From: tomw@megatek.com (Tom Wright)
Subject: Re: lane-splitting etiquette (& **** Harley questions ****)
Reply-To: tomw@megatek.com
Organization: Megatek Corporation, San Diego, California
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 18:41:02 GMT

In article <102961@netnews.upenn.edu> ggrevera@gradient.cis.upenn.edu (George Grevera) writes:

	(other stuff deleted)
>
>1) Why did Harley deem it important to develop belt drive?  (I know chains
>are dirty.)  It seems that many clamor for performance (carbs, cams, exhausts)
>but few clamor for belt drive.  Let me put it this way.  From what I gather,
>to add belt drive to a Sporty costs about $400-$500.  And an S&S E costs about
>$300 and say you get a cam for $200.  Would you rather belt drive or a carb
>and a cam for your money?
>
IMHO belt drives are a major advance. You're right that chains are messy, but
that's only the start of it. Two Japanese bikes I owned in the 1970s put their
drive chains through their engine cases. Freequent oiling and adjusting are
required. Chains and sprockets wear out fairly freequently and the sprockets
are expensive and should really re replaced in pairs. Chains can be reliable
and efficient in the right environment, but flapping around in the breeze
with no continuous oil bath picking up road grime is not such an environment.

I've also owned a BMW, which of course has shaft drive. I found the play
("lash") annoying, and the maintenance was a pain -- 2 more places to change
the oil and measure the oil to be added.

My Harley mechanic tells me their belts generally last 75,000 miles, and
often need only one adjustment (at 500 miles).

They're clean, tight, rugged. I love 'em. My only tiny complaint is that the
tensioner makes a bit of a scraping sound if you're pushing the bike by hand.
It makes it sound like something might be wrong. Dry lube helps address this.

>2) Why do 4 cylinder foreign bikes have 4 carbs but 2 cylinder Harley's have
>one carb (although the XR1000 might have had 2)?

I believe part of this is due to the V configuration. See many previous posts 
on cooling the rear cylinder. See also #6.
>
>3) Why did Harley wait until '91 to give Sporty's a 5-speed tranny?
>
>4) Why isn't a rubber mounted engine at least an option for a Sporty?  Does
>any third party manufacture a rubber mount system for a Sporty?
>
>5) Why doesn't Harley manufacture the engine in the XR750 (Rotax of Austria
>does I believe)?
>
>6) Why doesn't Harley sell a street version of the XR750?

In the mid 80s Harley made a tricked up version of the Sportster with 2
carbs, high exhaust, special suspension -- very much like a street XR750.
It was not a commercial success. This gets into the big continuing flap 
about why people buy Harleys versus Japanese crotch rockets. IMHO having
a big twin, which even in stock trim is faster than virtually every car
sold and 90% of the motorcycles sold, is enough performance for me. There
are no public roads where one can safely use the 165 MPH top speed of 
today's fastest sport bikes. Harley is selling bikes as fast as they can
build them, so they don't need to spend time at the moment thinking up
new ones to sell. Plus there are other configurations they could build
that will be sure winners -- like a Heritage Springer.
>
>7) Why is 2-tone paint only an option for the Sporty 1200 (I know about the
>custom, pay-through-the-nose program)?
>
>8) Does Harley make more money on bikes or on t-shirts (and other accessories)?
>
Try getting their Annual Report.
>
>Inquiring minds want to know!
>
>
>George
>ggrevera@gradient.cis.upenn.edu
>
Tom Wright
'89 Heritage Special Classic