Way way way back when I got my '91 Softail, Harley did have an emergency temporary belt. I remember it was spendy, & went together with allen cap screws & nuts.

Wonder if they still offer one.

 

Ah, no, sorry, belt changes on a Yamaha RoadStar or 950 VStar it's big $, Victory I have no idea. The thing with my Suzuki chain drive is I can change gears / chain on a whim for the upcoming task. Yes, they puke gross oil everywhere.

 

Good point. The Sporties and Buells are easy enough, but of course the big twins have 'heritage', tracing their design and layout back to the bad old days of chains! It would be possible to swap the drive over from left to right, making the belt more accessible, although I suspect that would require re-engineering of much of the bike. Of course belts are so reliable that replacement is a rare event........

 

Found one... http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US...ts/-J00090.pdf

 

I think you'll find that kit is only available for the original 1 1/2" wide belts.

It is worth pointing out that for the heavy weight touring bikes the belt width has reduced over the years to 1 1/8" and more recently only 1" wide. The sidecars had a heavy weight wide belt, but the modern trikes use a heavy weight 1 1/8" belt. So technology has improved belt strength over time, to more than offset bike weight and increased power.

 

A 530 chain wont break . it will out last a belt. I have chain I uae dry lube . no mess and I keep my chain tight so its no noisey at all .

 

5 hr job.??? To change out a chain I can do it in 2 hrs.

You by a good 530 oring chain with pressed in master link . you will never have to replace it.

I've broken belts . worn them out. There rubber chain is steel .. Hmm ill go with chain I can fix a broken chain on said of the road u cant re attach a broken belt

 

Both have there advantages and drawbacks.Want to put a really big or really small rear sprocket and chain on your Harley? easy.

 

Paved roads everywhere, still a lot of gravel and maybe the only way to get somewhere. I don't trust a belt on gravel roads.

 

To change out a chain I can do it in 2 hrs ... I wouldn't brag about 2 hours to put a chain on ( even on the side of the road )


Actually you can in an emergency situation ... the question is how long will the HD Repair Kit hold up.

The rear problem ( if you do ) break a chain is what other damage will be done. Seen many chains go through an engine case ( especially on the old Jap bikes ) and a couple of primary cases on HD's