All,

I use to ride a Kawasaki 400LTD that had a belt drive.  I rode that bike
until it was on it's last legs,
and I never had to replace the belt.  I did have to adjust it
ocassionally, but I never replaced it. 
You could tell when it needed adjustment because it would skip a tooth
and pop (bang) loudly (similar to a shotgun blast) when it was a little
loose.  When that happened a few time in a row, I'd adjust the belt and
I was good to go for another 3-6 months, depending on how hard I rode
it.

Belt drives are much quieter than chains or shafts, and true, they don't
sling as much crud onto the wheels.
I prefer them to chains, but the Honda Goldwing I had before that with
it's shaft drive was even better, but was
somewhat noiser.

I guess bottom line for me is either belt drive or Shaft drive are
preferred over chain drive.  And I probably
Would take a belt drive first, then shaft, then chain.

Just my opinion and preferrences though.


	
Regards,

	
Jim

-----Original Message-----
From: piclist-bounces@mit.edu [mailto:piclist-bounces@mit.edu] On Behalf
Of Tony Smith
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 10:26 AM
To: 'Microcontroller discussion list - Public.'
Subject: RE: [OT] V-REX

> > http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/2008-travertson-vrex-
> > review-75546.htm
> > l
> >
> > I kind of like it. Kind of don't too
> >
> > Innovative if nothing else
> >
> > --
> Everything about it seems great except the ground clearance.
> Wouldn't it be great if it varied the ground clearance depending on 
> what kind of driving plan you dialed in ?
> I think that some of the innovations , like the long wheel base and 
> suspension system would work okay with a less dramatic engine module.

> I like the idea of the drive belt.
> Cedric


Rather than 'dial in' some suspension settings, you could always put the
exhaust and footpegs higher up, which is what most normal people do.
That's ok for this bike though, it's not really meant to be ridden much.

Long wheelbase does improve stability, but at the expense of cornering.
They may have solved that, but with bits scraping on the ground it would
be hard to tell.  Raising bits (like the engine) changes your center of
gravity, and stability changes for the worse.

Belt drive seems like a good idea, but is more expensive than chains and
more of a PITA to change.  And you will be changing it, as they tend to
attract small stones that cheerfully punch holes thru it.

Only Harley Davidson seem to be using belts these days, I think the sole
reason is that they don't flick crap all over the chrome, so less clean
up.

Shaft drive is a much better option (but $ > chain).

Overall - meh.

Tony

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