XB1125R

[Jay_wolf]

+1 , And It Comes From A Great Country!

[yamahonkawazuki]

the belts if aligned properly can take quite a beating  and teh sportie engines werent that bad, as some here would like to think

[Jake D]

They obviously haven't thought of up til now.  Every buell in town goes through belts like theres no tomorrow.  I was talking to a guy with an xb9r and he said he usually kills em inside of 10k.  Shouldn't you be off bleeding clients dry???

How long do YOUR chains last, son? 

Nay-saying is fun!

[spc]

The one that was on there when I bought my GS lasted about 12k for me, and I was told it was the stock chain.  So, that would be 36k.   The next one met an untimely demise along with the rest of the bike.
How long do YOUR chains last??
Side Note:  Saw one of the Anniversary VFR Interceptors the other day...............SO PRETTY!!!!!

[Jake D]

My chains don't last as long.  I replaced the chain on my SV after about 3000 miles.  But I'm not sure how old it was.  The chain on the Super Hawk won't last as long.  But then again, it has a shaZam! ton more power than the SV. 

But don't act like chains don't wear out and break.  I don't think you should expect a chain on a Buell 1125 to last over 10,000 miles.

[spc]

I guess in all reality, if the belt will last 10k miles it's not that bad, though I don't know what replacement cost on the belts looks like.

[bettingpython]

About the same as a high end o-ring chain to replace a belt. Or less if your smart and know how to order the industrial kevlar belts.

Buell has a tensioner which is nice no f%$king with adjusting belt slack.

I have a friend with both the XB9 and XB12R and he has well over 15k on the city sport with tons of wheelies and no belt problems.

Gonna be interseting to see if they are still as widely accepted by the HD crowd now that Erik has gone to the Austrian made Rotax engine.

[Jarrett]

My buddy has an XB12.  I don't like it.  It's kinda like a celebrity, looks good in picture, cheap/average up close and in person.  They are fun to ride tho, and I guess that's all that really matters.  Plenty of power, and very predictable throttle response.  One side note, these bikes do not crash well.  If you get one and low side, prepare to slide down the road swimming through a bunch of your parts individually looking for a resting spot separate from the frame.

[frankieG]

i would think like anything, proper maintenance and inspection would make belt driven ok

[sledge]

We have been using kevlar/carbon syncronous timing belts like this in industry for about 10 years now. The technology has advanced and now their benefits far outweigh the disadvantages of high-cost, high maintenance, fast wearing, mechanicaly inefficient roller chains. My guess is that their use on motorcycles has not been widely taken up due to the simple fact people have little faith in them and doubt their reliablity. BMW started using them about 5-6 years ago and now Buell have taken them up.......I dont doubt we will soon be seeing the japs introducing them on their mainstream models.

www.gatesprograms.com/carbon/

[bettingpython]

kevlar belts have been used on motorcycles since the 80's. The Kawsaki LTD is the first one that comes to mind.

A belt drive has esentially no maintenance involved in a fixed axle rear wheel on the Buell's because of the belt tensioner idler pulley system. It's like the idler pulley on a serpentine belt for a cars engine.

You can feel a slightly softer drive line hit when hammering a belt driven bike vs a chain driven bike because the belt offers some shock absorbtion.

Chains are still used because they are the most effeciant lowest torque/horspower loss connnecting system for driving the rear wheels.

[sledge]

Those Kwak` belt drives like the LTD and GPz305 from the early 80s were way behind in todays terms. From what I can remember they were extremely unreliable and were probably to blame for the negative image and mistrust people have for belt drive bikes today.
Chain drives when brand new and under perfect conditions can be very efficient and in terms of % efficiency reach the high 90s. Unfortunately bike final drives are far from ideal conditions, lots of speed variations, fluctuating loads and tensions, poor lubrication, chordal effect, wear ect and a chain and sprocket set in poor condition can be as low as 60% efficient. Belt technology has advanced 10-fold in the last 15 years and they offer many advantages over chains, I would take one tomorrow.

[yamahonkawazuki]

About the same as a high end o-ring chain to replace a belt. Or less if your smart and know how to order the industrial kevlar belts.

Buell has a tensioner which is nice no f%$king with adjusting belt slack.

I have a friend with both the XB9 and XB12R and he has well over 15k on the city sport with tons of wheelies and no belt problems.

Gonna be interseting to see if they are still as widely accepted by the HD crowd now that Erik has gone to the Austrian made Rotax engine.
[/quote]btw harley owns a majority of buell

[bettingpython]

Well I had the 84 LTD 550 bought in 86 with 3,700 miles on it. I put about 35,000 miles on it and replaced the belt around 24,000 miles. It was a great bike for me.

[owenh]

the belts now are bullet proof. almost literally. my dads road king is driven by the same goodyear hiberex belt as the buells. it actually says if a stone is lodged in the belt or there is a tear less than halfway across remove foriegn object and continue normal use. and who cares if you go through belts on that 1125r or anymodel 06 or newer, they have a lifetime warrenty to so parts and labor would be free till the day you die, on the belt at least.

[Jake D]

Good points Owen.  It is clear that Terry is afraid of the unknown, which is pretty much everything for him.  Except trains, gettin' drunk, trucks, etc. 

[yamahonkawazuki]

Good points Owen.  It is clear that Terry is afraid of the unknown, which is pretty much everything for him.  Except trains, gettin' drunk, trucks, etc. 

sounds liek a good ole fashioned country song jake 

[PuddleJumper]

I had a '79 440LTD, It was my first street bike. I hammered the daylights out of that bike and never did break that belt.

Traded it in on a 1982 Suzuki GS 650 GT, Shaft drive. Man, I wish I still had that bike. Very comfortable on a long ride.

BeSafe.