Front Fender and Fork Assembly

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a front fender and fork assembly for a two-wheeled motor vehicle, such as a motorcycle.

2. Description of the Prior Art

There is known a front fender and fork assembly for a two-wheeled motor vehicle which comprises a front fender disposed over the front wheel, and a pair of legs comprising the front fork provided one on each side of the front wheel. Each leg, laterally protrudes out of a recess formed at a generally central portion of both lateral sides of the fender. Therefore, a gap is provided between each leg and the fender. Mud and other foreign matter is likely to enter those gaps, and is difficult to remove.

It is an object of this invention to provide a front fender and fork assembly which eliminates the drawback of the prior art construction as hereinabove pointed out.

According to this invention, the above object is attained by a front fender and fork assembly comprising a front fender disposed over a front wheel, and a pair of legs comprising the front fork provided one on each side of the front wheel, characterized by a pair of gently curved lateral projections formed on each side of the fender, intermediate the ends thereof, and covering the front side of one of the legs in close proximity thereto.

The gently curved projections are also effective as a means for guiding the wind to cool a radiator or the engine of a two-wheeled motor vehicle on which the front fender and fork assembly of this invention is mounted.

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a motorcycle provided with a front fender and fork assembly embodying this invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the front fender and fork assembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view thereof; and

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view showing the joint between the front fender and one of the legs.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a motorcycle provided with a front fender and fork assembly embodying this invention. The assembly comprises a front fender 2 disposed over a front tire 1, and a pair of legs comprising the front forks 3 provided on either side of the tire 1 as best shown in FIG. 3.

According to one salient feature of this invention, the fender 2 is provided on each side thereof with a gently curved lateral projection 4 covering the front side of a leg 3 as best shown in FIG. 3. Each projection 4 forms an integral part of the fender 2 intermediate the ends thereof. The gently curved projections 4 are located in close proximity to the legs 3, and therefore eliminate any gap found between the front fender and legs in the known device. The gently curved contour of the fender 2 is also effective for guiding the wind to cool the radiator or the engine of the motorcycle when it is running, as shown by a pair of arrowlines in FIG. 3.

The fender 2 may, for example, be formed from fiberreinforced plastics. Each leg 3 is secured to the fender 2 by a plastic block 5 disposed in contact with the fender 2, a member 6 for holding the leg 3 against the block 5, and a pair of bolts 7 and nuts which hold the block 5 and the member 6 together, as best shown in FIG. 4. In FIG. 1, a disc plate 9 is supported on a wheel 10 through spokes 11. The braking function of the front wheel is attained by the disc plate 9 and a pad assembly 12. The member 6 is in alignment with the wheel 10 so that any water centrifugally released upwardly from the disc plate 9 during running can be blocked by the member 6, to thus prevent the water from being entered into a minute space between the legs 3 and the projections 4.

According to another feature of this invention, the fender 2 is provided with a rearwardly projecting blade 8 which is located on the opposite side of the legs 3 from the projections 4, as shown in FIG. 2. The blade 8 forms an integral part of the fender 2, and is provided for further guiding cooling air toward the engine when the motorcycle is running.