BELT DRIVE

In order to transmit power from a source to a destination, some kind of connection is needed. A bicycle , for instance, uses a chain drive to transmit the power from pedalling action to the rear wheel. A belt drive uses a leather or rubber belt to transfer power from one pulley to another thus increasing or decreasing the speed of rotation of the driven pulley through mechanical advantage. For instance the alternator is rotated by a belt (sometimes called the fan belt) which is driven by a shaft which is directly attached to the crankshaft . Some motorcycle models (like Harley Davidson and Honda) have a belt drive to transmit power to the rear wheels. Since a belt drive requires no lubrication (in contrast with chain drive ) it is one of the cleanest final drive systems.