belt drive
Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 501
Likes: 136
I just removed a primo brute 3 from my 99 wide glide. 19k miles on it and the whole clutch hub and basket was worn out. probably one of the biggest mistakes i ever made, installing that belt drive. i just recently completed reinstalling my stock setup. all i can say is, if its not broke, don't fix it. much smoother ride with the compensator, and no worries about a belt snapping. do your home work before purchasing a belt drive. my opinion is, they're good for local riding or racing. not a smooth ride at all.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 4,919
Likes: 23
From: Seattle, WA
I am a little ambivalent ... had been pretty satisfied up until recently and I've had it about 12,000 mi +/- ....
I just replaced the clutch hub on my BDL enclosed primary drive EVB-2SL on a Dyna Super Glide ....
I had no issues for the longest time ... the stock inner primary bearing went out about 5,000 mi ago ... I think it might have had to do with the seal not holding the grease in the bearing (it was not a sealed bearing ... replaced with a sealed Baker IPB bearing) ....
I don't know if perhaps it was when it was reinstalled or what, but the clutch hub gave out totally--the splines that mate to the transmission main shaft ... I talked to a tech at BDL and he suggested that may have been the case that red loctite was not used ... said it was mandatory to ensure the hub/shaft integrity ... else vibration could cause the hub failure ... the shaft is hardened, whereas the hub is aluminum and designed to give if the torque exceeded the design capacity ....
However, according to BDL, a street build should not exceed the design specs ....
Well, the reason I am a little ambivalent at this point is not that the hub failed ... but, that it failed a second time within about 500 miles of having it replaced by a H-D dealership .... I just don't think their shop tech knew what he was doing ....
I am going to give it another shot ... I think I might have it figured out ... I expect it to be good for over 100,000 mi. ... if I have to replace anything in less than 50,000 (besides maybe a new belt) I will probably revert to a stock-type chain drive setup ....
* * *
Okay, concur with the comment that they might not be as smooth as a stock chain primary ... you get more 'feel' from the motor since there is no 'compensator' to absorb the motor as the clutch is disengaged and the bike starts to move ....
I would not describe this as a flaw or fault ... it just is ... one just has to get accustomed to it ....
I think I paid less than $600 ... so it is quite a bit less than some of the Rivera, Primo, etc open belt drives ....
Good luck with your decision ....
R/
'Chop
I just replaced the clutch hub on my BDL enclosed primary drive EVB-2SL on a Dyna Super Glide ....
I had no issues for the longest time ... the stock inner primary bearing went out about 5,000 mi ago ... I think it might have had to do with the seal not holding the grease in the bearing (it was not a sealed bearing ... replaced with a sealed Baker IPB bearing) ....
I don't know if perhaps it was when it was reinstalled or what, but the clutch hub gave out totally--the splines that mate to the transmission main shaft ... I talked to a tech at BDL and he suggested that may have been the case that red loctite was not used ... said it was mandatory to ensure the hub/shaft integrity ... else vibration could cause the hub failure ... the shaft is hardened, whereas the hub is aluminum and designed to give if the torque exceeded the design capacity ....
However, according to BDL, a street build should not exceed the design specs ....
Well, the reason I am a little ambivalent at this point is not that the hub failed ... but, that it failed a second time within about 500 miles of having it replaced by a H-D dealership .... I just don't think their shop tech knew what he was doing ....
I am going to give it another shot ... I think I might have it figured out ... I expect it to be good for over 100,000 mi. ... if I have to replace anything in less than 50,000 (besides maybe a new belt) I will probably revert to a stock-type chain drive setup ....
* * *
Okay, concur with the comment that they might not be as smooth as a stock chain primary ... you get more 'feel' from the motor since there is no 'compensator' to absorb the motor as the clutch is disengaged and the bike starts to move ....
I would not describe this as a flaw or fault ... it just is ... one just has to get accustomed to it ....
I think I paid less than $600 ... so it is quite a bit less than some of the Rivera, Primo, etc open belt drives ....
Good luck with your decision ....
R/
'Chop
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 4,919
Likes: 23
From: Seattle, WA
Hey - Joe ... don't know if you saw this thread I posted here back in March '11 ... https://www.hdforums.com/forum/prima...n-starter.html ....
Just a few additional considerations ....
Just a few additional considerations ....
Issue: starter does not 'do the job' when temps drop below about 45 degrees F.
Background: Since last winter, when my bike started fine in weather down into the mid-20s, I have done the following: BDL Belt Drive, Andrews TW37B cams, Big Bore 95" kit.
After some 'head scratching' ... I deemed the following info relevant to the issue: the BDL affected two area--(i) primary drive ratio and (ii) starter gear ratio; compression ratio and cold cranking compression (PSI)
The above table captures the above-referenced data at the top of the table [the lower part of the table illustrates the effect of the change in the primary drive ratio] ....
So, CCC in PSI was raised from ~159 to ~171 ... an increase of 12 PSI ... though this is relatively modest (and the Compression Ratio is a 'mild' 9.2:1) ... however, due to the combined effect of the starter gearing ratio and the primary ratio, the stock 1.2 kW starter is trying to turn the motor over at 618 RPM vice stock rate of 424 RPM ... an increase of ~46% in engine RPM ...!
I am thinking the combined effect of trying to turn the motor over at higher RPM at ~8% higher compression is causing the system to balk and not start at low temps ....
* * *
Possible COAs (courses of action):
1. Higher output battery and heavier gauge cables (Check) ... on order
2. Retard the ignition advance and richen fuel mixture at start-up (Check) ... done (and seems to have helped somewhat) ...
3. Heavy-duty starter that can handle the increased load ...
4. Compression releases ...
... anything else ...?
* * *
I am a little up in the air as to the relative cost/benefit trade-off of COAs 3 and 4 ... I am inclined to do 4 in conjunction with either head porting or replacement with high performance heads with compression releases (and increase compression ratio a little to about 10:1) ....
If I were to follow that course, I expect that COA 3 would be OBE (overtaken by events ... or no longer necessary) ....
I am also posting this in a couple other places to hopefully increase the views and hopefully get some experts to chime in ....
THX in advance ...
R/
'Chop
Background: Since last winter, when my bike started fine in weather down into the mid-20s, I have done the following: BDL Belt Drive, Andrews TW37B cams, Big Bore 95" kit.
After some 'head scratching' ... I deemed the following info relevant to the issue: the BDL affected two area--(i) primary drive ratio and (ii) starter gear ratio; compression ratio and cold cranking compression (PSI)
The above table captures the above-referenced data at the top of the table [the lower part of the table illustrates the effect of the change in the primary drive ratio] ....
So, CCC in PSI was raised from ~159 to ~171 ... an increase of 12 PSI ... though this is relatively modest (and the Compression Ratio is a 'mild' 9.2:1) ... however, due to the combined effect of the starter gearing ratio and the primary ratio, the stock 1.2 kW starter is trying to turn the motor over at 618 RPM vice stock rate of 424 RPM ... an increase of ~46% in engine RPM ...!
I am thinking the combined effect of trying to turn the motor over at higher RPM at ~8% higher compression is causing the system to balk and not start at low temps ....
* * *
Possible COAs (courses of action):
1. Higher output battery and heavier gauge cables (Check) ... on order
2. Retard the ignition advance and richen fuel mixture at start-up (Check) ... done (and seems to have helped somewhat) ...
3. Heavy-duty starter that can handle the increased load ...
4. Compression releases ...
... anything else ...?
* * *
I am a little up in the air as to the relative cost/benefit trade-off of COAs 3 and 4 ... I am inclined to do 4 in conjunction with either head porting or replacement with high performance heads with compression releases (and increase compression ratio a little to about 10:1) ....
If I were to follow that course, I expect that COA 3 would be OBE (overtaken by events ... or no longer necessary) ....
I am also posting this in a couple other places to hopefully increase the views and hopefully get some experts to chime in ....
THX in advance ...
R/
'Chop
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