| Author | Message | ||
     Duggram |
How much HP would you realize by switching to chain drive? | ||
| Ducxl |
ZERO,Zilch,nada. And a chain would be more parasitic because of the increased weight. Waittttttt-aaaaaa-minute,that was a loaded question wasn't it?  | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Not to mention the additional drive line lash from chain slack. Doesn't create a HP loss but does delay it's application. | ||
| Carbonbigfoot |
Ya, the belt drive is significantly lighter than a comparable chain. Only downside is gearing changes are a bitch. R | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Nah, you just flip the lever with your toe. Easy.  | ||
| Carbonbigfoot |
I even went back and changed it from "gear changes" to "gearing changes" for your smart a$$.... <grin> R | ||
| Hooliagn |
LOL | ||
| Duggram |
Nah, Ducxl, it's not a loaded question. I just want to learn about it. Over on the WERA forum there's a lot sniveling about the Buells in Daytona Sportbike. One of the comments said that when the Buells switch to chain drive they pickup about 15% more RWHP. I'd not heard that before. Just wanted to check it out with you guys. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
BS from those restricted to "conventional" thought. Now, if they'd said that their 600's would pick up more HP if they switched to belt..... | ||
| Court |
A roller chain has about 10 or 12 pieces per pitch, pr section. Figure that an R1 has 120 links or about 1200 pieces. A Buell belt has ONE piece. Do the math. Hint: it's not a linear relationship. Start with a MacLaurin Linear Regression and you'll be on the right track. The belt is a piece of elegant engineering that has undergone significant improvement. | ||
| Hughlysses |
One of the comments said that when the Buells switch to chain drive they pickup about 15% more RWHP. That's a pretty easy one to disprove just by thinking about it. A 15% gain with a chain would be something like 20 HP, depending on where you measure it. That would therefore mean that on a street bike, the belt is somehow consuming 20 HP, which would have to appear as heat IN the belt. How hot do you think 20 HP of power put into a rubber belt would get and how long do you think it'd last at that temperature? | ||
| Krassh |
The only benefit of the Buells switching to chain are the ability to change gear ratio. | ||
| Imonabuss |
Duggram, I guess that sets the intellect level of the WERA anti-Buell whiners. That statement is so stupid it's painful. | ||
| Brent1125russ |
I sell the industrial version of these belt drive systems to replace chain and sprocket. The efficiency gains are incredible not to mention the longer life, less maintenance, and less destruction during catastrophic failure (Imagine a chain drive on a 500hp radial saw letting loose.....get out the way!) I see the same benefits on my 1125r, again the design compromise is quick final drive gearing changes. Maybe Buell could design a variable pitch driven sheave on the wheel (like the variable pitch V-belt sheaves) to accommodate this feature. How cool would that be to change your final drive ratio by turning a couple allen screws? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Yeah, but these are kinda distracting hanging out the back of your ride:  | ||
| Anonymous |
Toothed belt is more efficient than chain drive, period. Shawn Higbee won his first Willow Springs Twins races last year with the belt, as the chain drive kit wasn't available yet. The only problem with the belt is gearing changes are very difficult, and you absolutely have to gear for each track in high-level racing. | ||
| Carbonbigfoot |
How about a set of pulley/belt pairings that would cover a range of gearings? Might be price competitive with the whole swingarm thing... R | ||
| Chadhargis |
Wouldn't it be interesting for Buell to have a cassette style transmission that allowed you to change ratios and still retain the belt drive?  |
