The intended victim - an innocent softail trans case getting ready to be hacked up. Take note of the fine, accurate (eyeballed) half-moon on the right side. Apparently the guys at Karata have a template to make this easy. I used a marker (to make it hard, I guess). Stock Harlee Road King starter. Purchased cheap and bolted on to the trans case to check fitment. Everybody wants all this high-powered chrome stuff they see on Discovery Channel, so stiffs like us can score stock take-offs for next to nothing. Here's the 5-speed to 4-speed trans adapter hand-tightened to the trans case. I saw one of these plates on eBay the other day and it was starting a twelve bucks.

Now I have always been a fan of belt drives - but I'm a cheap bastard, too. So there was simply no way I was gonna fork out 14 or 15 hundred for some 3 or 4 inch open belt. My thoughts were this - we know that those "bolt-in" belt drives that fit inside the primary can be had pretty cheap, besides - I like a skinny belt over a fat-ass 6 inch wide mondo belt anyday. So I figured - why couldn't I run this as an open belt and then to a chain drive / softail  conversion to make the final drive classic FX chain? Are you with me here? Primary would be "enclosed" 1.5 inch belt drive run open - with a sprocket to drive a rear chain. I saw a similar rig on a Stevenson's Cycle chop at Sturgis using a Tech Cycle starter rig, so I knew it could be done. If I opted NOT to use a motor / transmission plate (no inner primary), then (with the correct length belt) I could mate this drive up to ANYTHING with a spline driveshaft coming out of the cases. All I would have to do is crank down hard on the trans so that it wouldn't move. Remember that the original pans used tin primaries - not a lot of wiggle-stop there. MORE>