It's all the same stuff, same parts fit all the Savage types.

When you get 'r done, please post the costs and pics if possible. I was wondering how many miles to expect out of the belt.....With better performance w/the chain, as has been stated, at a lower cost....Should that be the way to go.....

When swerving, keep the upper body upright, independent of the motorcycle lean-MSF

If anyone can point me to some links of what I need that'd be great.. I'm having trouble finding any front or rear sprockets for a GS550 >.<

I read on the forums most users went with a 45/17

I found this link and want to confirm with someone that this is what I'm looking for before I order the parts.. do I need the '82 GS550L (the section third from the top)

http://newmotorcycleparts.com/drive_parts/sprockets/sprockets_suz.html

and a 120 link chain will work for a 45/17 correct?

MotoBuddha wrote on 09/05/11 at 15:13:48:


wow... I feel dumb.  I use eBay for almost everything lol.

So a 17 front and 45 rear should a 120 link chain work?

Since you are pretty much trashed, if you are throwing away the old sprockets and the belt I would like to have them.

(are you sure you are really trashed?   Want to post a pic and get some informed opinions?)

Trouble is, folks judge our belt like it was a rubber Harley belt -- and it is NOT, it is a hard plastic industrial drive belt that is practically immortal.

You say "trashed" -- what does that mean exactly?

Well, the belt is gone -- how about the sprockets?   Do you still have them?

Now, in fairness let me tell you a little fairy tale --



The Ugly Belt that Wouldn't Die.

There once was a magical belt in the land where Savages dwelt, it was an ugly dark plastic belt, made of molten dragon turds that were melted and cast around a thick flat section of kevlar type tire cords, the strong bullet-proof stuff that aircraft and racing tires are made from.

The dragon belt was ugly and mean and the plastic dragon turds were so tough the clever dwarves who designed the belt had to put little ribs on the top to control the dragon turd cracking that must take place to allow the inflexible turd material to bend endlessly around the small pulley.  The indestuctable cord that was looped endlessly around and around through the very center of the flat part of the belt held everything together, much like a string of beads that your girlfriend wears around her neck.  The beads are separate, but the string holds it all together.

This magical dragon belt was so strong it could bend coins to conform to the tooth form of the belt, or allow sharp rocks to push all the way through the belt and the belt still survived and worked fine for 10,000's of more miles of hard use.

The dragon turd teeth on the magical belt were so long lasting the aluminum pulleys would wear out before the belt did.   Indeed, the center splined hub of the smaller pulley was well know for dying before the belt even got worn in well.

Few realized the worth of the magical belt, because there were many other belts out in the Savage kingdom made by Hurley, who was a real poophead when it came to belts.  Hurley made them out of rubber instead of magical dragon turds, so they did not last very long and when a Hurley belt cracked people ran in haste to throw down $150 or more for a new belt before the skinny thin rubber Hurley belt disintergrated on them.

As we said, the magical dragon turd belts were practically immortal -- only 3 had ever died in the history of the list and those were murdered by munching rocks and such like which damaged the internal cords (but these injured magical belts did not give up easily and were known to keep on working when severed 50% in two to give the owner time to get another one used as the new ones cost $298 each).

It was considered very lucky to have an immortal dragon turd belt, because the dragon magic made your bike lucky and by inference you became lucky too.

Dragon belts were certainly very ugly and they looked cracked so some silly owners would throw them away and go buy chains that required lubing and constant fiddling and adjusting and they wore out in only 10-20,000 miles.

(the chain's total life span was the same distance a dragon belt could go after pushing a rock completely through it).

Smart owners just replaced the small pulley when the splining wore out in the middle and kept on using their ugly magical dragon belts and they rode on happily ever after.  

They were, after all, the lucky ones.