Scootworks Belt Drive Conversion

[burkbuilds]

I'm putting a lot of miles on my 2009 500 (11,000 in about 9 months) and I'm having to spend time almost every weekend messing with the chain and basically, I'm looking for a way to avoid having to spend that much time with chain maintenance. Have any of you converted your 500's to belt drive? If so, did you use a kit like the one Scootworks sells, or are there other companies that have kits for the 500? Are you happy with the conversion? What are the pros and cons of going belt drive vs chain drive on our bikes?

http://www.scootworks.com/shop.cgi/page ... T_SID_HERE

These kits aren't cheap,($550-$600) but I figure I'm gonna have to replace the chain and front and rear sprockets at some point anyway and this might be a good choice.

Any experience with these kits and advice appreciated!

[Triangles]

when I get my money back from uncle sam I"m getting the scootworks belt kit. I would have done it sooner, but I needed the money to help somone from getting their car repossed. It changes the final drive from 2.65 to 2.1 or something like that. I did the calculations last year and 5th gear with the belt is taller than 6th gear with the chain. So the gearing will be quite different. I'll post the spreadsheet when I find it.

[burkbuilds]

I'd like to see that information.

I was also wondering if it would be possible to get the pulleys from an older EN500A with belt drive and install them on my bike and just buy a new belt from Kawasaki? Does anyone know if they will fit? Why are the Kawasaki belts more than twice the price of a scootworks replacement belt? I can get a used front and rear belt type sprocket off of a 95 model 500 for about $100 but the dealers want over $200 for the Kawasaki belts.

[Triangles]

you'd have to get the coupling for from an EN500A too. (the thing that the pulley bolts to, between the pulley and rear wheel.) The major problem with this is the front pulley. The drive shaft ends are different. You'd have to engineer some way to get the front pulley on the newer drive shaft. I suppose it may be possible some how, but I gave up when I saw they were different. I'd love to see it if you figure it out. The old pulleys are quite readily available on fleabay. Scootworks sells an "OEM" style belt for just under $200.

I would suppose you could also get an older drive shaft and put that in your transmission, but I would think that would be quite a bit of work. That's also making the big assumption that the older shaft will fit. Tearing into a perfectly good transmission is not a task I want to tackle.

[burkbuilds]

Thanks for the heads up on those differences. I went by and talked with my local Kawasaki dealer today, they also happen to be a scootworks distributor and he offered to get the conversion kit for me for about $90 less than buying direct from scootworks plus free shipping, but I'd have to pay sales tax. (I know, we are supposed to do that anyway.) I've got a nice Delta Wood Shaper I think I'll try to sell, and maybe come up with enough funds that way to pay for this conversion using the scootworks kit.
Part of me thinks I am just getting lazy and I should just keep on lubing the chain and forget about it, but it would be nice not to have to mess with it almost every Saturday.
I'm also trying to convince myself that it would probably get me about 5 more mpg on the highway compared to what I'm currently running since the final drive ratio with the scootworks belt conversion is 2.22:1 and right now I'm running 2.46:1 by using the 17 tooth front sprocket. At current gas prices it would only save me about $100 per year and even if they went up to $4 gallon again it would only save me about $150 per year which means it will basically never pay for itself in fuel costs.
Now if I consider that I'm probably going to have to buy a new o-ring chain and sprockets sometime during the next three years that could figure into about $150 worth of materials . . . can you tell I'm struggling trying to justify this expense?

[Jablonsky]

OK, the rear end seems not to be a problem, but:

...The major problem with this is the front pulley. The drive shaft ends are different. You'd have to engineer some way to get the front pulley on the newer drive shaft...

Scootworks kit obviously solved this problem. The question is: how?

Installing kits usually does not require a complete tear down, so let's assume there should be a way to adapt the front pulley to the drive shaft and not the opposite. Correct?

[Jablonsky]

Maybe this can help

[burkbuilds]

With the scootworks kit, you still use the nut from the 500C version to hold the pulley onto the shaft, only instead of using the lock washer that comes on the original, they specify using permanant locking compound to hold the nut in place.

[Triangles]

Hmm, upon second look it may be as simple as getting the pulley and spacer for the 500A and putting it on the 500C. I may investigate this in a few weeks when I have time.

[burkbuilds]

Upon further reflection, I decided to save my money and stick with the chain drive. Maybe with my next bike I'll give the belt a try, but that's a long way off.

[Jablonsky]

Tough decision, wasn't it? If I were a gambler, I would bet it's not final.

(I've changed my mind about 17.000 times before clicking the "Buy it now" button for the aluminum wheels )

[burkbuilds]

You may be right, I can't decide.

[Jablonsky]

Definition of a biker: special breed of semi domestic animal, always trying to make mods even on a perfect bike, no matter if he needs them or not.

Good luck with your project when you decide

[Triangles]

If you stay with the chain you may be interested in some sort of chain oiler system. a few that I'm aware of are: scott oiler, pro oiler, hawk oiler, and loobman. Loobman is pretty simple and cheap, the others are more expensive and quite a bit more sophisticated.

[burkbuilds]

Thanks Triangles, I checked out those sites and just ordered a lubeman for $29.70 USD delivered. This looks like a good economical solution to my one complaint about the chain drive, constantly having to spend time re-oiling the chain. I like that the lubeman is a manual system that doesn't depend on electronics or battery power, just my ability to "squeeze" a reservoir once in a while to pump the oil into the tube. I also liked the idea that it oils both sides of the chain instead of just one side as most other oilers do.