Air intake system for vehicle combustion engine

An air intake system for a motorcycle engine mounted on a frame and having a head tube attached to handlebars with an air cleaner mounted above the motorcycle engine and longitudinally aligned with an axis of the frame and the head tube, comprising:

• a front cowling mounted on a front portion of the frame forward of the head tube and having left and right headlight windows for receiving left and right headlights;
• an air intake opening provided on the front cowling and aligned with the longitudinal axis, the air intake opening having an upper peripheral portion extending outward and forward from the front cowling, the air intake opening mounted above and between the left and right headlights and positioned above and in alignment with a nose of the front cowling positioned between the left and right headlight windows in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body structure;
• an air duct connected to the air intake opening and extending to the air cleaner, the head tube extending through the air duct between the air intake opening and the air cleaner and forming a portion of the air duct, for direct contact with flowing air in the air duct, the air duct extending approximately horizontally in a straight path from the air intake opening to the air cleaner;
• and
• wherein the front cowling has a lower curved guide face extending outward and downward between the intake opening and the nose of the front cowling.

An air intake system for a vehicle engine which comprises:

• a front cowling mounted on a front portion of a vehicle body structure, the vehicle body structure including a head tube and left and right headlights, said front cowling having left and right headlight windows aligned with the left and right headlights, said front cowling also having an air intake opening for introducing an air flow for a combustion air towards the vehicle engine, said air intake opening being defined intermediate between and upwardly of the left and right headlights and also defined above and in alignment with a nose of the front cowling positioned between the left and right headlight windows in a longitudinal axis direction of the vehicle body structure;
• an air intake passage for introducing the combustion air, then entering the air intake opening, towards an air cleaner disposed rearwardly of the head tube at the same level with the head tube, the combustion air passing a portion of the head tube, which portion extends through the air intake passage between the air intake opening and the air cleaner and at the same level with the air intake opening to form a portion of the air intake passage;
• and
• wherein the air intake opening has an upper peripheral edge and a pair of side peripheral edges and the front cowling has an upper peripheral portion continued from the upper peripheral edge of the air intake opening and a pair of side peripheral portions continued from the side peripheral edges of the air intake opening, the upper peripheral portion of the front cowling being curved outwardly of the front cowling between the pair of the side peripheral portions of the front cowling.