Patent ID: 7243575

Claim:
A drive train for a vehicle, wherein the vehicle includes a drive unit and a driven shaft, wherein the drive train transfers energy generated by the drive unit to the driven shaft, the drive train comprising: a continuously variable transmission operatively connected to the drive unit; a manual transmission having a rotating drive shaft; a free wheel clutch operatively coupling the continuously variable transmission to the drive shaft such that torque from the drive unit is transferred to the continuously variable transmission then to the drive shaft via the free wheel clutch when the free wheel clutch is engaged; wherein the manual transmission further includes an intermediate drive shaft, wherein the intermediate drive shaft is operatively connected to the drive shaft and the driven shaft, wherein the intermediate drive shaft has an idler gear located thereon, wherein the idler gear is operatively coupled to the rotating drive shaft; wherein the intermediate drive shaft is operatively engaged with the driven shaft when the manual transmission is in at least one drive position, and the intermediate drive shaft is operatively disengaged from the driven shaft when the manual transmission is in a neutral position, wherein the manual transmission further includes a shifting mechanism to shift the manual transmission between the at least one drive position and the neutral position; and a shift gate for controlling movement of the shifting mechanism between the drive position and the neutral position, wherein the shift gate has a plurality of notches formed thereon, wherein at least one notch corresponds to the drive position and another notch corresponds to the neutral position; and an indexing lever adapted to be selectively received in one of the plurality of notches to selectively maintain the shift gate in one of the at least one drive position and the neutral position.