Chain drive vs. Belt drive
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
Chains are just SO last century and well worth leaving there. They have little merit on a modern vehicle.....
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Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 72
Likes: 14
From: At home
Several people have done round-the-world trips on basically stock Harleys with belt drives, including many hundreds/thousands of miles of dirt road riding in places like Africa, Kazakstan etc. They seem to get along ok. I read where one RTW guy on his '90s Road King just slackened off the belt tension when riding in axle deep sand and mud etc so the rock could just go between the belt and pulley without piercing the belt. He went through 10 belts in 540,000km, about 300,000 miles. Not too bad really. He would have probably worn out 20 x-ring chains in that distance, requiring daily lubing and regular adjustment etc.
His story is here:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/forwood/bike2.shtml
His story is here:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/forwood/bike2.shtml
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 6,087
Likes: 1,962
From: Somewhere on the Bourbon trail
Originally Posted by grbrown
Chains are just SO last century and well worth leaving there. They have little merit on a modern vehicle.....
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 23,000
Likes: 11,441
In many case the belt will last longer than you will own the bike and longer than the next owner. Very little effort to take care of. The only ones that have issues with belts are those that know better than them Harley people and remove belt guards and follow some internet junkies advice on how to adjust them rather than Hd's advice.
Belts last easy 80K to well over 100K for most. Chains no way. belt does fail most often no big deal. Chain fails often lot of damage.
Friend has 120K on his.
Belts last easy 80K to well over 100K for most. Chains no way. belt does fail most often no big deal. Chain fails often lot of damage.
Friend has 120K on his.
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
Many do, they just haven't seen the light! I haven't owned a bike with exposed chain drive since the 1970s.
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Grand HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 4,459
Likes: 2,892
From: Oklahoma
" Chains are just SO last century and well worth leaving there. They have little merit on a modern vehicle....."
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Comments along those lines never impress me much. We still like WHEELS and they are so prehistoric. I do wish that the change to belt drive had been accompanied with a modification to the primary case that would allow a belt change on the road. As it is, the chain was replaced with a belt with little additional engineering effort made and a belt change is a major operation. I have thought about a chain until I remember back to a bike I repaired after a chain failure and the chain bound up on the front sprocket and destroyed two gears in the transmission. A broken chain on the road has the possibility of several days in the shop just like a belt replacement does now.
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Comments along those lines never impress me much. We still like WHEELS and they are so prehistoric. I do wish that the change to belt drive had been accompanied with a modification to the primary case that would allow a belt change on the road. As it is, the chain was replaced with a belt with little additional engineering effort made and a belt change is a major operation. I have thought about a chain until I remember back to a bike I repaired after a chain failure and the chain bound up on the front sprocket and destroyed two gears in the transmission. A broken chain on the road has the possibility of several days in the shop just like a belt replacement does now.
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Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 68
Likes: 1
From: ct
My driveway is gravel and long.I like to try and get lost and often take back roads that sometimes turn to dirt.I have yet to pick up a stone and wreck a belt on both my dyna and roadglide.Both bikes have the belt guard on.