I put gear drive on my 99 Ultra @ 100K miles, 114K now, when it is cold you hear a slight sound, but is gone as soon as it warms up. Gears take less effort to turn than chain drives. As for looking at the tensioners, mine were still good at 50K both times but I changed them anyway.

Toby

 

twist..the least HP consumption drive is a roller chain. Look it up if you do not believe me. Our rubber belt secondary system however is not one of them. Gears generate a lot of drag as load is applied across the gear tooth as they slide in and out. When Harley modified their transmission to bevel gears required side bearing to handle this load (drag) Roller chains roll. Quite messy is a secondary system like the rear chain of old but the most efficient system in an enclosed case with lubrication.