Since ’92 all Harleys are belt driven but there are still plenty of old chain driven Harleys on the road. My ’82 Ironhead is somewhat young compared to many of the vintage bikes on the road but it’s still running a chain.

Harley brought out belt drive, 5 speed and rubber mounting in 1980 on the FLT and primary belt on the FXB Sturgis.

The primary drive consists of an engine output sprocket or pulley (attached to the crankshaft), clutch assembly, roller chain or belt, and housing that encloses the entire assembly. The purpose of the clutch is to engage the primary drive to the transmission.

100,000 miles

Unlike chain drive, which requires very frequent cleaning, tightening and maintenance, belt drives are relative maintenance free. Belt drive systems also run much smoother, with much less jerks as compared to chain drives, and produce incomparably less noise too.

The Chain Drive Opener And it’s still the most popular type of drive mechanism for garage door openers. They are exactly the same as the belt drive with the belt simply replacing the chain in the drive mechanism. If you have an old garage door it’s almost a certainty that it’s a chain drive.

There’s no need to live with this nuisance as you can install your own new garage door opener in a weekend. You don’t need anything more than a socket wrench and drill/driver to remove the old opener and install the new one.

Let’s start with the genie. This garage door opener has been made using the safe T-Beam security system. This works by simply changing the access code on each door activation to improve safety. The chamberlain wins in this comparison. Its security and safety features are just unbeatable.

The horsepower of a garage door opener does little if anything to affect the power of the opener. While openers do come with different amounts of horsepower, the labels are primarily a gimmick. Luckily, most openers aren’t too powerful for the standard garage door.

A 1/2 horsepower garage door opener can lift approximately 300 pounds, which is the average weight of a two-car steel door. A one-horsepower opener can easily lift approximately 400 pounds.

In other words, Liftmaster garage door openers are more expensive than the Chamberlains. At the same time, they offer more power and advanced features. As a rule of thumb, Liftmaster openers are suitable for heavier doors or multi-door installations.

Chamberlain Group (CGI), the corporate parent company to LiftMaster, Chamberlain, Merlin, and Grifco, designs and engineers residential garage door openers, commercial door operators, and gate entry systems.

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• Genie 2055-LED Stealth 500 Essentials, LED Bulbs Included, Ultra-Quiet Belt Drive Garage Door Opener.
• SKYLINK Atoms ATR-1611C 1/2HPF Garage Door Opener with Extremely Quiet DC Motor, Chain Drive, White.