Any motorcyclists on this forum?

[DavidEdwinAston]

Sal
I packed up driving a car three months ago. Had been clipping wing mirrors in tight situations over the last couple of years. Subsequently told my eyesight below driving standard. Technically I am a hazard to others by simply walking along the pavement. (Sorry, boardwalk.)

Still. Some of these pictured motorbikes are just great.

 

[Sal1950]

Sal
I packed up driving a car three months ago. Had been clipping wing mirrors in tight situations over the last couple of years. Subsequently told my eyesight below driving standard. Technically I am a hazard to others by simply walking along the pavement. (Sorry, boardwalk.)

Very sorry to hear you had to hang up your keys, that sucks big time.
I know I was going crazy after I sold my last H-D every time I heard one going down the road.
Hope I can hang in a few more years with this trike I got now, the time passes so quickly.

Buell was super innovative like Britten. Damn shame they folded. Rim mounted discs, 6 pot calipers, belt drive, underslung shock etc.

Erik's a very kool guy, I spent a bit of time with him in the early 2000s, I being the top sales person for 2002.
A retired motorcycle racer, design engineer, and a kick butt Stratocaster player.
Those were the days my friends.

 

[Chr1]

Nice one Sal. I was very close to buying a Buell myself about 15 years ago. Another fantastic American innovation was the Magpul Ronin. Quite a few similarities, but looking more like something straight out of Blade Runner or the Teminator...

Info here.

 

[Sal1950]

Another fantastic American innovation was the Magpul Ronin.

The front forks are an interesting design, a spin off of the old Indian Girder style forks.
I built a couple choppers for friends back in the 1970s with a copy by a famous fork builder named Earl Durfee.
IMHO the absolutely koolest looking set of forks ever made and of the genre, the Durfee's were the best!

 

[CedarX]

The front forks are an interesting design, a spin off of the old Indian Girder style forks.
I built a couple choppers for friends back in the 1970s with a copy by a famous fork builder named Earl Durfee.
IMHO the absolutely koolest looking set of forks ever made and of the genre, the Durfee's were the best!

Not unlike this ‘modern’ version:

 

[Sal1950]

Not unlike this ‘modern’ version:

Nice! Their biggest issue was a high unsprung weight while being a very rigid design, for a 1920 suspension designs. LOL

 

[Motowoodman71]

My Triumph Trident 660

 

[Chr1]

BMWF800ST
Just back from 2.5k miles in Europe with the Mrs. Ferry to Amsterdam, then on to Trieste.
Back via the Dolomites and the Alps.

 

[Count Arthur]

BMWF800ST
Just back from 2.5k miles in Europe. Amsterdam to Trieste with the Mrs.
Then back via the Dolomites and the Alps.
View attachment 467994
View attachment 467995

How do you find the belt drive, do you have to adjust the tension, or is it essentially fit and forget, until it needs replacing?

I have a Gates belt drive with hub gears on one of my bicycles, and I really like it. Having the belt drive and hydraulic disc brakes make it the most low maintenance bicycle I've ever had.

 

[Chr1]

I love the belt drive, and it is one of the primary reasons I bought this bike. I previously toured Europe on my R1 and constantly having to lube and adjust the chain drove me mad. I didn't want one of the bigger shaft drive BMWs as they are very heavy. (Going from sports bikes, it's all about power to weight for me!)

Having researched relevant forums on the Internet, it's just a case of replacing it at about 24k miles, though lots of people say 30k is fine too.

I am amazed that there aren't more belt drive bikes tbh. Belts are far lighter and more efficient than shaft drive. Theoretically chain drive is more efficient still, but I reckon that this is probably only true when the chain is relatively new. Obviously this is paramount for high performance sports bikes, but for everything else...Go figure?
Reckon a lot of it is due to fashion and resistance to change within the industry personally.

Again Buell were ahead of the curve with this.
Incidentally, the other similarity with Buell is that the motor was originally designed and built by Austrian company, Rotax.

 

[Count Arthur]

I love the belt drive, and it is one of the primary reasons I bought this bike. I previously toured Europe on my R1 and constantly having to lube and adjust the chain drove me mad. I didn't want one of the bigger shaft drive BMWs as they are very heavy. (Going from sports bikes, it's all about power to weight for me!)

Having researched relevant forums on the Internet, it's just a case of replacing it at about 24k miles, though lots of people say 30k is fine too.

I am amazed that there aren't more belt drive bikes tbh. Belts are far lighter and more efficient than shaft drive. Theoretically chain drive is more efficient, but I reckon that this is probably only true when the chain is relatively new. Obviously this is paramount for high performance sports bikes, but for everything else...Go figure?
Reckon a lot of it is due to fashion and resistance to change within the industry personally.

Again Buell were ahead of the curve with this.

I believe there are a few Harley-Davidsons that use belt drive too.

Bicycle belt drives are said to be less efficient, but I can't feel it, and as you say, this is compared to a chain in pristine condition - which is not for long, unless you are meticulous with your chain maintenance. The big disadvantage for bicycles, is that they don't work with derailleur gears, so you have to use hub gears, which are also less efficient, and heavier - it's quite noticeable how heavy the back end of the bike is, when you pick it up, with a ~1.8kg hub gear.

I once did a lap of France on a motorcycle, about 3,000 miles in 10 days, and I didn't bother adjusting the chain, so it was really slack by the time I got home. If you don't have a centre stand, I'm not sure how you would adjust it, other than calling in at a shop. If you had a centre stand, I guess you could take necessary tools to do it yourself, but there's no way you could take a paddock stand.

 

[Sal1950]

Just back from 2.5k miles in Europe with the Mrs. Ferry to Amsterdam, then on to Trieste.
Back via the Dolomites and the Alps.

WOW, that's an awesome tour. I envy your youth and position.
That's a memory you'll live and enjoy for a lifetime!

How do you find the belt drive, do you have to adjust the tension, or is it essentially fit and forget, until it needs replacing?

As Chr1 wrote, belt drive is the best thing since sliced bread for road motorcycles.
Everything I've owned for the last 25 years has been belt drive.
All Harleys have used belts going back so long I can't remember anymore mid 1980s?
Not sure where you heard belts are less efficient, I can't see any reason for that to be so to any amount? For sure they're much lighter, reducing the unsprung weight of the rear suspension improving handling and ride.
The only negative of belt are they can be snapped if a rock or other object should fly into it while riding,
Then they can't be repaired or replaced roadside. Working at H-D for around 25 years I can only remember seeing it happen to customers maybe 5 or 6 times. Never to me or my own customers during the 12 years I owned my shop.
Only extremely high horsepower bikes with big fat tires still cling to chain drive since a belt that could handle the power would still be unnecessarily wide.
You can easily see the belt on my 1998 Buell here. They never stretch or need adjustment or lube, only time it was touched in 25,000 miles was during tire replacements.

 

[Sal1950]

Again Buell were ahead of the curve with this.
Incidentally, the other similarity with Buell is that the motor was originally designed and built by Austrian company, Rotax.

Eric Buell used Buell factory hot-rod'd HD based engines from 1983 to 2007 when he switched to a co H-D / Rotax designed 1125cc liquid cooled engine.
The engine you see in my Buell above is your basic 1200cc Sportster 5sp engine with Buell high flow, big port and valve heads, high rise cams, plus high compression pistons. The Buell factory version was rated at 101 HP and 90 flb. Mine was just a taste hotter.
BYW, after all the carbon fiber goodie and a lightweight exhaust system I had the weight down to 405lbs
Can you say wheelie monster?

HISTORY | Buell Motorcycles

Buell Motorcycles was founded in the late 1970s, building motorcycles for 40 years! Learn more on our entire history.

www.buellmotorcycle.com

 

[CedarX]

Latest addition to my small fleet: Maeving RM1S.

Love it!

 

[Chr1]

Eric Buell used Buell factory hot-rod'd HD based engines from 1983 to 2007 when he switched to a co H-D / Rotax designed 1125cc liquid cooled engine.
The engine you see in my Buell above is your basic 1200cc Sportster 5sp engine with Buell high flow, big port and valve heads, high rise cams, plus high compression pistons. The Buell factory version was rated at 101 HP and 90 flb. Mine was just a taste hotter.
BYW, after all the carbon fiber goodie and a lightweight exhaust system I had the weight down to 405lbs
Can you say wheelie monster?

HISTORY | Buell Motorcycles

Buell Motorcycles was founded in the late 1970s, building motorcycles for 40 years! Learn more on our entire history.

www.buellmotorcycle.com

Lovely bike Sal.

As previously mentioned, I was a fan of Buell from the minute I heard of them back in the 80's. Used to subscribe to Performance Bikes, probably the best British bike mag. They raved about them at the time.

Buell were all about performance and true inovators when it came to engineering. (The Buell and Britten were my favourite twins.)

Unfortunately I was young and didn't have the budget for one at the time. Remember wondering why more bikes didn't have belt drive...

Still figure it's just a case of manufacturers following the herd and being risk averse. Slightly illogical moto fashion, if you will.

Bet your tuned one sounded awesome too

 

[Spkrdctr]

I was a snowmobile racer for years and belts are AMAZING. Gates belts have ruled for over 60 years. Way back in the 1980s they would handle 200 HP in a snowmobile. Like everyone said, no messing around and it works every time. Just start up and go. I wish every bike had a belt. My 150hp Suzuki B-King bike (which is a slightly detuned Hayabusa engine) could have easily had a Gates belt. It would have been so much easier. 150 hp would not have stressed the belt at all. Plus if the belt ever does need to be tightened up if it was competently designed, it is not all that hard. I say belts for almost everything. I might be a beltaholic like Sal.

 

[Chr1]

Beltaholic.
Love it.

And snow is most likely waay kinder to drive systems than road dirt. Pretty amazing that in 2025 most bikes still use chains. Obviously for competition, where power output trumps everything and 0.5 hp counts, things are different.

Very strange state of affairs, I reckon.

 

[Sal1950]

Lovely bike Sal.

Thanks, Yea I thought that Buell was absolutely freakin KOOL, loved it.
The torque of that big long stroke H-D engine was a blast to ride. You could mostly forget about much shifting, just screw on the throttle at any time and you were gone. Huge single 340mm disc with 6 piston caliper gave all the braking power you could ask for while drastically reducing suspensions unsprung weight for better fork reaction time than the competition. Riding around the street was fun, people would hear the sound of that big Harley V-Twin coming, turn to look and "WTF, what kind of sport bike is that"?

Before it I had a similar 1994 Ducati 900 Monster. It was great bike but it did have an occasional bad habit of shaking it's head at speed.
It once put me into a speed wobble at well over 100+ mph that scared me to death. It got so violent that it bent both steering stop plates, I don't know how I survived. Then when it did stop shakin, I went to apply the breaks and there were NONE. Well actually there were, but it had shook so hard and violently it set the pucks in both calibers back and I had to pump them up with the lever a few times for them to come back. I put a big steering dampener on it after that but I never could shake the memory of that day.

 

[Doodski]

Thanks, Yea I thought that Buell was absolutely freakin KOOL, loved it.
The torque of that big long stroke H-D engine was a blast to ride. You could mostly forget about much shifting, just screw on the throttle at any time and you were gone. Huge single 340mm disc with 6 piston caliper gave all the braking power you could ask for while drastically reducing suspensions unsprung weight for better fork reaction time than the competition. Riding around the street was fun, people would hear the sound of that big Harley V-Twin coming, turn to look and "WTF, what kind of sport bike is that"?

Before it I had a similar 1994 Ducati 900 Monster. It was great bike but it did have an occasional bad habit of shaking it's head at speed.
It once put me into a speed wobble at well over 100+ mph that scared me to death. It got so violent that it bent both steering stop plates, I don't know how I survived. Then when it did stop shakin, I went to apply the breaks and there were NONE. Well actually there were, but it had shook so hard and violently it set the pucks in both calibers back and I had to pump them up with the lever a few times for them to come back. I put a big steering dampener on it after that but I never could shake the memory of that day.

My best friend a motorcycle mechanic specializing in Suzuki as he was a warranty service depot serviced whatever people brought him for service. I can't remember if it was a newish early 1980s Suzuki GS1100 TSCC that he mounted up a 4 into 1 header, jetted, mounted a small after market sport fairing onto and such or if it was some other absurdly fast ride for the day when it was current but he took it out for a engine and speed test to make sure it was safe to ride before releasing it to the customer. When he returned he was very very scared. Shaking, was all stiff and walking funny and he looked like he was near crying. Anyway he never described it in any significant detail but he said the bike had a high speed wobble at about 140 mph or more and that he can't believe he survived what he said was terror on 2 wheels. I never forgot that. Your description of a high speed wobble brings that back to light and sheds to light on what he must have experienced. I would ask him today what actually happened but he died in the back of a cop car as the coppers and resulting judge inquiry stated was cocaine psychosis. Tragic death and he was a pretty rowdy guy but never hurt anybody and just loved to party, his cold beers and his hoots and loved riding bikes and sleds.

 

[Chr1]

Yeah, the '80s was a bit hairy that way. The Japanese were making some very powerful motors and putting them in woefully underbraced frames, with terrible brakes. I'd always loved the Suzuki Katana, and bought one second hand in 89. It was the 1100, but a hybrid with the cams and Mikuni Smoothebore slide carbs used on the proddy racing 1000. Billet clutch, ported etc. It went like stink but handled like sh×*. In the 90s I put 17" modern wheels on it and bigger FZR discs and four pot calipers which meant decent tyres too. Unfortunately the frame was so bendy, I practically soiled myself on several occasions. Similar to Sal, had a few nasty tank-slappers. Eventually sold it to a pal who's an aircraft mechanic with strong recommendations to brace the frame.

Drag racers were still using the GSX1100 motor well into the 2000s tho, so I guess Suzuki got something right.

What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. Lol.