Re: Of belt drives and rear end failures

[Bruno Valeri <bvaleri@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

- ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Hadden" <kbhadden@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <oilheads@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, September 12, 2005 7:17 AM
Subject: Re: Of belt drives and rear end failures


> > If it does fail, it is nowhere near the show stopper that a failed shaft
> >drive is. Plus replacement is relatively cheap.
> > I have a review of the Ulysses up
> > http://pages.videotron.com/mcrides/road-test/buell/ulysses.htm
>

> For the record, the belt for the F650CS is $240 US list price.  I would
> think that dealers would stock this sort of item so there would be no
> delay in getting back on the road.  On the CS, belts last for up to
> 90,000 miles without much maintenance at all.  Higher hp twins might
> need a bigger belt or need replacement more often.

Yes, belts are like other parts. They are specified for the intended service
requirement. So it's a part designed for the application, not a generic
belt. They are available at at the dealer.  But if all bikes were belt
driven, you would have aftermarket suppliers similar to aftermarket chain
suppliers.

Price for the Ulysses belt is $165us if I'm not mistaken and approx 90
minutes of labor.

The technology keeps improving. Belts this year are much better than the
best belt offered last year. The obvious problem areas being addressed are
foreing matter induced failures ie rocks etc. Eventually, there will be no
downside to belt use.

BMW worked very hard to bring their latest bikes down in weight. Converting
to belt drive would instantly remove -MANY - pounds.

And looking at how many BMW shaft drives failed in this year's Iron Butt is
worrisome. Having a rear drive failure far from home is a significant
problem. Having a belt fail far from home is not. Heck, you can carry a
spare belt with you.



Bruno
Montreal, Canada
Road test reviews
http://tinyurl.com/a34cf

------------------------------