Chain Drive and

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desertrefugee
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Re: Chain Drive and

#46

Post by desertrefugee »

digschopper wrote:There are industrial 90° drives that once on an adapter plate,might work. Personally I'd keep shaft.
Lol. At first I'm thinking what the heck is Digs talking about, but then I read the title and remembered.
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Dirty Dave
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Re: Chain Drive and

#47

Post by Dirty Dave »

On a less serious note.....

Where exactly is Goatpoop Florida?

My first ride was a CB 750F that I rode across North America in '77. I swore I would never have another chain drive bike.
Forty-one years latter I am extolling the virtues of the chain drive on the Kawasaki I bought. I won't be using it for 1000
mile trips as I have Wings & things for those journeys. Chain drive is wheelie fun.....
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CYBORG
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Re: Chain Drive and

#48

Post by CYBORG »

Chain drive has come along way since 77
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Re: Chain Drive and

#49

Post by desertrefugee »

Yeah, somewhere along the line it became "belt" drive. Yuck.
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Re: Chain Drive and

#50

Post by CYBORG »

Belts are quieter (and probably cheaper to make)
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Re: Chain Drive and

#51

Post by robin1731 »

Nothing wrong with belts. They hold up under some serious HP/torque. And you don't need to lube them. Just check adjustment once in awhile.

.
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Re: Chain Drive and

#52

Post by Dirty Dave »

The downside with chain drive, other than the increased maintenance frequency is the short lifespan compared to shaft drive. Sprocket and chain seem to need replacement during the lifespan of the bike compared to the longevity of properly
lubed shaft drives.

I really like how simple rear wheel removal is with chains and am enjoying getting neat lubing techniques down.
Being able to modify gearing is a plus as well.
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Re: Chain Drive and

#53

Post by SnoBrdr »

robin1731 wrote:Nothing wrong with belts. They hold up under some serious HP/torque. And you don't need to lube them. Just check adjustment once in awhile.

.
How long does a belt last?

Is it the "5 year rule" or shorter?
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Re: Chain Drive and

#54

Post by Sidecar Bob »

Dirty Dave wrote:I really like how simple rear wheel removal is with chains
Really? I find removing and especially re-installing the rear wheel mush easier with shaft drive bikes. Just loosen the FD nuts and remember to tighten everything back up in the right order and everything will be automatically aligned, whereas with a chain you need to mess with adjusters and make sure the sprockets are in line and all that crap.
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Re: Chain Drive and

#55

Post by rcmatt007 »

Yeah. Even a belt is a PITA
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Re: Chain Drive and

#56

Post by Dirty Dave »

I understand Mr. Sidecar,

but if alignment is already set as in a simple tire change, I found it really easy. I always struggle with the sideways motion of that pumpkin and spacer. Seems a lot less cluttered with a chain. Not to mention 3 O-rings, some hidden, special moly grease or Honda paste, final drive oil etc...... Maybe I've done that just more times than I want to.
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Re: Chain Drive and

#57

Post by pidjones »

Evolution. A ten minute job to swap rear wheels on the GL1800.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TShysJyHb-0
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Re: Chain Drive and

#58

Post by robin1731 »

SnoBrdr wrote:
robin1731 wrote:Nothing wrong with belts. They hold up under some serious HP/torque. And you don't need to lube them. Just check adjustment once in awhile.

.
How long does a belt last?

Is it the "5 year rule" or shorter?

No idea. But if it's 5 years that is a lot longer than any chain I've seen.

Probably more that likely it similar to a chain. Once it gets stretched to a certain point it should be replaced.
1976 Goldwing Super Sport
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1976 KZ900 Dragbike
1992 ZX7 Dragbike (KZ900 style motor w/NOS)
and a rotation of various purchases
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Sidecar Bob
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Re: Chain Drive and

#59

Post by Sidecar Bob »

I heard years ago that belts lasted about twice as long as chains and cost about twice as much but you rarely had to replace the sprockets and never had to oil them. Sounds like an improvement to me.
Dirty Dave wrote:I understand Mr. Sidecar,

but if alignment is already set as in a simple tire change, I found it really easy. I always struggle with the sideways motion of that pumpkin and spacer. Seems a lot less cluttered with a chain. Not to mention 3 O-rings, some hidden, special moly grease or Honda paste, final drive oil etc...... Maybe I've done that just more times than I want to.
The FSM says to use ordinary Moly/Lith grease which is also suitable for every other place your bike needs grease so it isn't really special. I will agree that having to wash out the old grease and apply fresh is something chain drives don't need but doing that whenever you replace a tire and replacing the final drive oil every year is still a lot less bother than maintaining a chain.

3 o-rings? I only know about the ones on the wheel and final drive splines and they don't need to be disturbed if you are just changing a tire (although replacing them every few tire changes is a good idea - I had a 30+ year old one fail and dirt got in and wrecked the splines)

I haven't worked on anything with a chain for almost 20 years but I seem to remember having to loosen the adjusters so that the axle could move forward enough for the chain to be removed from the sprocket before the wheel could be removed and that meant that it had to be adjusted when the wheel went back in.

On the shaft drive bikes I just remove the axle, move the brake parts out of the way (which would be necessary on a chain drive bike anyway), lift the wheel off of the final drive (a pumpkin is a squash, not a bike part) and roll the wheel out. It might need to be tilted to get it out from under the fender but that isn't a big deal. If you have trouble getting the wheel past the final drive you probably have the wrong size tire (why do people think a fatter tire is better?)

BTW: In 27 years of owning shaft drive Hondas (well over 300,000 Km) I have replaced one (1) driveshaft because the u-joint came apart (it was probably close to that point when I bought the bike but I didn't know to check it). The driveshafts in both of my current bikes have each gone well over 100,000 Km with no signs of wear. About half of that 300,000 Km was winter use on salted roads.
When a chain or belt can come close to that I will consider it a viable alternative.
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
"A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad." - Cookie
Another guy with two sidecars..... Hmmmm... must be something to that....
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Re: Chain Drive and

#60

Post by low-side »

No one in their right mind would argue in favor of chain drive against shaft drive on the basis of maintenance or longevity. There's a reason you don't see chain drive on cars and trucks. The reasons to use chain rather than shaft drive, that I can think of are: cost, efficiency, weight, and less chassis disturbance. A set of chain and sprockets costs and weighs less than a shaft and drive unit. A chain can be 98% efficient when tensioned properly. Chain drives don't cause chassis jacking and squatting to the extent that shaft drive does. Chain drive is more sporting while shaft drive is much more utilitarian. I enjoy both for different reasons. I've never had belt drive, but I do know that the ones I've ridden felt like chain drive. Some belt drives don't even have a provision for adjusting tension.
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