Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Kousei Mizumoto

Akio Handa

Eiji Hosoya

Makoto Ishiwatari

Akito Enokimoto

Keiji Kasa

Takanori Okuma

An off-road vehicle comprises a frame assembly constructed of a plurality of pipes including at least one lateral pipe extending horizontally and transversely of the vehicle, two front wheel suspensions having respective knuckle arms, two front wheels rotatably supported respectively on the front wheel suspensions, two rear wheels rotatably supported on lateral sides of a rear portion of the frame assembly, an engine mounted on the rear portion of the frame assembly for driving the rear wheels, and a steering mechanism having a steering column supporting a central steering arm on a lower end thereof and a central steering handle on an upper end thereof, and tie rods having first ends coupled to the central steering arm and second ends coupled to the knuckle arms, respectively. Also, the central steering arm is located upwardly of the lateral pipe of the frame assembly.

Off-road vehicle

An off-road vehicle has a hydraulic brake operating assembly mounted on a steering handle. The steering handle has a base, a rectangular handle portion integral with the base, and a cover covering the base. The brake operating assembly has a brake oil reservoir, two brake levers pivotally supported on lateral sides of the handle portion for braking front and rear wheels, respectively, and two brake master cylinders communicating with the brake oil reservoir through hoses and responsive to operation of the brake levers for generating hydraulic pressure. The brake oil reservoir is centrally fixedly mounted on the rectangular handle portion. The brake master cylinders are fixedly mounted respectively on the lateral sides of the handle portion.

A fuel supply system in an off-road vehicle including front and rear wheels having wide tires, respectively, an engine mounted on a rear portion of a vehicle frame, and an exhaust pipe extending from the engine and disposed on one side of the engine transversely of the vehicle frame. The fuel system comprises a fuel tank assembly disposed on the other side of the engine transversely of the vehicle frame, and an air cleaner case disposed rearwardly of the fuel tank assembly. The vehicle frame comprises a plurality of welded pipe members. The fuel tank assembly has an outer peripheral flange supported at plural locations thereon by at least two of the pipe members of the vehicle frame. The fuel tank assembly has a cap for detachably closing a fuel inlet hole, the cap including a resiliently biased cover swingably mounted on an upper surface for covering a key slot from above. The fuel tank assembly comprises a main fuel tank disposed in a relatively low position and an auxiliary fuel tank disposed at a level higher than the main fuel tank and higher than a carburetor of the engine. The fuel supply system further includes a pump disposed in a fuel line interconnecting the main fuel tank and the auxiliary fuel tank. The fuel tank assembly has on a front wall thereof a cock positioned directly behind a driver's seat disposed substantially centrally in the longitudinal and transverse directions of the vehicle frame.

Growing community of inventors

Saitama, Japan

Kousei Mizumoto