Wait....what? Now I'm just asking here because I have run a belt drive on every Shovel I have ever owned. Have you ever owned a belt drive? Not being a smart *** I promise, but I have to assume not. I caught my pants in my belt drives numerous time. What in the world would make you think you are going to take a trip to the hospital? Yes, it startles the **** out of you when it spins your cuff half a rotation, but it just spits them right out. Maybe a little dirtier than before, but thats ALL that happens. Second, I have never, not one time in my life had to replace a belt. Years of riding and never a failure on a single belt. Now, I have never run a puny 1 1/2 incher, but I have never had a 3 inch belt fail. In fact, in all the years of club and large group riding, I have never even heard of a 3 inch belt failing. Once, and I mean once, a pebble popped a hole in one of my belts. 6 years later I sold that bike with the same tiny hole still in the belt. I probably put 20K on that belt with the hole in it, and I bet the guy I sold it to still has that same belt on the bike. They are the most durable systems imaginable. Besides, there are more chrome and powder-coated belt guards on ebay, JP Cycles and Dennis Kirk than you could shake a stick at. So if safety is an issue, installing a belt guard is a viable option.

I promise, I am not trying to be argumentative, but the ONLY reason I don't have a belt drive on my Evo is because until Jireh released their new belt drive last month, aftermarket belt drives were close to two thousand dollars for an Evo setup. Thats hyway robbery, and I won't pay half the value of my entire motorcycle for an accessory. Now that they are in the 700's, I'll be putting one on much sooner than I ever thought.


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Right Bikerlaw, just like the final belt drive they are practically bullet proof unless you get oil on them. I've heard of teeth missing, holes, frayed, etc. on the final belt drives and thousands of more miles put on them.

As far as the oil for the stator goes; all the oil does on the stock primary drive is cool the clutch. It is not even necessary to oil that primary chain or the stator for that matter.

 

I dont know how many times on club runs we are waiting on someone with a broken belt.

 

The only one I ever saw failed ( primary or final drive) was my own brand new primary belt that got oil soaked from a transmission leak.

I've seen some ratty looking belts including my own but luckily got them replaced before total failure.

 

Thanks for the info and opinions.
I've been asking around and I haven't found anyone that has had one break (found a few that had broken finals thought - but they admitted it happened due to dumping the clutch (wheelies and whatnot)
Thinkin I'll keep it - anybody need a primary cover??

 

Sorry to those asking about the Primary cover - I was joking - if I was serious I'd have placed it in the P&A,
Again My Apologies!!

 

Before there were open belt drives we ran open primaries (back in the 1970s) with just the chain whipping around so I see open belts as 1000 times safer. An added plus to open chain primaries was if a cop pulled you over and you kept the bike running (at least until the cop said, "Shut it off,") the chain drip oiler and spinning chain would spray oil all over the cuffs of his pants, LOL!

The 3-inch belts are pretty tough. I know a guy that's had a hole in his belt big enough to get your pinky through and he's been riding a couple years like that. In a way I think most of you guys have it backwards. The belt goes on the front and the chain goes in the back, LOL!

 

I've broken 3 or 4 1-1/2" belts on my 79 shovel. (Enclosed system) My friend Brian stripped the teeth off of his 3" open belt and it just spun and wouldn't drive the bike a few years back on a ride. My neighbor got his pants caught in his open belt drive primary and it sucked his leg down and back so hard and fast he broke his ankle.
We've had some pretty close calls in the shop with rags and fingers and such with open primaries.
But then, motorcycles are inherently dangerous. **** can happen. Personally I now run enclosed chains as they require so much less maintenance.

 

I love belt drives. And yes they can easily fail. IF YOU INSTALL THEM WRONG. Most people do not align the pulleys properly. This can lead to quick failure. I have seen BDL belts with a hole in the middle from a rock and the guy ran the damn thing forever after it. They just don't break that easy unless you don't know how to install them. I have an enclosed BDL on my 97 and have the inspection and derby covers off for venting. I love it. Cost me about 450 bucks after my factory clutch hub took a crap. That fixed my clutch, leaky stator plug and leaky primary. My previous evo had a 3 inch open BDL. It was rock solid.

 

I've got a 2in open primary from Ultima that cost under $500, and have been running it for 2 or 3 yrs. Uncle G., are you talking about the seal behind the statar? If so, check to make sure the hole is round. It may have gotten oblong-ed and needs machining.