Driven shaft bearing hubs for snowmobiles

A drivetrain assembly for a snowmobile having a chassis, an engine coupled to the chassis and a heat exchanger coupled to the chassis, the drivetrain assembly comprising:

• a transmission;
• a driven shaft coupled to and configured to receive torque from the transmission;
• a drive assembly coupled to and configured to receive torque from the driven shaft;
• an engine mount coupled to the engine;
• a bearing hub having a body and a bearing sleeve coupled to the body, the body including an upper connection rigidly coupled to the chassis, an aft connection rigidly coupled to the chassis, a lower connection rigidly coupled to the heat exchanger and an engine mount connection resiliently coupled to the engine mount, the bearing sleeve defining a bearing aperture;
• and
• a bearing assembly disposed within the bearing aperture;
• wherein, the upper connection, the aft connection and the lower connection form a triangular support arrangement for the driven shaft;
• and
• wherein, the driven shaft is rotatably coupled to the bearing sleeve by the bearing assembly.

A snowmobile comprising:

• a chassis including a tunnel;
• a powertrain coupled to the chassis, the powertrain including an engine and a drivetrain, the drivetrain including a transmission coupled to the engine, a driven shaft coupled to the transmission and a drive assembly coupled to the driven shaft;
• a heat exchanger coupled to the tunnel and positioned aft of the engine;
• a drive track system disposed at least partially below the tunnel, the drive track system including a track driveshaft coupled to the drive assembly, a track drive sprocket coupled to the track driveshaft and a drive track coupled to the track drive sprocket and configured to provide ground propulsion for the snowmobile;
• an engine mount coupled to the engine;
• a bearing hub having a body and a bearing sleeve coupled to the body, the body including an upper connection rigidly coupled to the chassis, an aft connection rigidly coupled to the chassis, a lower connection rigidly coupled to the heat exchanger and an engine mount connection resiliently coupled to the engine mount, the bearing sleeve defining a bearing aperture;
• and
• a bearing assembly disposed within the bearing aperture;
• wherein, the upper connection, the aft connection and the lower connection form a triangular support arrangement for the driven shaft;
• and
• wherein, the driven shaft is rotatably coupled to the bearing sleeve by the bearing assembly.