Patent ID: 8616185

Claim:
A supercharged internal combustion engine, comprising: a crankcase having a crankshaft rotatably mounted therein; a cylinder block connected to the crankcase; a cylinder head connected to the cylinder block wherein the cylinder block and the cylinder head form at least one combustion chamber; at least one air intake passageway operatively coupled to the combustion chambers; an air intake manifold connected to the cylinder head and operatively connected to the at least one air intake passageway; a supercharger for boosting air to the air intake manifold, the supercharger having a driven shaft operatively connected to the crankshaft via a friction clutch supported by an intermediate shaft; and an electric starter having a drive gear, the intermediate shaft comprising a reduction gear operatively connected to the starter drive gear wherein in a starting operation, the electric starter rotates the crankshaft via the reduction gear of the intermediate shaft.