Foot Controls And Beltdrives - Build-Off Ernie's Bike

14. Next, I cut and drilled a piece of 1/4-inch flat stock to weld to the frame to mount the master cylinder.

15. After the master cylinder was in place, I needed to fit the piston rod to run along the frame and to stay under the exhaust pipes (after I make the pipes, that is).

16. The end of the rod needed to be ground down a bit to fit in the tapered shape of the master cylinder's plunger.

17. Here are the brake controls in place. All I had left to do was fill the master cylinder with fluid. With the pipe in place hopefully the rod won't be seen.

18. With the controls in place I could install the BDL beltdrive. First things first, though; I still needed to install the motor plate.

19. As I said at the beginning of this article, I was lucky to get one of the BDL's new SS-2 reinforced proprietary 2-inch beltdrives with the company's new "Power Ball" ball bearing clutch lockup. The new design can easily handle the radical horsepower of today's big-inch motors, and it also comes with a new one-piece billet belt cover.

20. Here you can see how the Power Ball bearings work. There are grooves milled into the plate that are ramped so that as the motor is running, the centrifugal force pushes along the pressure plate, keeping the clutch from slipping. Also, there are different ball diameters and metals to choose from (from steel to titanium) to achieve stronger engagement.

21. There are two different pressure plates to choose from as well.

22. The install of the SS-2 is a lot like the standard BDL 3-inch; it just has a different clutch hub and belt size. Starting with the rear pulley...