JPH11198882A - Saddle riding type four-wheeled vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a saddle riding type four-wheeled vehicle in which the front etc., of a fuel tank is covered by a front cover and an engine is installed under the fuel tank, wherein the tank is made practicable to be mounted and removed without dismantlement of the front cover and the effectiveness in maintenance works of the engine is enhanced. SOLUTION: A saddle riding type four-wheeled vehicle is structured so that a front fixing part 37 formed in the front of a fuel tank 24 is fixed to the vehicle body by a fastening member 42, and the direction of its axis 42a is arranged as intersecting the plane direction of a front cover 51. The front cover 51 is provided with a maintenance hole 58 in a part where the axis 42a intersects, and a cap 59 to block the maintenance hole 58 is provided in such a way as capable of being mounted and removed any as desired.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a saddle type four-wheel vehicle for traveling on uneven terrain, and more particularly, to improving the maintainability of a low-mounted engine and increasing the capacity of a fuel tank. And a straddle-type four-wheeled vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A pair of left and right front and rear wheels are arranged in front and rear of a small and lightweight vehicle body, respectively, and these wheels are made low pressure balloon tires having a relatively large outer diameter to secure a large minimum ground clearance. There is a straddle-type four-wheeled vehicle (so-called buggy vehicle) with improved running performance on uneven terrain. In such a straddle-type four-wheeled vehicle, a steering shaft for steering the front wheels, a fuel tank, and a saddle-riding seat are disposed in the central portion in the vehicle width direction in order from the front. A handlebar similar to that of a motorcycle is provided at the upper end of the steering shaft.

A heavy engine is mounted between a front wheel and a rear wheel and below a fuel tank. This is because a heavy object is placed below the vehicle body and near the center of gravity of the vehicle body, thereby lowering the center of gravity and concentrating the mass (heavy object) to improve the mobility and maneuverability of the vehicle body during traveling. It is. Note that footrests are provided on both sides of the engine.

A rider straddles a saddle-ride seat, places both feet on a footrest, and steers a handlebar with both hands to drive a saddle-ride type four-wheeled vehicle. At this time, the riding posture is stabilized by sandwiching the fuel tank in front of the saddle riding seat between both knees (knee grip) as in the case of driving a motorcycle.

[0005] The front part of the vehicle body of a straddle-type four-wheeled vehicle is covered with a front cover integrally formed of a synthetic resin material. The front cover covers and protects a front wheel suspension device, a brake device, a steering device, and the like, and front fenders that cover the front wheels are often integrally formed on both left and right sides. On the other hand, the rear part of the vehicle body is also covered with a rear cover molded of synthetic resin.
The rear cover covers a suspension device and a brake device for the rear wheel, and rear fenders for covering the rear wheel are integrally formed on both left and right sides.

[0006] The reason why the front cover and the rear cover are integrally formed with the fender and the like is to combine the front cover and the rear cover into one component as much as possible to suppress an increase in the number of parts and weight. Therefore, the front cover and the rear cover are very large parts even if they are used alone.

On the other hand, in recent years, many types of vehicles have a fuel tank made of a synthetic resin material. In such a type of vehicle, the outside of the fuel tank is covered with a front cover or another tank cover to protect the fuel tank. And the aesthetic appearance is improved. The fuel tank is fixed to the vehicle body frame with bolts and the like, and a front cover and a tank cover are mounted thereon.

[0008]

In such a straddle-type four-wheeled vehicle, the engine is installed below the fuel tank for lowering the center of gravity as described above. The tank needs to be removed. However, in the case of a vehicle type in which the fuel tank is covered with the front cover, the fastening of the fuel tank fixing portion cannot be loosened without removing the front cover, and the fuel tank cannot be removed. However, attaching and detaching the front cover, which is a large part, requires a great deal of man-hours, and this significantly deteriorates the maintainability around the engine.

On the other hand, it is necessary to ensure a sufficiently large capacity of the fuel tank in preparation for traveling on uneven terrain where the fuel consumption rate is relatively high. However, since the steering shaft, the engine, and the saddle seat are located at the front, lower, and rear portions of the fuel tank, it is impossible to increase the size of the fuel tank in these three directions due to the layout. . In addition, there is a limitation in increasing the width of the fuel tank because it is difficult to perform the knee grip described above.

A straddle-type four-wheeled vehicle according to the present invention has been invented in order to solve these problems. The first object of the invention is to provide a front cover for a front portion of a fuel tank and the like.
In a saddle type four-wheeled vehicle in which an engine is disposed below a fuel tank, it is an object of the present invention to make the fuel tank detachable without removing a front cover, thereby improving maintainability of the engine.

A second object of the straddle-type four-wheeled vehicle according to the present invention is to allow the capacity of the fuel tank to be increased without impairing the layout of the vehicle body.

[0012]

In order to achieve the first object, a saddle-ride type four-wheeled vehicle according to the present invention has a pair of left and right front wheels and a rear wheel disposed in front and rear of a vehicle body, respectively. A steering shaft for front wheel steering, a fuel tank, and a saddle seat are installed in order from the front in the center of the vehicle, an engine is mounted between the front and rear wheels and below the fuel tank, and a front cover that covers a front portion of the vehicle body is provided. In a saddle-ride type four-wheeled vehicle in which the front part of the fuel tank is covered, a front fixing part formed in the front part of the fuel tank is fixed to the vehicle body with a fastening member, and the direction of the axis of the fastening member is changed. Along with intersecting with the surface direction of the front cover, a maintenance hole is drilled in the front cover at the location where the above axis line intersects,
A closing cap for closing the maintenance hole is detachably provided.

In order to achieve the second object, in the saddle-ride type four-wheeled vehicle according to the present invention, the front shape of the fuel tank is bifurcated into left and right branches and extends forward while sandwiching the steering shaft. The front fixing part was formed at the tip of this branch part.

According to the first aspect of the invention, even if the front part of the fuel tank or the like is covered by a front cover, the closing cap of the maintenance hole formed in the front cover is removed and the maintenance hole is removed. By inserting the tool, the fastening member for fastening the front fixing portion of the fuel tank can be detached from the outside of the front cover.
Therefore, the fuel tank can be attached and detached without removing the front cover, thereby improving the maintainability of the engine disposed below the fuel tank.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the fuel tank is extended forward so as to avoid the steering shaft. Therefore, the fuel tank can be provided without impairing the layout of the various parts of the vehicle body including the periphery of the steering shaft. The capacity of the tank can be increased.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a left side view of a saddle type four-wheeled vehicle according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view.
3 is a left side perspective view of the saddle-ride type four-wheeled vehicle shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a plan view showing only the first half of the saddle-ride type four-wheeled vehicle.

The straddle-type four-wheeled vehicle 1 includes a body frame 2 made of a pipe material as shown in FIG.
The vehicle body frame 2 includes, for example, a pair of left and right substantially “L” -shaped upper pipes 3 and lower pipes 4 connected so as to face each other, and a plurality of vertical pipes 5 and 6 extending therebetween are erected. The left and right upper pipes 3 and the lower pipe 4 are connected by a plurality of lateral pipes 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 extending in the lateral direction. The front and rear vertical pipes 5 and 6 are connected by a reinforcement pipe 12.

A pair of left and right bumper stays 13, 14 extending forward are fixed to the frontmost lateral pipes 8, 9, respectively.
A bumper pipe 15 is fixed to the front end assembly.
Note that a headlamp 16 is provided above the bumper pipe 15. On the other hand, a pair of left and right seat rails 17 extending rearward are provided at the rear of the upper pipe 3, and a seat stay 18 that rises obliquely upward from the rear of the lower pipe 4.
Support the seat rail 17 from below. The rear ends of the left and right seat stays 18 are connected by a lateral pipe 19.

A pair of left and right front wheels 21 and a rear wheel 22 are respectively supported on the front and rear sides of the vehicle body frame 2 configured as described above via a suspension device (not shown). A low-pressure balloon tire having a relatively large outer diameter is mounted on the front wheel 21 and the rear wheel 22. In addition, a steering shaft 23 for steering the front wheels 21, a fuel tank 24, and a saddle seat 25 are installed in the vehicle width direction central portion of the body frame 2 in order from the front.

At the upper end of the steering shaft 23, a handlebar 27 similar to that of a motorcycle is installed.
Is rotated, the direction of the front wheels 21 is changed by the operation of a steering device (not shown), and the traveling direction of the vehicle body is changed. A clutch lever is located on the left end of the handlebar 27.
A front brake lever 29 and a throttle grip 30 are provided at the right end. Further, instruments 31 are provided at the center of the handlebar 27 so as to rotate integrally.

The fuel tank 24 is an integrally molded product made of, for example, a synthetic resin material, and is provided so as to be sandwiched between the left and right upper pipes 3 of the vehicle body frame 2 as shown in FIG. A fuel supply port 33 is provided on the upper surface of the fuel tank 24, and is opened and closed by a cap.

The front shape of the fuel tank 24 is bifurcated into left and right branches and extends forward while sandwiching the steering shaft 23. For example, a pair of left and right hollow arm-shaped branch tanks from the front end of the tank central portion 35 of the fuel tank 24
36, 36 are extended forward, and the steering shaft 23 is located between them.

At the tip of the branch tanks 36, 36, a front fixing portion 3 is provided.
7, 37 are formed, and a rear fixing portion 38 is formed at the rear end of the tank central portion 35. The front and rear tank brackets 40 and 41 fixed to the left and right upper pipes 3 of the body frame 2 respectively attach front fixing portions 37 and 37 and rear fixing portions 38.
Are mounted and fastened and fixed to the tank brackets 40 and 41 by fastening members 42 and 43 such as bolts. The directions of the shaft cores 42a, 43a of these fastening members 42, 43 are set in the vertical direction.

The engine 45 is disposed between the front wheels 21 and the rear wheels 22 and below the fuel tank 24 so as to be located near the center of gravity of the vehicle body. Is planned. Specifically, an engine 45 and an intake device (not shown) are attached so as to be surrounded by the upper pipe 3, the lower pipe 4, and the vertical pipe 6 of the body frame 2. The output of the engine 45 is transmitted to the front and rear wheels 21 and 22 via a power transmission device (not shown). Note that footrests 46 and 47 are provided on both sides of the engine 45. For example, a speed change pedal 48 is provided near the left footrest 46, and a rear brake pedal 49 is provided near the right footrest 47. I have.

The saddle seat 25 connected to the rear of the fuel tank 24 is supported by a support member (not shown).
Can be removed by unlocking a lock mechanism (not shown) that is detachably fixed on the seat rail 17 and locks the fixation.

On the other hand, the front part of the vehicle body is covered by a front cover 51 integrally formed of a synthetic resin material.
The front cover 51 is a cover that covers and protects a suspension device, a brake device, a steering device, and the like of the front wheel 21, and a front fender 52 that covers the front wheel 21 is integrally formed on both left and right sides.

The front part of the fuel tank 24 is covered with a front cover 51, and the rear part is covered with a detachable tank cover 53. The front cover 51 and the tank cover 53 are formed so as to be divided into front and rear portions with the position of the steering shaft 23 as a boundary, and an opening for passing the fuel supply port 33 of the fuel tank 24 is provided on the upper surface of the tank cover 53. 54 are formed (FIG. 5
reference). The upper sides of the engine 45 are engine covers
An air cleaner (not shown) provided at the rear of the engine 45 is covered with a pair of left and right air cleaner covers 56.

As described above, the fastening member 42 for fastening the front fixing portion 37 of the fuel tank 24 to the vehicle body frame 2 has the axis 42a set in the vertical direction. For this reason, the axis 42 a crosses the surface direction of the front cover 51. The front cover 51 has a shaft core 42
A pair of left and right maintenance holes 58 are drilled at the intersection of a, and a closing cap for closing the maintenance holes 58.
59 is provided detachably. The closing cap 59 is formed of a flexible material such as rubber and vinyl.

On the other hand, the rear portion of the vehicle body is also covered with a rear cover 61 made of synthetic resin. The rear cover 61 is a cover that covers the suspension device and the brake device of the rear wheel 22, and a rear fender 62 that covers the rear wheel 22 is integrally formed on both left and right sides. A tail lamp 63 is provided on a rear surface of the rear fender 62. A solid front carrier 64 made of pipe is installed above the front cover 51, and a rear carrier 65 made of pipe is also provided above the rear cover 61.
Is installed.

In the saddle-ride type four-wheeled vehicle 1 configured as described above, when the engine 45 is maintained, it is necessary to first remove the fuel tank 24 covering the upper part of the engine 45. In this case, first, the saddle seat 25 and the tank cover 53 are removed (can be removed with a single touch), and the fastening member 43 fastening the rear fixing portion of the fuel tank 24 is loosened and removed.

Next, the closing cap 59 for closing the maintenance hole 58 of the front cover 51 is removed, a tool such as a box wrench 67 is inserted as shown in FIG. 6, and the front fixing portion 37 of the fuel tank 24 is fastened. Loosen the fastening member 42 and remove it. Thereafter, if the fuel tank 24 is pulled backward, the fuel tank 24 can be easily removed.

As described above, even if the front portion of the fuel tank 24 is covered with the front cover 51, the fuel tank 24 can be attached and detached without removing the large front cover 51. Can be moved,
The maintainability of the engine 45 has been dramatically improved.

Further, since the front portion of the fuel tank 24 is branched into right and left branches by installing branch tanks 36, 36 provided so as to avoid the steering shaft 23,
The branch tanks 36, 36 without increasing the external dimensions such as the length (length of the tank central portion 35), width, and height of the fuel tank 24.
The capacity of the fuel tank 24 can be effectively increased by the internal volume of. The branch tanks 36, 36 do not impair the layout of the steering shaft 23 and the various parts of the vehicle body at all, and the capacity of the fuel tank 24 can be expanded by effectively utilizing only the dead space.

[0034]

As described above, the saddle-ride type four-wheeled vehicle according to the present invention has a pair of left and right front wheels and a rear wheel disposed at the front and rear of the vehicle body, respectively, and the front wheels are sequentially arranged at the center in the vehicle width direction from the front. A steering shaft for steering, fuel tank and saddle seat are installed, the engine is mounted between the front and rear wheels and below the fuel tank, and the front cover of the fuel tank is covered by the front cover that covers the front of the vehicle body. In a straddle-type four-wheeled vehicle, a front fixing portion formed at a front portion of a fuel tank is fixed to a vehicle body by a fastening member, and a direction of an axis of the fastening member is set with respect to a surface direction of a front cover. At the same time, a maintenance hole is formed in the front cover at a position where the axis lines intersect, and a closing cap for closing the maintenance hole is detachably provided.

According to this structure, even if the front part of the fuel tank is covered by the front cover, the closing cap of the maintenance hole formed in the front cover is removed and a tool is inserted into the maintenance hole. Thereby, the fastening member for fastening the front fixing portion of the fuel tank can be detached from the outside of the front cover. Therefore, the fuel tank can be attached and detached without removing the front cover, and the maintainability of the engine disposed below the fuel tank can be improved.

Also, in the saddle-ride type four-wheeled vehicle according to the present invention, the front portion of the fuel tank is bifurcated into left and right branches and extends forward while sandwiching the steering shaft. Since the front fixed portion is formed, the fuel tank is extended forward so as to avoid the steering shaft, and the capacity of the fuel tank can be increased without impairing the layout of the various parts of the vehicle body, including the periphery of the steering shaft. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a left side view of a straddle-type four-wheeled vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the straddle-type four-wheeled vehicle shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a left side perspective view of the saddle-ride type four-wheeled vehicle shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing only the first half of the straddle-type four-wheeled vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a view showing one embodiment of the present invention by a longitudinal section along the line VV in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion VI in FIG. 5, showing an attaching / detaching operation of a fuel tank front fixing portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Saddle-ride type four-wheeled vehicle 2 Body frame 21 Front wheel 22 Rear wheel 23 Steering shaft 24 Fuel tank 25 Saddle-riding seat 36 Branch tank 37 Front fixed part 42 Fastening member 42a Shaft core of fastening member 45 Engine 51 Front cover 53 Tank cover 58 Maintenance hole 59 Closure cap 67 Box wrench

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pair of left and right front wheels and a rear wheel are disposed in front and rear of a vehicle body, respectively, and a steering shaft for front wheel steering, a fuel tank, and a saddle seat are installed in a central portion in a vehicle width direction from a front side. The engine is mounted between and below the fuel tank, and the front cover of the fuel tank is covered by a front cover that covers the front of the vehicle body. The front fixing portion 37 is fixed to the vehicle body side with the fastening member 42, and the fastening member 42
The direction of the axis 42a is crossed with the surface direction of the front cover 51, and a maintenance hole 58 is formed in the front cover 51 at a position where the axis 42a intersects. A saddle-riding type four-wheeled vehicle, wherein the vehicle is detachably provided. 2. The front part of the fuel tank 24 is bifurcated into left and right branches and extends forward while sandwiching the steering shaft 23. The front fixing part 37 is formed at the tip of the branch part. 2. The straddle-type four-wheeled vehicle according to 1.