Patent Application
20090000419
The present invention relates to a handlebar assembly for a motorcycle.
At times, it may become desirable by a motorcyclist to vary his or her riding position. For example, city driving varies from highway or rural driving where in the former situation an upright position is desirable and in the latter situation the rider tends to lean back somewhat, away from the handlebars.
In order to accommodate the various positions used by a motorcyclist, various types of handlebars may be used. However, this requires the cyclist to possess more than one type of handlebars. Also, the extra handlebars would have to be stored on the motorcycle in the case of long distance travel. This would take additional storage space. Furthermore, owning more than one type of handlebar requires the cyclist to remove and re-install the handlebars in order to adjust the handlebar configuration. This can become a time-consuming and burdensome task.
In one embodiment, the invention provides a handlebar assembly for a motorcycle including a riser, a cap coupled to the riser, the cap and riser defining a clamp having a cavity and a handlebar having a first end portion and a second end portion opposite the first end portion. The second end portion is configured to support a hand grip. The first end portion defines an axis and is at least partially received within the cavity. At least one of the clamp and the first end portion includes an axial locking feature inhibiting movement of the handlebar relative to the clamp in a direction along the axis.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a handlebar for a motorcycle having a handlebar assembly including a clamp. The handlebar includes a first end portion and a second end portion opposite the first end portion and configured to support a hand grip. The first end portion defines an axis and includes an axial locking feature inhibiting movement of the handlebar relative to the clamp in a direction along the axis.
Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.
The handlebars 22 are elongated tubular members with an inner bore 36. Objects, including, for example, wires, may be located within the inner bore 36 so as to provide an electrical connection between devices such as operator controls positioned on the second end portions 30 of the handlebars 22.
The riser 24 is coupled to the frame 16 (e.g., an upper triple clamp 37) and is operably coupled to the front wheel 12 for steering the motorcycle 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the riser 24 includes a first riser support 40 and a second riser support 42 that are spaced apart from each other and a generally V-shaped cross-support 44. The first and second riser supports 40, 42 can be integrally formed with one another and with the cross-support 44. In other embodiments, one, two, three or more riser supports are provided. The riser supports 40, 42 can be integrally formed with one another or coupled to one another, and can be integrally formed with one or more cross-supports 44, or coupled to one or more cross-supports 44.
The cap 26 is generally V-shaped and includes a first cap portion 46 and a second cap portion 48 that are integrally formed with one another. In other embodiments, one, two, three or more cap supports are provided. The cap supports 46, 48 can be integrally formed with one another or be coupled to one another.
As shown in
As illustrated in
Fasteners 54 are provided for securing the cap 26 to the riser 24. As illustrated in
The handlebar assembly 20 further includes an axial locking feature for inhibiting movement of the handlebars 22 relative to the clamp 49 in a direction along the axis 32 defined by the first end portion 28. In one embodiment, the axial locking feature is a flare 60 at the first end 51 of the handlebars 22. The clamp 49 includes a recess 64 that cooperates with the flare 60 to inhibit movement of the handlebars 22 relative to the clamp 49 along the axis 32 of the first end portion 28. The flare 60 is received in the recess 64 and clamped between the riser 24 and the cap 26, thereby being inhibited from moving along the axis 32.
In the embodiment illustrated in
The recess 64 provides a convenient location for assembling the handlebars 22 with the riser 24 and cap 26 so that the inner ends 51 of the handlebars 22 are spaced apart from one another and positioned relative to the riser 24 and to the cap 26 reliably and consistently. In addition, inner surfaces of the riser 24 and the cap 26 engage the flare 60 of the handlebars 22 when the cap 26 is secured to the riser 24. This prevents axial movement of the handlebars 22 relative to the riser 24 and to the cap 26. In other words, the handlebars 22 are prevented from sliding towards or away from one another. The flare 60 permits the handlebars 22 to be individually rotated relative to the riser 24 and the cap 26 upon slightly loosening the fasteners 54. The position of the second end portions 30 of the handlebars 22 is therefore adjustable upon rotation of the handlebars 22 relative to the riser 24 and to the cap 26. This allows the rider to position the handlebars 22 in a comfortable and convenient location.
The rotational orientation of the handlebars 22 can be easily adjusted by slightly loosening the cap 26 from the riser 24 without changing the axial position of the handlebars 22. Likewise, should the cap 26 inadvertently become loosened from the riser 24, as illustrated in
The flare 60 provides a means of inhibiting movement of the handlebars 22 relative to the clamp 49 along the axis 32 of the first end portion 28. The flare 60 permits rotational movement of the handlebars 22. In other constructions, the axial locking feature is disposed on the clamp 49, and the handlebars 22 cooperate with the axial locking feature to inhibit movement of the handlebars 22 relative to the clamp 49 along the axis 32 of the first end portion 28. For example,
Thus, the invention provides, among other things, a handlebar assembly including an axial locking feature for inhibiting movement of handlebars relative to a clamp along an axis of the handlebars. Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
