JPH1179041A - Astride type four-wheel vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To lower the center of gravity of a astride type four-wheel vehicle and ensure a sufficient footwell for foot-braking by employing a horizontal opposed-cylinder engine. SOLUTION: A horizontal opposed-cylinder engine 3 includes in its crankcase 4 a right cylinder 5 and a left cylinder 6 horizontalized roughly and projected in right and left. The centerline C1 of the right cylinder 5 is offset forward from the centerline C2 of the left cylinder 6 only by a distance D so that the right cylinder 5 is set nearest to a rear wall 41 on the vehicle body front cover and that a brake pedal 27 is arranged in the space enlarged behind of the right cylinder 5. The gear shift is executed by an automatic transmission, which setup requires no foot-operated gear shift mechanism and thus no clutch pedal behind of the left cylinder 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a saddle type four-wheeled vehicle,
More particularly, the present invention relates to a vehicle body structure suitable for a vehicle such as an all-terrain four-wheel buggy.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Four-wheel buggy vehicles for traveling on uneven terrain are known in various structures.
No. 25979 discloses a pair of left and right front and rear wheels respectively provided at a front portion and a rear portion of a vehicle body, an engine disposed at a center portion of the vehicle body between the front and rear wheels, and a front portion of the vehicle body which covers the rear from above the front wheels. A four-wheel buggy equipped with a head cover, a foot brake provided between the front and rear wheels on the vehicle body side, and a saddle type seat provided above the engine is shown.

[0003] The engine mounted on this four-wheel buggy has a crankcase arranged so that the crankshaft is parallel to the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, and projects a single cylinder obliquely upward from the upper right side of the vehicle body. It has a structure to make it.

[0004]

In such a four-wheeled buggy, it is desired to lower the center of gravity of the vehicle in consideration of running on uneven terrain. One of the measures for this is to use a horizontally opposed engine. May be adopted.

[0005] Here, the horizontally opposed engine means an engine of a type having left and right cylinders protruded and arranged substantially horizontally from the crankcase in the left and right direction of the vehicle body, and if such a horizontally opposed engine is adopted. In theory, it is possible to lower the center of gravity by the amount of the cylinder lying sideways.

In practice, however, simply adopting a horizontally opposed engine may cause one cylinder to interfere with a foot-operated mechanism, for example, a brake pedal which is a component of a foot brake. To avoid this, it is necessary to secure foot space. Must move this cylinder forward.

On the other hand, if the cylinder is moved to the front of the vehicle body as much as possible to secure a sufficient foot space, there is a possibility that the cylinder may interfere with the front cover of the vehicle body covering the rear of the front wheels.
There are certain restrictions on the forward movement of the cylinder in the vehicle body layout, and in order to solve this, consideration must be given to raising the cylinder upward and inserting the toe portion below the cylinder.

However, in this case, the effect of lowering the center of gravity, which is the original aim, is reduced, and the foot space required for the movement of the portion near the ankle of the driver due to the cylinder moved upward is again restricted. There is a risk that it will.
Then, this application aims at solving such various problems.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a pair of left and right front wheels and a rear wheel are provided at a front portion and a rear portion of a vehicle body, respectively. An engine disposed in the center of the vehicle between the front and rear wheels, a vehicle front cover that covers the rear from above the front wheels, and a foot-operated mechanism provided on the side of the vehicle between the front and rear wheels,
In a vehicle with a saddle seat above the engine,
The engine is a horizontally opposed engine having left and right cylinders disposed substantially horizontally lying in the left and right direction of the vehicle body, and one of the left and right cylinders is positioned closer to the front of the vehicle than the other side. In addition to the offset, the components of the foot-operated mechanism are arranged in an enlarged space formed behind the offset cylinder.

[0010] Here, the foot-operated mechanism means a mechanism operated by the stepping-on operation of the foot, and such mechanisms include, for example, a foot brake mechanism and a change mechanism.

According to a second aspect, in the first aspect,
The foot-operated mechanism is a foot brake mechanism, and its component is a foot brake pedal.

[0012] The third invention is the above-mentioned second invention,
The transmission connected to the engine of the vehicle is an automatic transmission.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, if one of the left and right cylinders is laid substantially horizontally and is offset toward the front of the vehicle body from the other side, a sufficient foot space is provided behind the cylinder. A secured enlarged space is formed, which can be used to arrange the components of the foot-operated mechanism. Therefore, since it is not necessary to raise the cylinder of the horizontally opposed engine upward to secure the foot space, the original low center of gravity can be maintained, and both the securing of the foot space and the realization of the low center of gravity can be satisfied at the same time.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, by using the foot-operated mechanism as the foot brake mechanism, the foot brake pedal, which is a component of the foot brake mechanism, can be disposed in the enlarged space where the sufficient foot space is secured.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the automatic transmission is used as the transmission connected to the engine of the vehicle, a change pedal is not required. Therefore, compared with the enlarged space on the side where the foot brake pedal is provided. Therefore, even though the arrangement space behind the cylinder on the opposite side is narrowed, it is not necessary to arrange a change pedal on this side, so that the most suitable configuration when arranging the foot brake pedal in the enlarged space. become.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a fourth embodiment according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view showing a layout of an engine in a wheel buggy, FIG. 2 is a right side view of the appearance of the entire vehicle body, and FIG. 3 is a plan view mainly showing the vehicle body frame.

First, in FIGS. 2 and 3, the four-wheel buggy has a pair of left and right main frames 1 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body and left and right extending downward from a middle portion thereof so as to form a substantially T-shape in side view. A pair of center frames 2 is provided, and a water-cooled four-cycle type horizontally opposed engine 3 is supported by these frame members.

The center frame 2 is formed by casting and is connected to an intermediate portion of the main frame 1. Therefore, the main frame 1 has a main body on the front side of the center frame 2 and a rear portion 1a on the rear side of the center frame 2. And are integrated so as to extend continuously in the front-rear direction via the center frame 2.

The horizontally opposed engine 3 has a right cylinder 5 and a left cylinder 6 projecting substantially horizontally from a crankcase 4 disposed in the center of the vehicle body in the left-right direction of the vehicle body. A front wheel drive shaft 7 extends forward from the crankcase 4 and drives a pair of left and right front wheels 9 via a front wheel gear box 8 at the front end.

The front wheel gear box 8 is supported by the under frame 10 and the steering lower plate 11,
The underframe 10 is a pair of left and right pipe members arranged substantially in parallel to and below the main frame 1 in the front-rear direction, and the rear ends thereof pass below the horizontally opposed engine 3 and are connected to the lower end of the center frame 2. The front end is connected to the steering lower plate 11 through the front down pipe 12.
Is connected to the front end.

The steering lower plate 11 is a strength member for connecting the front end of the main frame 1 and the intermediate portion of the under frame 10 at an angle in a side view. The steering shaft 13 is supported by a stay 14 extending diagonally upward and an intermediate portion extending upward from the main frame 1.
A handlebar 15 is attached to the upper end.

The suspension mechanism of the front wheel 9 is of a double wishbone type comprising a lower arm 16 having one end pivotally attached to the under frame 10, an upper arm 17 having one end pivotally attached to the steering lower plate 11, and a front cushion 18.

The front cushion 18 has a lower end connected to the upper arm 17 and an upper end connected to a support projection 19 formed above the main frame 1. The support protrusions 19 are formed at the left and right ends of the cross plate 19a that crosses between the left and right main frames 1 and protrudes laterally from the main frame 1.

An automatic transmission 20 is connected to a rear portion of the crankcase 4.
A pair of left and right rear wheels 22 is driven via a rear wheel gear box 21 integrated with the rear end of the vehicle.

The rear wheel suspension structure of the rear wheel 22 is of a semi-tray link type in which a swing arm 23 having one end pivotally mounted on both left and right sides of the case of the automatic transmission 20 is buffered by a rear cushion 24. The lower end of the rear cushion 24 is connected to the swing arm 23, and the upper end is connected to a support projection 24 a provided to project sideways from the main frame 1.

Above the crankcase 4, an intake box 30 and a fuel tank 31 are supported on the left and right main frames 1. The intake box 30 is provided in front of the fuel tank 31 so as to protrude forward to near the support projection 19 of the front cushion 18, and inhales outside air from an intake duct 32 protruding upward and forward at an upper portion thereof.

An air cleaner is provided in the upper half of the intake box 30, and an introduction pipe 34 of a carburetor 33 is inserted into the lower half of the intake box 30 which is a clean side thereof. The carburetors 33 are provided as a left and right pair, and each downstream side is connected to each intake port of the left cylinder 5 and the right cylinder 6.

Exhaust pipes 34 and 35 extend rearward from the respective exhaust ports of the left cylinder 5 and the right cylinder 6 to the left and right of the vehicle body, respectively, and are supported by the rear ends of the left and right main frames 1. Mufflers 36 and 37 are connected.

The rear side of the intake box 30 and the fuel tank 3
1 is covered with a tank cover 38, and a saddle-riding type seat 39 is disposed rearward from the rear wall thereof, and is supported on the main frame 1.

Further, the vehicle body front portion is covered with a vehicle body front cover 40. The vehicle body front cover 40 is made of plastic, and also serves as a front fender that covers the upper and rear sides of the left and right front wheels 9. The rear portion is connected to the tank cover 38 and, as shown in FIG. A rear wall surface 41 that partitions between the cases 4 is formed.

A front bumper 42 is provided at the front end of the under frame 10 to protrude forward. The front bumper 42 once protrudes forward from the front end of the under frame 10 and then bends and extends upward. The front bumper 42 has an intermediate portion and a front down pipe 12.
A radiator 45 is supported via a stay 44 on an intermediate member 43 connecting the radiator 45 and the radiator 45 is covered with a vehicle body front cover 40.

Also, at the upper end of the front bumper 42,
A front end of a front carrier 46 extending substantially horizontally in the front-rear direction above the vehicle body front cover 40 is supported, and a rear end of the front carrier 46 is supported by the stay 46a on the main frame 1 side.

On the other hand, the rear portion of the vehicle body is covered with a rear cover 47 also serving as a rear fender that covers the rear wheel 22 from above in front of the rear wheel 22, and a rear carrier 48 is placed on the rear cover 47.
The rear end of the rear carrier 48 has a rear bumper 49 extending upward from the rear end of the main frame 1.
And the front end side is supported by a stay 48a projecting upward from the main frame 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a step 26 is attached to the tip of a cross member 25 provided across the left and right underframes 10 at the center of the vehicle body, and projects to the left and right of the vehicle body, respectively.

In the vicinity of the step 26 on the right side of the vehicle body, a brake pedal 27, which is a component of a foot brake mechanism forming a foot-operated mechanism, and a pedal arm 28 provided with this at the front end
Are arranged. The pedal arm 28 extends in the front-rear direction, crossing the step 26 in plan view, and has a rear end formed integrally with a lower end of the center frame 2.
2 (see FIG. 2), and a rear wheel brake (not shown) is applied by depressing a brake pedal 27.

As is clear from FIG. 1, the right cylinder 5 and the left cylinder 6 have their cylinder center lines C1 and C2 shifted by the dimension D in the front-rear direction, and the right cylinder 5 is shifted by the dimension D toward the front of the vehicle body. Offset.

The rear enlarged space S formed by the front offset of the right cylinder 5 is the foot space of the brake pedal 27. Note that the right cylinder 5 is as close as possible to the rear wall surface 41 of the vehicle body front cover 40 due to the front offset, but the left cylinder 6 is slightly spaced from the rear wall surface 41. . However, no foot-operated mechanism is provided in the space behind the left cylinder 6.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, since the right cylinder 5 is offset forward by the dimension D from the left cylinder 6, when the right cylinder 5 is brought as close as possible to the rear wall surface 41 in a state of being laid substantially horizontally, a brake is applied to the rear. Since the enlarged space S having a size large enough to dispose the pedal 27 is formed, a sufficient foot space can be secured by disposing the brake pedal 27 in the enlarged space S.

Moreover, since it is not necessary to raise the right cylinder 5 of the horizontally opposed engine 3 upward, the engine structure having a low center of gravity, which is the original purpose, can be maintained, and simultaneously securing foot space and realizing a low center of gravity are satisfied. Can be done.

On the other hand, the left cylinder 6 is shifted rearward by the dimension D from the right cylinder 5 on the left side of the vehicle body, but a change pedal must be provided on this side for the automatic transmission. Therefore, the configuration is suitable for a vehicle body layout in which a brake pedal is arranged on one side of such a vehicle body.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be modified in various ways. For example, there is a foot-operated change mechanism as another example of the foot-operated mechanism. Will be deployed, while
The brake is preferably manually operated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an engine layout of a four-wheel buggy vehicle according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an overall external side view of the four-wheel buggy according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view mainly showing the vehicle body frame portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Main frame, 3: Horizontally opposed engine, 5: Right cylinder, 6: Left cylinder, 27: Brake pedal, 40: Body front cover, 41: Rear wall surface

Claims (3)

[Claims] A pair of left and right front and rear wheels respectively provided at a front portion and a rear portion of a vehicle body, an engine disposed in a central portion of the vehicle body between the front and rear wheels, and a front portion of the vehicle body covering the rear from above the front wheels. And a foot-operated mechanism provided on the side of the vehicle body between the front and rear wheels, and a saddle-ride type seat is provided above the engine, wherein the engine is laid substantially horizontally in the left-right direction of the vehicle body. A horizontally opposed engine having left and right cylinders arranged in a horizontal direction, one of the left and right cylinders being offset toward the front of the vehicle body from the other side, and an enlarged portion formed behind the offset cylinder. A saddle-ride type four-wheeled vehicle, wherein components of the foot-operated mechanism are arranged in a space. 2. A straddle-type four-wheeled vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said foot-operated mechanism is a foot brake mechanism, and a component thereof is a foot brake pedal. 3. The straddle-type four-wheeled vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the transmission connected to the engine of the vehicle is an automatic transmission.