Patent ID: 8006798
Filing Date: 2011-08-30
Classification: B62K

Abstract:
1. A vehicle comprising: a frame; at least two wheels connected to the frame; a straddle seat disposed on the frame; a handlebar disposed at least in part forwardly of the seat and operatively connected to at least one of the at least two wheels for steering the at least one of the at least two wheels, the handlebar having a first handle at a first end thereof and a second handle at a second end thereof, the first handle having a longitudinal centerline; an engine disposed on the frame; a semi-automatic transmission operatively connected to the engine and at least one of the at least two wheels for transmitting power from the engine to the at least one of the at least two wheels; a housing disposed adjacent the first handle, the housing having a rear side generally facing towards a rear of the vehicle, and the housing having a handle side generally facing towards the first handle; a switch disposed on the rear side of the housing; and a shift lever pivotally connected to the housing, at least a portion of the shift lever extending away from the handle side of the housing towards an end of the first handle and being disposed at least in part vertically below the first handle, the shift lever having a rear surface generally facing towards the rear of the vehicle and a front surface generally facing towards the front of the vehicle, the shift lever being movable to an up-shift position by pressing one of the front surface and the rear surface, the shift lever being movable to a down-shift position by pressing a remaining one of the front surface and the rear surface, the shift lever being biased towards a rest position intermediate the up-shift and down-shift positions, and the shift lever being operatively connected to the semi-automatic transmission such that moving the shift lever to the up-shift position causes the semi-automatic transmission to shift up and moving the shift lever to the down-shift position causes the semi-automatic transmission to shift down; wherein: