SHAPE SHIFTING MOTORCYCLE

The present invention relates to a motorcycle that can be shifted into varying shapes or operating configurations. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are various configurations of motorcycle, some of which include: a Standard configuration, a Cruiser configuration, a Touring configuration, an Enduro configuration and a Trials (deep woods) configuration. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is one object of the present invention to provide a motorcycle with a frame which can adjust to provide different operating conditions.

There is provided a shape shifting motorcycle which includes a movable long frame member having a front end and rear end. A rear wheel assembly is secured to the rear end of the movable long frame member. A front wheel assembly is mounted on front forks. The front forks are pivotally secured to the front end of the movable long frame member. A movable short frame member is provided having an upper end and a lower end. The movable short frame member is pivotally mounted to the movable long frame member by a pivotal connection positioned approximately midway between the upper end and the lower end. A seat is pivotally mounted to the movable long frame member and coupled to the upper end of the movable short frame member. Movement of the movable short frame member causes pivotal movement of the seat relative to the movable long frame member. Foot pegs are mounted to the lower end of the movable short frame member. Movement of the movable short frame member causes movement of the foot pegs relative to the movable long frame member. An adjustment mechanism is provided for pivoting the movable short frame member relative to the movable long frame member and adjusting the pivotal position of the front forks of the front wheel assembly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a motorcycle according to the present

invention.

Figure 2 is an isometric view from the front and other side of the motorcycle of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the frame components only of the motorcycle of Figure 1 showing the frame in one extreme position.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the frame components only of the motorcycle of Figure 1 showing the frame in the opposite extreme position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The shape shifting motorcycle more has a movable long frame member 10 and a movable short frame member 12. Each of these members is defined by a pair of generally parallel plats interconnected by transverse braces and couplings.

The movable long frame member has a front end 13 at a headstock 14 and rear end 15 adjacent the rear wheel 16. The member 10 curves rearwardly and downwardly from its upper front end to the bottom rear end between an engine 18 and the rear wheel 16.

A rear wheel assembly 20 is secured to the rear end of the movable long frame member. The rear wheel assembly includes a single sided swing arm arrangement 22 defined by upper arm 24 and lower arm 23 which are parallel and attached at their forward end to the member 10 for pivotal suspension movement resisted by a mono shock 25 between the upper arm 24 and the member 10.

A front wheel assembly 30 including a front wheel 32 is mounted on front forks 31 , with the front forks pivotally secured to the headstock at the front end of the member 10. The front wheel assembly is steered by handlebars 34 which connects through a linkage 35 to the forks 31 so that the conventional side to side steering movement is connected to the forks through the linkage.

The movable short frame member 12 has an upper end 37 and a lower end 38. The movable short frame member is pivotally mounted to the movable long frame

member 10 between the plates of the member 10 by a pivotal connection 39 positioned approximately midway between the upper end and the lower end and bridging the plates of the member 10.

A seat 40 has a rear end 41 which is pivotally mounted to the member 10 by a seat shock absorber 42 and pivotally coupled at its forward end 43 to the upper end 37 of the member 12. Foot pegs 45 are mounted to the lower end 38 of the member 12.

A linkage 50 defined by a pair of parallel linkage arms 52 is provided between a transverse strut 51 at the rear end and the forks 31 at the front end. The linkage 50 acts to control the attitude of the forks relative to the headstock at the upper end of the member 10.

The member 12 is connected to the strut 51 by a link 54 which extends downwardly from the strut 51 to a point 55 on the member 12 located in front of the pivot 39.

An adjustment mechanism 56 is positioned between strut 51 and the member 10 and acts to pull the strut 51 forwardly and rearwardly along a guide track on the member 10 at the bottom edge thereof.

This movement between the extreme positions is shown in a comparison of Figure 3 and Figure 4.

The engine is carried on an upper pair of straps 60 connected to the strut 51 and a lower pair of straps 61 connected to a fixed point on the member 10 below the pivot 39.

The adjustment mechanism 56 can take alternative forms. For example, it can consist of a drive screw that acts upon the cross-brace or strut 51 to move it along the member 10 and is connected to the movable short frame member by the link 54.

This movement of the strut 51 rearwardly from the position shown in Figures 1 and 2 causes: a) Movement of the lower end of the frame member 12 toward the

lower end of the member 10 which causes movement of the foot pegs rearwardly relative to the frame member 10 and thus relative to the seat. b) The front forks to alter their pivotal position as the movable short frame member moves. Thus the forks are pivoted rearwardly around the headstock toward the engine. c) Movement of the movable short frame member causes its rear end to move upwardly and forwardly thus lifting movement of the seat. d) The engine to tilt rearwardly so that its upper end moves rearwardly. The engine 18 and transmission 19 drive the rear wheel through a primary drive 71 and a chain drive 70.

In order to keep the position the motor near the centre of gravity, as the shape of the frame shifts, the lower end of the engine is supported by the frame member 10. This requires an exhaust assembly 75 connected to the seat to be provided with a connection that extends and retracts with movement of the frame members. Movement of the front forks can effect steering. It is, therefore, preferred that a steering assembly be provided that angularly adjusts to accommodate the altered pivotal positioning of the front forks.

The arrangement described herein provides a shape-shifting robotic adaptive intelligent mechanism that feels, responds and adapts as the rider asks and the conditions warrant. It offers a relationship in a way that a mere machine cannot offer. An artificial intelligence can be added so if you are stretched and hit a corner too fast, it will scrunch enough to provide the ground clearance and wheelbase to make sure you can take the turn safely.

It takes as little as 4 seconds on-the-fly to shape-shift from Enduro to Touring proportions.

As the front stretches a maximum of 12 inches, the engine shifts forward 6 inches therefore the center-of-gravity remains in the center of the bike's length. This

means handling remains consistent and brake effort remains balanced. The construction can assume the following shapes Trials

- All weight on the feet.

- Weight toward the rear so the front is super-easy to pop-up.

Enduro

- Best in loose stuff because the center of gravity is at the rider's feet. Standard

- A bit less weight of the hands.

Touring

- Even less weight on the hands.

- Most comfort on a longer ride.

Cruisers

- Most all weight on the butt.

- The position of the hands turns the arm/chest area into a "sail".

- Too much tension is on the spine for long rides.

- Not enough weight support shared by the feet

The frame shape-shifts in compound motions to create the proportional relationships that determine the final geometries. The relative positions of the pivots and connection points allows all the parts moving in an exact relationships and positions of mounting points that makes it work.

The frame's short-par carries the rider (seat and pegs), and with teflon disks and a dampening (gel/foam) sandwich at the pivot of the two spars and so isolated from the vibrations because the engine, transmission and suspension which are mounted on the long-spar, The Motorcycle can be ridden with great precision. Communication is stable and predictable because it has an inherently light and stiff structure, perfect weight

distribution and finely tuned suspension that creates and maintains a significantly more perfect fusion between rider and bike.

The long wheelbase ability and narrow profile (10" wide frame) combine for smooth and stable high-speed wind penetration. In mud or sand the rider can stretch the bike to spread the weight.

The twin-Spar chassis in a double-ladder arrangement with several diagonal struts to create the advantages of a "space frame". Where the Blades cross all bushings/casters are Delrin/Urethane. There is a Teflon disk between them. There is also a vibration absorbing "blue gel foam" pad.

The blade-pairs themselves are held in a slightly curved tension by the gussets so as to create greater strength thru pre-tensioning that helps disperse and even out the loads to the frame. All cross-strut reinforcement of the blade-spars are very evenly spaced so the flex engineered into the frame is very evenly distributed. Internally reinforced twin-spar frame which mounts the engine, transmission and suspension.

The short spar has many functions:

1. Protecting the engine in a fall.

2. Protecting the leg from engine heat.

3. Funneling airacross the engine for cooling.

4. Hiding the engine heat signature (military).

5. Isolating the seat and pegs from the long-spar so engine and drive train vibrations are isolated from the rider.

6. Side protection for the engine in a fall.

7. Easy sliding surface in a fall (to prevent cart-wheeling)

The Short-Spar needs some flex so it made of thinner plate than the Long- Spar. Stainless Steel is slightly springy and easy to bend back. The skid-Plate structure is shaped halfway between a shovel and a spade.

The two cross-braces are flexible so the entire structure absorbs impact.

On a hard impact the skid-plate curves its sides around the side of the engine as the cross-braces bend. It also makes the bike quieter and smoother. The shape creates harmonics and so attracts vibration. The idea is to attract the vibration from the frame and directly from the engine and then break it up with the cross-braces and absorb it with the acoustic/impact-foam sandwich.

The plate is made of a sandwich with "rubber" epoxied between two Springy Polymer sheets which adds additional protection and shock cushioning against engine damage. It also helps dampen sound/vibrations.

Chinning (a corrugated ridge down each side) gives it greater overall strength. It also provides runners for sliding over logs. The springy section between the runners absorbs impacts.

The engine guard is squared like a spade for center-stand and kick-stand parking. It functions as a bash-guard, engine-protector, 2-inches of impact absorbing space, kick-stand. Thus it tilts down and locks as kick-stand and tilts further to act as center-stand with wheel in the air. Because it is connected to the pivot point, it pivots well for removal of either wheel. It also acts as an oil drip-pan which is deep enough to hold all the oil (4 quarts) so that any fuel leak or oil leak from the engine, transmission, oil lines or oil tank all end up in this drip-pan.

There is provided a little indent form at the spar bases in full scrunch to help easily park the bike across a log in the woods buy engaging over a log and lowering the skid-plate so the log sits snugly between the rear tire and the skid-plate.

The idea is to place the weight lower so the bike is more comfortable resting at a stoplight, and easily flickable through traffic. It is also important to keep the weight distribution between the wheels the same as it shape-shifts, so the braking feels consistent.

The arc that the seat-arm travels is much greater than the arc that the forks travel, so it's not a true proportional scissors action, because the distance between the

rider's seat and feet increases as the frame stretches, yet uses one 4.5-inch actuator and one smooth motion.

The device can be controlled by a thumb-Wheel so as to allow selecting a shape, at speed while riding is as safe and easy as selecting a gear with a thumb controlled brass ring next to the left handgrip. The control operates an actuator which is a 4.5 inch Lead-Screw with a servo motor on each end.

The stretch effect provides the construction which is long and low in soft sand or mud to spread the weight. For high speed cruising long narrow is faster. About half the stretch is in the frame and the other half is in the forks with a few inches of swing- arm stretch thrown in.

The "trail" of the rear changes from 1-inch forward to 1-inch back for a total shift effect of 2-inches (19-21 inches effective lengths. As the front stretches the "trail" goes from 4" out to 6" and the rake goes from a deep-woods 22°, to an open road-chopper 44°. The seat moves down and back from a height of 34" down to a super-low 27" and the seat-spring acts softer as it tilts down with it. The back of the seat tilts up for a saddle bolster for long ride comfort and for slipping a small passenger snuggly in behind the rider.

The pegs stretch out and at the end of their stretch, they lift up as well. The distance between the rider's seat and the pegs increases as they move forward, because the rider sits further back.

The engine weight moves forward half the distance of the wheelbase shift so the weight stays centered on the bike making steering more stable while high speed touring or cruising. This leaning forward at higher speed/ longer frame conditions, also creates a 45° profile of the engine fins to the wind, increases the air cooling. The exhaust port is the hottest spot, so gets an additional finning and gets cool air first.

The handlebar pulls back with the lowering of the front of the long-spar and the stretching of the forks.

The ground clearance decreases from a high of 10" to a low 6". The

relative distance of the swing-arm lengthens 2". The angle of the coil-over-shock rear suspension lays down and the spring rate and dampening automatically adjust becoming softer.

In the scrunched position, the 10" wide frame's narrow profile combine with the super-short wheelbase for easy and stable low-speed penetration into the tight and narrow.

The forks tilt in from the maximum 44 degrees to a deep-woods 22 degrees. The seat raises from 27" up to the 34" and moves it forward toward the center-of-mass while tilting it up. The seat-spring also acts stiffer as it stands straight up. The pegs move back to the swingarm pivot-point. The engine tucks back toward the center-of-mass and tilts almost straight up. The handlebar pulls up almost straight with the raising of the front of the long-spar and the tucking in of the forks. The ground clearance increases from the low 6" to a high of 10". The relative distance of the swingarm shortens 2 inches. The angle of the coil-over-shock rear suspension stands up and the spring rate and dampening automatically adjust becoming stiffer.