Patent ID: 7204337

Claim:
A drive assembly for a vehicle having at least one wheel and an engine, wherein the drive assembly transfers a driving force from the engine to the at least one wheel, the drive assembly comprising: a rotatable input drive shaft, wherein the input drive shaft is operatively coupled to the engine; a rotatable output drive shaft, wherein the output drive shaft is operatively coupled to the at least one wheel; a first transmission operatively connecting the input shaft to the output shaft, the first transmission having a plurality of transmission ratios; and an overload clutch operatively disposed between the input drive shaft and the first transmission to transfer a driving force from the input drive shaft to the first transmission, wherein the overload clutch has an engaged position such that the overload clutch transfers the driving force from the input drive shaft to the first transmission during a first operating condition, wherein the overload clutch has a disengaged position such that the driving force is not transferred from the input drive shaft to the first transmission during a second operating condition.