See our customer service page for more details. Did you ever wonder why that drivetrain is hanging out there in the breeze for everyone to see? Everywhere you look, choppers seem to have converted drive trains. Good gravy, why do folks change them up? These kids and their cut-up scooters, I tell you. Why is that belt primary drive hanging out in the breeze? Lemmy explains the thinking of chopper folk. Photo by Ryan Targoff. For years and years, Harleys were equipped with a chain primary and a chain final drive.
The primary chain had engine oil dripped onto it from two places: a dedicated oiler, and the separate breather hose that shed oily mist onto the primary chain. The primaries had a small hole in them for the oil to leak out of when parked or riding.
That was fine up until the days of the Shovelhead. In the 80s, Harley began equipping bikes with final drive belts as opposed to chains.
The belts were quieter and required less maintenance. They were doing all sorts of weird stuff. Heck, some Touring bikes and FXRs even had enclosed final drive chains!
This prolonged the life quite a bit, but it made changing a chain a real hassle! H-D was still trying to figure out how to efficiently move power through the drivetrain without making messes, environmental nightmares, or dirty, angry riders. Eventually, with the dawn of the Evo engine.
H-D settled on the system still in use today: a primary drive chain enclosed in its own housing with separate, un-shared oil that requires the occasional change, and a belt final drive. The system has many advantages. The oil can help to cool the stator and clutch plates, and its isolation from the engine makes its design superior even to its Japanese brethren.
Dirty, clutch-impregnated oil never makes its way into the engine, and a chain running in an oil bath, sealed from outside dirt and debris, runs very cool and wears slowly. So why do all these guys running around on Pans and Shovels seem to go flipsy-daisy and use a primary drive belt and a final drive chain? A chain final drive has many advantages that are particularly interesting to chopper dudes.
For starts, you can change the ratio much easier with a chain. They weight way less than a chain drive. These last longer as high as 1,00,Kms. They have fewer transmission losses. Disadvantages of Belt Drive This drivetrain eats up more space. They can only function up to a certain speed. When compared to a chain drive, they tend to slip more.
The engine runs the main shaft inside the transmission and the output shaft is connected with a propeller shaft. The propeller shaft runs the rear wheel by transferring the rotation via a degree differential. For you to know, Bevel gears are used in a motorcycle differential. Shaft Drive Motorcycle Image Source: 1 Advantages of Shaft Drive Very high transmission efficiency Longer service life when compared to both, a chain, as well as a belt, driven motorcycle.
These can transfer large power and torque without reducing efficiency. This drive train has almost negligible noise. Disadvantages of Shaft Drive A shaft drive has high initial research and manufacturing cost. When compared to belt and chain drives, these are less economical. This is the heaviest type of drivetrain. Can fair really difficult and expensive to repair. Leave a Reply Cancel reply. July 24, May 27, Best Entries.
Best Blogs. Search Blogs. User Name. Remember Me? Members List. Mark Forums Read. Main Menu. Club Chop Gallery. Submit Your Photos! Active Threads. Quick Hop. Page 1 of 5. Thread Tools. Not Ranked belt vs chain???
Not Ranked Chain breaks, add master, get home, replace chain. Not Ranked I agree with monkeyguted. Not Ranked Id go with a chain for the above reasons. Posts: 5, Not Ranked Do any race bikes run a rear belt drive??? Ricky-D Club Chopper Member. Join Date: Jan Location: W. Columbia, SC Posts: 2, Not Ranked A studied approach is best As you can tell from the comments, it's all going to be dependent upon you style of riding.
Quote: Originally Posted by Stynie Um Join Date: Dec Location: mastic, ny Posts: Not Ranked screw all the reasoning, chains look cool, belts not so much. Join Date: Oct Posts: Not Ranked Just change the front pulley up on the tranny for a sprocket and run a chain. Posts: 7, Not Ranked I've had both types of drives on motorcycles.
Bodangles Club Chopper Member. Not Ranked Fuck it convert it to a shaft!!! Not Ranked Quote: Originally Posted by chaoscycle screw all the reasoning, chains look cool, belts not so much.
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