i ask because the vulcan 900 sports a belt drive. the folks at the dealership are raving about this. ( i know, they just want my money and want me to buy a bike)  they claim with the belt drive and fuel injection that the motor has a much smoother power delivery then the competition. i want to make an informed choice, not an impulse buy. but i'm really digging this vulcan. 

Yes they do want your $$$ ...
Smooth and belt drive have nothing to do with each other ... sorta like V twin means torque BS which I am sure they spouted too ... V does not do nothing for torque.
Anyway, a shaft or a chain can be just as smooth, its in the motor and else where that its smooth.
The 750 vulcan had shaft drive. The 800 vulcan was introduced with chain drive and then the people were complaining about chain on it. Then a company called scootworks in zebulon NC (near raleigh) started making conversion kits for them. They had an 800 vulcan, running a 36mm wide gates poly chain, and they even ran a 21mm 14mm pitch gates polychain on it. (gates polychain is a trademark name for gates's belt).
After the fiasco ... turning a shaftie into chain was total crap, they decided that they better change direction again and went with belt.
BTW the big yamaha with belt literally turned the whole jap bike industry on its ear. The vulcan belt is great, but they are saving face after the chain disaster.
The 800 can be swapped with belt too. scootworks.com will be your best bet. Buy that 800 and swap it, or buy a marauder and fit it, or 750 shadow ... If you must have belt. I love belt BTW.
I dunno, I am not for buying new ... too much BS surrounding it. Sales clowns who have no clue and BS you ... I dunno I require a minimum level of intelligence before you rob me. They say its smooth because of belt drive or that its torquey because its a V, that instant, I will be leaving the store. Its easy to spot the clueless for sale by owner and buy one.
Cool.
Buddha.

i didn't get the impression this lady was an idiot. i could have misunderstood what she was saying about the belt. i do know that in the same convo she told me that the fuel injection would make for a smoother throttle response and a more even power delivery. she said it's got enough power to satisfy me as a i grow into it and want to ride two up but it doesn't have so much power that a slight twist will slam me to the ground.

Quote from: frankieG on October 19, 2008, 04:30:52 PM
moto gp and all racing bikes use chain....so what does that tell you?

easy, belts have a HP torque limit on them. tis why the superbikes, and teh BUILT vtwins will be sporting chain drives ive built a 200+ hp twin, ( yes hd, and no id dont, and still dont leak oil) and belts would not last. owner went to chain

Quote from: jserio on October 20, 2008, 12:13:50 PM
i ask because the vulcan 900 sports a belt drive. the folks at the dealership are raving about this. ( i know, they just want my money and want me to buy a bike)  they claim with the belt drive and fuel injection that the motor has a much smoother power delivery then the competition. i want to make an informed choice, not an impulse buy. but i'm really digging this vulcan. 

Buy a Shadow.

Quote from: yamahonkawazuki on October 20, 2008, 07:04:44 PM

Quote from: frankieG on October 19, 2008, 04:30:52 PM
moto gp and all racing bikes use chain....so what does that tell you?

easy, belts have a HP torque limit on them. tis why the superbikes, and teh BUILT vtwins will be sporting chain drives ive built a 200+ hp twin, ( yes hd, and no id dont, and still dont leak oil) and belts would not last. owner went to chain

Yamahon: You want to run a belt drive on a 200HP HD that leaks oil ... easy, it just has to be 4 inches wide. And you have to cover it up so oil doesn't get inside the teeth.
There is no power limit on belts. More power = wider belt. A chain also can get over powered, however a chain will usually give up its life to cover for the power.
Betting python: MotoGP bikes do have chains, they also get a new chain everytime it walks on to the track. If you did run a belt on it ... it could be pretty wide, like 3-4 inch ... and you would never change it.

Once again dont buy moto corpo BS. They will say anything to obfuscate issues where they are on the losing side.

MotoGP bikes run chain cos a 3/4 inch wide chain running on sprokets that weigh 2 lbs can run the 50-60 miles each race is. Then they dont care, they'd toss it. A belt will have to be 3inch wide and its pulleys will weigh 8-10lbs.

200HP belts are available. I have personally seen 4-6 inch wide belts on harley primaries ... so no reason you cannot have 200hp via belt.
There is a very serious sensitivity issue I have guys ...

I almost let the big lies go without even recognizing it, and am bugged by the little lies. the smaller the lie, the quicker I latch on to it and harp ...

Anyway, the roadstar has a 1/5 inch belt ... and it literally turned the whole jap world upside down. Not that there wasn't that good belts available before ... just that the companies were not making them and tossing it on bikes.

GS can easily run a 21mm wide gates polychain 14mm pitch if you can stuff a 4.5 inch dia pulley in front. It will hit the clutch push rod ... get rid of that and you're home free.
The second best option is a 8mm pith 21mm wide gates poly chain. That can run on a 3.6 inch front pulley and it will work quite well.
I seriously plan on doing this to 1 of the GS'es. Atleast.
The belts are 1990's tech, chains are 1890's tech. Dont bash on harley when you're running a chain.
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: bettingpython on October 21, 2008, 07:08:41 AM

Quote from: jserio on October 20, 2008, 12:13:50 PM
i ask because the vulcan 900 sports a belt drive. the folks at the dealership are raving about this. ( i know, they just want my money and want me to buy a bike)  they claim with the belt drive and fuel injection that the motor has a much smoother power delivery then the competition. i want to make an informed choice, not an impulse buy. but i'm really digging this vulcan. 

Buy a Shadow.

not fuel injected and costs more.

looked at another bike the other day that has a belt drive. the new yamaha v-star 950... i liked what i saw.... of course, this was under pretty showroom lights. 

Quote from: cafeboy on October 18, 2008, 02:10:47 PM
Shaft = never adjust or replace chain or sprokets - $$$$$$$ if it brakes
Belt = almost never replace and if it brakes it will not distroy your wheel or case. - $$$ if it brakes
Chain = cheap



cafeboy

yup. i like hte shafty , almost NO lag in delivery. its THERE. belts i like because of ease of install and relaticely LONG durability. chains i like cause there cheap. belts have a certain max power level. go above, and mr belt usually will say f%$k  this im outta here.

Holeee ancient thread batman ...

But a GS belt drive swap is possible, someone wanna plonk down 4 benjamins, and do a small amount of machine work on their bike, I'd guarantee you a nice belt and pulley set will arrive at your door.

I would do this, but I dont have a GS that has a GS motor ... and am not looking to do Gr belt rive swap just yet.
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: bettingpython on October 21, 2008, 07:08:41 AM

Quote from: jserio on October 20, 2008, 12:13:50 PM
i ask because the vulcan 900 sports a belt drive. the folks at the dealership are raving about this. ( i know, they just want my money and want me to buy a bike)  they claim with the belt drive and fuel injection that the motor has a much smoother power delivery then the competition. i want to make an informed choice, not an impulse buy. but i'm really digging this vulcan. 

Buy a Shadow.

Quote from: frankieG on October 19, 2008, 04:30:52 PM
moto gp and all racing bikes use chain....so what does that tell you?

common parts, easy to find, easy to change for different tracks, and i am sure they are replacing them pretty frequently anyway. 

Quote from: 94suzuki500 on July 22, 2009, 01:16:58 PM

Quote from: frankieG on October 19, 2008, 04:30:52 PM
moto gp and all racing bikes use chain....so what does that tell you?

common parts, easy to find, easy to change for different tracks, and i am sure they are replacing them pretty frequently anyway. 

And they have a limitless budget.

BTW, I'd like to hand around their dumpster as they finish up ... easily score 100K worth of tars, spark plugs, chains and sprokets, brakes etc etc ...
Cool.
Buddha.

I tried to score the AMA takeoffs at Laguna.  Me and everyone else.      You should take Dovi's front tar from the Sachsenring last weekend.   

Chains have the least drive loss and the most customizability.  Essential for MotoGP - not essential for me, but handy.

If horsepower is not a priority, a belt.....no doubt about it ! 
I had a few Harleys with belts and they are virtually maintenance free
for 1000's and 1000's of miles. They make repair kits on the 1 inna million
chance something penetrates one, which Ive never, ever seen.....
Sometimes I sprayed some PAM on them if the sqeaked after a rain storm
or riding through salty, melted snow water, but it wasnt necessary for upkeep.
Chains are heavy, sloppy, throw oil everywhere and if they break will tear your bike up.

the two most recent bikes i've looked at have both been belt drive. (both are cruisers, one kawi, the other yama) both bikes are FI and they both are comfy to sit on in the showroom. (although i'm giving the edge in that department to the yama, because the seat is a tad wider)


oh, if you're wondering, the bikes are: Kawasaki Vulcan 900 and Yamaha V-star 950. 

So, Buddah:  Why wouldn't the circlip work on a 21mm sprocket?  I don't think there is that much axial force on it.

i think i posted here, but too lazy to chcek...

so:

belt = #1 cause it's cheap as heck to replace, quiet, and du-huh easy to see if it's about to fail
shaft = #2 cause all that stuff above, minus the cheap part $$$$$$$$$
chain = #3, 4, 5, 6, and infinity, cause any idiot can put it on, use it 20% past it's end of life, and still not die.

Quote from: Paulcet on July 22, 2009, 06:53:22 PM
So, Buddah:  Why wouldn't the circlip work on a 21mm sprocket?  I don't think there is that much axial force on it.

Oh several reasons, the thing has to be tight on the shaft, and the pulley is usually wider than the 520 sproket, you can machine that down ... but heck might as well machine the countershaft and thread it.
Also the chain center line is bound to fall outside of the clip, and it can come loose ... on my 89 it did before I got it, was boogered up in the groove, I think from a chain break incident.
Cool.
Buddha.

so, for longevity, i'm better with a belt drive......
and for power i'm better with a chain drive...
and shaft....is in between?