Saddle-ride type vehicle

A saddle-ride type vehicle includes a body frame, an engine arranged in a forward manner of a rear cushion, and an air cleaner connected to the engine through an intake passage. The air cleaner is arranged in a rearward manner of a connection of an upper end of the rear cushion and the body frame, and the connection is arranged substantially just below the intake passage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an improvement in construction, in which equipment such as an air cleaner, a carburetor, etc. are arranged around a rear cushion of a saddle-ride type vehicle.

2. Description of Related Art

Conventionally, a motorcycle such as a saddle-ride type vehicle is known, in which a body frame mounting thereon an engine is pivotally connected through a pivot shaft to rear arms mounting thereto a rear wheel. The rear arms and the body frame are connected to each other by a rear cushion. The rear cushion is arranged between the engine and the rear wheel.

As for the motorcycle, various types of equipment including intake system equipment such as an air cleaner, a carburetor, an intake passage connecting between them, etc. and electrical equipment such as a battery, etc. are arranged in a space defined between the engine below a seat member and the rear wheel and the rear cushion is arranged therein.

With such a conventional motorcycle, however, a rear cushion is set in a position, orientation, and the like, in which a predetermined action is performed, and arranged in the vicinity of and rearwardly of an engine, so that a space between the engine and the rear cushion is liable to become narrow. In order to arrange an air cleaner so as not to interfere with the rear cushion, the air cleaner must be arranged rearwardly of the rear cushion.

Therefore, an intake passage connected between the air cleaner and a carburetor must bypass the rear cushion, so that the intake passage is arranged laterally of the rear cushion to be liable to make it difficult to arrange other equipment. Also, in order to arrange other equipment, the work of mounting equipment, such as the fixation of the intake passage by the use of a binding band, takes time. Consequently, a problem arises that a lot of restrictions are involved in the arrangement of equipment around the rear cushion which makes the layout complex. Thus, it is difficult to achieve making effective use of the space.

Hereupon, it is an advantage of the invention to provide a saddle-ride type vehicle capable of more simply constructing the layout of the rear cushion and the intake passage and readily making effective use of the space defined between the engine and the rear wheel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a feature in a saddle-ride type vehicle, in which rear arms are pivotally mounted through a pivot shaft to a body frame, includes a rear cushion connected between the rear arms and the body frame to be arranged substantially vertically, an engine is arranged forwardly of the rear cushion, and an air cleaner arranged rearward is connected to the engine through an intake passage. The air cleaner is arranged rearwardly of a connection of an upper end of the rear cushion and the body frame and the connection is arranged substantially just below the intake passage.

An exhaust port of the air cleaner and the intake passage are positioned on a center line of the vehicle body as viewed in plan view of the vehicle body. The connection is arranged substantially just below the intake passage.

The intake passage connected between the exhaust port of the air cleaner and a side of the engine is arranged substantially horizontally.

A first link piece pivotally connected to the rear arms and a second link piece pivotally connected to the body frame are connected to each other. A lower end of the rear cushion is connected to the second link piece.

The saddle-ride type vehicle is a motorcycle for two on-off uses.

The connection is arranged in a recess formed by a throttle body lower portion, in which a throttle valve for opening and closing of the intake passage is accommodated, a lower portion of the air cleaner, and the intake passage.

A battery is arranged on one side of the intake passage, and a piping connected to the air cleaner is arranged on the other side of the intake passage.

The air cleaner is arranged in a rearward manner of a connection of an upper end of the rear cushion and the body frame. The connection is arranged substantially just below the intake passage, so that the intake passage can be arranged above the rear cushion and is required not to bypass the rear cushion, thus making it easy to arrange other equipment on the sides of the rear cushion. Therefore, the layout of the equipment around the rear cushion can be arranged in a further simple configuration, which readily makes effective use of the space between the engine and the rear wheel.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an exhaust port of the air cleaner and the intake passage are positioned on a center line of the vehicle body as viewed in plan view of the vehicle body, and the connection is arranged substantially just below the intake passage, so that the respective equipment can be readily concentrated about the center of the vehicle body and arranged in a well-balanced manner. In particular, the rear cushion and its connection are arranged on the center of the vehicle body to readily improve balance in terms of strength widthwise of the vehicle body and readily make the body frame or the like lightweight.

The intake passage connected between the exhaust port of the air cleaner and a side of the engine is arranged substantially horizontally, so that the intake passage extending from the exhaust port of the air cleaner to the engine is made straight to make the flow of the intake air to the engine smooth to enhance the intake efficiency, thus enabling improving the engine in performance.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a link mechanism connected between a first link piece pivotally connected to the rear arms and a second link piece pivotally connected to the body frame is provided, and a lower end of the rear cushion is connected to the second link piece, so that the rear cushion having a less magnitude of stroke can absorb up-and-down movements of the rear arms. It is possible to achieve making the rear cushion further compact and to readily arrange the rear cushion below the intake passage. Therefore, it is possible to arrange the rear cushion in a lower position in the vehicle to lower the center of gravity thereof.

It is unnecessary to bypass the rear cushion to arrange the intake passage laterally of the rear cushion and the saddle-ride type vehicle is readily formed to be small in breadth, so that a pronounced effect is produced when an embodiment of the present invention is applied to motorcycles for two on-off uses, in which a demand for reduction in breadth of a vehicle and enhancement in frame strength is made intensely.

The connection is arranged in a recess formed by a throttle body lower portion, in which a throttle valve for opening and closing of the intake passage is accommodated, a lower portion of the air cleaner, and the intake passage, so that it is possible to make effective use of the dead space, which is liable to be formed by the arrangement of the throttle body, the air cleaner and the intake passage.

A battery is arranged on one side of the intake passage, or a piping connected to the air cleaner is arranged on the other side of the intake passage, so that it is possible to arrange the equipment laterally of the rear cushion, thus enabling surely making effective use of the space.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the invention will be described below.

FIGS. 1 to 5show a saddle-ride type vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, an explanation is given to the construction, andFIG. 1shows a motorcycle as a “saddle-ride type vehicle”, the motorcycle being one for so-called two on-off uses, capable of mainly traveling on irregular places such as unleveled ground or the like and designed to be narrow in breadth and lightweight as compared with motorcycles, which travel on an ordinary road, in view of the quality of handling a vehicle body at the time of traveling.

Concretely, reference numeral51inFIG. 1denotes a body frame. An engine52is mounted on the body frame51and a fuel tank53is mounted above the engine52. A seat54is mounted in a rearward manner of the fuel tank53and a front wheel55and a rear wheel56are arranged in a forward manner of and in a rearward manner of the body frame51, respectively.

The body frame51is provided, as shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, at a forward end thereof with a cylindrical-shaped head pipe59. A steering shaft60is rotatably supported on the head pipe59. The steering shaft60mounts a handle61on an upper portion thereof and a pair of left and right front forks62on a lower portion thereof, and the front wheel55is born between the front forks62.

Also, a pair of left and right main frames65are fixed at forward ends65cthereof to the head pipe59to extend obliquely rearward and downward. A single down-tube66is arranged centrally below the main frames65with a forward end66afixed to the head pipe59.

A horizontal cross member67is provided and arranged between the pair of left and right main frames65, and a vertical cross member68is provided between the horizontal cross member67and the down-tube66.

Intermediate portions65aof the main frames65are slightly bent as shown inFIG. 2. The intermediate portions65afix thereto forward ends70aof a pair of left and right seat frames70near to rearward portions thereof. The seat frames70extend obliquely rearward and upward.

Further, a pair of left and right reinforcement frames71are arranged below the seat frames70. The reinforcement frames71are fixed at forward ends71athereof to rear ends65bof the main frames65and extend obliquely rearward and upward, and rear ends71bare fixed to the undersides of rear ends70bof the seat frames70.

Also, a plurality of cross members74,75,76are provided between the pair of left and right seat frames70as shown inFIG. 3.

Furthermore, support frames72are extended downward from forward and near portions of the rear ends65bof the main frames65.

Rear arm mounts78are provided at lower positions of the support frames72as shown inFIG. 4, and rear arms73are pivotally mounted by means of a pivot shaft79to support the rear wheel56in a vertically swingable manner.

According to the embodiment, a rear cushion83connects between the body frame51and the rear arms73as shown inFIGS. 4 and 5, and accessories such as an air cleaner or the like are arranged about the rear cushion.

In order that the rear cushion83connects between the body frame51and the rear arms73, an upper end83aof the rear cushion83is pivotally mounted to a cushion connection84of the main frames65while a lower end83bof the rear cushion83is connected to the rear arms73through a link mechanism80formed between the body frame51and the rear arms73.

The link mechanism80includes a link connection80aprovided in the vicinity of the pivot shaft79on the rear arms73forwardly of the rear wheel56, and pivotally mounting thereto one end81aof a first link piece81. Also, a link connection80bis provided on lower ends of the support frames72and pivotally connects thereto one end82aof a substantially L-shaped second link piece82. The other end81bof the first link piece81and an intermediate portion82bof the second link piece82are pivotally connected to each other to constitute the link mechanism80, so that turning of the rear arms73causes the other end82cof the second link piece82to move up and down. The rear cushion83is pivotally mounted and connected to the other end82cof the second link piece82.

The engine52is fixed to and arranged on the body frame51in a forward manner of the rear cushion83arranged thus substantially in a vertical manner as shownFIGS. 4 and 5, and a throttle body85accommodating therein a throttle valve for opening and closing of an intake passage89is mounted in a rearward manner of and in the vicinity of an upstream cylinder52aof the engine52. The intake passage89is connected to an intake port85aof the throttle body85, and the intake port85aof the throttle body85is connected through the intake passage89to an exhaust port86aof an air cleaner86arranged in a rearward manner of the upper end83aof the rear cushion83. In addition, the throttle body85may include either a throttle body used for fuel injection type engines or a carburetor.

The intake passage89is arranged above the rear cushion83in a manner to arrange the upper end83aof the rear cushion83substantially just below. Here, since the exhaust port86aof the air cleaner86and the intake port85aof the throttle body85are arranged in substantially the same level, the intake passage89is arranged substantially in a horizontal manner. Simultaneously, the upper end83aof the rear cushion83is arranged in a downward manner facing recess89aformed by a lower portion of the throttle body85, a lower portion of the air cleaner86and a lower end of the intake passage89.

Also, as shown inFIG. 5, a center of the exhaust port86aof the air cleaner86, a center line of the intake passage89, and a center of the intake port85aof the throttle body85are positioned on a center line L of the vehicle body as viewed in plan view of the vehicle body. Therefore, intake air from the air cleaner86is supplied to the throttle body85in a linear flow.

Further, the cushion connection84of the body frame51, to which the upper end83aof the rear cushion83is connected, is arranged just below the intake passage89, and the rear cushion83and the body frame51are disposed on substantially the center line L of the body frame51. In addition, the cushion connection84is not necessarily arranged completely just below the intake passage89but it suffices that at least a part of the cushion connection84overlaps the intake passage89as viewed in plan view.

With such an arrangement of the construction, a battery91and an electrical equipment92connected to the battery91are arranged on one side of the intake passage89, and an air assist device93and its piping94are arranged on the other side of the intake passage89. Included in the piping94of the air assist device93are a pipe94afor the detection of negative pressure, connected to an upstream side of a carburetor85, a pipe94bto supply to the air assist device93air from the air cleaner86, a pipe94cto supply air to an exhaust side of the engine, and a pipe94dto supply to the air cleaner86gases leaking from a head-cylinder side of the engine52.

By arranging the rear cushion83and the equipment therearound in the manner described above, the air cleaner86is arranged in a rearward manner of the upper end83aof the rear cushion83connected to the body frame51and the cushion connection84, to which the upper end83of the body frame51is connected, is arranged substantially just below the intake passage89, so that the intake passage89can be arranged above the rear cushion83and so is not required to bypass the rear cushion89whereby various equipment can be readily arranged laterally of the rear cushion83. Therefore, the layout of the equipment around the rear cushion83can be arranged in a further simple configuration, which readily makes effective use of the space between the engine52and the rear wheel56.

Also, since the cushion connection84of the body frame51, to which the upper end83aof the rear cushion83is connected, is arranged in the recess89aformed below the throttle body85, the air cleaner86and the intake passage89. It is possible to make effective use of the dead space, which is liable to be formed by the throttle body85, the air cleaner86and the intake passage89.

Further, since the battery91is arranged on one side of the intake passage89, or the piping94connected to the air cleaner86is arranged on the other side of the intake passage89, this equipment is arranged laterally of the rear cushion83to be able to surely achieve making effective use of the space.

Also, since the exhaust port86aof the air cleaner86and the intake passage89are positioned on the center line L of the vehicle body as viewed in plan view of the vehicle body and the cushion connection84of the body frame51, to which the upper end83aof the rear cushion83is connected, is arranged substantially just below the intake passage89, the respective equipment can be readily concentrated about the center line L of the vehicle body and arranged in a well-balanced manner. In particular, since the cushion connection84can be arranged on the center line L of the vehicle body, balance in terms of strength is readily improved widthwise of the vehicle body and the body frame51or the like is readily made lightweight.

Further, since the rear cushion83can be arranged in a lower position as by being arranged in a predetermined position on the body frame51and the rear arms73and by the use of the link mechanism, and the intake passage89connecting between the exhaust port86aof the air cleaner86and the engine52is arranged substantially horizontally, the intake passage89extending from the exhaust port86aof the air cleaner86to the engine52is made straight to make the flow of intake air to the engine52smooth to enhance the intake efficiency, thus enabling improving the engine52in performance.

Also, the link mechanism includes the first link piece81pivotally connected to the rear arms73and the second link piece82pivotally connected to the body frame51, and the lower end83bof the rear cushion83is connected to the second link piece82, so that the rear cushion83having a less magnitude of stroke can absorb up-and-down movements of the rear arms73. Therefore, it is possible to achieve making the rear cushion83compact and to readily arrange the rear cushion83below the intake passage89. Consequently, it is possible to arrange the rear cushion83in a lower position in the vehicle to lower the center of gravity thereof.

Besides, since it is unnecessary to arrange the intake passage89bypassing the rear cushion83laterally thereof, the breadth of the vehicle can be narrowed, balance in terms of strength is readily improved, and a pronounced effect is produced in motorcycles for two on-off uses, in which such demand is intensely made.

While according to an embodiment of the present invention, the center of the exhaust port86aof the air cleaner86, the center line of the intake passage89, and the center of the intake port85aof the throttle body85are positioned on the center line L of the vehicle body as viewed in plan view of the vehicle body, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto but it suffices that the exhaust port86aof the air cleaner86and the intake passage89be positioned on the center line L of the vehicle body even when the center line L of the vehicle body shifts from the center of the exhaust port86aof the air cleaner86and the center line of the intake passage89.