Patent ID: 7487855

Claim:
An engine control apparatus for a vehicle engine supported by a vehicle body in a vehicle of a type adapted to be used for off-road traveling and having a vehicle body cover, said engine control apparatus comprising: an engine drive section to drive the engine, a control section to control said engine drive section, and a tilt angle sensor operatively connected to said control section, the tilt angle sensor being operable to detect a tilt angle of said vehicle body and to transmit a tilt angle signal corresponding to the detected tilt angle to the control section; wherein said control section is operable to stop driving said engine drive section when said control section receives a tilt angle signal having a value greater than or equal to a predetermined value from said tilt angle sensor; wherein the vehicle body comprises a pair of main frames which are disposed to the upper left and the upper right of the engine, respectively, and the engine is supported beneath said main frames at a central portion of the vehicle body between front and rear wheels of the vehicle; wherein the engine comprises a cylinder head, a throttle body, and a fuel injector, and wherein the cylinder head, the throttle body, the fuel injector, the control section and the tilt angle sensor are disposed adjacent to each other directly beneath a central portion of the vehicle body cover.