Motorcycle Side Cover Joint Positioning to Prevent Clothing Entanglement
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Solution Overview
Problem
During motorcross riding, the rider's clothing and boots can get caught by the joints of the side coverings on a motorcycle, compromising the riding experience due to the changing attitude and potential misalignment or wear of the coverings.
Innovation Solution
A side covering body design for motorcycles with a radiator forwardly of the combustion engine, featuring an under-the-seat covering, a rear covering, and a shroud portion that connects through a joint, with the joint's upper end positioned rearwardly of the seat to avoid clothing and boot entanglement, and outer surfaces held flush to prevent displacement-related issues, guiding wind smoothly towards the radiator.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the joint portion is positioned at a conventional location on the side covering, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the rider's clothing and boots may be caught by the joint portion, compromising safety and riding experience
Solution Approach 1:
The joint portion is repositioned from a conventional lateral position to a specific longitudinal position (rearwardly of the intermediate portion of the seat), utilizing the longitudinal dimension of the motorcycle to relocate the joint away from the rider's foot path, thereby eliminating the entanglement risk while maintaining structural simplicity
2Ease of manufacture
If the under-the-seat covering and rear covering are connected with a joint portion, then the side covering can be assembled from separate parts, but the joint portion may create protrusions or misalignments that can catch the rider's clothing
Solution Approach 1:
The outer side surfaces of both the under-the-seat covering and rear covering are designed to be substantially in flush with each other at the joint portion, creating a locally smooth transition that eliminates protrusions while maintaining the segmented assembly structure for ease of manufacture
3Reliability
If the joint portion is positioned to avoid clothing entanglement, then safety is improved, but the positioning becomes more critical and sensitive to manufacturing errors
Solution Approach 1:
The joint portion is pre-positioned at a location (rearwardly of the intermediate portion of the seat) that is inherently safe from clothing entanglement regardless of minor manufacturing variations, and the outer surfaces are designed to be in flush to prevent protrusions, thereby providing a tolerance buffer that reduces sensitivity to manufacturing precision
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances the riding experience by preventing clothing and boot entanglement and maintaining a smooth airflow to the radiator, even with shape errors or aging, improving both safety and performance.
Implementation Method 1
a shroud portion formed in a front portion of the under-the-seat covering and configured to cover an outer side of the radiator to thereby guide an incoming wind towards the radiator
Data Source
AI summary
A side covering body for a motorcycle includes an under-the-seat covering for covering a vertical gap between a seat and a vehicle body frame from an outer side and a rear covering disposed rearwardly of the under-the-seat covering. The under-the-seat covering has a front portion formed with a shroud portion that covers an outer side of a radiator and guides the incoming wind towards the radiator. The under-the-seat covering and the rear covering are connected together via a joint portion, while having respective outer side surfaces held substantially in flush with each other. The joint portion has an upper end positioned rearwardly of an intermediate portion of the seat with respect to a forward and rearward direction.