From a belt to a chain?
Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 199
Likes: 0
From: Lincoln, NE
With enough hp there won't be any choice but chain. Narrow belts can only handle so much. It's something I maybe faced with next year. Break a belt on the softail and you have to rip half the bike a part to change it. That would get old real fast. Chain, you just feed it through, but eventually sprockets need attention too. Decisions, decisions.
Ron
Ron
Banned
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,706
Likes: 7
From: Woodstock, Ont , Can
I come from the old ratchet top trans erra and know full well what happens when you start to neglect inspecting it.
Even though everybody spun off in a tangent to why a belt is better, his question was why choose a chain over a belt. Chains have a ton of negative points, but shine in two arenas. Dirt, and dragstrip.
Ron
Even though everybody spun off in a tangent to why a belt is better, his question was why choose a chain over a belt. Chains have a ton of negative points, but shine in two arenas. Dirt, and dragstrip.Ron
Last edited by rbabos; Mar 21, 2009 at 09:33 AM.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 2,206
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From:
Here's a few things to think about:
Belts are lighter than chains, and help reduce unsprung mass at the rear wheel.
Belts are quieter, do not rust, resist environmental pollutants and require no lubrication.
There's inertial mass to consider with chains, too. Just as it requires energy to accelerate the rear wheel, so it does to accelerate the hefty mass of metal that makes up your typical chain.
A belt will exhibit terminal wear problems on a "limp-home" basis rather than a "walk-home" one. Belts will usually lose teeth and provide palpable evidence of their distress well before a catastrophic failure occurs. Moreover, belts do not damage their pulleys in the way chain distorts tooth profiles on a sprocket.
Racing is perhaps the only environment that does not favor the belt, and that's primarily because racers need quick final-drive ratio changes. Belts can't be broken and then riveted back together again, so their lengths are unchangeable. To alter ratios you need to carry pulleys and belts of varying length.
Chain will happily embrace chain wheels down at about 3-inches in diameter, whereas belts need pulley diameters of at least 4.5-inches if they are not to begin feeling distressed.
Efficient lubrication reduces the wear, but external oiling can only go so far in mitigating bushing wear, so manufacturers came up with the clever idea of packing grease inside the bushings, and then sealing the end plates (which move in relation to each other) with O-rings. That dramatically increased the service life of chains, but we soon found that the O-rings were susceptible to wear and environmental attack from aggressive cleaning materials or from the solvents in inappropriate lubricants. Manufacturers came out with the new style XW ring as seen in this link http://www.ftmbiz.com/street_rk_chai...technical.html
Belts are lighter than chains, and help reduce unsprung mass at the rear wheel.
Belts are quieter, do not rust, resist environmental pollutants and require no lubrication.
There's inertial mass to consider with chains, too. Just as it requires energy to accelerate the rear wheel, so it does to accelerate the hefty mass of metal that makes up your typical chain.
A belt will exhibit terminal wear problems on a "limp-home" basis rather than a "walk-home" one. Belts will usually lose teeth and provide palpable evidence of their distress well before a catastrophic failure occurs. Moreover, belts do not damage their pulleys in the way chain distorts tooth profiles on a sprocket.
Racing is perhaps the only environment that does not favor the belt, and that's primarily because racers need quick final-drive ratio changes. Belts can't be broken and then riveted back together again, so their lengths are unchangeable. To alter ratios you need to carry pulleys and belts of varying length.
Chain will happily embrace chain wheels down at about 3-inches in diameter, whereas belts need pulley diameters of at least 4.5-inches if they are not to begin feeling distressed.
Efficient lubrication reduces the wear, but external oiling can only go so far in mitigating bushing wear, so manufacturers came up with the clever idea of packing grease inside the bushings, and then sealing the end plates (which move in relation to each other) with O-rings. That dramatically increased the service life of chains, but we soon found that the O-rings were susceptible to wear and environmental attack from aggressive cleaning materials or from the solvents in inappropriate lubricants. Manufacturers came out with the new style XW ring as seen in this link http://www.ftmbiz.com/street_rk_chai...technical.html
Tourer
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 283
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From: Hubert NC
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