Patent Description:
Conventionally, straddled vehicles that include, as a suspension, such as a front fork, a rear suspension, or the like, an electronically controlled suspension capable of adjusting a damping force by electronic control have been known. Also, a straddled vehicle that includes a radar device that detects front of a vehicle has been known. For example, <CIT> describes a straddled vehicle including an electronically controlled suspension and a radar device. <CIT> discloses a straddled vehicle according to the preamble of claim <NUM>.

Straddled vehicles that perform control in which traveling at a set constant speed is caused on a highway or the like have been known. Moreover, straddled vehicles that perform control in which following a preceding vehicle is caused while keeping a predetermined inter-vehicle distance have been known. Such control will be hereinafter referred to as cruise control. During such control, a straddled vehicle performs stable traveling with only few changes of a posture of a vehicle body. While the straddled vehicle performs stable traveling, when a damping force of a suspension is large, vibrations from a road surface are likely to be transmitted to a rider, so that riding comfort is reduced.

In view of the foregoing, the present invention has been devised and it is therefore an object of the present invention to increase riding comfort during cruise control in a straddled vehicle that performs cruise control.

A straddled vehicle according to the invention includes a vehicle body frame, a front wheel supported by the vehicle body frame, a rear wheel supported by the vehicle body frame, an electronically controlled front suspension connected to the vehicle body frame and the front wheel, an electronically controlled rear suspension connected to the vehicle body frame and the rear wheel, a vehicle speed sensor supported by the vehicle body frame, a preceding vehicle detection device that is supported by the vehicle body frame and detects an inter-vehicle distance from a preceding vehicle, and a control device connected to the front suspension, the rear suspension, the vehicle speed sensor, and the preceding vehicle detection device. The control device includes a traveling controller and a suspension controller. The traveling controller executes cruise control including control in which the straddled vehicle is caused to travel such that a vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor is a set speed or control in which the straddled vehicle is caused to follow the preceding vehicle such that the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor is equal to or lower than the set speed and the inter-vehicle distance detected by the preceding vehicle detection device is a set distance. The suspension controller executes control in which, when the cruise control is started, a damping force of the front suspension and/or a damping force of the rear suspension is reduced and, when the cruise control is terminated, the damping force of the front suspension and/or the damping force of the rear suspension is increased.

According to the straddled vehicle, when cruise control is started, the damping force of the front suspension and/or the rear suspension is reduced, so that, during cruise control, vibrations from a road surface are less likely to be transmitted to a rider. Therefore, riding comfort during cruise control can be increased. When cruise control is terminated, the damping force of the front suspension and/or the rear suspension is increased, so that a behavior of the vehicle is stabilized at sudden braking, during cornering, or the like.

The straddled vehicle may further include an accelerator operator that is supported by the vehicle body frame and is operated by a rider. The control device may include a temporary stopper that, when an operation of the accelerator operator is started while the traveling controller is executing the cruise control, stops the cruise control of the traveling controller and the control of the suspension controller and, when the operation of the accelerator operation is terminated, restarts the cruise control of the traveling controller and the control of the suspension controller.

Thus, when the rider operates the accelerator operator during cruise control, the cruise control is temporarily stopped and the straddled vehicle accelerates. At this time, there is a probability that, with the damping force of the front fork and/or the rear suspension kept reduced, pitching due to acceleration occurs. However, when the rider operates the accelerator operator, control in which the damping force of the suspension controller is reduced is temporarily stopped, so that the damping force of the front fork and/or the rear suspension is restored to a damping force before the control. Therefore, when the rider accelerates the straddled vehicle at his or her own intension, pitching can be suppressed.

According to the present invention, riding comfort during cruise control can be increased in a straddled vehicle that performs cruise control.

With reference to the attached drawings, one embodiment of a straddled vehicle will be described below. As illustrated in <FIG>, a straddled vehicle according to this embodiment is a motorcycle <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the motorcycle <NUM> includes a vehicle body frame <NUM>, a seat <NUM> supported by the vehicle body frame <NUM>, an internal combustion engine (which will be hereinafter referred to as an engine) <NUM> supported by the vehicle body frame <NUM>, a front wheel <NUM> and a rear wheel <NUM> supported by the vehicle body frame <NUM>, an electronically controlled front fork <NUM> connected to the vehicle body frame <NUM> and the front wheel <NUM>, an electronically controlled rear suspension <NUM> connected to the vehicle body frame <NUM> and the rear wheel <NUM>, and a radar <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG>, the motorcycle <NUM> includes an accelerator grip 16A that is an example of the accelerator operator, a cruise control switch <NUM> that turns on and off cruise control that will be described later, a vehicle speed sensor <NUM> that detects a speed of the motorcycle <NUM>, an acceleration sensor <NUM> that detects an acceleration of the motorcycle <NUM>, a front wheel brake 8B that brakes the front wheel <NUM>, a rear wheel brake 9B that brakes the rear wheel <NUM>, and a control device <NUM>. The control device <NUM> is communicably connected to the accelerator grip 16A, the cruise control switch <NUM>, the radar <NUM>, the vehicle speed sensor <NUM>, the acceleration sensor <NUM>, the engine <NUM>, the front wheel brake 8B, the rear wheel brake 9B, the front fork <NUM>, and the rear suspension <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the vehicle body frame <NUM> includes a head pipe <NUM>, a main frame <NUM> extending rearward from the head pipe <NUM>, and a seat frame <NUM> extending rearward from the main frame <NUM>. The seat <NUM> is supported by the seat frame <NUM>.

A steering shaft <NUM> is rotatably inserted in the head pipe <NUM>. A handlebar <NUM> is mounted on an upper end portion of the steering shaft <NUM>. Although not illustrated in <FIG>, the accelerator grip 16A is rotatably mounted to a right end portion of the handlebar <NUM>. An upper bracket <NUM> is fixed to the upper end portion of the steering shaft <NUM>. An under bracket <NUM> is fixed to a lower end portion of the steering shaft <NUM>.

The engine <NUM> is supported by the vehicle body frame <NUM>. The engine <NUM> is an example of a drive source that drives the rear wheel <NUM>. However, the drive source for traveling is not limited to the engine <NUM>. The drive source may include an electric motor. The drive source may include both of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor.

The front wheel <NUM> is supported by the head pipe <NUM> of the vehicle body frame <NUM> via the front fork <NUM>. The rear wheel <NUM> is supported by the main frame <NUM> of the vehicle body frame <NUM> via a rear arm <NUM>. A front end portion of the rear arm <NUM> is rotatably connected to the main frame <NUM> via an unillustrated pivot shaft. A rear end portion of the rear arm <NUM> is connected to the rear wheel <NUM>. The rear wheel <NUM> is connected to the engine <NUM> via a power transmission member (not illustrated), such as a chain of the like. The rear wheel <NUM> is a drive wheel and receives a driving force of the engine <NUM> to rotate.

The front fork <NUM> is an example of an electronic controlled suspension. Note that the electronic controlled suspension is a suspension in which at least a damping force characteristic is adjusted by electronic control. Herein, the front fork <NUM> is configured such that both a damping force characteristic and a spring characteristic are adjustable by electronic control. As illustrated in <FIG>, the front fork <NUM> is fixed to the upper bracket <NUM> and the under bracket <NUM>. The front fork <NUM> includes a left tube <NUM> and a right tube 20R.

Each of the left tube <NUM> and the right tube 20R includes an outer tube <NUM> and an inner tube <NUM>. The outer tube <NUM> is mounted to the upper bracket <NUM> and the under bracket <NUM>. A lower end portion of the inner tube <NUM> is joined to an axle 8A of the front wheel <NUM> via an axle bracket <NUM>. The inner tube <NUM> is slidably inserted inside the outer tube <NUM>. The inner tube <NUM> slides against the outer tube <NUM>, so that the front fork <NUM> expands and contracts. In this embodiment, when the inner tube <NUM> moves downward with respect to the outer tube <NUM>, the front fork <NUM> expands. When the inner tube <NUM> moves upward with respect to the outer tube <NUM>, the front fork <NUM> contracts. Downward and upward correspond to an expansion direction and a contraction direction of the front fork <NUM>, respectively.

Although not illustrated, a fork spring is arranged inside each of the right tube 20R and the left tube <NUM>. The fork spring is an example of a spring of the front fork <NUM>.

The right tube 20R includes an oil-type shock absorber <NUM> that is electronically controlled. The shock absorber <NUM> includes the inner tube <NUM>, a rod <NUM>, a piston <NUM>, and a control valve assembly <NUM>. The rod <NUM> is undisplaceably fixed to the outer tube <NUM>. The piston <NUM> is connected to a lower end portion of the rod <NUM>. The piston <NUM> is arranged inside the inner tube <NUM>. An inner space of the inner tube <NUM> is partitioned into an oil chamber <NUM> and an oil chamber <NUM> by the piston <NUM>.

The control valve assembly <NUM> is connected to the oil chamber <NUM> and the oil chamber <NUM>. The control valve assembly <NUM> includes oil paths <NUM> to <NUM>, check valves <NUM> and <NUM>, and electronically controlled piston valves <NUM> and <NUM>. The check valve <NUM> is arranged between the oil path <NUM> and the oil path <NUM>. The check valve <NUM> allows a flow of oil from the oil path <NUM> to the oil path <NUM> and prohibits a flow of oil from the oil path <NUM> to the oil path <NUM>. The check valve <NUM> is arranged between the oil path <NUM> and the oil path <NUM>. The check valve <NUM> allows a flow of oil from the oil path <NUM> to the oil path <NUM> and prohibits a flow of oil from the oil path <NUM> to the oil path <NUM>. The piston valve <NUM> connects the oil path <NUM> and the oil path <NUM>. The piston valve <NUM> allows a flow of oil from the oil path <NUM> to the oil path <NUM> and prohibits a flow of oil from the oil path <NUM> to the oil path <NUM>. The piston valve <NUM> connects the oil path <NUM> and the oil path <NUM>. The piston valve <NUM> allows a flow of oil from the oil path <NUM> to the oil path <NUM> and prohibits a flow of oil from the oil path <NUM> to the oil path <NUM>. Each of the piston valves <NUM> and <NUM> is constituted of, for example, a solenoid valve.

When oil flows through the piston valve <NUM>, the oil receives a flow resistance. Degree of the flow resistance caused by the piston valve <NUM> is controlled by the control device <NUM> (specifically, a control unit 60B that will be described later). When the control device <NUM> increases the flow resistance of the piston valve <NUM>, the oil receives more resistance as the oil flows from the oil path <NUM> to the oil path <NUM>. Thus, the oil is difficult to flow from the oil chamber <NUM> to the oil chamber <NUM> through the control valve assembly <NUM>, so that a damping force of the front fork <NUM> in the expansion direction is increased. Conversely, when the control device <NUM> reduces the flow resistance of the piston valve <NUM>, the damping force of the front fork <NUM> in the expansion direction is reduced.

When the oil flows through the piston valve <NUM>, the oil receives a flow resistance. Degree of the flow resistance caused by the piston valve <NUM> is controlled by the control device <NUM>. When the control device <NUM> increases the flow resistance of the piston valve <NUM>, the oil receives more resistance as the oil flows from the oil path <NUM> to the oil path <NUM>. Thus, the oil is difficult to flow from the oil chamber <NUM> to the oil chamber <NUM> through the control valve assembly <NUM>, so that a damping force of the front fork <NUM> in the contraction direction is increased. Conversely, when the control device <NUM> reduces the flow resistance of the piston valve <NUM>, the damping force of the front fork <NUM> in the contraction direction is reduced.

As illustrated in <FIG>, an upper end portion <NUM> of the rear suspension <NUM> is fixed to the main frame <NUM> via a bracket. A lower end portion <NUM> of the rear suspension <NUM> is connected to a joining member <NUM> fixed to the rear arm <NUM>. The rear suspension <NUM> is indirectly connected to the vehicle body frame <NUM> and the rear wheel <NUM>.

The rear suspension <NUM> is another example of the electronically controlled suspension. Herein, the rear suspension <NUM> is configured such that a damping force characteristic and a spring characteristic can be adjusted by electronic control. The rear suspension <NUM> includes an unillustrated spring. Moreover, as illustrated in <FIG>, the rear suspension <NUM> includes an oil-type shock absorber 40B that is electronically controlled. The shock absorber 40B includes a cylinder <NUM>, a piston <NUM> slidably arranged inside the cylinder <NUM>, and a rod <NUM> extending from the piston <NUM>. An internal space of the cylinder <NUM> is partitioned into an oil chamber <NUM> and an oil chamber <NUM> by the piston <NUM>. When the piston <NUM> moves downward, the rear suspension <NUM> expands. When the piston <NUM> moves upward, the rear suspension <NUM> contracts. Downward and upward correspond to an expansion direction and a contraction direction of the rear suspension <NUM>, respectively.

The rear suspension <NUM> includes a control valve assembly <NUM> that is similar to the control valve assembly <NUM> of the front fork <NUM>. Each member that is similar to a corresponding member of the control valve assembly <NUM> of the front fork <NUM> will be denoted below by the same reference character as that of the corresponding member of the control valve assembly <NUM> and description thereof will be omitted. In the rear suspension <NUM>, the oil path <NUM> of the control valve assembly <NUM> is connected to the oil chamber <NUM>. The oil path <NUM> of the control valve assembly <NUM> is connected to the oil chamber <NUM>.

When the control device <NUM> (specifically, the control unit 60B that will be described later) increases the flow resistance of the piston valve <NUM>, the oil is difficult to flow from the oil chamber <NUM> to the oil chamber <NUM> through the control valve assembly <NUM>, so that a damping force of the rear suspension <NUM> in the contraction direction is increased. Conversely, when the control device <NUM> reduces the flow resistance of the piston valve <NUM>, the damping force of the rear suspension <NUM> in the contraction direction is reduced.

When the control device <NUM> increases the flow resistance of the piston valve <NUM>, the oil is difficult to flow from the oil chamber <NUM> to the oil chamber <NUM> through the control valve assembly <NUM>, so that a damping force of the rear suspension <NUM> in the expansion direction is increased. Conversely, when the control device <NUM> reduces the flow resistance of the piston valve <NUM>, the damping force of the rear suspension <NUM> in the expansion direction is reduced.

The radar <NUM> (see <FIG>) is an example of a preceding vehicle detection device that detects an inter-vehicle distance from a preceding vehicle (that is, another vehicle that travels in front of the motorcycle <NUM>). The radar <NUM> transmits electromagnetic waves, such as millimeter waves or the like, toward front of the vehicle and receives their reflected waves. The radar <NUM> is supported by the vehicle body frame <NUM> and is installed in a front portion of the motorcycle <NUM>. Note that, as the preceding vehicle detection device, a device that detects an inter-vehicle distance from a preceding vehicle is sufficient, and the preceding vehicle detection device is not limited to the radar <NUM>. The preceding vehicle detection device may be constituted of a laser, a camera, or the like.

The cruise control switch <NUM> is an input device that is operated by the rider. The cruise control switch <NUM> is mounted, for example, to the handlebar <NUM> (see <FIG>). The cruise control switch <NUM> is provided, for example, to a meter (not illustrated). The cruise control switch <NUM> may be a push button type switch, may be a touch panel type switch, and there is no particular limitation on a specific configuration thereof.

The control device <NUM> is constituted of one or two or more microcomputers. In this embodiment, as illustrated in <FIG>, the control device <NUM> includes a plurality of control units. Specifically, the control device <NUM> includes a control unit 60A that controls the engine <NUM>, a control unit 60B that controls the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM>, and a control unit 60C that controls the front wheel brake 8B and the rear wheel brake 9B. The control unit 60A includes an interface <NUM>, a CPU <NUM>, a ROM <NUM>, a RAM <NUM>, or the like. Although not illustrated, each of the control units 60B and 60C also includes an interface <NUM>, a CPU <NUM>, a ROM <NUM>, a RAM <NUM>, or the like. The control units 60A, 60B, and 60C are formed as separate bodies and are arranged in places apart from each other. The control units 60A, 60B, and 60C are communicably connected to each other. However, there is no limitation on a configuration of the control device <NUM>. The control device <NUM> may be constituted of a single control unit.

As described above, the motorcycle <NUM> includes the vehicle speed sensor <NUM> that detects the speed of the motorcycle <NUM> and the acceleration sensor <NUM> that detects the acceleration of the motorcycle <NUM>. The acceleration sensor <NUM> is constituted of, for example, an inertia measurement unit (IMU).

<FIG> is a functional block diagram of the control device <NUM>. The CPU <NUM> of the control device <NUM> (see <FIG>) executes computer programs stored in the ROM <NUM> or the like to function as a traveling controller <NUM> that executes cruise control, a suspension controller <NUM> that controls the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM>, and a temporary stopper <NUM> that temporarily stops controls of the traveling controller <NUM> and the suspension controller <NUM>. Note that cruise control is control in which a vehicle is caused to travel such that a vehicle speed is a preset speed (which will be hereinafter referred to as a set speed) or control (which will be hereinafter referred to as an adaptive cruise control) in which a vehicle is caused to follow a preceding vehicle such that a vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the set speed and an inter-vehicle distance from a preceding vehicle is a preset inter-vehicle distance (which will be referred to as a set distance). The set distance may be a predetermined distance or may be a predetermined distance range. The set distance may vary in accordance with the speed of the motorcycle <NUM>. For example, when the speed of the motorcycle <NUM> is relatively high, the set distance may be a relatively long distance, and when the speed of the motorcycle <NUM> is relatively low, the set distance may be a relatively short distance. The ROM <NUM> or the RAM <NUM> of the control device <NUM> functions as a storage <NUM> that stores computer programs of various controls, a map related to parameters of various controls, or the like. Note that the control device <NUM> may include, as the storage <NUM>, some other memory than the ROM <NUM> and the RAM <NUM>.

Although not illustrated, each of the front wheel brake 8B and the rear wheel brake 9B includes a hydraulic brake caliper. The traveling controller <NUM> controls a hydraulic pressure of the brake caliper to control on and off and a braking force of each of the front wheel brake 8B and the rear wheel brake 9B. During the adaptive cruise control, the traveling controller <NUM> controls the engine <NUM>, the front wheel brake 8B, and the rear wheel brake 9B, based on at least the inter-vehicle distance detected by the radar <NUM>. In this embodiment, the traveling controller <NUM> increases or reduces an output of the engine <NUM> or actuates the front wheel brake 8B and/or the rear wheel brake 9B, based on the inter-vehicle distance detected by the radar <NUM>, the speed of the motorcycle <NUM> detected by the vehicle speed sensor <NUM>, and the acceleration of the motorcycle <NUM> detected by the acceleration sensor <NUM>. Note that an acceleration can be a positive value and a negative value. In the following, a negative acceleration will be also referred to as a deceleration, and negatively accelerating will be referred to as decelerating.

During the adaptive cruise control, when the speed of the motorcycle <NUM> is equal to or lower than the set speed and the inter-vehicle distance is larger than the set distance, the traveling controller <NUM> increases the output of the engine <NUM>. Thus, the motorcycle <NUM> accelerates and the inter-vehicle distance reduces. Conversely, during the adaptive cruise control, when the inter-vehicle distance is reduced to be smaller than the set distance, the traveling controller <NUM> reduces the output of the engine <NUM>, and furthermore, actuates the front wheel brake 8B and/or the rear wheel brake 9B, as necessary. Thus, the motorcycle <NUM> decelerates and the inter-vehicle distance is increased. In a manner described above, the motorcycle <NUM> follows the preceding vehicle while keeping the inter-vehicle distance at the set distance.

The suspension controller <NUM> can control the damping force of the front fork <NUM>, a spring reaction force of the front fork <NUM>, the damping force of the rear suspension <NUM>, and a spring reaction force of the rear suspension <NUM>. When the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> are large, expansion and contraction operations of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> are stiff. When the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> are large, a behavior of the vehicle body is stabilized at sudden braking or during cornering, but vibrations from a road surface are likely to be transmitted to the rider. On the other hand, when the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> are small, the expansion and contraction operations of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> are soft. When the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> are small, vibrations from the road surface are less likely to be transmitted to the rider.

The temporary stopper <NUM> is configured to, while the rider is operating the accelerator grip 16A, temporarily stop cruise control by the traveling controller <NUM> and control of the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> by the suspension controller <NUM>. Specifically, when the rider starts an operation of the accelerator grip 16A, the temporary stopper <NUM> stops cruise control by the traveling controller <NUM> and control in which the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> are reduced by the suspension controller <NUM>. When the rider terminates the operation of the accelerator grip 16A, the temporary stopper <NUM> restarts cruise control by the traveling controller <NUM> and control in which the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> are reduced by the suspension controller <NUM>. The temporary stopper <NUM> receives a signal from the accelerator grip 16A and determines whether the accelerator grip 16A is being operated. When the temporary stopper <NUM> detects that the accelerator grip 16A is being operated, the temporary stopper <NUM> transmits a signal to the traveling controller <NUM> and the suspension controller <NUM> and disables control of each of the traveling controller <NUM> and the suspension controller <NUM>.

Next, with reference to a flowchart of <FIG>, an example of control of the motorcycle <NUM> will be described. Control described below is executed by the control device <NUM>.

First, in Step S1, whether the cruise control switch <NUM> is on is determined. When a determination result is YES, the process proceeds to Step S2. In Step S2, when cruise control is not performed, cruise control is started and, when cruise control is being performed, the cruise control is continued.

Subsequently, the process proceeds to Step S3, the suspension controller <NUM> performs control in which the damping force of the front fork <NUM> and the damping force of the rear suspension <NUM> are reduced. For example, when it is assumed that the damping force of the front fork <NUM> and the damping force of the rear suspension <NUM> before cruise control is executed are a first value and a second value, respectively, the suspension controller <NUM> reduces the damping force of the front fork <NUM> to a third value smaller than the first value and the damping force of the rear suspension <NUM> to a fourth value that is smaller than the second value. Thus, expansion and contraction operations of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> become soft. The front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> can easily absorb vibrations from a road surface, and therefore, the vibrations from the road surface less likely to transmitted to the rider. Note that Step S3 may be performed before Step S2 and may be simultaneously performed with Step S2.

Next, in Step S4, whether the cruise control switch <NUM> has been turned off is determined. When a determination result is NO, the process proceeds to Step S5.

In Step S5, whether the rider is operating the accelerator grip 16A is determined. When the rider is operating the accelerator grip 16A, the rider desires accelerated traveling of the motorcycle <NUM>, not cruise control. Therefore, when a determination result of Step S5 is YES, the process proceeds to Step S6 and the traveling controller <NUM> stops cruise control. In this case, when the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> are kept reduced, the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> are relatively easy to expand and contract, and thus, there is a probability that, when the motorcycle <NUM> accelerates, pitching occurs. Therefore, in Step S7, the suspension controller <NUM> stops control in which the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> are reduced. For example, the suspension controller <NUM> restores the damping force of the front fork <NUM> back to the first value from the third value and restores the damping force of the rear suspension <NUM> back to the second value from the fourth value. Note that Step S7 may be performed before Step S6 and may be simultaneously performed with Step S6. After Step S7, the process returns to Step S5.

In Step S5, when it is determined that the rider is not operating the accelerator grip 16A (in other words, when the determination result is NO), the process returns to Step S2. When cruise control and control of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> are stopped, in Step S2, cruise control is restarted and, in Step S3, control of the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> is restarted. For example, the damping force of the front fork <NUM> is reduced from the first value to the third value and the damping force of the rear suspension <NUM> is reduced from the second value to the fourth value.

In Step S4, when it is determined that the cruise control switch <NUM> has been turned off, the process proceeds to Step S8. In Step S8, the traveling controller <NUM> terminates cruise control. Subsequently, the process proceeds to Step S9 and the suspension controller <NUM> terminates control in which the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> are reduced. In this case, the suspension controller <NUM> restores the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> to the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> before cruise control is started, respectively. For example, the suspension controller <NUM> increases the damping force of the front fork <NUM> from the third value to the first value and the damping force of the rear suspension <NUM> from the fourth value to the second value. Note that Step S9 may be performed before Step S8 and may be simultaneously performed with Step S8.

As has been described above, according to the motorcycle <NUM> of this embodiment, when cruise control is started, the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> is reduced, and thus, during cruise control, vibrations from a road surface are less likely to be transmitted to the rider. Therefore, riding comfort of the motorcycle <NUM> during cruise control can be increased. On the other hand, when cruise control is terminated, the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> is increased, so that a behavior of the motorcycle <NUM> is stabilized at sudden braking, during cornering, or the like.

According to this embodiment, when the rider operates the accelerator grip 16A during cruise control, the cruise control is temporarily stopped and the motorcycle <NUM> accelerates. At this time, with the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> kept reduced, there is a probability that pitching due to acceleration occurs. However, according to this embodiment, when the rider operates the accelerator grip 16A, control in which the damping forces is reduced by the suspension controller <NUM> is temporarily stopped, so that the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> are restored to the damping forces thereof before the above-described control. Therefore, when the rider accelerates the motorcycle <NUM> at his or her own intension, pitching can be suppressed.

One embodiment of the straddled vehicle has been described above, but the above-described embodiment is merely an example. Various other embodiments are also possible.

In the above-described embodiment, the suspension controller <NUM> reduces both the damping force of the front fork <NUM> and the damping force of the rear suspension <NUM> during cruise control, but the suspension controller <NUM> may be configured to reduce only one of the damping force of the front fork <NUM> and the damping force of the rear suspension <NUM>.

The suspension controller <NUM> may be configured to keep the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> constant during cruise control and may be configured to change the damping forces of the front fork <NUM> and the rear suspension <NUM> in accordance with a vehicle speed, an acceleration, or the like of the motorcycle <NUM> during cruise control.

The front fork <NUM> is an example of an electronically controlled front suspension, but the front suspension is not limited to the front fork <NUM>. The front suspension is not limited to a front suspension including a telescopic type mechanism, but may be a front suspension including a telelever type mechanism.

The straddled vehicle is a vehicle that a rider straddles to ride. The straddled vehicle is not limited to the motorcycle <NUM>. The straddled vehicle may be, for example, a motor tricycle, an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), a snowmobile, or the like.

Changes may be made to straddled vehicle <NUM> without, however, departing from the protective scope defined in the accompanying Claims.

Claim 1:
A straddled vehicle (<NUM>) comprising:
a vehicle body frame (<NUM>);
a front wheel (<NUM>) supported by the vehicle body frame (<NUM>);
a rear wheel (<NUM>) supported by the vehicle body frame (<NUM>);
an electronically controlled front suspension (<NUM>) connected to the vehicle body frame (<NUM>) and the front wheel (<NUM>);
an electronically controlled rear suspension (<NUM>) connected to the vehicle body frame (<NUM>) and the rear wheel (<NUM>);
a vehicle speed sensor (<NUM>) supported by the vehicle body frame (<NUM>);
a preceding vehicle detection device (<NUM>) that is supported by the vehicle body frame (<NUM>) and detects an inter-vehicle distance from a preceding vehicle; and
a control device (<NUM>) connected to the front suspension (<NUM>), the rear suspension (<NUM>), the vehicle speed sensor (<NUM>), and the preceding vehicle detection device (<NUM>),
wherein
the control device (<NUM>) includes
a traveling controller (<NUM>) that executes cruise control including control in which the straddled vehicle (<NUM>) is caused to travel such that a vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor (<NUM>) is a set speed or control in which the straddled vehicle (<NUM>) is caused to follow the preceding vehicle such that the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor (<NUM>) is equal to or lower than the set speed and the inter-vehicle distance detected by the preceding vehicle detection device (<NUM>) is a set distance, and
a suspension controller (<NUM>);
characterized in that said suspension controller (<NUM>) executes control in which, when the cruise control is started, a damping force of the front suspension (<NUM>) and/or a damping force of the rear suspension (<NUM>) is reduced and, when the cruise control is terminated, the damping force of the front suspension (<NUM>) and/or the damping force of the rear suspension (<NUM>) is increased.