Straddle vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12409909-B2
Application number	US-202418581903-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 20, 2024
Priority date	Feb 20, 2023
Publication date	Sep 9, 2025
Grant date	Sep 9, 2025

Abstract

The straddle vehicle includes a front wheel, a rear wheel, at least one tank, an internal combustion engine, a seat, and a steering handle. The front wheel is a steering wheel. The rear wheel is a drive wheel arranged located rearward of the front wheel. The tank is configured to be filled with a gaseous fuel. The internal combustion engine generates power using gaseous fuel filled in the tank. The driver sits on the seat. The driver performs the steering operation to the steering handle. The center of gravity of the tank is located closer to the steering wheel with respect to the center of gravity of the internal combustion engine.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A straddle vehicle, comprising:
a front wheel configured as a steering wheel;
a rear wheel configured as a drive wheel located rearward of the front wheel;
at least one tank configured to be filled with a gaseous fuel;
an internal combustion engine configured to generate power using the gaseous fuel filled in the at least one tank;
a seat for a driver of the vehicle; and
a steering handle configured to allow the driver to perform a steering operation,
wherein a center of gravity of the at least one tank is located closer to the steering wheel than a center of gravity of the internal combustion engine; and
wherein the center of gravity of the internal combustion engine is lower than the center of gravity of the at least one tank.

2. The straddle vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an intake structure located higher than the center of gravity of the internal combustion engine and through which intake air supplied to the internal combustion engine passes.

3. The saddle vehicle according to claim 2 , further comprising:
an exhaust structure located further from the at least one tank than the intake structure and through which exhaust air exhausted from the internal combustion engine passes.

4. The straddle vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a regulating valve configured to reduce or shut off the gaseous fuel supplied from the at least one tank to the internal combustion engine,
wherein the regulating valve is located lower than an upper end of the at least one tank.

5. The straddle vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a container configured to accommodate the at least one tank, wherein the at least one tank is attachable and detachable to the container.

6. The straddle vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one tank includes a first tank and a second tank, wherein axes of the first tank and the second tank are parallel, and wherein the first tank and the second tank are arranged such that the axes of the first tank and the second tank are aligned in a predetermined direction.

7. The straddle vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein an axis of the at least one tank extends in a direction perpendicular to a width of the vehicle.

8. The straddle vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a front fork,
wherein the front wheel is rotatably attached to the front fork, and
wherein the at least one tank is located rearward of the front fork in a side view.

9. The straddle vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the front wheel or the rear wheel comprises a left wheel and a right wheel which are arranged as a pair of left and right with an interval between them, wherein the at least one tank is arranged in a space between or above the left wheel and the right wheel, and wherein at least a part of the at least one tank is located between the left and right wheels in the top view.

10. The straddle vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the center of gravity of the at least one tank is located over an imaginary line which is a perpendicular line drawn from a ground surface of a rear wheel to a front fork in a side view.

11. The straddle vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the center of gravity of the internal combustion engine is closer to an imaginary line which is a perpendicular line drawn from a ground surface of a rear wheel to a front fork in a side view than the center of gravity of the at least one tank.

12. The straddle vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the internal combustion engine and a swing arm are connected via separate component and wherein the center of gravity of the at least one tank is over a center of gravity of a vehicle body and the center of gravity of the internal combustion engine is under the center of gravity of the vehicle body.

Assignees

• Kawasaki Motors Ltd

Inventors

• Matsuda Yoshimoto
• Akita Kohei

Classifications

• B62K11/12

  Steering wheel forks characterised by the association therewith of engine · CPC title

• B62K11/10

  characterised by the engine being over or beside driven rear wheel · CPC title

• B62K5/027

  Motorcycles with three wheels (specially adapted for disabled riders B62K5/023) · CPC title

• B62J37/00

  Arrangements of fuel supply lines, taps, or the like, on motor cycles or engine-assisted cycles · CPC title

• B62J35/00 Primary

  Fuel tanks specially adapted for motorcycles or engine-assisted cycles; Arrangements thereof (fuel tanks forming part of cycle frames B62K11/00; tanks in general B60K {; closure caps for fuel tanks B60K15/0406}) · CPC title