Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

$200

$100

$50

No need

Other (say below)

$400 (whatever it takes)

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I have an old friend who's been in the motorcycle accessory industry, and idly wondered how many Zero owners would really commit to solving a problem I've been wary of for a while, providing a lower belt guard shaped for the Zero. It should work for the S and DS range without change, and gear ratio changes should only require a little repositioning (belt angle or distance wouldn't change that much if designed with some allowance).

Since there aren't many Zero owners, a higher price is likely just to deal with the overhead of designing and testing a product compared to the number of customers (fewer than Buell owners who also benefit from belt guards). The cost of a belt is about $90, but the inconvenience of having to change a belt early is high (motorcycle out of commission, shipped to the dealer, and waiting on parts), and costs labor and probably time for those who aren't paranoid enough to buy a spare belt in advance.

Prior thread with a DIY fabrication that seems okay but could use a professional taking time to scale it up and fine-tune the design:
http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=5619.0

What do you think?

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I was instantly reminded that a rear tire hugger would also be relevant. I can't tell whether I should make a poll for that, too, or consider the poll to be for either/both. Damn!

Well, either would be easily made using injection-molded ABS plastic, but a belt guard requires a little more precision and the hugger would probably need both S and DS versions, so it's a little complicated.

[quixotic]

It would also be great if it could be easily detached, so as to enable quick use of the belt tension tester.

[togo]

I'd buy one.  Especially if it could fold out of position to check tension easily.

[ElectricZen]

Great idea!  I would be very interested!

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[JaimeC]

I'd buy one.  Especially if it could fold out of position to check tension easily.

Folded or quickly detached... either works for me.

[Richard230]

I used to own a 1997 BMW F650 Funduro.  There was a French company that manufactured a fully enclosed chain guard for that bike and I bought one.  However, I was apparently the only person that did, as they stopped marketing the product shortly after it was introduced. It really worked great for keeping my drive chain clean and well oiled.  But it was a bear to deal with when adjusting the chain or removing the rear wheel to change the tire. 

My feeling is that it is going to be tough to come up with a design that fully encloses the belt, as well as allowing the tension to be easily checked, the belt to be adjusted and the rear wheel to be removed without too much hassle.  The other thing to consider is will enclosing the belt cause it to over-heat and thereby affect it life?

I think the best approach would be to go for a partial enclosure that includes a hugger with more coverage than stock and an attached belt guard that covers the upper and lower sections as much as possible, while leaving the outside of the belt exposed.  Unfortunately, I have bought plastic hugger/chain guards similar to this design for my motorcycles in the past and they were not all that cheap.  Prices ranged between $200 and $400 for the products. I really doubt that one could be produced and marketed for less than $400 in the small numbers that would be bought by Zero owners.   

[TJOBriens]

I used to own a 1997 BMW F650 Funduro.  There was a French company that manufactured a fully enclosed chain guard for that bike and I bought one.  However, I was apparently the only person that did, as they stopped marketing the product shortly after it was introduced. It really worked great for keeping my drive chain clean and well oiled.  But it was a bear to deal with when adjusting the chain or removing the rear wheel to change the tire. 

My feeling is that it is going to be tough to come up with a design that fully encloses the belt, as well as allowing the tension to be easily checked, the belt to be adjusted and the rear wheel to be removed without too much hassle.  The other thing to consider is will enclosing the belt cause it to over-heat and thereby affect it life?

I think the best approach would be to go for a partial enclosure that includes a hugger with more coverage than stock and an attached belt guard that covers the upper and lower sections as much as possible, while leaving the outside of the belt exposed.  Unfortunately, I have bought plastic hugger/chain guards similar to this design for my motorcycles in the past and they were not all that cheap.  Prices ranged between $200 and $400 for the products. I really doubt that one could be produced and marketed for less than $400 in the small numbers that would be bought by Zero owners.   

Do you have a picture of the chain guard?

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Hum. $400 is steep but I will add it.

[JaimeC]

Just a note that it doesn't HAVE to fully enclose the belt... just protect the exposed part on the underside of the bike.  The top half is covered, but the bottom is fully exposed.  If I can dig through some of my old Buell photos I'll see if I can find something that illustrates what I believe the OP had in mind.

[Richard230]

I used to own a 1997 BMW F650 Funduro.  There was a French company that manufactured a fully enclosed chain guard for that bike and I bought one.  However, I was apparently the only person that did, as they stopped marketing the product shortly after it was introduced. It really worked great for keeping my drive chain clean and well oiled.  But it was a bear to deal with when adjusting the chain or removing the rear wheel to change the tire. 

My feeling is that it is going to be tough to come up with a design that fully encloses the belt, as well as allowing the tension to be easily checked, the belt to be adjusted and the rear wheel to be removed without too much hassle.  The other thing to consider is will enclosing the belt cause it to over-heat and thereby affect it life?

I think the best approach would be to go for a partial enclosure that includes a hugger with more coverage than stock and an attached belt guard that covers the upper and lower sections as much as possible, while leaving the outside of the belt exposed.  Unfortunately, I have bought plastic hugger/chain guards similar to this design for my motorcycles in the past and they were not all that cheap.  Prices ranged between $200 and $400 for the products. I really doubt that one could be produced and marketed for less than $400 in the small numbers that would be bought by Zero owners.   

Do you have a picture of the chain guard?

Those were my picture-taking days before the invention of digital cameras.    So I don't have a clue where to find a specific photo in my piles of cheap photo albums in my storage closet. It took me a long time to switch to digital, but it sure has cut my photo processing costs and has actually allowed me to organize my photos and occasionally find one now and again.   

All I can remember about that chain enclosure was that it completely wrapped around the rear sprocket and that portion had to be removed in order to adjust chain tension or remove the rear wheel.

[JaimeC]

Found a photo from when we changed the tire on my old 1125R.  You can clearly see the upper and lower guards in this photo, and the belt hanging down.  These were aftermarket carbon fiber pieces, not the stock plastic ones.

[mistasam]

Count me in!  If it's built in with a rear hugger that would be cool too.  Totally worth $1-200.