Adapter set for a motorcycle handlebar setup

Abstract

Adapter set for a handlebar assembly of a motorcycle, comprising a steering tube (100) which is associated with a frame structure of the motorcycle, a fork bridge (10) arranged adjacent to the steering tube (100) and rotatably mounted on the steering tube (100) with a flexible element (11) attached thereto and elastically bendable, and a handlebar bridge (12) which can be placed on the flexible element (11) and the steering tube (100) and which supports a handlebar, characterized in that the adapter set comprises spacers (2a, 2b) which are arranged such that a first spacer (2a) between the flexible element (11) and the handlebar bridge (12) and a second spacer (2b) between the steering tube (100) and the handlebar bridge (12) can be positively inserted and fixed.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an adapter set for a handlebar assembly of a motorcycle, comprising a steering tube which is associated with a frame structure of the motorcycle, a fork bridge arranged adjacent to the steering tube and rotatably mounted on the steering tube with a flexible element attached thereto and elastically bendable, and a handlebar bridge which can be placed on the flexible element and the steering tube and which carries a handlebar.

[0002] Motorcycles with a handlebar assembly comprising a head tube as part of the motorcycle's frame structure, a triple clamp located adjacent to the head tube and rotatably mounted on the head tube with an elastically bendable flex element attached to it, and a handlebar clamp that can be mounted on the flex element and the head tube and supports the handlebars, are widely known. The flex element serves as a spring-loaded mounting base for the handlebar clamp.

[0003] It often happens that the manufacturer's specified geometry and design of the motorcycle, which also includes the handlebar position, forces an individual rider into a riding position they find uncomfortable, for example, because the handlebars are perceived as being too low and compel an undesirable posture. In this case, handlebar risers are often used to achieve a more upright riding position that is perceived as more comfortable.

[0004] Adapter sets for handlebar risers are known from the state of the art and are used as an intermediate piece in two-part clamp handlebar mounts, as described for example in DE 20 2015 000 666 U1.

[0005] In handlebar configurations with a handlebar bridge that supports the handlebars and is often a single piece for high stability, which is positively fitted onto the head tube on one side and a flexible element of the fork bridge on the other and screwed in place, such handlebar risers cannot be used, so that in these cases an adjustment of the handlebar configuration, for example to achieve a more upright seating position, proves difficult.

[0006] The object of the invention is to propose an adapter set of the type mentioned above, with which, despite the use of a handlebar bridge mounted on the head tube and the flex element, a handlebar rise for the purpose of adjusting the seating position can be achieved in a simple, visually advantageous and also safety-compliant manner, whereby the parts of the handlebar assembly already present on the motorcycle are to be reused as far as possible.

[0007] To solve the problem posed, an adapter set according to the features of claim 1 is proposed according to the invention.

[0008] Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0009] The inventive proposal provides that the adapter set includes spacers which are arranged in such a way that a first spacer between the flex element and the handlebar bridge and a second spacer between the head tube and the handlebar bridge can be inserted and fixed in a form-fitting manner.

[0010] According to the invention, the handlebar arrangement of the motorcycle is thus modified with the adapter set according to the invention in such a way that the handlebar bridge is no longer placed directly on the head tube and the flex element of the fork bridge and is no longer connected there in a form-fitting manner and fixed, for example, by means of screws, but is attached with the spacers provided according to the invention at a distance to the head tube and the flex element of the fork bridge corresponding to the axial length of the spacers, whereby the resulting increase in handlebar height and the associated modification of the rider's seating position result from this distance.

[0011] According to the invention, it is therefore only necessary to loosen the existing screw connection of the handlebar assembly between the handlebar bridge and the steering tube on the one hand and the flex element on the other, after removing the handlebar bridge, to place the two spacers onto the steering tube and flex element in a form-fitting manner, and then to place the handlebar bridge onto the spacers in a form-fitting manner and to fasten it again using the existing screws or screws replaced with correspondingly longer ones.

[0012] According to one proposal of the invention, the spacers are designed with a substantially cylindrical central section and, in the area of ​​their axial ends, with connecting sections that are not round in cross-section, which are designed for insertion into correspondingly designed plug pins of the head tube and / or the flex element of the fork bridge, in order to place the spacers positively onto the corresponding positive locking structures of the head tube or the flex element and, on the other hand, to also provide these positive locking structures at the opposite axial ends for the positive locking attachment of the handlebar bridge.

[0013] According to a proposal of the invention, the spacers are manufactured from an aluminum alloy using machining processes, in particular turning and milling, to ensure the required fatigue strength with low weight and high manufacturing accuracy. Alternatively, they can also be forged or cast. For example, AlCuMg(2017A) is considered a suitable aluminum alloy, which, after machining, can be, for example, shot blasted and silver anodized.

[0014] The spacers can be designed with different axial lengths to achieve different adjustments or modifications of the seating position, wherein both spacers of an adapter set are preferably designed with the same axial length and different adapter sets differ by the different lengths of both spacers of the adapter set.

[0015] The spacers may also have an axial through-hole for the passage of a mounting screw running from the handlebar bridge into the steering tube or the flex element, in order to continue using the original mounting of the handlebar bridge.

[0016] Further embodiments and details of the invention are explained below with reference to the drawing illustrating an exemplary embodiment. The drawing shows: Fig. 1 in exploded view a handlebar assembly of a motorcycle according to the invention.

[0017] The single figure shows an exploded view of a handlebar assembly 1 of a motorcycle, in which the parts associated with the frame structure of the motorcycle, namely the steering tube 100 and a fork bridge 10 attached to the shock absorbers of the front fork with fastening screws 112, are shown, in which the steering tube 100 is centrally received at its upper end, so that the fork bridge 10 can rotate about the longitudinal axis of the steering tube 100.

[0018] As a mounting base, a flexible element 11, approximately V- or U-shaped and made of a suitable sheet steel or the like, is attached to the fork bridge 10 and is resiliently mounted and fixed in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the head tube 100 at fixed points 112.

[0019] At their depicted upper ends, both the steering tube 100 and the flex element 11 are each formed with a non-circular pin section or plug pin 101, 110, which form positive-locking structures. In the initial or original state of the motorcycle (not shown), the one-piece, three-dimensionally forged handlebar bridge 12 is placed onto these plug pins 101, 110, as shown in the illustration. Fig. The underside, which is not visible, is designed with corresponding receiving bores for the positive locking structures of the plug pins 101, 110 and is thus positively fitted onto the plug pins 101, 110. Subsequently, the handlebar bridge 12 is screwed onto the head tube 100 or the fork bridge 11 using screws 13, 14 in their respective internal threads.

[0020] The plug pin 110 can correspond to the fixed points 112 in an orientation rotated by 180 degrees, i.e. the plug pin 110 is shown in the representation according to Fig. 1 from above and the two fixed points 112 accordingly screwed through the fork bridge 10 from below.

[0021] The handlebar bridge 12, thus attached to the motorcycle or the handlebar assembly 1, then assumes the position shown in the illustration. Fig. 1 handlebar ends not shown in the respective cylindrical handlebar mounts 120.

[0022] To modify the position of the handlebars and the resulting rider seating position resulting from the attachment of the handlebar clamp 12 to the flex element 11 of the triple clamp 10 or the head tube 100, an adapter set is provided, comprising two spacers designated 2a and 2b. After loosening the two fastening screws 13, 14 and removing the handlebar clamp 12, the two spacers 2a and 2b are positively engaged on the head tube 100 or the flex element 11 of the triple clamp 10, respectively.

[0023] For this purpose, a first spacer 2a is designed in the area of ​​its end 23 facing the flex element 11 of the fork bridge 10 such that it has an internal positive-locking receiving bore for the plug pin 110 of the flex element 11 and the second spacer 2b accordingly has a receiving bore at its axial end 23 for the positive-locking insertion of the plug pin 101 of the head tube 100.

[0024] Following a substantially cylindrical central section 20, both spacers 2a and 2b terminate in axial ends 21, which exactly replicate or correspond to the positive locking structures of the plug pin 101 in the case of spacer 2b or the plug pin 110 of the flex element 11 in the case of spacer 2a, so that the handlebar bridge 12 can then be positively fitted onto the axial ends 21 of the two spacers 2a and 2b in the desired and intended manner and screwed to the flex element 11 of the fork bridge 10 and the head tube 100 by means of optionally extended fastening screws 13, 14 and with the spacers 2a and 2b interposed.The originally intended positive-locking connection between the handlebar bridge 12 and the steering tube 100 as well as the flex element 11 of the fork bridge 10 is thus established, but at an increased distance specified by the two spacers 2a and 2b, so that the desired handlebar height increase and modification of the seating position on the motorcycle is achieved.

[0025] It is therefore possible to achieve a safe handlebar rise in a simple and quick manner, while largely retaining the parts of the handlebar assembly 1, even with an existing handlebar bridge 12 on the head tube 100 and a flex element 11 of the fork bridge 10.

[0026] It is understood that the spacers 2a and 2b can be manufactured in different desired axial lengths and dimensions and designed according to requirements, in particular also color-modulated. Preferably, they are milled, turned, cast, or forged from a high-strength aluminum alloy, for example, AlCuMg(2017A). Reference symbol list: 1 Handlebar arrangement 2a first spacer 2b second spacer 10 Fork bridge 11 Flex element 12 Handlebar bridge 13 Mounting screw 14 Mounting screw 20 Middle section 21 upper axial end 22 Through hole 23 lower axial end 100 head tube 101 plug pins 110 plug pins 112 Mounting screw 120 handlebar mount QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] DE 20 2015 000 666 U1

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