Friction clutch

A motorcycle comprising:

• a frame;
• a rear wheel supporting a rear end of the frame;
• a front wheel supporting a front end of the frame;
• an engine assembly mounted to the frame and having a rotating output shaft;
• and
• a friction clutch selectively operable to couple the output shaft and the rear wheel, the friction clutch comprising:
• a clutch cage;
• a driving gearwheel rotatably coupled to the clutch cage for rotation about an axis;
• and
• a friction element compressed between the clutch cage and the driving gearwheel by a substantially radial force.

A method of damping oscillations in a friction clutch having a clutch cage and a driving gearwheel pivotally coupled together for rotation about an axis, the method comprising:

• providing an elastic coupling member between the clutch cage and the driving gearwheel;
• radially compressing a friction element between the clutch cage and the driving gearwheel;
• transferring rotation of the driving gearwheel to the clutch cage via the elastic coupling member, the elastic coupling member oscillating in response to rotation of the clutch cage and the driving gearwheel;
• and
• damping oscillations of the elastic coupling member with frictional forces provided by the friction element.

A friction clutch for coupling a driving shaft and a driven shaft for rotation together, the friction clutch comprising:

• a friction coupling mechanism frictionally coupled to the driving shaft;
• a driving gearwheel engaging a driven gearwheel on the driven shaft, said driving gearwheel being pivotable with respect to said friction coupling mechanism about a pivot axis;
• an elastic coupling member interconnecting said driving gearwheel and said friction coupling mechanism, and permitting said driving gearwheel to pivot with respect to said friction coupling mechanism within a limited range of motion;
• and,
• a damping member frictionally engaging said driving gearwheel in a radial direction perpendicular to said pivot axis to dampen torsional vibrations between the driving gearwheel and the friction coupling mechanism.