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Forget Chain Maintenance Forever and switch to Belt Drive

3943 Views 6 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  eisen77
We all know that chain maintenance causes more downtime than we enjoy; for decades H-D owners have enjoyed worry free miles thanks to belt drives. Toss that chain aside and slip on a Belt Drive system on your Bobber for about 1/10th of what you paid for your bike. Personally, if it were 1/3 of retail price, I'd jump on maintenance free belt drive quicker than I can type all this up.

https://www.freespiritsparts.com/en/belt-drive-conversion-for-triumph-bobber-black.html
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We all know that chain maintenance causes more downtime than we enjoy; for decades H-D owners have enjoyed worry free miles thanks to belt drives. Toss that chain aside and slip on a Belt Drive system on your Bobber for about 1/10th of what you paid for your bike. Personally, if it were 1/3 of retail price, I'd jump on maintenance free belt drive quicker than I can type all this up.



https://www.freespiritsparts.com/en/belt-drive-conversion-for-triumph-bobber-black.html


Considered this but what is the ratio change like to live with afterwards? Chain ratio is perfectly matched for the motor currently. Have you done the conversation? What is it like?


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I ordered my belt drive kit last week & it should be arriving on Tuesday next week.
FreeSpirits claim the ratio is shorter than stock.
I will share my thoughts once the install is done.

I also ordered this front brake kit:
https://www.freespiritsparts.com/en/triumph/news/triumph-street-twin-cup-scrambler-bobber-t100-2016-up-up-grade-floating-front-brake-rotor-kit.html
I must be missing something as I've never had downtime due to having a chain on my bikes. 5 mins maintenance on the chain when cleaning or checking other stuff isn't exactly a hardship.

Why the need to spend money changing for a belt? Thought there was more power loss via a belt too, plus the risk of it snapping if debris or gravel or something damages it.

I shall await my education ! Fire away belt lovers!!


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I must be missing something as I've never had downtime due to having a chain on my bikes. 5 mins maintenance on the chain when cleaning or checking other stuff isn't exactly a hardship.

Why the need to spend money changing for a belt? Thought there was more power loss via a belt too, plus the risk of it snapping if debris or gravel or something damages it.

I shall await my education ! Fire away belt lovers!!


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Nothing to do with being a belt lover. I simply want to try out something different on my Bobber. Just as others on the board express their customizations in different ways, this is what i like to do. I also plan on changing the front fork kit & brakes (which no-one looking at my bike will ever be able to notice or know about), but i do it for my pleasure and as respect to the forum members I like to share my findings.

A belt won't stretch, does not casue a mess & has no mechanical noise like a chain. And of course has zero maintenance. For me, those 5 mins you talk about do inconvenience me as i ride alot and those 5 mins add up - very quickly. And the way some riders use the powerband, the chain has a tendency to stretch & need adjusting far too often...!
A chain can also snap. And if it does it can cause devastating damage to both rider and bike. A snapped belt will only ever amount to a slight inconvenience.

Power loss you say? Our bikes have circa 77hp and Hayabusas they will never be. And with a shorter ratio, i doubt the difference (defecit or not) will be noticable.

Anyway, i hope i have shed some light on the ´why the need to spend on a belt´ question...
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Totally get doing it for the look if that's the look you prefer.

Guess I'm just curious why Triumph don't fit the belt as standard and why it's really just HD that do it, if it's 'better' than a chain?
Totally get doing it for the look if that's the look you prefer.

Guess I'm just curious why Triumph don't fit the belt as standard and why it's really just HD that do it, if it's 'better' than a chain?
I don't think a belt is better by any means. Just a different set of advantages and disadvantages. Maybe it was more cost effective to use a chain with existing parts/suppliers etc, but i really can´t say for sure.
Buell, BMW (the F800S), Harley all like to use Belt drive. Triumph use shaft drive on the Tiger Explorer 1215 & it is flawless (i had one).
I am a fan of shaft drive too (had quite a few bikes with shaft & zero problems).
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