Primary Belt Drive Pros and Cons?

No thats fine there is some debate about even numbers of teeth in drives
but mostly smoke and mirrors. Polygonal is a totally different aspect of
a chain drive basically forcing straight lines round a bend. Renold once made
a 3 tooth sprocket and the chain was stopping and starting with a constant
motor speed.

Andy

Going back to the subject it is stange that belts are given such high regard.
In the last month I have done 3 chains for folks changing Harleys back to chain from
belts........main reason belt change apparently £680 and chain change £55.

Every show I get stories about belts loosing teeth and various other horror stories.

Going back to the subject it is stange that belts are given such high regard.
In the last month I have done 3 chains for folks changing Harleys back to chain from
belts........main reason belt change apparently £680 and chain change £55.

Every show I get stories about belts loosing teeth and various other horror stories.

andychain

I don't know the reasons why people on other motorcycle forums might convert to belt drives

but I know why I converted to belt primary some 15 years ago and that was simply to eliminate both the oil dripping out of my primary and also the oil fouling my clutch plates

what I like a lot and did not expect was the sense of lightness and smoothness that the belt provides

I am also surprised that my first belt lasted 24,000 miles and I replaced it just because I felt I should, and not
because it wore out or broke, I also still have the original front and rear belt sprockets in place

I'll give Chainman that one. Chains are cheap, last a long time and rarely break. However like 1up I prefer the clean primary and clutch. Yes there are other downsides but on cost we are not talking inflated HD prices to replace the whole caboodle. My belt lost its teeth at 20-25k but it had not had perfect belt running conditions. The stator gets hot and slowly craps its insulation without added venting. The hard anodising wears off and the belts eat into the aluminum pulleys and increase belt wear. They are not perfect but for the limited annual mileage I do (3500 +/-) I can live with that.

Sorry to info you/anyone that stator nor nothing else in primary ever needs any venting to cool so if stator or wire found decaying it was stator age/fault not lack of venting. This is firm conclusion by all the manufacturers, every vendor and every sealed up users but those with sone existing fault they blame wrong thing on. I'm am not against seeming sensible venting but know its only for civilized conditions pilot ease and art work opportunity nothing else. Call any belt maker and belt drive manufacturer and any vendor and ask if you doubt hobot on this. I would not of fitted Dreer's Haywood drive in hot summer desert dust, cold water and deep mud crossings and crashing and manic sportbike spanking sessions of Ms Peel w/o assurances from Steve Maney and others of his experience and caliber so waste of time poopooing me.

So I have had one stator overheat severely, a uk branded pattern and another going slowly crispy, a sparx. You saying that the oil has no cooling properties at all? Umm not too sure about that.

YEP that's my firm message, oil only heats up anything it collects in on our Nortons not cooling anything but the tiny friction interfaces and the exhaust side of head springs and stems so your failures had nothing to do with the sealed up primary but faulty component to begin with. If you are not stupid [i don't think or imply your are] you will not fail to contact the people I listed and hear it from them instead of attacking the messenger and continuing in ignorance. Comnox has revealed the key facts on oil heating issues occurring outside the 2 crank case halves. Just because many like jack-o-latern cover cut outs don't mean its necessary. We need to put this seal primary issue to rest once and for all to decide on facts to decorate cover or not, which main benefit if any is a bit less mass on the heavy side of Commandos.