Patent ID: 8038557

Claim:
A power unit comprising: a transmission casing accommodating therein a continuously variable transmission mechanism with a V-belt wound around a drive side sheave disposed on a drive side shaft and a driven side sheave disposed on a driven side shaft; an engine body including a cylinder body and a crankshaft, the cylinder body inclining such that an angle formed between a virtual plane including the driven side shaft and the drive side shaft, and a cylinder axis, is equal to 45 degrees or less, and the transmission casing and the engine are integrally joined and arranged to be supported by and swing on a vehicle body frame; a drive member arranged to vary a wound diameter of the drive side sheave; and an electric drive motor arranged to drive the drive member; wherein the cylinder body is arranged so that a virtual plane of the cylinder body, which is coplanar with the cylinder axis and parallel to the crank axis, passes through a position displaced downward from the crank axis such that the crank axis is not coplanar with the virtual plane of the cylinder body; and at least a portion of the electric drive motor arranged to drive the drive member is arranged on a side of a virtual plane on which the cylinder body is located, in which the virtual plane passes through a crankcase side end of the cylinder body defined by a lower surface of the cylinder body and is perpendicular to the cylinder axis.