Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
3~
Connection of Steering Column to Frame
The present invention relates to a connection of the
steering column to the rame of a motorcycle.
It ls known that in motorcycles ~teering beromes
heavy at low speeds when the steer~ ng column lles too flat
in relation to the riding plan~ wherea~ at larger angles,
that ~, steeper positions, the m~torcycle can be steered
well in low spee~ riding ~lthough it 6teers poorly ln fa~t
riding. If the 6teering column i~ too ~teep~ torques de-
velop a~c high ~peeds.
It i~ further known to adapt a mctorcycle to des~red
speed conditions by changing suitable parts, 60 that lt ~s
especially adapted for ~low riding, moto-cross riding and
the like, or especially adapted for fast riding such as
occur6 ln motorcycle racing~ Th~ po~sibility ha~ the d~-
advantage that it i8 an either/or solution or a compromise
solution which does not offer the po6~ibi~ity of adapting
the lItotorcycle, in a s~mple manner and by simple means, im-
medi~tely to the ~xisting conditions, preferably even while
riding . (German Published applicatlon DE-OS 2, 352, 321. )
There has further become kn~wn a motorcycle with ad-
~ustable ~teering, in which the angle of inclination of the
~teering po~t can be adapted to condit~ OllS . For thl~ ad
: ~u~tment possibility the wheel fork is provided with a pair
~Z~.~34t~i
of parallel arranged tubes, the distance between which i8
secured by a ~ el cross-tie. The latter 6erves as a
6wivel joint for ~he mounting of a steering arm~ the free
end of which ls guided in a slot of a transverse plate
with which it is connected by means of a clamping screw.
To adjust the ~teer~ng column the screw ls loosened and
the post, swingi ng about the tie rod, is moved ~long the
810t 1n the tran~verse plate and is fi~ed in the desixed
posl~ciorl,
1~ Thls ad~ustment of the steering can only be undertaken
when the nK>torcycle i8 at a ~tandst~ll and with the aid of
tools, a solution that ne~er found entry into pr~ctice be-
cau~e it did not make it possible, while riding, eo adapt
to a change of terrain or a change in outside conditions~
~British Patent Specification 570,039.)
The purpose of the pre~ent invention lies in providing
a connection of a steering colun~ to ~ frame that permits
an ad justment of the steerlng column angle not ollly ~t a
~tandstill of the vehicle but al~o during riding, in order
to suit the ~winging angle to xisti~g conditions.
This is the ob3ect of the present invention, which is
di~ting~ hed in that adjustment means for ~he swinging
angle are provided that sre m~nually or automatically con-
trollable by means of a speed sen~or arranged on the motor-
- 2 -
~2~:~34~5
cycle, for adapting the 6winging angle to conditionq, even
while riding.
The invention is described by way of example in relfl-
tion ~o the accompanying dr~wings, wherein:
Fig. 1 is a schematic illustra~ion of a motorcycle
with frame, swingable ~teering column and wheels;
Fig. 2 is a view in section through Fig. 1 with sim-
plified Gchematically illu~trated swinging angle locking;
Fig~ 3 is a view in vertical section through a con-
nection according to the invention, taken in the plane of
the motorcycle perpendicularly to its rear axle; and
Fig. 4 is a section taken on the plane of the line
IV - IV in Fig. 3~
The motorcycle 1 schematically illustrated in Fig. 1
has a frvnt wheel 2 and a rear wheel 3 along with a frame
5 which consists of the main bar~ schematically illustrat~d
a~ 6, 7, 8 and 9. At the front there is a ~teering means
10 with a steering support 11 as well as a ~teering col~mn
12 that is connected at the wheel side with a fork 13.
Basically, now, the angle ~ of the ~teering column 129
and thus of the fork 13, is adjustable relative to the
vertical, for example to the position ~ . To that end, ac-
cordi.ng to Figo 1, a pivot bearing 15 is provided, around
whieh the ~teering column 12 and the fork 13 can be swung
- 3 -
along with the s~eering 8upport 11.
In order to lock the steering support in a ~elected
swingi-lg position o~, arresting means are provided, as il-
lustrated in Fig. 2, for example in the form of an aper-
ture bar 17, the position of which can be secured for ex-
ample by means of screws 19 an~ corresponding threaded
holes ln the frame 5.
In Fig. 3 is schematically illustra~ed a 6ec~ion in
the plane of the motorcycle through the connection accord-
ing to the invention, as preferably realized, and Fig~ 4
is a corresponding longitudinsl ~ectlon. In the frame S,
again comprising ~he bar6 6, 8 ~nd 9, a cube-form axially
expanded eccentric 23 is journaled to be eccentrically ro-
~atable about the axis A, about the journal pin 21 as in
Fig. 4 or about a fixed bearing shaft 21a extending there-
through, as in Fig~ 3O Upon the eccentric 23 there rides
a pivot ~haft 25 which has a rectangular shaped axially
outwardly extending passage 27, corresponding to the quad-
rangular form of the eccentric 23. The shaft 25 is radial-
ly vable back and forth along the guiding ~urfaces 29a,
29b of the eccentric 23. The surfaces 29a, 29b form the
~upporting surfaces of the shaft-eccentric support, and
they are therefore of large area. On the shaft 25 an ad-
ju~ting lever 31 is arr~nged, connected by means of a pi~o~
-- 4 --
~ ~3 ~ ~
33 with an adjusting device designated generally by 37.
This can comprise, as illustrated, a piston-cylinder comb-
ina~ion wi~h a piston rod 35, but is preferably formed as
a lead screw driven by an ad~usting mo~or. Either the ad-
justing motor or the piston-cylinder combination ran be
controlled manually while rlding, for example by pushbutton
control, or automatically by means of a speed 6ensor.
Upon ~he shaft 25 ~here further rides a freely rota~-
sble pivot cylinder 39 which, as schematic~lly illustratQd
in Fig. 3, is conn~cted with the steerirlg ~uppor'c 11 for
the steering column 12. The steering support 11 is furthe3:
connected to the bearing 15 with a pivot ~haft lSa connect-
ed to the rame 5. A ~winglng of the ad~usting lever 31~
as illustrated in Fig . 3 , for e~cample around the angle $>,
brings about a displacement of the a~is B of ~he ehaft 25
from the position Bl to the position B2, which signifies a
swinging movement 0~ of the steering arrangement with the
steering support 11 about the turning point of the bearing
15. The position taken by the shaft 25 and ~ccentric 23
upon such a ~winging motion ~ s illustrated in broken lines
in Fig. 3. The cylinder-pi~ton combination 37 or ~he lead-
~crew-adjusting motor device is fa6tened to the frame 5, as
schematically illustrated in Fig. 1, 'co support the move-
ment of the beariRg 33. The stroke of the piston rod 35
-- 5 --
~ Z~ 3 ~ ~ ~
or of the lead screw can either be adjusted manually or
be controlled au~omatically by means of a 6peed ~ensor on
the motorcycle, for example the tachometer. Preferably
the cylinder-piston device 37 i8 a hydraulic ~rrangement.
In this manner and by this means it ls pos~ible to
quickly adjust the inclination of the steering shaft manu-
ally wi~h the motorcycle at a s~andstill, for example w~th
an arrangement according to Figo 2, or manually by ad~ust-
ing the piston rod 35 by means of a lead screw, or even to
1o adjust the incl~nation of the teering column during rldlng
by means of a speed sensor thQt is speed dependen~ accord-
ing to ~ predetermined function ~ - f (v).
~ 6 --
