| Author | Message | ||
     Jasonl |
What blew that belt is all you big boys riding around on bikes made for shrimps like me. I would do some calculations figuring load on belt with a sliding scale using the riders' weight but I'll leave that to Blake, the illustrious Buell Mathematician. | ||
| Chuck |
Hey Jason. My naked weight is 153 (I still have a beer belly, though . . . plus I don't usually ride naked . . . on the bike, that is)  | ||
| Jasonl |
Was your beer belly over the rear pulley when the belt blew? That might affect Blake's calculations. I hear Erik Buell did some tests with this and some of his illustrious staff that frequent this board. | ||
| Tripper |
Posting for JMartz - cool new sprocket.  | ||
| Jmartz |
The pulley above is made from the the original stock unit. The edge is milled down to about 1/2 inch (radially speaking)on both sides. On the wheel side the casting lugs were eliminated and the face reduced to the factory hub milling. On the outside a shallow pass was done to remove the powdercoat. The circular 8 holes were elongated radially and 8 other smaller ones added in between. Overall weight was reduced by 50%. Only problem is casting flaws near the perimeter preclude polishing of the center section. The edge could be polished as it was free of any pits. After some testing the pits will be filled and the center section painted. I had 3 of these made if anyone is interested ping me off line. The other 2 are still in the shop. The trans pulley was also reduced in weight by thinning the edges and drilling the fence and the webbing. Weight loss on this one only about 1 lb. Will post pics in the future. Jose | ||
| Jmartz |
By the way since this is the factory pulley the belt surface is treated to HD's secret hardening that allows a lifetime of over 60,000 miles (some say 100,000). Aftermarket units have a lifetime in the vicinity of 15,000 after which the ridges become razor sharp. | ||
| Ralph |
Different look from how I was going to do mine but same outcome. Looks good. Chain drive is getting closer to being done. I'll show ya'll some picture when it's done. Jose, you'll like one part of it. It's lighter and it's helpful for shrimps like you  bighairyralph | ||
| Dvnt |
You know all this talk about changing from a belt drive to chain is kind of defeating the purpose of a unique bike like a Buell. Belt drive was one of the major things that fascinated me with these bikes and got me to sell my SV650 and 900ss to purchase my '01 X1. THE BELT DRIVE (if for no other reason, like constant lubeing and greasy wash mits) IS COOL!! YEAH! Jeff "DVNT" | ||
| Chuck |
Hey Jeff, Do you want to buy a broken belt? Its kind of "cool"  | ||
| Ralph |
That's nice Jeff. But I'd like to point out that belts are hardly unique to Buell. Also, some times a chain is necessary. For me, this is one of those times. My S3 has over 36,000 miles on it with a belt. To say the least I appreciate belts as much as you. But not right now. bighairyralph | ||
| Jmartz |
Ralph: I heard that o ring chains have a lot of internal friction and do not tranfer as much power (are less efficient)as an standard chain. Jose | ||
| Tripper |
I believe that to be true. One of the eye-opening things when i bought the S1 was how easy it is to push around the garage. My chain drive bikes always had alot of friction in the drive train, the Buell has very low drag through the belt. Never having to clean the wheels of grease has spoiled me. I never want another chain, and I sure don't want a drive shaft jumping up&down. | ||
| Ralph |
Jose, ya sure, dat sounds right. On the other hand Cap uses an o-ring chain because of its low (relitivly speaking) up keep compared to a standard chain. But then again, how much more resistance is there to an o-ring chain? Measureable, maybe but I doubt substantial. Just to be completly up front, I will not say anything against the belts. I think they are the best thing since sliced bread. It just doesn't fit in the "box" right now. bighairyralph | ||
| Jmartz |
Tripper: That is the very reason I had a machinist mill out the pulleys and reduce their weight. I was quite satisfied with the rear but not so with the front. A California based belt manufacturer called SuperMax is in the only aftermarket supplier of a 27 tooth trans pulley. Price is very steep at $315 compared to $80 for the cast iron factory unit which comes with seal and spacer and about $125 for an aluminum unit (28, 29 & 30 teeth units). Supermax uses a nylon teeth ring with a hardened steel center and an aluminum fence. Although I have tried repeatedly I have no info on its weight relative to stock or on its durability. Chain conversions have been shown to be about 2.5 lbs. lighter than the stock belt setup (that includes the 3 peices). According to Bartel Racing the efficiency of a belt is 93% w/o much loss throughout its life. Chains can be 99% but go downhill fast (under 1000 miles) and thay must be non o ring. Jose | ||
| Jmartz |
Ralph: I would ne the 1st one to go to a chain if I needed it. When I get a baker 6 speed I would like to have a taller 2ndary and when I build a 150 4 x 3.5 S & S motor I will and to drop the final drive ratio by at least 15% to somewhere around 2.00. J | ||
| Ralph |
With titainium rods, right? bighairyralph | ||
| Blake |
Belt efficiency is only 93%?!!! So at 6500 rpm and WOT the belt is absorbing 6-7HP? Yikes. Kinda makes you think eh? Power is lost to belt flexing around around each pulley (more for smaller pulley) and probably more (at high torques) is lost to belt stretching/relaxing. Got some math? Wanna see it? Too bad, I'm waitin' until Arvel posts his counter steering treatise.  Blake (reallyfightingtoholdbackonthisone!) | ||
| Jmartz |
Yeah Ralph, Ti rods, Shumaker individual runner heads, vertical manifold going through the frame a Baker 6-speed and one pipe under the seat and another under the engine. Just an idea but I can dream$$$$$$$$ | ||
| Jmartz |
Blake: You might need to take into account primary/trans losses also to estimate what the secondary drive is taking. But if a 101 HP motor puts out 85 at the rear wheel, that's 15% powertrain losses, if we give 2/3 of those to the primary/trans that would be 5 HP to the belt. The fact is I have no idea what's eating what in the whole system, nor can I be sure those motors actually make 101 HP at the crank. I do know that very few, if any, make 85 at the RW in stock form. jose | ||
| Blake |
Jose: Yerright, 5-6HP would be correct. My stock '00 M2 makes over 80 RWHP. But jeeze, since virtually ALL the lost power is converted into heat energy, even 5 HP means a LOT of heat must be coming off the belt. Let's see... 5 HP = 3.7KW!!! That's like four microwave ovens cooking your belt all at once! | ||
| Chuck |
Is that why they break  | ||
| Swampboogiedo |
Who has the best deal on a chain conversion ? | ||
| Ralph |
Tat or Cap. Try the link to American Sport Bike at the top of the page. That'd be Tat. You'll find Cap by doing a search in this areas archives. bighairyralph | ||
| Hans |
After adjusting the belt you have to hold the adjusting bolt AND the nut when you tighten the lock nut. Three wrenches you need and three hands would be handy. With two hands: Left hand for holding the bolt with the first wrench. Fingers of right hand holding the second wrench on the adjusting nut and the thumb on the third wrench to tighten the lock nut. The third wrench is set on the lock nut under a small angle so can use wrench #2 and #3 as a pair of scissors. Hans | ||
| Loqtus |
if anyone is counting, I broke a belt today with about 10,000 miles on it. I snapped a clutch cable on the highway just after leaving home. I planned on trying to turn around by hitting the bottom of the off ramp in first gear then creaping along through the intersection. But as luck would have it I had to stop for traffic. When the coast was clear I started the bike in neutral, pushed the bike to a walking pace, hopped on and engaged first. I got one little junge then nothing. I thought I had somehow smoked the tranny til I got stopped again and got off and saw that I was missing a belt. It was back in the intersection. It's hard to believe that there wasn't something wrong with the belt before I popped it into gear, there was not a tremendous load on the drivetrain because I was moving. I thought these things go 20k or more... oh well. now to figure out how the swingarm comes off... | ||
| Chuck |
Hey, Mike. I feel your pain. My belt broke 5 weeks ago...but soon, I'll have a chain drive. I'm just waiting for my custom sprockets to be completed. | ||
| Jmartz |
Chuck: Sorry to hear your bike is not running. I sure hope you live in the southern 1/2 of the country. This would be a fatal situation for a snowbird. | ||
| Chuck |
yeah...I live in San Antonio. It's almost too hot to ride, right now. | ||
| Jmartz |
You can understand why I do not use the bike during the dog days of summer. There comes a time here in Atlanta when no matter how fast you travel the air in your face is like that of blast furnace. When you combine this weather with a mandatory helmet law (which thanks to the president you no longer have) the only solution is the suspension of riding activities till the 1st few days in September. | ||
| Blake |
Camel back filled with ice water. |
