Rubber band drive….

[Tony Nitrous]

Apologies in advance, I know nothing about this other than the pictures. Not really my thing, but I thought good or bad, it was interesting and someone on here might want to see it.

Personally I can see positives and negatives in it.

[Hooli]

Well it's cleaner, seems a lot of work just to wipe the wheels a bit less.

[KiwiCol]

Nice tidy job, it'd keep the wheels whiter for longer anyway.  Bound to stir interest in others doing a conversion like that imo.

[Tony Nitrous]

Well it's cleaner, seems a lot of work just to wipe the wheels a bit less.

I'd imagine there'd be differences in maintenance, its life span, its replacement, how the bike responds, any gearing changes etc too.

I do know that it's a shit of a job doing roadside repairs or workshop replacements on some belts.

[Hooli]

Well it's cleaner, seems a lot of work just to wipe the wheels a bit less.

I'd imagine there'd be differences in maintenance, its life span, its replacement, how the bike responds, any gearing changes etc too.

I do know that it's a shit of a job doing roadside repairs or workshop replacements on some belts.

Well my HD is belt drive and I've heard anything between 30-100k miles for belt life. So it might last longer and at least you don't lube it. It'll be a swingarm out job to replace it though.
I'm not sure if there is much difference in response or which is more efficient in transferring the power but I think I've seen belts are a bit more wasteful in that regard.

[KiwiCol]

AI says chain 2% - 3% loss & belt 3% to 15%. Guess it depends on the thickness of the belt. But a shaft drive is 9% to 15% loss!  Just as well I've got plenty to spare . . .

[Tony Nitrous]

A few random thoughts....

# One of my bikes has 47,000K's on its factory chain. There's no wear that's a drama yet.

# Cleaning a bit of chain lube takes zero extra time when I'm cleaning road grime, dust or tar chips anyway. 

# 2 of my bikes running different sets of gearing. I swap sprockets pretty easily. I have various front and rear sprockets. Off road, road, drag, stock, touring. Easily done if it's going to get used enough to reward it.

# There was a roadside belt kit. It was a belt that joined at an angle over several teeth and was joined by several long pins and an Allen key. Never used one but I know they did exist.

# Very rare to find anything sporty running a belt or shaft drive. No serious sports, hyper naked, proper sports tourer etc.

# Although it doesn't suit a retro styled bikes look, it may suit some owners.

# Everyone will have their own opinions, but it's interesting to see.

[grog]

Good quality chain, proper adjustment, keep it clean, gear oil lube.Really not much trouble👍

[Hooli]

It does seem a solution looking for a problem to me.

[Eric GSX1400K3]

/quote]
BMW K1300S and as sports bikes, GT as tourer.

Agree though the current M 1000RR are chain driven.

Belts are all Arabic (kevlar) and super strong, if ratio is correct snd alignment good, should work well.

Imagine Suzuki has brought the 1402 out with a belt drive to start with, we'd all be talking about the yokel who put a chain drive on.

[gsxbarmy]

I remember on the old forum this coming up, it was a project some years ago, which I think possibly some of the older old forum members may have had input to. Apparently (from memory) it all worked well and it was made available commercially but the cost was prohibitive.

[Eric GSX1400K3]

Belt are Aramid, not Arabic, stupid auto correct....

[KiwiCol]

Belt are Aramid, not Arabic, stupid auto correct....

Don't Arabs make strong kevlar then?  Maybe just strong coffee 

[GSXKING]

My HD RoadKing was belt drive it was definitely quieter and cleaner than a chain. Did 13 second quarter mile and wheelies on it. Expensive to replace because of swingarm removal for sure 💰💰💰

The belts are extremely strong so I'm sure it could handle the GSX torque no problem.

[SpongeBob]

It seems to me that there should NOT be any slack on belts, at any time, should they be cam belts or transmission belts.
I don't see any belt tensioner castor/pulley here, as opposed to what can be easilly seen on Buell bikes, for instance.
If there is not, how does the guy cope with the swingarm... swinging and the geometry change that normal chain slack is there for?