U.S. patent application number 09/992246 was filed with the patent office on 2002-03-14 for motorcycle saddlebag mounting system.
This patent application is currently assigned to Harley-Davidson Motor Company Group, Inc.. Invention is credited to Galbraith, Stephen L., Sucharski, Brian.
Application Number | 20020029917 09/992246 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 23438288 |
Filed Date | 2002-03-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020029917 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Galbraith, Stephen L. ; et
al. |
March 14, 2002 |
Motorcycle saddlebag mounting system
Abstract
A saddlebag mounting system that eliminates the need for
external fasteners on the rear fender and corresponding tail
section. The saddlebag is mounted to the inner surface of the rear
fender using a saddlebag mounting system, including a mounting
bracket. The mounting bracket preferably includes an inner bracket
coupled to the inner surface of the rear fender, and an outer
bracket coupled to the inner bracket, the saddlebag being mounted
to the outer bracket. The rear fender can be provided with an inner
support mounted to the inner surface to facilitate attachment of
the inner bracket. For example, the inner support can include a
slotted opening, and a fastener can be used to couple the inner
bracket to the inner support.
Inventors: |
Galbraith, Stephen L.;
(Mequon, WI) ; Sucharski, Brian; (Franklin,
WI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MICHAEL BEST & FRIEDRICH, LLP
100 E WISCONSIN AVENUE
MILWAUKEE
WI
53202
US
|
Assignee: |
Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Group, Inc.
Milwaukee
WI
|
Family ID: |
23438288 |
Appl. No.: |
09/992246 |
Filed: |
November 16, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
09992246 |
Nov 16, 2001 |
|
|
|
09365296 |
Jul 30, 1999 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
180/219 ;
280/288.4 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B62J 9/23 20200201; B62J
9/27 20200201 |
Class at
Publication: |
180/219 ;
280/288.4 |
International
Class: |
B62D 061/02 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of mounting a saddlebag to a motorcycle, the motorcycle
including a frame, a front wheel coupled to the frame, a rear wheel
coupled to the frame, and a rear fender coupled to the frame and
positioned over the rear wheel, the rear fender including an inner
surface generally facing the rear wheel, the method comprising:
directly mounting an inner support to the inner surface of the rear
fender, the inner support extending longitudinally along the inner
surface of the rear fender; directly mounting a saddlebag mounting
system to the inner support; and supporting a saddlebag with the
saddlebag mounting system.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein directly mounting a saddlebag
mounting system includes directly mounting an inner bracket to the
inner support, the inner bracket extending between the wheel and
the inner surface, and coupling an outer bracket to the inner
bracket, the outer bracket extending out from between the rear
wheel and the inner surface, and wherein supporting a saddlebag
further includes mounting the saddlebag to the outer bracket.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein directly mounting an inner
bracket to the inner support includes positioning a head portion of
a fastener within a slotted opening of the inner support.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein positioning a head portion of a
fastener includes inserting the head portion of the fastener into a
wide portion of the slotted opening, and sliding the head portion
from the wide portion of the slotted opening to a narrow portion of
the slotted opening.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein positioning a head portion of a
fastener further includes tightening the fastener to secure the
inner bracket relative to the inner support.
Description
[0001] This application is a divisional of application Ser. No.
09/365,296 filed Jul. 30, 1999, the entire contents of which is
herein incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of
motorcycles and, more specifically, to the field of saddlebag
mounting systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Motorcycles typically include fenders positioned over the
wheels to prevent debris (e.g., dirt, water, etc.) from being
thrown into the air as the motorcycle travels over a surface. For
example, front and rear fenders can be positioned around the front
and rear wheels, respectively.
[0004] The front fender can be coupled to the front fork of the
motorcycle so that the front fender turns with the fork and wheel.
The front fender can be secured to the fork so that the front
fender either moves upward when the front wheel encounters a bump
or, alternatively, stays stationary relative to the upward moving
wheel.
[0005] The rear fender can be coupled to the tail section of the
frame in a position over the rear wheel. This is commonly done in
such a way that the rear fender does not move with the rear wheel
when the rear wheel encounters a bump. In this design, the rear
fender is typically bolted to the tail section of the motorcycle
using bolts that pass through the tail section and through the rear
fender.
[0006] Some motorcycles also include saddlebags that provide a
compartment for storing items on the motorcycle. Saddlebags are
commonly mounted on opposing sides of the rear fender, and can be
secured to the motorcycle using the bolts that mount the rear
fender to the tail section.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The above-described design provides an adequate means for
attaching the rear fender and the saddlebags to a motorcycle.
However, it can be understood that the above-described
fender-mounting bolts will be visible when the saddlebags are not
mounted. Such a design can detract from the overall aesthetic
quality of the motorcycle.
[0008] The present invention provides an improved saddlebag
mounting system that eliminates the need for external fasteners on
the rear fender and corresponding tail section. In one aspect, the
invention is embodied in a motorcycle comprising a frame, a front
wheel coupled to the frame, and a rear wheel coupled to the frame.
A rear fender is coupled to the frame and positioned over the rear
fender, and a saddlebag is coupled to the inner surface of the rear
fender. Preferably, the outer surface of the rear fender is
substantially free of mounting hardware for mounting the
saddlebag.
[0009] In one embodiment, the saddlebag is mounted to the inner
surface of the rear fender using a saddlebag mounting system,
including a mounting bracket. The mounting bracket preferably
includes an inner bracket coupled to the inner surface of the rear
fender, and an outer bracket coupled to the inner bracket, the
saddlebag being mounted to the outer bracket.
[0010] The rear fender can be provided with an inner support
mounted to the inner surface to facilitate attachment of the inner
bracket. For example, the inner support can include a slotted
opening, and a fastener can be used to couple the inner bracket to
the inner support. Preferably, the fastener includes a head portion
positioned within the slotted opening. The slotted opening can take
on a variety of shapes, but preferably includes a wide portion
larger than the head portion of the fastener, and a narrow portion
smaller than the head portion of the fastener. With this design,
the head portion can be inserted into the wide portion and
subsequently slid into the narrow portion. Tightening of the
fastener to the inner bracket will result in securing the inner
bracket to the inner support.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a side view of a motorcycle having a tail
section.
[0012] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the tail section
illustrated in FIG. 1.
[0013] FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of the tail section of FIG.
1.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a top view of the tail section illustrated in FIG.
1.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a section view taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 4.
[0016] FIG. 5a is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 5.
[0017] FIG. 6 is a section is a section view taken along line 6-6
in FIG. 3.
[0018] FIG. 7 is a section view taken along line 7-7 in FIG. 3.
[0019] FIG. 8 is a section view taken along line 8-8 in FIG. 3.
[0020] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a saddlebag mounting system
embodying the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 10 is a longitudinal section view of the saddlebag
mounting system connected to a motorcycle fender.
[0022] FIG. 11 is a section view taken along line 11-11 in FIG. 10
with the saddlebag mounting system connected to the motorcycle and
a saddlebag connected to the mounting system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] The motorcycle 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a frame 12,
a seat 14 coupled to the frame 12, a front wheel 16 coupled to the
frame by a front fork 18, and a rear wheel 20 coupled to the frame
by a swing arm assembly 22. A tail section 24 forms the rear
portion of the motorcycle 10 underneath the seat 14 and above the
rear wheel 20.
[0024] Referring to FIG. 2-8, the tail section 24 includes tail
supports 26 coupled to the frame 12. In the illustrated embodiment,
the tail supports 26 are formed integrally with the frame 12 in a
conventional manner, but could also be bolted to the frame 12. The
tail supports 26 include inner surfaces 28 (FIG. 5) facing toward
the centerline of the motorcycle 10, and outer surfaces 30 facing
away from the centerline of the motorcycle 10. For ease of
illustration, only one side of the tail section 24 is illustrated
in FIG. 2. In this regard, only one side of the tail section 24
will be described below, unless otherwise noted.
[0025] A rear fender 32 is positioned between the tail supports 26,
and includes flanges 34 extending downwardly adjacent the inner
surfaces 28 of the corresponding tail supports 26. The rear fender
32 is coupled to the tail supports 26 by a fender mounting assembly
including a low profile fastener 36 extending through the tail
support 26 and through the corresponding flange 34 in the rear
fender 32. The illustrated fastener 36 includes a stud plate 38 and
two threaded studs 40 secured to the stud plate 38. Preferably, the
threaded studs 40 include a low profile head 42. Threaded nuts 44
are threaded onto the threaded studs 40 to hold the assembly
together.
[0026] In order to provide rigidity to the rear fender 32, the
fender mounting assembly includes inner supports 46 mounted along
the inner surface of each flange 34. The inner supports 46 are
secured to the tail supports 26 by the low profile fasteners 36 and
corresponding nuts 44. The inner supports 46 extend rearward
further than the tail supports 26 to provide rigidity to the rear
portion of the rear fender 32. A support fastener 48 secures the
end of the inner support 46 to the rear fender 32. Each inner
support 46 includes a groove 50 (FIGS. 6 and 7) that defines a wire
path, the importance of which is described below in more
detail.
[0027] The motorcycle 10 further includes tail covers 52 positioned
over the tail supports 26 and a portion of the rear fender 32. Each
tail cover 52 is secured to the tail support 26 by fasteners 54,
and is designed to cover the low profile fastener 36 to thereby
improved the aesthetics of the motorcycle 10. The tail cover 52 is
also secured using an inner fastener 56 that extends through the
inner support 46 and rear fender 32, and threads into a threaded
opening 58 in the tail cover 52. Another inner fastener 60 extends
through the rear fender 32, and into another threaded opening 62 in
the rear end of the tail cover 52.
[0028] A tail light assembly 64 is mounted to the rear end of the
rear fender 32. The tail light assembly 64 includes a rear housing
66, a tail light 68 mounted to the rear fender 32, and a rear
lighting harness 70 extending from the tail light 68 toward the
front of the motorcycle 10. The rear housing 66 provides extra
stiffness to the rear section of the rear fender 32, provides a
location 71 for mounting a license plate, and provides protection
to the rear lighting harness 70. The rear housing 66 is secured to
the rear fender 32 by the support fastener 48 that extends through
the rear fender 32, through the rear housing 66, and into the inner
support. The rear housing 66 is also secured by the inner fastener
60 that extends from the inside, through the rear housing 66 and
rear fender 32, and into the threaded opening 62 in the tail cover
52.
[0029] The rear housing 66 includes a recessed portion 72 that
facilitates routing the rear lighting harness 70 from the tail
light 68 to the groove 50 in the inner support 46. The rear
lighting harness 70 travels along the groove 50 and passes through
an opening 74 in the front of the rear fender 32 where it can be
routed to a main terminal (not shown).
[0030] A directional light assembly 76 is mounted to the tail cover
52 by a fastener 78 extending from the inside of the tail cover 52.
In this manner, the fastener 78 will be completely hidden from view
in the final assembled product. Wires 80 from the directional
lights extend through the tail cover 52 and through a fender
opening to be routed to a cavity defined between the rear housing
66 and the tail light 68. At this location, the wires 80 are
coupled to the rear lighting harness 70.
[0031] The above-described motorcycle can be provided with a
saddlebag mounting system 82, as illustrated in FIGS. 9-11.
Mounting saddlebags on the illustrated motorcycle is difficult due
to the fact that there are no visible fasteners along the sides of
the rear fender 32. Typically, any such visible fasteners could be
used to secure a saddlebag mounting bracket to the rear fender.
[0032] The illustrated saddlebag mounting system 82 overcomes this
problem by mounting, on both sides of the motorcycle, an inner
bracket 84 to the inside surface of the rear fender 32, and
mounting the saddlebag 86 to an outer bracket 88 that is connected
to the inner bracket 84. More specifically, the inner bracket 84 is
fastened to the inner support 46 that is connected to the inside
surface of the rear fender 32. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 5a, the
inner support 46 includes two raised portions 90 that are spaced
from the inner surface of the rear fender 32. Each raised portion
90 includes a slotted opening 92 having a wide portion 94 and a
narrow portion 96. The bottom edge 98 of the wide portion 94 is
aligned with and tangential to the bottom edge 100 of the narrow
portion 96. The narrow portion 96 further includes a top edge 102
that is substantially parallel to the bottom 100 edge of the narrow
portion 96.
[0033] Referring to FIGS. 9-11, the inner bracket 84 includes two
openings 104 that are spaced from each other by substantially same
distance as the spacing between the slotted openings 92 in the
inner support 46. In order to secure the inner bracket 84 to the
inner support 46, carriage bolts 106 are inserted into each of the
openings 104 of the inner bracket 84 from the outside, and
corresponding nuts 108 are loosely threaded onto the carriage bolts
106. The heads 110 of the carriage bolts 106 are sized to be
smaller than the wide portion 94 of the slotted openings 92 and
larger than the narrow portion 96 of the slotted openings 92. In
this regard, the heads 110 of the carriage bolts 106 can be
inserted into the wide portions 94 of the corresponding slotted
openings 92, and then slid forward so that the carriage bolts 106
are positioned in the narrow portion 96 of the slotted openings 92.
As is common with standard carriage bolts, the illustrated carriage
bolts 106 each include a square shank 112 between the threaded
shank 114 and the head 110. The square shank 112 is dimensioned to
slide within the narrow portion 96 of the slotted opening 92, and
will not rotate once it is in that position, thereby providing an
antirotation effect. Once in this position, the nuts 108 can be
tightened to secure the inner bracket 84 to the inner support
46.
[0034] The inner bracket 84 and outer bracket 88 are interconnected
by a support member in the form of a generally U-shaped tube 116.
The ends of the U-shaped tube 116 are secured to the inner bracket
84, and the outer bracket 88 is secured to a midportion of the
U-shaped tube 116. A lower portion 118 of the U-shaped tube 116 is
designed to support the bottom of the saddlebag 86 (FIG. 11), as is
known in the art. If desired, the lower portion 118 can also
support a heat shield 120 (FIG. 9) to protect the saddlebag 86 from
heat dissipated by adjacent exhaust pipes or mufflers (not shown).
A connecting member in the form of a connecting tube 122 is mounted
between flanges 124 on the U-shaped tubes 116. The connecting tube
122 adds stability to the saddlebag mounting system 82.
[0035] Each outer bracket 88 includes two mounting holes 126 that
facilitate mounting the saddlebag 86 to the outer bracket 88. In
the illustrated embodiment, the saddlebag 86 is mounted to the
outer bracket 88 using a quarter-turn fastener 128. Alternatively,
screws, bolts, or other appropriate fastener could be used.
[0036] The foregoing description of the present invention has been
presented for purposes of illustration and description.
Furthermore, the description is not intended to limit the invention
to the form disclosed herein. Consequently, variations and
modifications commensurate with the above teachings, and the skill
or knowledge of the relevant art, are within the scope of the
present invention. The embodiments described herein are further
intended to explain best modes known for practicing the invention
and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention in
such, or other, embodiments and with various modifications required
by the particular applications or uses of the present invention. It
is intended that the appended claims be construed to include
alternative embodiments to the extent permitted by the prior
art.
* * * * *