Patent ID: 8656871

Claim:
A water-cooled four-cycle engine, comprising: an engine core including a cylinder block, a cylinder head and a first crankcase half body formed as a unitary part cast integrally, the cylinder block including a cylinder bore, the cylinder head including a combustion chamber, an intake port and an exhaust port, the intake port and the exhaust port being opened to the combustion chamber, the first crankcase half body forming a first half portion of a crank chamber; a second crankcase half body forming a second half portion of the crank chamber and connected to the first crankcase half body; a head cover connected to the cylinder head and defining a valve-operation chamber between the head cover and the cylinder head; a crankshaft housed in the crank chamber and supported by the first and second crankcase half bodies; and a camshaft housed in the valve-operation chamber and supported by the cylinder head; wherein a water jacket including a cylinder jacket and a head jacket is formed in the engine core, the cylinder jacket surrounding the cylinder bore, the head jacket communicating with the cylinder jacket and surrounding the combustion chamber; wherein a timing-belt chamber is provided in a side portion of the engine core, the timing-belt chamber being adjacent to the cylinder jacket across a partition wall integrated with the engine core, the timing-belt chamber housing a timing belt which connects between the crankshaft and the camshaft, wherein a first opening portion is provided in a side surface of the cylinder block, the first opening portion forming a first semi-peripheral portion of the cylinder jacket on a side of the cylinder block opposite from the timing-belt chamber, wherein a second opening portion and a third opening portion are provided in an upper surface of the cylinder head, the second opening portion forming a second semi-peripheral portion of the cylinder jacket and the head jacket, the third opening portion forming the timing-belt chamber by casting out, and wherein first and second lid plates for water-tightly closing the first and second opening portions are connected to the cylinder block and the cylinder head, respectively, and wherein the second lid plate is disposed between the head cover and the cylinder head.