Thinking about belt conversion

[redbirds_imp]

A problem area for belts is suspension travel. Because a belt must be kept at more tension than a chain, it works best on cruisers with their limited suspension travel. I recall that the belt drive Buells had tensioner pulleys because of their shorter swing arms and added travel. Belts also run on quite large sprockets which I take to mean that belts wear too fast if smaller sprockets are used. The Suzuki Savage cafe racer I built on a Ryca kit had belt sprockets that seemed large enough to mount tires on.

I see no real advantage to a belt drive given the excellence of today's O-ring sealed chains. I can't remember the last time my CB's chain needed adjustment and using a synthetic chain wax, there is never any messy fling on the rear. Changing a worn belt would require removal of the swing arm while chain and sprocket changes are easy by comparison.