Not for me at all.

When I was 16, a thread from a new pair of jeans got entangled in a fully covered countershaft sprocket on my 125 and ripped them in two! I had to go home with maybe 60% of my pants on and without my bike that required removal of the cover and an hour's work to get the denim out of the chain. Boy, was I a weird looking sight!

 

That was because the MoCo's design was less than any of the aftermarket kits. Plus, they forgot that the belts need some sorta air flow or they deteriorate from the heat build-up.

 

Well that's enough for me to never want one. Lol.

It took me all of 5 min to change my primary fluid yesterday, I think ill keep it covered up.

 

I don't run a completely open belt, but have carved up the outer primary so pretty much everything is exposed, but covered enough that you really hafta want to get your shoe/pant leg/fingers mangled.

I've run belts since 1975. The first was on my '72 XLCH chop; that's Sportster and it ran in the oil bath. That belt was a Gilmer belt, meaning square toothed, like the old Jimmy blower drives at the time. It lasted about 7 years and finally broke after I sold the bike and it got taken to a drag strip.

Next bike was a '78 FLH, 3 speed/reverse, rocker clutch-hand shift. Replaced the primary drive when the compensator crapped. It was enclosed, but I had to learn the hard way about ventilating. Bike went about 180,000 miles on 2 belts; 220,000 miles total.

Open primaries don't have to be the super-expensive kind. Most are now because of the bling factor - you really don't need a 3" drive on a stock or slightly modified motor. Also, the average rider does little fabrication and needs a complete kit/bolt-on product. An open belt drive can be fabbed with a hacksaw, hand files, sandpaper, straight edge, pencil, and the usual tools necessary to disassemble/assemble a primary. Cost, minus the "free" labor, would be between $300 and $1k, depending upon the year and model of the bike.

Bottom line on "most" open primaries - it's for the looks.

 

open belts don't like gravel very well

 

How do they do when its raining

 

The open belt primary does look cool, but I'll keep my chain-driven, oil bathed, primary.

 

You and I my friend are brothers from different mothers , I could not have said any of that a word better it's all so true . Well said , very well said .

My old Karata belt system went 12 years and well into 6 figure miles on a couple belts . Only reason I don't still have it the pulleys wore out and they didn't make them that style anymore . My present belt sys. I've modded everything and I can change it in 20 minutes on the side of the road a be gone . Get some funny looks when the new breed see that belt hanging out of my tool bag but mine will never see the trailer to the dealer or me a cab home from somewhere either .

 

Twizted, that early Sporty oil-bath Gilmer-drive was a Karata. It was a tough set-up. I failed to properly cinch down the two bolts in the holes where the old tensioner mounted. They vibrated loose and sailed around inside that oil filled closed primary until they settled at the bottom out of harm's way. I was running well over a ton when it happened -"What's that burning rubber smell?" The belt survived with only a few "bruise" marks.

Karata still makes some great stuff, and it can be very reasonably priced as often the stock clutch guts are re-used.

 

Not something I'd ever want on the Ultra Classic, but I do enjoy looking at them at all the bike shows and the occasional bike nite I've seen.