JP2528709B2 - Support structure for front fenders of motorcycles - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a support structure for a front fender or the like of a motorcycle.

(Prior Art) In a motorcycle, a front fork having a cushioning function is rotatably supported on a head pipe of a vehicle body frame, a front wheel is supported on a lower end of the front fork, and an upper outer peripheral surface of the front wheel is supported. Many of them have a front fender that covers them.

Further, in this case, usually, the front fork is provided with a pair of left and right outer tubes and an inner tube which are slidably fitted to each other in the axial direction, and the above-mentioned two tubes mutually apply an impact that is transmitted from the front wheel to the head pipe side. It absorbs by sliding.

There is a so-called inverted type of the front fork, that is, for the reason of strength, an outer tube having a diameter larger than that of the inner tube is supported on the head pipe side, and a small diameter inter tube is attached to the lower end side of each outer tube. There is one in which the front wheels are supported by the lower ends of the left and right inner tubes.

Further, there is one in which the relative positions of the front wheel and the front fender do not change when the outer tube and the inner tube slide on each other. In this case, supporting plates are provided so as to project downward from the left and right sides of the front fender, and the protruding ends of the supporting plates are attached to the lower ends of the corresponding inner tubes.

That is, the front wheel and the front fender are integrated via the lower end side of the inner tube so that the relative positions of the two do not change.

Further, the disc brake that brakes the front wheels is usually composed of a brake disc that rotates together with the front wheels, and a caliper that is supported on the lower end sides of the left and right inner tubes and that sandwiches the brake disc to perform a braking action. There is.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, the above configuration has the following problems.

That is, firstly, the front fender and the support plate are required to be smaller and lighter as one of vehicle body constituent parts, and there is room for improvement in this respect.

Secondly, when the front fender vibrates due to a shock or wind pressure during traveling, this vibration may give an excessive force to the lower end side of the inner tube supporting the front fender.

Thirdly, when a disc brake for braking the front wheels is provided, it is desired to improve the braking force of the disc brake with a simple structure, and there is room for improvement in this respect as well.

Fourth, as described above, the caliper is supported on the lower end side of the inner tube and is located near the traveling surface. Therefore, there is a problem that the mud and pebbles that are bounced up during traveling violently collide with the caliper, causing it to become dirty or damaged.

Fifth, at the time of braking the front wheels, the caliper clamps the brake disc to perform a braking action.
The caliper sometimes receives a reaction force from the brake disc and vibrates to the left and right, and in this case, this vibration may give an unreasonable force to the lower end side of the inner tube supporting the caliper.

FIG. 6 shows that when a front fender or a caliper is supported on the lower end side of the inner tube, when this support portion narrows the movable range of the outer tube with respect to the inner tube,
This causes a problem that the cushioning effect of the front fork is hindered.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to solve the above-mentioned first to sixth problems.

(Structure of the Invention) The feature of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is that support plates are provided so as to project downward from the left and right sides of the front fender, and the projecting ends of the respective support plates correspond to this. Each of the inner tubes is supported on the lower end side thereof, and on the other hand, in a motorcycle provided with a disc brake that brakes the front wheels, the front and rear support arms are projected upward from the lower ends of the inner tubes. Among them, the protruding end of the front fender support plate is attached to the protruding end of the front support arm, and the caliper of the disc brake is attached to the rear support arm. And a gap that allows the lower end of the outer tube to be fitted thereinto is formed between each of the above.

(Operation) The operation of the above configuration is as follows.

Support plates 25, 25 project downward from the left and right sides of the front fender 9 respectively.
The protruding end of 5 is supported on the lower end side of each inner tube 21 corresponding to this, and on the other hand, in the case where the disc brake 10 for braking the front wheel 6 is provided, the inner tube 21 is moved upward from the lower end of each inner tube 21. The front and rear support arms 26, 31 are projected toward
The projecting end of the support plate 25 of the front fender 9 is attached to the projecting end of the above, and the caliper 30 of the disc brake 10 is attached to the rear supporting arm 31.

Therefore, firstly, the protrusion size of the support plate 25 can be shortened only by protruding the front support arm 26.

Secondly, since the front fender 9 is supported by the projecting end of the front support arm 26, when the front fender 9 vibrates due to shock or wind pressure during traveling, this vibration is absorbed by the front support arm 26. To be done.

Thirdly, the caliper 30 can be separated from the center of the axle 23 only by protruding the rear support arm 31. Therefore, the brake disc 29 provided at the center of the axle 23 is
Can be used for large diameters.

Fourth, the position of the caliper 30 is raised by the amount by which the rear support arm 31 is protruded upward, so that mud and pebbles that are splashed up during traveling collide with the caliper 30 vigorously. Is prevented.

Fifthly, when the caliper 30 sandwiches the brake disc 29 and performs a braking action during braking of the front wheels 6, the caliper 30 may receive a reaction force from the brake disc 29 and vibrate left and right. This vibration is absorbed by the rear support arm 31 that supports the caliper 30 at the protruding end.

Sixth, in the above-mentioned configuration, the same as above, the front and rear support arms 2
A gap 26 that allows the lower end of the outer tube 20 to be fitted between each of the protruding ends of 6, 31 and the inner tube 21.
a and 31a are formed.

Therefore, even when the front and rear support arms 26 and 31 are projected, the sliding of the outer tube 20 with respect to the inner tube 21 is prevented from being restricted.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 is a motorcycle, and a vehicle body frame 2 of the motorcycle 1 has a head pipe 3 at its front portion.

A front fork 5 is rotatably supported on the head pipe 3, a front wheel 6 is supported on the lower end of the front fork 5, and a handle 7 is attached to the upper end. Further, a front fender 9 that covers the upper outer peripheral surface of the front wheel 6 is provided, and a disc brake 10 that brakes the front wheel 6 is provided.

In addition, 12 is an engine, 13 is a fuel tank, and 14 is a radiator. Also, 15 is a cowling, this cowling
Reference numeral 15 covers the front surface of the front fork 5 above the front fender 9 and the outer side surfaces of the vehicle body frame 2, the engine 12, and the like. 16 is a road surface.

The front fork 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

The front fork 5 has a steering shaft (not shown) that is fitted into the head pipe 3 so as to be rotatable around its axis. The upper and lower ends of the steering shaft project from the head pipe 3, and the upper bracket 18 is attached to the upper end of the steering shaft, while the lower bracket 19 is attached to the lower end.

And these upper bracket 18 and lower bracket
A pair of left and right outer tubes 20 and 20 made of aluminum are fixed to 19 and, that is, these outer tubes 20 and 20 are rotatably supported on the head pipe 3 side around the axis of the head pipe 3. There is.

Further, a pair of left and right inner tubes 21 made of steel are fitted on the lower end side of each outer tube 20 so as to be slidable in the axial direction. Each inner tube 21 has an aluminum axle bracket 22 at its lower end, and the front wheel 6 is supported by the axle bracket 22 via an axle 23.

During traveling when the road surface 16 is flat, the lower end side of each inner tube 21 is elastically projected downward from the lower end of the outer tube 20, and the front wheel 6 is impacted from the road surface 16. At times, the inner tube 21 is slidably fitted into the outer tube 20 (shown in phantom in FIG. 1), and at this time, the impact is absorbed.

1 to 4, the front fender 9 is made of carbon FRP and is provided between the left and right outer tubes 20, 20 described above.
From both the left and right sides of the
Are projected integrally.

On the other hand, a front support arm 26 is provided so as to project upward from the front portion of the axle bracket 22.
The lower ends of the support plates 25 are screwed to the protruding ends of the support plates 25 by a pair of upper and lower bolts 27, 27. The front fender 9 is thereby supported on the lower end side of the inner tubes 21, 21.

In the above case, since the projecting end of the support plate 25 of the front fender 9 is attached to the projecting end of the front support arm 26, the projecting dimension of the support plate 25 is short as much as the projecting front support arm 26. And that much,
The front fender 9 is small and light.

Further, since the front fender 9 is supported by the projecting end of the front support arm 26, when the front fender 9 vibrates due to a shock or wind pressure during traveling, this vibration is absorbed by the front support arm 26. . In this way, it is possible to prevent the vibration from exerting an excessive force on the lower end side of the inner tube 21.

The disc brake 10 has a brake disc 29, which is attached to the front wheel 6 on the center of the axle 23 so as to rotate together with the front wheel 6. Further, the same as above, the disc brake 10 has a caliper 30, which is the
A pair of bolts 32, 32 are screwed to the projecting end of a rear support arm 31 projecting upward from the rear portion.

Then, when the front wheel 6 is braked, the caliper 30 clamps the brake disc 29 by hydraulic pressure and brakes the front wheel 6 via the brake disc 29 by frictional force.

In the above case, the caliper 30 of the disc brake 10 is attached to the projecting end of the rear support arm 31 so that the caliper 30 is separated from the center of the axle shaft 23 only by projecting the rear support arm 31 above. In this way, the axle
23 The brake disc 29 provided at the center has a large diameter,
The braking force of the disc brake 10 is improved.

Further, the position of the caliper 30 is raised by the amount by which the rear support arm 31 is made to project upward, which makes it possible to
The mud and pebbles bounced up during traveling are prevented from vigorously colliding with the caliper 30, and the caliper 30 is prevented from being damaged or damaged.

Further, when the front wheels 6 are braked, when the caliper 30 sandwiches the brake disc 29 to exert a braking action,
The caliper 30 sometimes receives a reaction force from the brake disc 29 and oscillates left and right, but this vibration is absorbed by the rear support arm 31 that supports the caliper 30 at the protruding end. In this way, it is possible to prevent the vibration from exerting an excessive force on the lower end side of the inner tube 21.

Gaps 26a and 31a are formed between the protruding end sides of the front and rear support arms 26 and 31 and the axle bracket 22 that is the lower end side of the inner tube 21, respectively.

Then, as described above, when the front wheel 6 receives an impact from the road surface 16 and the inner tube 21 is fitted into the outer tube 20 while sliding, the lower end of the outer tube 20 is fitted into the gaps 26a and 31a. Has become.

Therefore, even when the front and rear support arms 26 and 31 are provided, the outer tube 20 with respect to the inner tube 21 is
The restriction of the sliding of the outer tube 20 is prevented, and the movable range of the outer tube 20 is kept large. That is, the cushioning effect of the front fork 5 is improved.

In all the figures, the supporting plate 25 is bent so that the plane cross section thereof has a substantially doglegged shape, so that the supporting plate 25 has sufficient strength and rigidity to support the front fender 9. Is given.

Further, the support plate 25 is located in the vicinity of the front of the inner tube 21, and therefore, when a stone or the like that is flipped up during traveling flies from the front, the stone will not collide with the inner tube 21. The support plate 25 will block.

The support plate 25 is formed so that the convex surface side of the bent portion of the support plate 25 faces the outer side of the vehicle body, and the front outer surface 34 located in the front half of the support plate 25 is directed rearward. A rear outer surface that is inclined toward the outer side and is located in the rear half of the support plate 25 as above.
The reference numeral 35 extends in the vehicle width direction and faces the lower portion of the outer tube 20 and the front surfaces of the inner tubes 21.

Therefore, the traveling wind A is smoothly guided outward and rearward by the front outer surface 34, that is, the traveling wind A is prevented from directly hitting the lower end of the outer tube 20 and the inner tube 21.

A recess 36 is formed behind the front outer surface 34 at the lower end of the support plate 25, and the recess 36 is screwed to the front support arm 26 by the bolt 27 as described above.
In this case, the bolt 27 is hidden behind the front outer surface 34 in front view.

The lower end of the support plate 25 is closed by a bottom plate 37 integrally formed with the support plate 25, that is, the bottom plate 37 also improves the strength of the lower end of the support plate 25.

Further, the support plate 25 is reinforced as follows.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 6, FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, a hard foam material 39 is provided on the inner surface of the front part of the support plate 25.
Is firmly attached. The upper portion of the hard foam material 39 is attached even to the upper surface of the front fender 9, and the lower portion is firmly attached to the inner side surface of the recess 36 and the upper surface of the bottom plate 37.

Further, another hard foam material 40 is firmly adhered to the inner surface of the rear portion of the support plate 25 as well. Then, each of the hard foam materials 39, 40 is further covered with a carbon Kepler cloth 41 which is an aramid fiber, whereby the support plate 25 is formed.
In contrast, it is more firmly fixed.

Although the above is based on the illustrated example, the front fender 9
The support plate 25 and the support plate 25 may be separate bodies. Further, the front outer surface 34 may be a circular arc convex surface or a circular arc concave surface.

(Effects of the Invention) According to this invention, the following effects are obtained.

That is, the support plates are provided so as to project downward from both the left and right sides of the front fender, and the protruding ends of the respective support plates are supported on the lower ends of the corresponding inner tubes, while the front wheels are When a disc brake for braking is provided, the front and rear support arms are projected upward from the lower ends of the inner tubes, and the projecting end of the front fender supporting plate is attached to the projecting end of the front supporting arm. In addition to the mounting, the caliper of the disc brake is mounted on the rear support arm.

Therefore, firstly, the protrusion size of the support plate can be shortened only by protruding the front support arm. Therefore, the front fender can be made smaller by that amount, and
Can be lightened.

Secondly, since the front fender is supported by the projecting end of the front support arm, when the front fender vibrates due to shock or wind pressure during traveling, this vibration is absorbed by the front support arm. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the vibration from exerting an unreasonable force on the lower end side of the inner tube.

Thirdly, the caliper can be separated from the center of the axle simply by projecting the rear support arm. For this reason,
The brake disc provided at the center of the axle can be made large in diameter, and thus with such a simple structure,
The braking force of the disc brake can be improved.

Fourth, the position of the caliper is raised by the amount of the rear support arm projecting upward, so that the mud and pebbles that are bounced up while traveling can vigorously collide with the caliper. This prevents the caliper from being soiled or damaged.

Fifth, when the front wheels are braked and the caliper clamps the brake disc to exert a braking action, the caliper may receive a reaction force from the brake disc and vibrate left and right. It is absorbed by the rear support arm which supports the caliper at the protruding end. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the vibration from exerting an unreasonable force on the lower end side of the inner tube.

Sixthly, in the above configuration, since a gap is formed between each of the projecting end sides of the front and rear support arms and the inner tube so that the lower end of the outer tube can be fitted, the front and rear support is provided. Even when the arm is projected, the sliding of the outer tube with respect to the inner tube is prevented from being restricted. Therefore, the movable range of the outer tube can be increased, and the cushioning effect of the front fork can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is an overall side view of a motorcycle, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a front part of a vehicle body, and FIG. 4 is a front fender. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line V-V in FIG. 1, FIG. 6 is an enlarged view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of FIG. 8, FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of FIG. 1 ... Motorcycle, 2 ... Body frame, 3 ... Head pipe, 5 ... Front fork, 6 ... Front wheel, 9 ...
Front fender, 10 ... Disc brake, 20 ... Outer tube, 21 ... Inner tube, 22 ... Axle bracket, 23 ... Axle, 25 ... Support plate, 26 ... Front support arm, 26a ... Gap, 29 …… Brake disc, 30
...... Caliper, 31 …… Rear support arm, 31a …… Gap, 34
…… Front outer surface.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A front fork is provided with a pair of left and right outer tubes supported on the head pipe side of a vehicle body frame, and a pair of left and right inner tubes that are axially slidably fitted into the lower ends of the outer tubes. , The front wheels are supported on both lower ends of the left and right inner tubes, front fenders are provided between the left and right outer tubes, and support plates project downward from the left and right sides of the front fender. In a motorcycle provided with a protruding end supported on the lower end side of each of the inner tubes corresponding thereto, on the other hand, in a motorcycle provided with a disc brake that brakes the front wheels, the front and the rear are directed upward from the lower ends of the inner tubes. Project the support arm,
Of these, the protruding end of the front fender support plate is attached to the protruding end of the front support arm, and the caliper of the disc brake is attached to the rear support arm. A support structure for a front fender or the like of a motorcycle, in which a gap is formed between the tube and the outer tube so that the lower end of the outer tube can be fitted therein.