a. im just repeating what was on that site......

My guess is that its the friction required to spin the system. The belt is in contact with the entire rear sprocket and the front cog. Vs a chain is just touching the back of the teeth on the rear socket and the front of the teeth on the front cog. A belt is also wider creating even more surface area making constant contact.
The material would also cause more friction, that's why we have rubber not metal tires.

 

not endorsing... just passing along info

http://www.allaboutbikes.com/feature...e-final-drives
http://motorcycle-intelligence.com/chain-belt-shaft/64/

 

I remember the first belt drive bike I rode. I kept thinking "wow, this thing is so smooth".

 

BUMP

Anyone running chain on a later model street bob? I am trying to figure out if I will need a spacer in the rear or if I can just bolt them up and be good.

 

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you will most likely need a spacer.

all dependent on the
offset at the front
and the rear (if any. probably 0).

best is to work with your supplier for this info.

assuming the supplier is competent.

in my case the supplier claimed to know it all
and that was complete bullshit.

who are you dealing with for the parts??
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I am getting the parts through my buddys shop and just buying them separately because it is way cheaper then buying the "kits". I talked to Zippers already and they wouldnt tell me if I needed one or not for my year (2011 FXDB). They just said "our kit comes with everything you need, if you need a spacer it will come with one" so they werent very helpful. I am gonna run PBI sprockets and talked to them and they said they dont get into the spacers and all that, they just sell the sprockets and they really didnt know. So I am kind of stuck. I know which sprockets to get and that I need the .500 offset for the front and am just gonna run a regular flat sprocket in the rear, but just dont know if I need a spacer for the rear and if so what size I will need. Who did you talk to?

 

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so. you're not going with a kit.

agree, probably cheaper to get the parts separately.

I would probably trust Zippers. but, don't know that for sure........
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well. who are you gonna get the spacer from??
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the people I dealt with were incompetent liars.
it was truly a nightmare dealing with them.
way too much than I care to type at this time.

I have flat sprocket in the rear
.500 offset on the front

and the spacer for my 006 SUPERglide is .875
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Yea Im just gonna buy all the pieces myself, theres nothing special about the kits. They just get all the parts needed and sell them with a spacer if needed then mark it up like $100 above retail. Everything for me came out to about $350 with the chain and thats RETAIL so it should be a lot cheaper. I can order the spacer from drag, they carry a few different sizes. I just need to know what size. I called Zippers again today and the guy said he thinks I will need a .600 spacer for the rear, but that he isnt 100% sure. So I might try that out and see how it goes. Thanks for the info though. Have you had any problems with the chain rubbing? Thats the other thing I ran into, some companys said you will need a chain slider so the chain doesn't rub on the frame or passenger pegs. I can't see that happening though if you have the offset right.

 

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there ya go. get the size the guy on the phone said might work.

keep us updated. curious to hear how it all works out.
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Got my second Chain conversion from Zippers yesterday. I had put one on my FXR and just got one for my FXDX as well. My belt and pulleys were trashed from debris and my many off road adventures. Grooved, cut, and worn down. The price to go chain was better and i just prefer to be able to fix a broken chain on the side of the road instead of a belt. And i have seen multiple break in many different situations.

Called them like usual, asked the questions i needed, they told me every part i needed and what the kit came with and it showed up at my door the next day.