[twisty]

imported post

philcsand wrote:

So, I was sitting here thinking, why the hell do we use belts for timing? Belts break, and when they break, the engine blows up. How hard could it be to fit some 530 drive-line chain to properly sized sprockets on the drive-shaft and cam-shafts?

Has anyone ever thought about this?

philcsand, long timing chains of the length required for the GoldWing would add a massive amount of moving mass, would require many power robbing idlers to contain the chains trend to whip at speed, would probably require a couple of hydraulic tensioners to keep the chains from self destructing, would need expensive roller chains (probably double row).. For years most 4 cylinder engines couldn't handle even short timing chains due to the uneven power pulses. With the advent of better chain materiel, hydraulic tensioner, premium idlers, special plastic guides,some of the later 4 cylinder engines now use timing chains. They are still a trouble spot & source of excess noise in some of the engines that use them.

Twisty