs
9 (see FIG. 5) is elastically supported via a damper rubber (not shown). In addition, a connecting rod 40 is horizontally installed on the lower ends of the brackets 14 and 15, and the power unit 3 is connected via the connecting rod 40.
Is swingably supported in the vertical direction. The connecting portion between the connecting rod 40 and the power unit 3 is arranged such that a cylindrical boss 41 (see FIGS. 2 and 6) is separated from the power unit 3 in the vehicle width direction and located on the same axis. The connecting rod 40 is penetrated through these bosses 41, and the boss 41 rotates with respect to the connecting rod 40.

The cushion unit bracket 36
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, is formed at the rear end of the front-rear direction extending portion 31 on the left side of the vehicle body so as to project downward. In this embodiment, the cushion unit bracket 36 is arranged in the vicinity of the third cross member 35 that connects the left and right front-back direction extending portions 31, 32.

Out of the first to third cross members 33 to 35 connecting the left-side front-rear extending portions 31 and 32 and the right-side front-rear extending portions 31 and 32, both front-rear extending portions 31 and 3 are formed.
First cross member 33 connecting the front ends of the two
And a second cross member 34 that connects the central parts to each other.
Is formed so that a large storage box (not shown) capable of storing a helmet can be mounted between them. That is, the rear surface of the first cross member 33 is formed so as to be gradually positioned forward as it goes to the central portion in the vehicle width direction, and the front surface of the second cross member 34 has both ends in the central portion in the vehicle width direction. It is formed so as to be located behind the part. The storage box has a structure similar to that of the conventional scooter 1, and the opening of the upper end is opened and closed by the seat 8.

As shown in FIG. 12, the third cross member 35 for connecting the rear end portions of the left and right frontward and rearward extending portions 31 and 32 is formed in a box shape which opens upward, A battery 42 is stored. The third cross member 35 constitutes the battery storage box according to the present invention. An opening 43 for passing a cable (not shown) connected to the battery 42 is formed at the bottom of the third cross member 35 and on the rear side of the vehicle body. Since the cushion unit bracket 36 is provided in the vicinity of the third cross member 35, the weight of the battery 42 housed in the third cross member 35 can directly act on the rear cushion unit 16.

The rear half 2 comprising the left and right front and rear extending portions 31 and 32 and the first to third cross members 33 to 35.
6 is molded by using different molds for the front part in the range indicated by the symbol A in FIG. 5 and the rear part in the range indicated by the symbol B in FIG. The front part of the rear half part 26 is formed by a mold that divides in the vehicle width direction, and the rear part is formed by a mold that divides in the vertical direction. For this reason, the front portions of the left and right front-back direction extending portions 31 and 32 are formed in a U shape that opens to the side as shown in FIG. 10, and the rear portions are
As shown in FIG. 11, it is formed in a U-shape that opens downward.

By molding the rear half portion 26 with the dies having different dividing directions in this way, the extending portion 3 in the front-rear direction is formed.
It is possible to improve the lateral rigidity of the front portions of the Nos. 1 and 32 and the longitudinal rigidity of the rear portions. The lateral rigidity of the front portions of the front-rear extending portions 31 and 32 is improved because the front portions are the front half portions 2.
This is because it is connected to the two down frames 27 of No. 5 and the front part of the power unit 3 is connected, and a load is mainly applied in the lateral direction at the time of cornering or the like.

The down frame 27 of the front half portion 25 connected to the front portions of the front-rear extending portions 31 and 32 extends rearward and downward, and the down-frame 27 has the front-rear extending portion 3 extending in the front-rear direction.
Since the front end portions of 1, 32 are firmly supported in the vertical direction,
By combining the front half portion 25 and the rear half portion 26, it is possible to form the upper frame 23 having high rigidity in the torsion direction. In this embodiment, in order to increase the rigidity in the torsional direction only in the front-rear direction extending portions 31 and 32, inside the U-shape in the front portion having a U-shaped cross section, an X-shape in a side view is formed. The reinforcing ribs 44 (see FIGS. 1, 3, 10, 12) are integrally formed.

The longitudinal rigidity of the rear portions of the front and rear extending portions 31 and 32 is improved because the cushion reaction force is applied from the rear cushion unit 16 to the rear portions. As a result, the allowable value of the cushion reaction force applied from the rear cushion unit 16 to the rear half portion 26 can be increased. In this embodiment, the groove 45 is formed on the upper surface of the rear portion of the front-rear extending portions 31 and 32.
Vertical walls 46 and 47 are provided so as to form (see FIG. 11). The groove 45 can further improve the rigidity in the vertical direction, and the groove 45 can accommodate a cable 48 (see FIG. 11) to be connected to another electric component such as the battery 42 or a tail lamp.

The lower frame 24 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of left and right pipes 51 and 52 extending in the front-rear direction below the upper frame 23, and first to fourth cross members 53 to 56 which are laterally bridged between the pipes 51 and 52. It consists of and. As shown in FIG. 7, the pipes 51 and 52 are formed in a mountain shape that is convex downward, and the front end portion is fixed to the front half portion 25 of the upper frame 23 by a fixing bolt 57, and the rear end portions are fixed. The portion is fixed to the rear half portion 26 of the upper frame 23 via a connecting bracket 58. The connecting bracket 58 is formed of a ferrous alloy equivalent to the pipes 51 and 52 in a box shape, the lower end portion is welded to the pipes 51 and 52, and the upper end portion is fixed to the rear half portion 26 by a fixing bolt 59.
(See FIG. 1).

The lower end of each of the pipes 51, 52 extending in the front-rear direction is provided with a connecting plate 60 extending upward, and the connecting plate 60 and the rear half portion 26. The bracket 37 provided so as to extend downward at the front end of the is fastened by the fixing bolt 61 as shown in FIG.

Stays 62 to 64 for supporting the lower portion of the vehicle body cover 9 are provided on the left and right pipes 51 and 52.
The side stand supporting stay 65 and the like are welded, and the radiator 66 is supported via a bracket (not shown). The radiator 66 is of a lateral water flow type equivalent to that well known in the art, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the pipes 51,
52 is arranged below the front end portion extending rearward and downward, and is inclined so as to point forward and upward. In this embodiment, a part of the cooling water passage between the radiator 66 and the engine 10 is formed by the pipes 51 and 52. The cooling water hose connecting the radiator 66 and the pipes 51 and 52 is shown by the reference numeral 67, and the cooling water hose connecting the pipes 51 and 52 and the engine 10 is shown by the reference numeral 68.

Both pipes 51, 5 of the lower frame 24
First to fourth cross members 53 to 5 that connect the two together
Of the six, the first to third cross members 53 to 55 are formed of steel plates, and the fourth cross member 56 is formed of a pipe. Also, the third cross member 5
As shown in FIG. 8, 5 is formed in an X shape in a plan view, and is welded to both pipes 51 and 52 at four positions, front, rear, left and right. A fuel tank 69 is supported by the third cross member 55 as shown in FIG. The fuel tank 69 is housed in a space above the third cross member 55 and formed between the fuel tank 69 and the storage box. The fourth cross member 56 is formed in a mountain shape that protrudes downward as viewed from the rear of the vehicle body, and a main stand bracket 70 is welded to the center portion in the vehicle width direction.

The scooter 1 configured as described above is
A battery storage box (third cross member 35) is provided at the rear end of the vehicle body frame 4 near the rear cushion unit mounting portion (cushion bracket 36), and the battery 42 is stored in this battery storage box. Therefore, the battery 42, which is an existing component, can be mounted on the rear end of the vehicle body frame 4, and the weight of the rear end of the vehicle body can be increased without changing the total weight of the vehicle body.
Therefore, it is possible to increase the load pressing the rear cushion unit 16 from above while reducing the weight of the vehicle body, and it is possible to improve the operability of the rear cushion unit 16.

Since the battery storage box is formed integrally with the rear half portion 26 of the vehicle body frame 4, when the battery storage box is formed separately from the vehicle body frame 4 and attached to the vehicle body frame 4. Compared with the above, members such as brackets and bolts and nuts are not required, so that weight reduction and cost reduction can be achieved.

Further, the scooter 1 has a body frame 4
Front-rear direction extending portions 31 and 32 are formed at the rear end portion so as to form a pair in the vehicle width direction.
Since the battery storage box is interposed between them, the rear end of the vehicle body frame 4 can be reinforced by the battery storage box. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of reinforcing members provided to mount the heavy battery 42 on the rear end of the vehicle body frame 4.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, the battery, which is an essential component, is mounted on the rear end of the vehicle body frame, and the weight of the rear end of the vehicle body is changed without changing the total weight of the vehicle body. Can be increased. Therefore, it is possible to increase the load that presses the rear cushion unit from above while reducing the weight of the vehicle body, and it is possible to improve the operability of the rear cushion unit and improve the riding comfort.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the battery storage box functions as a cross member and reinforces the rear end portion of the vehicle body frame. Therefore, when mounting a heavy battery on the rear end portion of the vehicle body frame. The number of reinforcing members to be provided can be reduced, and the weight of the vehicle body frame can be further reduced. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a scooter type motorcycle according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a body frame.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a front half of the upper frame.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the front half of the upper frame.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the rear half of the upper frame.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the rear half of the upper frame.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the lower frame.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a lower frame.

9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX of the left down frame in FIG.

FIG. 10 shows a front-rear extending portion on the left side of the vehicle body in FIG.
It is a XX sectional view.

FIG. 11 shows a front-rear extending portion on the left side of the vehicle body in FIG.
It is a XI-XI line sectional view.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a body frame.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Scooter, 2 ... Rear wheels, 3 ... Power unit, 4 ... Body frame, 16 ... Rear cushion unit, 23 ... Upper frame, 26 ... Rear half, 31, 32 ... Front-back extension, 35 ... 3 cross members (battery storage box), 42 ... battery.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A scooter type motorcycle having a unit swing type power unit having rear wheels supported at a rear portion of a vehicle body frame, wherein a battery storage box is provided at a rear end portion of the vehicle body frame and near a rear cushion unit mounting portion. A scooter-type motorcycle in which the battery is stored in this battery storage box. 2. The scooter type motorcycle according to claim 1, wherein the rear end portions of the body frame are formed so as to form a pair in the vehicle width direction, and the battery storage box is interposed between the rear end portions. A scooter-type motorcycle that does.