Patent ID: 8762003

Claim:
A leaning vehicle comprising: a frame having a front portion, a rear portion, a lower portion and an upper portion; an engine supported by the frame; a shock tower having an upper end and a lower end, the lower end of the shock tower being pivotally connected to the frame through a pivotal connection that defines a frame leaning axis about which the frame can lean to a right side and to a left side relative to the shock tower; a front left wheel and a front right wheel connected to the front portion of the frame via a front left suspension assembly and a front right suspension assembly respectively; a steering assembly having a rotatable steering column supported by the frame and being operatively connected to the front left wheel and the front right wheel; a rear suspension connected to the rear portion of the frame; at least one rear wheel connected to the rear suspension, at least one of the wheels being operatively connected to the engine; a braking system operatively connected to at least one wheel; each front suspension assembly including: a lower suspension arm pivotally connected to the frame about a pivot axis at a first end and pivotally connected to the wheel at a second end, the pivot axis being vertically higher than the frame leaning axis when the frame is upright relative to the shock tower; and a shock absorber having an upper end connected to the upper end of the shock tower and a lower end connected to the lower suspension arm; and an actuator mounted to one of the frame and the shock tower, the actuator including a rotating gear engaging a fixed gear, the fixed gear being mounted to the other of the frame and the shock tower; wherein rotation of the rotating gear imparts the leaning motion of the frame relative to the shock tower.