How is power transmitted from the front wheel to rear wheel on a motorcycle?

Answer

There is no power to the front wheel of a motorcycle but there are several ways that power is transmitted from the engine to the rear wheel. The engine is connected to a transmission which converts engine torque and rpm into a usable and variable gear rotation which is then transferred to the rear wheel by chain, belt, or direct gear drive or automatic transmission. The difference in the size of the front and rear sprockets and the gear ratio in the transmission determine low speed torque and top speed. The most common is chain drive, it is in all off road motorcycles because of its ease of maintenance, durability, and flexibility for suspention travel it is rather noisy though. Belt drive is found in a lot of cruisers like harley davidson that dont require much suspention travel and where a slightly quieter ride is desireable, Lastly on the luxury bikes you might find where manufacturers have utilized a driveshaft of sorts that is directly connected to the transmission for the quietest ride available.

First answer by Ganderton. Last edit by Ganderton. Contributor trust: 1820 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 18 [recommend question]