belt drive

[strop]

I know lots of us ride other bikes as well, so would anyone have any knowledge of living with a belt driven bike in particular the vn900, as without wanting to start another debate on chains they are not my favourite things

[Rusty Nuts]

I had an XV 1700 for a year or two with no belt issues. Folklore will tell you that if you get a stone between belt and pulley it causes untold mayhem, my bike had close fitting guards to help prevent this. Eventually replacing a belt can be awkward depending on swinging arm set up. Changing final drive ratios is not as simple, but many of us never do that with a chain drive bike. I would never be put off owning a belt drive bike.

[hookie]

Belt drives have been around for years on various bikes and as long as they're set up and adjusted properly they're perfectly reliable and long lived. They're now standard replacements for chains on primary drives on most classic British bikes. They even stand ploughing and tree stump pulling on H-Ds which is a recommendation in itself....

[wurzel]

Nothing wrong with them at all from my experience, silent, low maintenance, and clean.
Also very fuel efficient.

[UK_Vstrom650]

My brother had a VN900 and no issues with the belt drive in the 5yrs of ownership. I had an XVS1300 with 13,000 miles on it which I never had to adjust once, and in the USA riders were getting 85,000+ miles out of the original belt on the 1300.

As already said, low maintenance and perfect for a cruiser 

[strop]

thanks lads, I had already discounted the old stone folklore and seen many old harleys still looking OK, just nice to hear from people with proper experience with them.

[Mark Shelley]

Got one on my BmwF650CS. No issues with it. Check condition though. The ones for my bike are scarily expensive!

[ziggy]

If belt drives are that good, although slightly different why are vehicle makers doing away with cam belts and going back to chains.

[Brockett]

Cam belts  operate in very difficult conditions  with extremes of heat and very tight bends and severe load / unload stresses. Drive belts on Harley's rarely fail although a friend did have a stone caught in the works and lost chunks off the belt teeth. And yes it is a hobby horse of mine ..... the lack of full enclosure for modern chain drive is fashion / style insanity.