Patent ID: 7665561

Claim:
A power unit for a motorcycle, said power unit comprising: an engine comprising a crankshaft; a continuously variable transmission which comprises: a drive pulley shaft which receives a rotary drive force from the crankshaft, said drive pulley shaft being separate and spaced away from said crankshaft; a drive pulley which is mounted on the drive pulley shaft, a driven pulley shaft which operatively receives the rotary drive force from the drive pulley shaft, the drive pulley being arranged above the driven pulley shaft, and the driven pulley shaft being substantially balanced with respect to a longitudinal central plane of the motorcycle; a driven pulley which is mounted on the driven pulley shaft, and a belt which is wrapped around the drive pulley and the driven pulley; said belt being operable to transmit the rotary drive force of the drive pulley shaft to the driven pulley shaft, and to transmit the rotary drive force of the crankshaft to a drive wheel while continuously changing a vehicle speed by changing wrapping diameters of the belt on the drive pulley and the driven pulley; and a water pump for circulating cooling water inside the engine, wherein said water pump is situated on an end portion of the drive pulley shaft of the continuously variable transmission; wherein said engine and the transmission are configured such that said water pump does not contact a road surface during a maximum bank angle of the motorcycle thereby allowing maintaining an overall stability of the motorcycle during operation thereof.