All the Harley starters are surely made to run in oil, they still have primary chains in an oil bath.
ET: Engine (Twin) Godet electric starter
- Thread starter greg brillus
- Start date
Patrick Godet did build at least one 1330 with a belt drive, the Newby item. That was done for my friend Nigel in 2010.
After completion Patrick told him they would never fit another belt drive to any of their bikes as it had been far too much work.
It is a chunk of work, although I didn't find it all that bad. The really difficult part ( making the belt drive)has already been done by Bob Newby.
As always when tackling something new, the first one is the worst one.
There is a lot to like about the Newby product. First off, all of the belt drives save a lot of weight and Newby's is the lightest belt drive made. It is probably the best design as well, with no clutch centre to wear out.
Glen
After completion Patrick told him they would never fit another belt drive to any of their bikes as it had been far too much work.
It is a chunk of work, although I didn't find it all that bad. The really difficult part ( making the belt drive)has already been done by Bob Newby.
As always when tackling something new, the first one is the worst one.
There is a lot to like about the Newby product. First off, all of the belt drives save a lot of weight and Newby's is the lightest belt drive made. It is probably the best design as well, with no clutch centre to wear out.
Glen
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Good comments........Yes ok the Harley ones may run in a bath of oil, but the starter is up high........The new starter pinion/clutch assemblies do have a small seal between the 2 main shafts........the earlier ones did not, but the sealed main bearing will not stop oil passing through so i made up an alloy disc that sits behind this bearing and has an inner and outer "O" rings to help it seal on the shaft..........The Bob Newby clutch/belt drives are great, but they are a racing clutch, not really suited to road bikes........The center hub bearing is an inner and outer fine race with about 60 tiny ball bearings in grease........In service this grease disappears quite quickly and the bearing will run dry, then the assembly starts to gal up and starts doing damage.........On a racer you would pull apart and service every season or as required, most all folk would not think of this.........
I had mine apart to repack at 5500 miles and all the original grease was still in place and looking like new. I didn't need to add any, just slapped things back together.
I'll look at it again at 15 or 20 thousand, but the design seems to hold the grease in perfectly.
It helps to click into neutral at the long stops. Most do this, especially older riders, however some do not.
Glen
I'll look at it again at 15 or 20 thousand, but the design seems to hold the grease in perfectly.
It helps to click into neutral at the long stops. Most do this, especially older riders, however some do not.
Glen
Eugene, does this system requires the belt to be set tight as it appears to be in the photo?
The belt needs to run with a lot of slack cold( belt free to twist 90 degrees) This changes to just a little slack when hot.
Those hubs grow a lot and the belt does not give. It's essentially multiple endless steel cables encased in rubber.
I was a bit surprised at how loose the Newby setups were when cold. On checking when fully hot about 80 percent of the slack had disappeared. This was true for both the 650ss and the 1360, which has a ventilated case.
Glen
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One thing I´d hate about dry multiplate clutches is the noise and most likely wear on all plates and splines in the basket or so when you want that for road use . Seems with modern Ducatis they are used to replace the complete clutch in max. 20 000 miles intervals. My guess , spares are dearer for Ducatis than for Vincents.
Vic
Vic
Interesting findings on the BN clutch Glen, so perhaps my worry is from one used in racing only, where the assembly is spinning at much higher revolutions than normally found on a road bike. A friend has one on a Norvin he built recently and he said it works a treat on the road..........They are simple and have thick steel plates which help with heat if you slip the clutch much..........Under racing they cop an absolute flogging especially the guys who run outfits. Good point there Vic, the only saving grace is that most of these bikes only get ridden once a month so not a big deal really.....There wouldn't be many daily riders out there.
The Newby clutches are silent, or at least I can't hear any noise coming from the clutch. The friction plates are of kevlar compound. I believe Ducati's are in bronze.
There's a reason Ducati clutches are noisy.........Why do you think they all run open covers..........And we think Vincent owners are special.