Exhaust pipe side cover for motorcycle

An exhaust pipe side covering has a rear portion supported by a muffler or an exhaust pipe of an exhaust device and also has a front portion supported by a motorcycle body through a bracket, thereby covering the exhaust pipe from outside. A projecting piece projecting inwardly of a motorcycle widthwise direction is formed in an inner side surface of a front portion of a main body of the exhaust pipe side covering and a screw insertion hole is formed in the vicinity of a projecting piece in the main body. The bracket is formed with a plug-in hole, with which the projecting piece is engaged by plugging in, and a threaded hole. A mounting screw member is engaged in the threaded hole through the screw insertion hole. The section of the projecting piece transverse to a projecting direction thereof is of an elongated shape.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a side covering for covering an exhaust pipe in a motorcycle from laterally outwardly with respect to a motorcycle widthwise direction.

2. Description of Related Art

It is quite often that a decorative exhaust pipe side covering is employed to cover a portion or the entire length of an exhaust pipe, which extends below a combustion engine of the motorcycle, from a lateral outer side with respect to a motorcycle widthwise direction. In such case, when the exhaust pipe side covering referred to above is to be assembled onto a motorcycle body, the exhaust pipe side covering has to be slid in a vertical direction or longitudinal direction of the motorcycle body relative to a bracket on the motorcycle body side so as to allow a pawl of the exhaust pipe side covering to be engaged with the bracket. By so doing, a screw insertion hole in the exhaust pipe side covering is positioned to align with a threaded hole in the bracket on the motorcycle body side, and subsequently, the exhaust pipe covering is fixed to the bracket through fastening of bolts.

It is to be noted that as an installing structure for a muffler covering for covering a muffler, a structure similar to that described above is known (in this connection, see the patent documents 1 and 2 listed below), but in view of the difference in structure between the muffler and the exhaust pipe, the installing structure for the muffler cannot be applied to an installing structure for the exhaust pipe covering.

PRIOR ART LITERATURE

Since at the time of installation onto the motorcycle body the exhaust pipe covering is engaged with the bracket while having been slid in the vertical direction or the longitudinal direction of the motorcycle body relative to the bracket, the attendant worker requires watching to recognize the engaged condition from front or rear of the motorcycle body. Therefore, the workability to assemble the exhaust pipe covering from a leftward and rightward side of the motorcycle body is not good. Also, a positioning work to align the screw insertion hole with the threaded hole by engaging the exhaust pipe covering with the bracket is complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, the present invention has been devised to provide an exhaust pipe side covering for a motorcycle, in which the workability in assemblage is improved.

In order to accomplish the foregoing object, an exhaust pipe side covering for a motorcycle in accordance with the present invention which includes a rear portion supported by a muffler or an exhaust pipe of an exhaust device and a front portion supported by a vehicle body through a bracket. The exhaust pipe side covering include a main body configured to cover the exhaust pipe from outside and a projecting piece formed in an inner side surface of the front portion of the main body and protruding inwardly with respect to a motorcycle widthwise direction. In such case, a screw insertion hole is formed in the vicinity of a portion of the main body adjacent the projecting piece; a plug-in hole, in which the projecting piece is engaged by means of plug-in, and a threaded hole are formed in the bracket; and a mounting screw member is engaged in the threaded hole through the screw insertion hole. The projecting piece is of a shape elongated in section perpendicular to a projecting direction thereof.

According to the present invention, merely by plugging into the plug-in hole in the bracket the projecting piece protruding from the inner side surface of the main body, the main body is engaged with the bracket in a condition with the screw insertion hole in the main body positioned to align with the threaded hole in the bracket. Accordingly, as is the case with the conventional covering mounting structure, a work to slide the exhaust pipe side covering in a vertical direction or longitudinal direction of the motorcycle body is no longer required, and therefore, the exhaust pipe side covering can be easily and quickly engaged with the bracket by means of a screw through a work from an outer side in the motorcycle widthwise direction. Also, since the projecting piece is of a shape elongated in section perpendicular to the projecting direction, the main body is engaged with the bracket in a condition, in which the exhaust pipe side covering is refrained from rotating, by plugging the projecting piece into the plug-in hole. Therefore, alignment of the screw insertion hole in the exhaust pipe side covering with the threaded hole is easy to achieve. As a result, a workability of the exhaust pipe side covering onto the exhaust pipe improved.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the projecting piece may be formed in an upper portion of the main body. According to the structural feature, the projecting piece is viewed and confirmed from above and, hence, a work of plugging the projecting piece in the plug-in hole is eased.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the screw insertion hole referred to above may be formed in an upper half portion of the main body and oriented diagonally upwards and outwards in the motorcycle widthwise direction. This structural feature allows the insertion and fastening of the screw member while the screw insertion hole is viewed from diagonally above and, therefore, the fastening workability of the screw member improves.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the main body may extend in a longitudinal direction of the motorcycle and includes an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction formed with a bent portion that protrudes towards a rear end portion outwards in the motorcycle widthwise direction, in which case the screw insertion hole is formed in the vicinity of the bent portion. The bent portion of the main body is susceptible to a considerable flexure. However, by fixing the main body to the bracket through the screw insertion hole formed in the vicinity of this bent portion, the occurrence of the flexure can be effectively suppressed as compared with the case in which a site on a front side or a rear side that is distant from the bent portion is fixed to the main body. It is, however, to be noted that the intermediate portion in the forward and rearward direction referred to above means a region within ⅓ to ⅔ of the total length of the main body from a front end of the main body.

In a still further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the projecting piece may be engaged in the plug-in hole through a grommet made of an elastic material. According to this feature, the exhaust pipe side covering is refrained from vibrating relative to the bracket. Also, when the projecting piece is plugged into the plug-in hole, the projecting piece extends through the plug-in hole while elastically deforming the grommet. Therefore, the projecting piece is engaged in the plug-in hole by the effect of the restoring force resulting from the elastic deformation of the grommet. Accordingly, the projecting piece when merely plugged in, is easily engaged in the plug-in hole.

Where the projecting piece is engaged in the plug-in hole through the grommet as discussed above, an engagement pawl may be provided in a projecting end portion of the projecting piece such that the engagement pawl being engaged with an inner side end portion of the grommet to prevent the projecting piece from detaching. According to this feature, after the projecting piece extends through the plug-in hole while elastically deforming the grommet, the engagement pawl of the projecting end portion of the projecting piece then breaking out from the grommet comes to contact the inner side end portion of the grommet then restoring to the original shape after the elastic deformation. Accordingly, merely by inserting the projecting piece into the grommet to extend therethrough, the projecting piece can be refrained from rotating.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. In describing the present invention the term “left and right” used hereinabove and hereinafter are to be understood as relative terms description of positions and/or direction as viewed from a motorcycle rider occupying the seat during the forward travel of the motorcycle.

FIG. 1illustrates a schematic side view of a motorcycle equipped with an exhaust pipe side covering40designed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The motorcycle includes a motorcycle frame structure FR made up of a main frame1, forming a front half portion thereof, and a rear frame2connected with a rear portion of the main frame1and forming a rear half portion thereof. The main frame1has a front end portion to which a head pipe3is fitted, and an upper bracket4and an under bracket8are fitted to a steering shaft (not shown) that is rotatably inserted in the head pipe3. A front fork9is supported by the upper bracket4and the under bracket8, and a front wheel10is supported by a lower end portion of the front fork9. A handlebar11is fitted to the upper bracket4at an upper end portion of the front fork9.

The main frame1also has a rear end lower portion provided with a swingarm bracket12, and a swingarm14is supported by the swingarm bracket12through a pivot pin13at a front end portion for movement up and down about such pivot pin13. A rear wheel15is supported by a rear end portion of the swingarm14. A motorcycle combustion engine E is supported by a lower portion of the main frame1, and the combustion engine E drives the rear wheel15through a power transmission mechanism19such as, for example, a substantially endless drive chain. The combustion engine E is, for example, a parallel multi-cylinder, four stroke combustion engine.

A rider's seat22and a fellow passenger's seat23are supported by the rear frame2, and a fuel tank25is fitted to an upper portion of the main frame1, that is, to a motorcycle body upper portion and between the handlebar11and the rider's seat22. Also, a fairing26, which is made of a resinous material, is mounted on the motorcycle body front portion. The fairing26is large enough to cover a region ranging from forwardly of the handlebar11to a lateral side of the motorcycle body front portion and is referred to as a full cowl. A headlamp unit27is mounted on the fairing26.

Exhaust gases from the combustion engine E are discharged by an exhaust device30rearwardly from a right side rear portion of the motorcycle body. In other words, exhaust gases from the combustion engine E flow in an exhaust pipe31, which extends rearwardly via forward and downward, and then, are introduced into a silencer box32where they are silenced. Thereafter, the exhaust gases flow, via a connecting tube33, into a muffler34on a right side of the rear wheel15, where they are again silenced, before they are discharged from the muffler34to the outside. The muffler34is covered from outside by a muffler covering36. A portion of the exhaust device30is covered by an exhaust pipe side covering40from lateral outside with respect to the motorcycle widthwise direction.

FIG. 2illustrates the exhaust device30in a condition before the exhaust pipe side covering40is fitted thereto. As shown inFIG. 2, the silencer box32of the exhaust device30is, when a screw member63(shown inFIG. 1) is threaded into a threaded hole of a mounting bracket67provided in the swingarm bracket12through a screw insertion hole66in a mounting piece65provided in the silencer box32, supported by the motorcycle body. An oil pan50provided in a lower portion of the combustion engine E is provided with a bracket51for supporting the exhaust pipe side covering40, which bracket51is fitted to the oil pan50by fastening the screw member62such as, for example, a bolt. At a position forwardly of the oil pan50, a threaded hole39for fitting an oxygen sensor38(shown inFIG. 3) to the exhaust pipe31.

As shown inFIG. 1, a rear portion of the exhaust pipe side covering40is supported by a screw member41such as, for example, a bolt being fastened into a threaded hole68(shown inFIG. 2) provided in the connecting tube33Also, a front portion of the exhaust pipe side covering40is supported by the oil pan50through the bracket51, thereby covering the exhaust pipe31from an outer side in the motorcycle widthwise direction. The oil pan50referred to above is a part of the combustion engine E that is supported by the main frame1, and therefore, the front portion of the exhaust pipe side covering40is supported by the motorcycle frame structure FR through the bracket51. The details of the exhaust pipe side covering40will be discussed later. It is to be noted that although in describing this preferred embodiment the rear portion of the exhaust pipe side covering40has been shown and described as supported by the connecting tube33, such a structure can be employed in which the rear portion of the exhaust pipe side covering40is supported by the muffler34or a muffler covering36.

FIG. 4illustrates a schematic top plan view showing the exhaust pipe side covering40as viewed from above. The exhaust pipe side covering40includes a main body42of such a substantially sectional shape, in which a longitudinally elongated flat metal sheet has been substantially semispherically curled, and a projecting piece43protruding from an inner side face of a front portion of this main body42in a direction inwardly of the motorcycle widthwise direction W. The main body42covers the exhaust pipe31and the connecting tube33, both shown inFIG. 2, from the outside. The main body42is formed with a screw insertion hole44in the vicinity of a portion thereof rearwardly of the projecting piece43shown inFIG. 4. As clearly shown inFIG. 6, the insertion hole44is oriented in an upper half portion of the main body42in a direction diagonally upwardly and outwards in the motorcycle widthwise direction.

An intermediate portion of the main body42with respect to a forward and rearward direction or longitudinal direction of the motorcycle is formed with a bent portion46which is curved outwardly of the motorcycle widthwise direction W towards a rear end portion thereof. A portion of the main body42on one side of the bent portion46adjacent the rear thereof covers from outside the connecting tube33which connects between the silencer box32, shown inFIG. 2, and the muffler34positioned diagonally rearwardly and outside of the silencer box32. The screw insertion hole44shown inFIG. 4is disposed at a position in the vicinity of a forward side relative to the bent portion46. The main body42is formed, at a position adjacent a rear end thereof, with a screw insertion hole47for threadingly fixing the main body42to the connecting tube33(best shown inFIG. 2), and is also formed, at a position in the vicinity of a front end thereof, with a recess48for allowing the oxygen sensor38(shown inFIG. 3) to protrude.

On the other hand, the projecting piece43of the exhaust pipe side covering40is of a structure in which a portion of the main body42of an elongated flat sheet member is bent to protrude towards an inner side with respect to the motorcycle widthwise direction W. The section of this projecting piece43taken in a direction perpendicular to a protruding direction P facing towards the inner side represents an elongated shape corresponding to the section of the sheet member, as shown in a fragmentary side view of the circle A depicted inFIG. 4. The projecting piece43represents a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from above. The projecting piece43is formed with an engagement groove43aon front and rear sides. The projecting piece43is also formed with an engagement pawl43protruding in a lateral direction (in the forward and rearward direction inFIG. 4) relative to the projecting direction P. Also, the projecting piece43is formed, at an intermediate portion of the rectangular shape thereof, with a reinforcement swelling portion43aslightly swelling upwards.

The bracket51is used for supporting the front portion of the exhaust pipe side covering40by the oil pan50, and is, as shown inFIG. 5, formed by press molding a single metal sheet member. The bracket51is formed integrally with a mounting piece52extending in a forward and rearward direction or longitudinal direction, an intermediate piece53extending in the forward and rearward direction at a location below the mounting piece52and an inner side of the mounting piece52with respect to the motorcycle widthwise direction, and a support piece54extending from a rear portion of the intermediate piece53downwardly and towards a lateral outer side while being curved.

The support piece54is of a curved shape corresponding to the sectional shape of the main body42of the exhaust pipe side covering40shown inFIG. 4. At a location adjacent to a front end of the intermediate piece53shown inFIG. 5, there is provided a slot shaped plug-in hole55which is elongated in the forward and rearward direction. In this plug-in hole55the projecting piece43is plugged, as best shown inFIG. 6. The plug-in hole55is so shaped as to be larger than the elongated sectional shape of the projecting piece43by a quantity corresponding to a grommet as will be discussed later. Two screw insertion holes58through which the screw members62(best shown inFIG. 2) for mounting the bracket51onto the oil pan50are inserted, are provided in the mounting piece52. The support piece54is provided with a threaded hole59by means of a weld nut as will be described later. The interval between the threaded hole59and the plug-in hole55is so chosen to be a value that coincides with the interval between the projecting piece43and the screw insertion hole44in the exhaust pipe side covering40shown inFIG. 6.

As shown inFIG. 2, in the bracket51a grommet60made of an elastic material such as, for example, rubber is engaged in the plug-in hole55. As shown inFIG. 6, the projecting piece43of the exhaust pipe side covering40is plugged in the plug-in hole55in the bracket51through the grommet60. By so doing, the projecting piece43is engaged in the plug-in hole55, whereby the projecting piece43can be positioned at a predetermined position relative to the bracket51. In other words, since the interval between the threaded hole59(best shown inFIG. 5) in the bracket51and the plug-in hole55is so set as to coincide with the interval between the screw insertion hole44in the exhaust pipe side covering40and the projecting piece43, the insertion hole44is positioned so as to align with the threaded hole59(shown inFIG. 5) at the moment the projecting piece43is engaged in the plug-in hole55.

Referring now toFIG. 7, when the projecting piece43is engaged in the plug-in hole55, an engagement pawl43bof a projecting end portion of the projecting piece43ingresses into a hollow portion of the grommet60while elastically deforming the grommet60so as to expand the diameter of the grommet60. Then, when the engagement pawl43bsneaks out from the grommet60, the grommet60which has been elastically restored is brought into engagement into the engagement groove43aof the projecting piece43and, at the same time, an inner side end portion60aof the grommet60is brought into contact with and is hence engaged with an edge portion of the engagement pawl43bof the projecting piece43to thereby establish a detent condition. Accordingly, the exhaust pipe side covering40is positioned so as to allow the screw insertion hole44thereof (shown inFIG. 6) to align with the threaded hole59in the bracket31(shown inFIG. 5) when the projecting piece43is merely plugged into the plug-in hole55through the grommet60.

As clearly shown by the circle A inFIG. 4, the projecting piece43has a shape in which the section thereof perpendicular to the projecting direction P is elongated, and therefore, rotation, as indicated by Q, of the exhaust pipe side covering40about a center line C that is aligned in the projecting direction P of the projecting piece43as shown inFIG. 6is suppressed effectively. In other words, the rotation of the exhaust pipe side covering40is halted. Accordingly, the posture of the exhaust pipe side covering40is accurately determined and, therefore, the two screw insertion holes44and47shown inFIG. 4are accurately brought into alignment with the threaded hole59in the bracket51shown inFIG. 5and the threaded hole68in the connecting tube33shown inFIG. 2.

Also, as clearly shown inFIG. 6, in view of the fact that the projecting piece43is formed of a flat plate member, the section perpendicular to the projecting direction represents an elongated shape and, this projecting piece43is plugged into the plug-in hole55. Accordingly, the projecting piece43is supported by the bracket51in a condition in which the main body42of the exhaust pipe side covering40is refrained from rotating.

As shown inFIG. 8, the threaded hole59in the bracket51is formed by the weld nut68fixed to an inner surface of the support piece54of the bracket51. In the screw insertion hole44of the exhaust pipe side covering40is inserted a grommet70of a kind having a collar69embedded therein, and the screw member64is engaged in the threaded hole59after having been inserted through the collar69with a washer71interposed underhead. Since as described above the projecting piece43is supported by the bracket51with the main body42held in the detent condition, the screw insertion hole44in the main body42of the exhaust pipe side covering40and the threaded hole50in the bracket51are accurately aligned with each other and, therefore, a work to fit the exhaust pipe side covering40to the bracket51by means of the screw member64can be facilitated.

In the construction hereinabove described, merely by inserting the projecting piece43of the exhaust pipe side covering40shown inFIG. 6into the plug-in hole55, positioning is accomplished in that the screw insertion hole44in the main body42is aligned with the threaded hole59, shown inFIG. 5, in the bracket51. Therefore, a work to slide in the vertical direction or longitudinal direction of the motorcycle body such as required with the conventional covering mount structure is no longer needed. As a result, merely by a work from the outer side with respect to the motorcycle widthwise direction, the main body42can be easily and quickly assembled with the bracket51. Also, since the projecting piece43is of the elongated shape in section perpendicular to the projecting direction P, plugging in the protruding piece43into the plug-in hole55makes it possible to refrain the main body42from rotating relative to the bracket51. Therefore, the insertion hole44in the exhaust pipe side covering40is automatically aligned with the threaded hole59(best shown inFIG. 5) in the bracket51. As a result, the assembling work of the exhaust pipe side covering40is improved.

Since as clearly shown inFIG. 4the projecting piece43is formed in the upper portion of the main body42, the work to plug in the projecting piece43into the plug-in hole55in the bracket51can be accomplished while the projecting piece43is viewed and confirmed from above. Therefore, the plug-in work of the projecting piece43can be easily, quickly and accurately accomplished. Moreover, since as shown inFIG. 6, the screw insertion hole44is formed in an upper half portion of the main body42and is oriented diagonally upwardly and outside of the motorcycle widthwise direction W, the screw member64can be inserted into and fastened to the screw insertion hole44while the screw member64is viewed from above. Therefore, the fastening work of the screw member64is improved.

Also, the bent portion46bent in such a direction as to protrude outwardly of the motorcycle widthwise direction W towards the rear end portion is formed in the intermediate portion of the main body42, which extends in the forward and rearward direction as shown inFIG. 4, and the screw insertion hole44is formed in the vicinity of this bent portion46. Although the bent portion46in the main body42is susceptible to flexure, fixing of the main body42to the bracket51shown inFIG. 3through the screw insertion hole44formed in the vicinity of the bent portion46is effective to suppress the occurrence of the flexure of the main body42, as compared with the case in which such fixing takes place at a front or rear location distant from the bent portion46in the main body42.

Moreover, since the projecting piece43shown inFIG. 6is engaged in the plug-in hole55through the grommet60made of the elastic material, the exhaust pipe side covering40is vibration-insulated from the combustion engine E. Also, when the projecting piece43is plugged in the plug-in hole55, the projecting piece43passes through the grommet60while causing an elastic deformation of the grommet60. Therefore, by the restoring force after the elastic deformation of the grommet60the projecting piece43is engaged in the plug-in hole55. Accordingly, merely by plugging the projecting piece43, it is possible for the projecting piece43to be engaged in the plug-in hole55.

In addition, as shown inFIG. 7the engagement pawl43bof the projecting end portion of the projecting piece43is engaged with the inner side end portion60aof the grommet60to prevent the projecting piece43from detaching. Therefore, the main body42of the exhaust pipe side covering40can be engaged with the bracket51merely by means of a simple work to insert the projecting piece43into and through the grommet60.

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