JP7211053B2 - Straddle type vehicle front fender structure - Google Patents

Description

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a front fender structure for a straddle-type vehicle.

A front fender that covers the front wheel of a motorcycle is a component that greatly affects the appearance of the front portion of the vehicle. In particular, in straddle-type vehicles where a light appearance is preferred, the shape of the front fender has a great effect on the overall appearance of the vehicle.

By the way, there is a type of front fender that is divided into front and rear parts near the front forks.
Of the front fenders, the front fender that mainly covers the front from the front fork generally has a longer horizontal component of the distance from the mounting portion to the tip portion than the rear front fender. In addition, the front fender of a saddle-riding vehicle that travels on rough terrain, including swamps and muddy ground, protects the rider from flying mud and muddy water thrown up by the front wheels. It is necessary to extend the front fender forward long by doing so. Therefore, in the front fender of such an off-road vehicle, the bending moment acting on the attachment portion generated during driving due to the upward thrust from the road surface increases.

Therefore, for example, the front fender is provided with a side wall to ensure the strength or rigidity of the front front fender (for example, Patent Document 1). In Cited Document 1, the rear front fender can be pulled out telescopically by entering into and being supported by the front front fender. On muddy ground, the front fender is then pulled out from the front fender to protect the vehicle and rider from flying debris from the front wheels.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-027509

However, the conventional technique has a problem that the side wall makes the front fender heavy, so that the efficiency of the reinforcing effect is low and a sufficient effect may not be obtained.
In addition, if the front fender is provided with a high side wall, the depth of the front fender, ie, the vertical width, becomes large, and there is a risk of impairing the lightness of the vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a front fender structure for a straddle-type vehicle in which the strength or rigidity of the front fender is improved.

In the front fender structure for a straddle-type vehicle according to the present embodiment, a pair of left and right front forks for supporting the front wheels of the straddle-type vehicle are provided on an upper bracket and an under bracket, and the upper bracket and the under bracket are hung by the bracket. In a straddle-type vehicle front fender structure in which the front fender covering the front wheels is composed of two members, a front front fender and a rear front fender, the rear front fender is configured by connecting the rear front fender to the under bracket. A rear front fender main body portion provided with a main body mounting portion for attachment, and a rear front fender front extension portion extending forward from the main body mounting portion, wherein the front front fender is provided with a rear portion of the front fender. a fixed end mounting portion for fixing an end portion to the bracket at a height between the upper bracket and the under bracket ; and a rear front fender forward extending portion forwardly extending from the fixed end mounting portion to the front front fender. and a fender-to-fender joint that joins the front ends of the main body mounting portion, the fixed end mounting portion, and the fender-to-fender joint are arranged in a triangular shape when viewed from the side of the vehicle to form a truss structure. be.

The present invention provides a front fender structure for a straddle-type vehicle in which the strength or rigidity of the front fender is improved.

1 is a left side view of a motorcycle to which a straddle-type vehicle front fender structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied; FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a front fender having a front fender structure of a straddle-type vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention and its peripheral members cut vertically along the center line of the vehicle body in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle; 1 is a cross-sectional view of a front fender having a fender structure of a straddle-type vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention and peripheral members thereof cut vertically along the vehicle front-rear direction; 1 is a plan view of a front wheel periphery of a straddle-type vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the following embodiments, an example in which a front fender structure for a straddle-type vehicle according to the present invention (hereinafter simply referred to as "fender structure") is applied to a front fender of an off-road straddle-type vehicle will be described. The target may be an on-road vehicle.

In the following embodiments, expressions of up and down, left and right, and front and back are based on the driver (rider) when riding the vehicle. Further, in each figure, an arrow FW indicates the front of the vehicle, an arrow BW indicates the rear of the vehicle, an arrow L indicates the left direction of the vehicle, an arrow R indicates the right direction of the vehicle, an arrow U indicates the upward direction of the vehicle, and an arrow D indicates the downward direction of the vehicle. In addition, in each figure, for the sake of simplification, part of the configuration is omitted as appropriate.

First, referring to FIG. 1, a motorcycle 10 having a straddle-type vehicle front fender structure (hereinafter simply referred to as "fender structure") according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a left side view of a motorcycle 10 to which a fender structure according to an embodiment of the invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 1, the motorcycle 10 has a body frame 11 made of steel or an aluminum alloy, and various parts are mounted on the body frame 11 .
The body frame 11 is, for example, a so-called underbone type frame that mainly supports the engine unit 13 with the down frame 16 .
The vehicle body frame 11 has a down frame 16 extending rearward and downward from a head pipe 14 located at the front of the vehicle body frame 11 and then curved to be substantially horizontal. A rear frame extending rearwardly upward and gradually becoming substantially horizontal is connected to the rear frame.

Support plates 17 that support the engine unit 13 are fixed to the left and right sides of the down frame 16 , one on each side.
Engine support portions 19 are provided at a plurality of locations such as the upper front portion of a pivot pipe 18 that is installed on the support plate 17 . The engine unit 13 is fixed to these engine support portions 19 so that the engine unit 13 is suspended from the vehicle body frame 11 .

The engine unit 13 includes a crankcase 21 constituting an engine case, and a cylinder assembly 22 (a cylinder block 23, a cylinder head 24, and a head cover 25) coupled to the front portion of the crankcase 21 and whose axis is set in a substantially horizontal direction. ) and are integrated. An exhaust system 27 that passes through the lower right side of the engine unit 13 and opens toward the rear of the vehicle is connected to the lower surface of the cylinder head 24 to exhaust combustion gas generated by the engine unit 13 .

A swing arm 29 that rotatably supports a rear wheel 28 is supported on the pivot pipe 18 so as to be vertically swingable. One end of the swing arm 29 is supported by a rear cushion unit 31 attached to the vehicle body frame 11, and vertical swing is restricted.
A swing arm 29 on the left side of the vehicle is provided with a chain cover 32 in which a rear sprocket and a chain are stored. The power of the engine unit 13 is transmitted to the rear wheels 28 by these rear sprockets and chains.
Note that the down frame 16 and the rear frame are covered with side frame covers 34 . A seat 36 on which a rider sits is mounted and fixed above the rear wheel 28 to the side frame cover 34 .

On the other hand, a stem shaft 44 of a steering mechanism is pivotally supported on the head pipe 14 so as to be rotatable to the left and right.
An upper bracket 46 and an under bracket 47 are fixed to the stem shaft 44 with the head pipe 14 therebetween so as to form an inverted triangle when viewed from the rider.
A pair of left and right front forks 38 that pivotally support a front wheel 37 are fixed to both left and right sides of the upper bracket 46 and the under bracket 47 and maintained parallel to the head pipe 14 .
The front fork 38 can rotate left and right about the head pipe 14 together with the handle unit 39, the headlight 52, the meter casing 42, the front fender 43, and the like.

A handlebar 49 is fixed to the upper surface of the upper bracket 46 via a handlebar bracket 48 . A headlight bracket 51 (FIGS. 2 and 3) is bridged between the upper bracket 46 and the under bracket 47. As shown in FIG. A meter casing 42 containing a speedometer and the like, a headlight 52 and a headlight cover 53 are attached to the headlight bracket 51 . Further, in front of the front fork 38, winkers 41 are provided so as to protrude left and right from the winker stay portion 51a of the headlight bracket 51. As shown in FIG.

[Front fender 43]
Next, the front fender 43 of the motorcycle 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG.
2 and 3 are cross-sectional views of the front fender 43 having the fender structure according to the embodiment and its peripheral members cut vertically along the vehicle body central axis C (FIG. 4) extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

2 shows a cross section cut vertically along the center axis C of the vehicle, which symmetrically divides the vehicle, and FIG.
2, illustration of the headlight 52, the meter casing 42, and the headlight cover 53 shown in FIG. 3 is omitted.
The front fender 43 includes a front front fender (hereinafter referred to as "front fender") 54 that covers the upper front side of the front wheel 37 near the front fork 38, and a rear front fender (hereinafter referred to as "rear fender") that covers the rear side of the front wheel 37. ) 55 and are mainly composed of two members.

As shown in FIG. 2, the front fender 54 is attached to the front fender support portion 51b of the headlight bracket 51 by fastening the fixed end attachment portion 57 of the front fender 54 to the front fender support portion 51b of the headlight bracket 51. It is supported by the light bracket 51 like a cantilever beam.

The rear fender 55 includes a rear front fender main body portion (hereinafter referred to as a “rear fender main body portion”) 59 provided with a main body mounting portion 58 and a rear front fender forward extension portion extending forward from the main body mounting portion 58 ( 61, which will hereinafter be referred to as a “rear fender forward extension”.
The rear fender 55 is fastened and fixed to the under bracket 47 by the body attachment portion 58 . A front end portion of the rear fender forward extension portion 61 is coupled to the front fender 54 from below at a fender-to-fender coupling portion 62 provided on the lower surface of an intermediate portion between the front end portion of the front fender 54 and the fixed end mounting portion 57 .
The main body mounting portion 58, the fixed end mounting portion 57, and the inter-fender coupling portion 62 are arranged to form a triangular truss structure when viewed from the side of the vehicle when mounted on the vehicle.
With such an installation layout, the front fender 54, the rear fender 55, the headlight bracket 51, and the under bracket 47 are configured integrally.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the inter-fender coupling portion 62 is desirably provided in the vicinity of the front end portion Ω of the headlight 52 in a side view. Here, the vicinity of the front end Ω of the headlight 52 means within about 10 cm in front and behind the headlight 52 in side view. Further, from the viewpoint of forming a stable truss structure and preventing the front fender 54 from fluttering, the inter-fender coupling portion 62 may be further provided on the front end side.

Also, depending on the vehicle type, the headlight bracket 51 may be installed vertically between the upper bracket 46 and the under bracket 47 instead of the left and right front forks 38 . Further, the rear end of the front fender 54 does not have to be fixed to the headlight bracket 51 as long as the fixed end mounting portion 57 is fixedly supported in the intermediate area between the upper bracket 46 and the under bracket 47 .

Moreover, FIG. 4 is a plan view around the front wheel 37 of the motorcycle 10 according to the embodiment.
4, illustration of the handle unit 39, the headlight 52, and the headlight cover 53 is omitted.

A front portion 64 of the front fender 54 on the front side of the inter-fender coupling portion 62 is bent and extended forward and downward to approach the front wheel 37 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 .
The scattered matter that is picked up by the rotation of the front wheel 37 spreads as the distance from the outer peripheral surface of the front wheel 37 increases, and the scattering range widens. Therefore, by extending the front portion 64 of the front fender 54 forward and downward to approach the front wheel 37, the scattering of the flying object is guarded at a distance that does not widen the scattering range. If the scattering range is narrow, the width of the front fender 54 in the vehicle width direction can be reduced in accordance with the scattering range. By bringing it close to the front wheel 37, even if the width of the front fender 54 is narrowed, it is possible to maintain the guard performance against flying objects from the front wheel 37. - 特許庁

In particular, the flying object picked up by the front wheel 37 scatters counterclockwise from the back of the front wheel 37 toward the front of the front wheel 37 along the direction of rotation of the front wheel 37 when viewed from the left side. At this time, most of the scattered objects scatter around before reaching above the front wheels 37, so only a few objects reach the front of the front wheels 37, and the momentum is also weak. Therefore, in front of the front wheels 37, the scattered objects are slightly scattered only from the vicinity of the center axis C of the vehicle body.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the front fender 54 can be formed in a triangular shape tapering forward in plan view toward the front of the front wheel 37 where the amount of splashing is small.
Note that the triangular shape of the front fender 54 may be the shape of the mudguard surface (lower surface) of the front fender 54 instead of the planar view (top view).

The inter-fender coupling portion 62 and the rear fender forward extension portion 61 are covered with the front fender 54 as shown in FIG.

As described above, the front fender structure for a straddle-type vehicle according to the embodiment provides the following effects.

(1) A truss structure is formed by designing the layout of the inter-fender coupling portion 62, the main body mounting portion 58, and the fixed end mounting portion 57 so as to form a triangular shape when viewed from the side of the vehicle.
With this truss structure, the intermediate portion of the front fender 54 that is cantilever-supported by the headlight bracket 51 is supported from below by the rear fender 55 , thereby improving the strength and rigidity of the front fender 54 . By improving the strength and rigidity of the front fender 54, even if the front fender 54 is extended long, flapping due to thrust from the road surface is suppressed, and the maneuverability of the motorcycle 10 is improved.

(2) The inter-fender joint 62 between the front fender 54 and the rear fender forward extension 61 is provided in the vicinity of the front end Ω of the headlight 52 or in front of the front end Ω.
At the inter-fender connecting portion 62 and behind this inter-fender connecting portion 62, the front fender 54 flutters in the vertical direction very little. Therefore, the front fender 54 and the headlight 52 can be arranged close to each other, and the front portion of the vehicle can be made compact. Further, since the front portion 64 of the front fender 54 is also shortened, the flapping of the front portion 64 is also reduced.

(3) In addition, by suppressing the flapping of the front fender 54 , the front portion 64 of the front fender 54 can be extended forward and downward to bring the front fender 54 closer to the front wheel 37 .
Therefore, the flying object is guarded at a distance that does not widen the scattering range of the flying object picked up by the front wheel 37, so that the front fender 54 can be narrowed in width while maintaining the guard performance of the front fender 54.例文帳に追加

(4) Further, the width of the front fender 54 in the vehicle width direction is gradually narrowed toward the upper front of the front wheel 37 where the amount of scattering is small, that is, toward the front end of the front fender 54. It was molded into a triangular shape with a vertex.
The triangular shape of the front fender 54 makes the entire front fender 54 lighter and the front portion 64 lighter. Therefore, since the bending moment acting on the inter-fender joint portion 62 which is the base end portion of the front fender 54 is reduced, the front fender 54 can be formed into a lightweight structure.

(5) The rear fender forward extending portion 61 and the inter-fender joint portion 62 are covered with the front fender 54 from above.
The front fender 54 on the rear side of the inter-fender coupling portion 62 is less required to have a fencing function. Therefore, since the depth of the groove in this portion of the front fender 54 can be made shallow, the front portion of the vehicle can be formed with a light appearance.

While embodiments of the invention have been described, the embodiments have been presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
Embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, changes, and combinations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Motorcycle, 11... Body frame, 13... Engine unit, 14... Head pipe, 16... Down frame, 17... Support plate, 18... Pivot pipe, 19... Engine support part, 21... Crankcase, 22... Cylinder assembly , 23... Cylinder, 24... Cylinder head, 25... Head cover, 26... Transmission, 27... Exhaust system, 28... Rear wheel, 29... Swing arm, 31... Rear cushion unit, 32... Chain cover, 34... Side frame cover , 36... Seat, 37... Front wheel, 38... Front fork, 39... Handle unit, 41... Turn signal, 42... Meter casing, 43... Front fender, 44... Stem shaft, 46... Upper bracket, 47... Under bracket, 48 ... handle bracket 49 ... handlebar 51 (51a, 51b) ... headlight bracket (winker stay portion, front fender support portion) 52 ... headlight 53 ... headlight cover 54 ... front fender 55 ... rear fender , 57... Fixed end attachment part 58... Body attachment part 59... Rear front fender body part 61... Rear fender front extension part 62... Inter-fender coupling part 64... Front part C... Body center axis Ω … the front edge of the headlight.

Claims (4)

An upper bracket and an under bracket are provided with a pair of left and right front forks for supporting the front wheels of the straddle-type vehicle. A bracket is bridged between the upper bracket and the under bracket. In the front fender structure of a straddle-type vehicle composed of two members of the front fender,
The rear front fender,
a rear front fender main body provided with a main body mounting portion for mounting the rear front fender to the under bracket;
a rear front fender forward extending portion extending forward from the main body mounting portion;
The front fender has a fixed end mounting portion for fixing the rear end portion of the front fender to the bracket at a height between the upper bracket and the under bracket , and a fixed end mounting portion forward of the fixed end mounting portion. a fender-to-fender coupling portion that couples a front end of the rear front fender forward extension portion to the front front fender,
A front fender structure for a straddle-type vehicle, wherein the main body mounting portion, the fixed end mounting portion, and the inter-fender coupling portion are arranged in a triangular shape in a side view of the vehicle to form a truss structure. 2. The front fender structure for a straddle-type vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the front fender covers the rear front fender forward extending portion and the inter-fender coupling portion from above. 3. The front fender structure for a straddle-type vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the inter-fender connecting portion is provided in the vicinity of the front end of the headlight or in front of the front end as viewed from the side of the vehicle. 4. The front fender according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the front fender is bent forward and downward on the front end side of the joint between the fenders, and is shaped such that the front end side is gradually tapered in plan view of the vehicle. straddle-type vehicle front fender structure.

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