Saddled vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10960947-B2
Application number	US-201916368544-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 28, 2019
Priority date	Mar 29, 2018
Publication date	Mar 30, 2021
Grant date	Mar 30, 2021

Abstract

A saddled vehicle includes a steering stem inserted into a center part of a top bridge and having an upper end to be fixed to the top bridge with a fastening member. The saddled vehicle includes a handle locking device placed behind the top bridge in the vehicle front-rear direction. The handle locking device has a locking member and the top bridge includes a retaining recess on the rear face for detachable engagement with the locking member. The center part of the top bridge has a through hole for penetration of the steering stem and a storage recess that stores the upper end of the steering stem and the fastening member and is open toward the upper face of the top bridge. The storage recess continues to the upper part of the through hole while having a bottom that faces upward and is located between the through hole and the wall of the storage recess. The top bridge has a drainage hole connecting the storage recess and the retaining recess.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A saddled vehicle comprising:
a vehicle body frame including a head pipe at a front end, the vehicle body frame supporting a steering stem in a steerable manner, the steering stem having an axis that is inclined rearward upward,
a front fork including a top bridge to fix a steering handle, the top bridge having a center part in a vehicle width direction for insertion of the steering stem, the steering stem having an upper end fixed to the top bridge with a fastening member; and
a handle locking device supported by the vehicle body frame and that is located behind the top bridge in a vehicle front-rear direction, the handle locking device including a locking member that detachably engages a retaining recess disposed at a rear face of the top bridge,
wherein the center part of the top bridge in the vehicle width direction has a through hole for penetration of the steering stem and a storage recess that stores the upper end of the steering stem and the fastening member and is open toward the upper face of the top bridge, the storage recess continues to an upper part of the through hole and has a bottom and a wall while having the bottom that faces upward and is located between the through hole and the wall of the storage recess, and the top bridge has a drainage hole connecting the storage recess and the retaining recess.

2. The saddled vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
the through hole and the storage recess have round transverse sections having the same axis as the axis of the steering stem,
the retaining recess extends radially relative to the axis of the steering stem, and
the storage recess and the retaining recess communicate through the drainage hole that extends radially relative to the axis of the steering stem.

3. The saddled vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
the bottom is a plane along an imaginary plane that is orthogonal to the axis of the steering stem, and
a nut as the fastening member threadably engages an external thread engraved on the circumference of the upper end of the steering stem to abut and engage the bottom.

4. The saddled vehicle according to claim 3 , wherein the locking member is a pin-like member that has an axis on the imaginary plane and protrudes from the handle locking device to the retaining recess.

5. The saddled vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
the front fork includes a pair of cushion units that extends parallel to the steering stem and is placed on the left and right of a front wheel, and
the top bridge has a pair of left and right fork supports that couples upper ends of the cushion units and has the drainage hole that is offset rearward from rear ends of the pair of left and right fork supports when the vehicle moves straight forward.

6. The saddled vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein
the bottom is a plane along an imaginary plane that is orthogonal to the axis of the steering stem, and
a nut as the fastening member threadably engages an external thread engraved on the circumference of the upper end of the steering stem to abut and engage the bottom.

7. The saddled vehicle according to claim 6 , wherein the locking member is a pin-like member that has an axis on the imaginary plane and protrudes from the handle locking device to the retaining recess.

8. The saddled vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein
the front fork includes a pair of cushion units that extends parallel to the steering stem and is placed on the left and right of a front wheel, and
the top bridge has a pair of left and right fork supports that couples upper ends of the cushion units and has the drainage hole that is offset rearward from rear ends of the pair of left and right fork supports when the vehicle moves straight forward.

9. The saddled vehicle according to claim 3 , wherein
the front fork includes a pair of cushion units that extends parallel to the steering stem and is placed on the left and right of a front wheel, and
the top bridge has a pair of left and right fork supports that couples upper ends of the cushion units and has the drainage hole that is offset rearward from rear ends of the pair of left and right fork supports when the vehicle moves straight forward.

10. The saddled vehicle according to claim 4 , wherein
the front fork includes a pair of cushion units that extends parallel to the steering stem and is placed on the left and right of a front wheel, and
the top bridge has a pair of left and right fork supports that couples upper ends of the cushion units and has the drainage hole that is offset rearward from rear ends of the pair of left and right fork supports when the vehicle moves straight forward.

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Nishimura Masaki

Classifications

• B62K21/02

  Front wheel forks or equivalent, e.g. single tine · CPC title

• B62K21/12

  Handlebars; Handlebar stems · CPC title

• B62K21/04

  Fork crowns · CPC title

• B62K11/00

  Motorcycles, engine-assisted cycles or motor scooters with one or two wheels (fairings or streamlining parts not forming part of the frame B62J; transmission of drive from engines to wheels B62M) · CPC title

• B62K21/18

  Connections between forks and handlebars or handlebar stems · CPC title