By Howard Hoover on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Have any of you guys thought of using belts instead of chains? I know it might be harder to fix in the field if one were to break but I seriously doubt that they would unless they weren't aligned right or something. Most Harleys have belt drives and they have upwards of 80 to 100 HP if your using several belts in your machine I don't think there would be a problem. They would be lighter, quieter, require less maintenance, no greasing wich would mean you would have a much cleaner machine inside they are more expensive but I think in the long run it would be worth it.

By Attex Bob on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Yes, I have thought of doing it but my chains work fine for now. If I was starting from scratch I would put on cogged belts for sure.

By Chris Brown (Eightball) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Well, I do believe, that if you get into deep mud or a situation where the wheels are going to put a lot of force on the drive train, the belts may slip. Hope this helps,
Chris

By bigkodiak on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Chris
I had the same thought. If you supply too much torque, you could tear the teeth right off the belt. I don't know if you could produce that much torque from the current belt/clutch designs we are using though.
Russ

By Howard Hoover on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Chris are you talking about a fan type of belt or a serpintine or what? I guess it's possible they could slip but I never heard of anyone who rides Harleys say that their belt slips when they snap that throttle back and turn the power on there's plenty of torque being transferred to the ground by one belt. they might flex a little but I seriously doubt they would ever jump teeth.

By Attex Bob on Unrecorded Date: Edit

The new Gillmer type belt will take tons of torque. Look at the Jesel setup on a big block Chevy. The Harleys drive belt will take well over 100lbs/ft. The only part is expense. Like I said, if I was starting from scratch, for sure I would go with a Gillmer belt.