Patent ID: 7303051

Claim:
A brake device for a vehicle, said vehicle including a vehicle body having a vehicle frame, an engine mounted on said vehicle body frame, right and left front wheels and right and left rear wheels suspended from and capable of being individually oscillated with respect to said vehicle body frame, final gear cases for transmitting an output from said engine to said front wheels and said rear wheels, and drive shafts for connecting said final gear cases to said rear wheels and said front wheels, said brake device comprising: a brake disk fixed to at least one of said drive shafts in a position between said at least one final gear case and a respective wheel of said front and rear wheels, and a brake caliper for braking said brake disk by a nipping action, wherein said brake caliper is fitted to at least one of said final gear cases and is secured in a position on a side of the vehicle frame that is not surrounded by any structural member of the vehicle frame and in a position between said at least one final gear case and the respective wheel of said front and rear wheels, said brake caliper being secured to at least one of said final gear cases and being rotatable with respect to the at least one of said final gear cases between a first position and a second position, wherein the vehicle includes an upper frame member and an lower frame member, an upper suspension arm being rotatably connected to upper frame member, and a lower suspension arm being rotatably connected to lower frame member, so that rear portions of the upper suspension arm and the lower suspension arm do not connect with one another, thereby providing a space for the brake caliper to be disposed below the upper frame and above the lower frame.