If you’ve ever taken a closer look at big, burly cruisers of today, you must have seen a belt driving the rear wheel, instead of a chain that you see on your everyday motorcycles. In case you haven’t managed a peek yet, we’re talking about a belt-drive. So how different are these belt drives from the usual chains that you see on other motorcycles?

To be honest, not much. The mechanism is more or less the same – the belt or the chain are the bike’s ‘final drive’. It is essentially the assembly that delivers the engine’s power, after it has passed through everything, including the gearbox. In short, the final drive turns the rear wheel with whatever power the engine generates.

The main difference, between a belt and chain drive is that of what the motorcycle is intended for.

Chain drives just happen to be the most economical ones, and they also lose the least amount of power (the actual power that reaches the wheel is always lesser than the power generated by the engine). They are indeed stronger and can take a lot of stress (that’s why you’ll always see chain drives on dirt-bikes), but they have their set of drawbacks in terms of maintenance. Chains are essentially rings of metal linked together, hence they need to be lubricated properly at all times. If you don’t take good care of them, they’ll get mangled up, break under high tension or even damage the sprockets. Chains may also develop slack over time, so you’ll need to adjust them periodically.

Belt drives, on the other hand, are usually seen in cruisers because they require less maintenance. Made for longevity, these rubber belts are reinforced with metal wires inside them for durability, hence they’re quite strong too. Although they’re expensive than chain drives, belt drives also offer a smoother ride, and don’t create the mess that flying chain lube can cause. But while we’re on the topic of smoothness, the best in terms of a hassle-free ride is probably the shaft drive.

It is essentially the same technology that’s used in cars – the engine makes some power, and a turning shaft delivers the same to the wheels. Of the three, shaft drives require the least amount of maintenance – all you need to do is check that the oil reservoir has optimum levels of lube.

Since you don’t have a dangling component like a belt or a chain, shaft-drives are used in adventure-touring motorcycles, which benefit from the added ground clearance. But they have their drawbacks too – because there are a lot of gears involved in power delivery, the power loss is the highest.

Also, the assembly is heavier, adding bulk to your ride.

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