Belt drive conversions?

[NOWOOL]

Is there a company that offers conversions from chain to belt drive? It seems to me that if one is available it would pay for itself very quickly and do away with the drawbacks of chains. A friend has a harley with 48,000 k's and no belt maintenance. Lots of harley owners have more than 100,000 k and still using the same belt!

[Hitcher]

Converting from a narrow chain to a belt that's at least three times the width, not to mention the addition of the belt equivalents of sprockets at both ends seems to me to more of an exercise in futile over-engineering than a mere "conversion".

Belts aren't all they're cracked up to be either. If they were, more bike manufacturers would use them.

[Madness]

I'm not so sure a belt drive system could cope with the torque of a GN250.


:innocent:

[Max Preload]

I second that sentiment. Ask oldguy about his love of belts... :spanking:

[vifferman]

I know a guy in Mrka that's converted a few VFRs to belt drive. His latest project is frustrating for him, as he can't get the belt he needs. The problem is firstly obtaining sprockets with the right number of teeth to give the gearing you want, and then finding a belt that's the right width and of a length that fits within the available range of placements for your rear axle.
He can get a belt made, but will have to pay for the tooling required - a fairly expensive exercise for just one bike, but OK if you intend to build say 4000 Buells.
Then there's the issue of the width of the drive sprockets: ordinary chain sprockets are only a few milimetres wide, but to get the necessary strength in a drivebelt, you need sprockets 20-40mm wide. So that entails a whole lot of design issues to accomodate the wide belt and wide sprockets.

[The Pastor]

with the cheapness of changing the chain to belt drive the savings on chains will be astronomical!

[vifferman]

with the cheapness of changing the chain to belt drive the savings on chains will be astronomical!
What?!? :confused:


In any case, belt drive and shaft drive are bad, as they take away the chance for the rider to bond with his machine by getting down'n'dirty with the chain.

[Finn]

Mmmmm belts. No noise, no clunking, no mess, no maintenance.

[NOWOOL]

I'm not so sure a belt drive system could cope with the torque of a GN250.


:innocent:

ROFLMAO! I'm still laughing!

I wasn't refering to the GN250......lotsa nice bikes out there that would benefit....When I read over the shop and repair manuals the 'weak link' in most bikes is chain maintenance and replacement costs.....makes shaft drive and belt drives cheaper to own in the long-haul. ...... and refering to the earlier comments, I don't consider 300 to $500 for sprockets and chain as 'cheap'. Why should a BMW K series or Harley cost less to maintain than a Suzuki Bandit?!

[Drogen Omen]

I second the love for belt drive... but now i have a Buell... it came with its very own belt drive no need for conversion...

I was getting sick of changing the chain every 3 months... and that was the expensive ones... too much streaching and oiling and noise and crap...

So instead of replacing the chain i replaced the bike with the Buell... hehehehehe i figuered it would be cheaper in the long run instead of buying chains every 3 months.

[Bonez]

Is there a company that offers conversions from chain to belt drive? It seems to me that if one is available it would pay for itself very quickly and do away with the drawbacks of chains. A friend has a harley with 48,000 k's and no belt maintenance. Lots of harley owners have more than 100,000 k and still using the same belt!On the other hand some have done fewer ks and have broken belts. The record here is 8 belts in one day. Horse has done two in 3 months too. Witnessed the first breakage with eye own eyes "crack!" OOPS!

[NOWOOL]

What?!? :confused:


In any case, belt drive and shaft drive are bad, as they take away the chance for the rider to bond with his machine by getting down'n'dirty with the chain.

'The chance for the rider to bond?' If that is the goal then you might as well walk barefoot! I think the rider bonds more with a bike without the worry of what's happening with the 'weakest link'.

It's bad enough as it is that bike parts cost more than car parts.

[Madness]

I was getting sick of changing the chain every 3 months... and that was the expensive ones

Something about that is wrong, very wrong.

[NZsarge]

On the other hand some have done fewer ks and have broken belts. The record here is 8 belts in one day. Horse has done two in 3 months too. Witness the first breakage with eye own eyes "crack!" OOPS!

Ya beat me too it, yeah chains maybe dirty and a little noisy but at least you don't cringe in fear every time you go over some road works..

[Bonez]

Something about that is wrong, very wrong.I was thinking the same thing. I use relatively cheap chains and get at a minimum 1-2 years riding even if neglected a bit. The GBs last chain lasted 30,000kms A well looked after decent chain and sprocket set last at least 40-50,000kms plus in my experience.

[vifferman]

'The chance for the rider to bond?' If that is the goal then you might as well walk barefoot! I think the rider bonds more with a bike without the worry of what's happening with the 'weakest link'.

Oh sorry - try this:
In any case, belt drive and shaft drive are bad, as they take away the chance for the rider to bond with his machine by getting down'n'dirty with the chain. :wacko: :crazy: :eek:
Or do I need one of these as well? :rolleyes:

[NOWOOL]

Yeah, I'm thinking the manufactuers use chains because they are cheap build and keep you buying new chains and sprockets - since they aren't covered under warranty like a shaft of belt drive bike would be.
(sorta like inkjet manufactuers selling printers cheap).

I don't see why a motorbike can't be as reliable as a car....especially since it has less parts.

[Bonez]

Yeah, I'm thinking the manufactuers use chains because they are cheap build and keep you buying new chains and sprockets - since they aren't covered under warranty like a shaft of belt drive bike would be.
(sorta like inkjet manufactuers selling printers cheap).

I don't see why a motorbike can't be as reliable as a car....especially since it has less parts.Some of us have been having a relible experience with bikes for decades. Parts on cars wear out just like motorcycles.

[NOWOOL]

My Reason for this post is a lot of the posters complain about only getting 5000 to 10,000 k out of their stock chains. Until reading the posts on this and other forums I didn't give much thought to chain longevity. I've got 11,000 on the original GN chain and so far no desernable wear, but it does get me thinking.
My friends have Harley's and BMW's...shaft and belts and no worries even after years of use.

So, friends of chains....how long should a stock chain and sprocket set last?
how often do you clean and lube?
I've been cleaning and lube every 1,000k with castrol sprays in between.

[NOWOOL]

Some of us have been having a relible experience with bikes for decades. Parts on cars wear out just like motorcycles.

That may be, but I've yet to see a bike with 300,000 k's that still runs fine without a rebuild ......300,000 k's is easily attainable to a car engine.

[Bonez]

That may be, but I've yet to see a bike with 300,000 k's that still runs fine without a rebuild ......300,000 k's is easily attainable to a car engine.Good point but bike engines generally rev a damn sight harder and smaller capacity than most car engines (things like the Rocket 3, MT-01,FJRs I would imagine would have a long engine life given the chance). In saying that 200,000 is attainable on a lot of the bigger bore bikes-personnally know of a chap who use to ride a K75 that did that before the tops of the pistons seperated. A lot of bikes get trashed or wrecked before this point though. Or parked up/sold or never to be ridden again due a change in the riders curcumstances. I have a 500 thats done 180,000kms(it hauled a side car around for a bit) without major engine work but is due for a refresh. A chap here on KB had an XS1100 that did 300,000kms or more before the crank went snap.

Thats pretty good going for a Chinese GN250 chain. A chap at work got 15,000ks and two years riding out of his one. It'll be interesting how far you do get on it. His bike was left out in all weather. There's been few stories on KB about rollers breaking. Btw the quality of those chains is not representive of all manufacturers OEM m/c chains, other Suzukis included.

[popelli]

Is there a company that offers conversions from chain to belt drive? It seems to me that if one is available it would pay for itself very quickly and do away with the drawbacks of chains. A friend has a harley with 48,000 k's and no belt maintenance. Lots of harley owners have more than 100,000 k and still using the same belt!

and lots of harley owners ditch the belt drive and fit chains

I have yet to hear of a harley owner converting the rear drive from chain to belt (no doubt will hear all about it after posting this)

Reasons to convert to chain drive
One stone and a belt can destroy itself andf leave you stranded

On some bikes swing arm removal is required to fit belts

belts and pulleys are more expensive than chains

easier and cheaper to change gearing on chain drives


I replaced the bely drive on my electraglide over 10 years ago, it was a realatively new belt that decided to shread itself of all its rubber teeth for no apparent reason

since then I have run chains and sprockets and have fitted a scotoiler, chain maintenance is now down to check the chain and refill the scotoiler every oil change

[Motu]

I'm converting my BMW to chain drive so it can do wheel stands.

[Bonez]

The straight fwd belt drive replacement procedure- http://www.harleyhog.co.uk/belt%20install%201.htm
Horse will need to carry out to fit his new belt.

[The Stranger]

The straight fwd belt drive replacement procedure- http://www.harleyhog.co.uk/belt%20install%201.htm
Horse will need to carry out to fit his new belt.

Yes, I can see the benefits now.

[Horse]

Mmmmm belts. No noise, no clunking, no mess, no maintenance.

Yeah. No maintenance. (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/blog.php?b=597)

If it breaks another belt I'll be converting it to chain drive. And/or selling it for something with a shaft. I'm becoming increasingly convinced that Harley belt drives are simply inappropriate for the stone-studded bitumen lakes we call "roads" in the central North Island.

[Brian d marge]

I'm converting my BMW to chain drive so it can do wheel stands.

That chain angle must be in the order of ten foot , to do that ...............

back to chains , the more horses ( force ) the greater the width required ,,,, Gn ...ok Hardly ableson Ok ..... Cbr ......snap , oh and dont foget the accel of bel going roing puully ,,, ...something funny if I remember ,,,,,, ( not sure......... off top of head )

Stephen

[vifferman]

The straight fwd belt drive replacement procedure- http://www.harleyhog.co.uk/belt%20install%201.htm
Holy crapola! What a kooont of a job!
What crap engineering!
What primitive design!
I know I shouldn't be, but I was actually amazed at just how crappy the whole design was - looks very agricultural/industrial.

I like the bit at the beginning saying he needed "little tools" to do the job - they're all fookin' HUGE ones!

(Yeah yeah - I know he meant "few tools".)

[NOWOOL]

Thanks for everyone's feedback. Its quashed my fears about chains. That's the best part about the forum for advice; it allows much more feedback (and less brainwashing) than from the limited circle of friends around me daily.

[Squiggles]

The straight fwd belt drive replacement procedure- http://www.harleyhog.co.uk/belt%20install%201.htm
Horse will need to carry out to fit his new belt.

Having read that i never want a belt drive.

[The Pastor]

i second the love for belt drive... But now i have a buell... It came with its very own belt drive no need for conversion...

I was getting sick of changing the chain every 3 months... And that was the expensive ones... Too much streaching and oiling and noise and crap...

So instead of replacing the chain i replaced the bike with the buell... Hehehehehe i figuered it would be cheaper in the long run instead of buying chains every 3 months.
you do 80 000k every 3 months?

[Bonez]

Holy crapola! What a kooont of a job!
What crap engineering!
What primitive design!
I know I shouldn't be, but I was actually amazed at just how crappy the whole design was - looks very agricultural/industrial.

I like the bit at the beginning saying he needed "little tools" to do the job - they're all fookin' HUGE ones!

(Yeah yeah - I know he meant "few tools".)It's all about becoming one with your machine luv. Cudos to the chap putting up the proceedure for others to peruse.

Like any job I guess once you've done it once, cocked up, broken something, had another go, made another special tool, given up in discussed, gotten pissed, woken up the next morning ot find everything works out just so.

As mentioned in the artical belt pulleys do wear as they're still subject to road spooge(there's a chap in the states who makes synthetic tooth replacements that fit over machined OEM pulleys) If my belt drive has done 100,000kms I'd be seriously thinking about replacing it and inspecting the front drive pulley for damage.

An example of long term usage here - http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/forwood/bike2.shtml


Having read that i never want a belt drive.

There are bikes out there whose belt replacment is much more straight fwd afair. The Suzuki Savage/Boulvard S40 or Yamaha V-Star 950 for examples.