Gates Introduces New Carbon Drive Moto X9 Belt Drive System

You may already be familiar with the Gates Carbon Drive. If you’re not, it’s a line of carbon-fiber belt drive products that powers a slew of bicycles, e-bikes, motorcycles, and scooters—both electric and piston-powered. Even if you don’t spend a lot of time thinking about drive belt construction, the advantages of a good system that uses the high strength of carbon fiber seem pretty clear-cut.  

No company wants to rest on its laurels, though. That’s why Gates just introduced its new Carbon Drive Moto X9 system. It’s both extremely strong and extremely narrow—which opens up a world of possibilities for manufacturers concerned about design and belt system fitment. Let’s take a look. 

Gates calls the Carbon Drive Moto X9 its narrowest-ever motorcycle and scooter drive belts. From Zero Motorcycles to Delfast machines, Gates has been making its presence felt in the electric moto space for some time. Modern piston-powered scooters have long made use of drive belts, and more electric scooters are adopting them, as well. In short, it’s a good time to be the kind of specialist that Gates is. 

What’s so great about the Moto X9? Well, aside from being extremely strong and durable, Gates also trimmed its size and weight down so all that strength fits in the smallest possible package. The belt is narrower, and sprocket diameters are smaller. Lighter weight and a smaller footprint give greater design freedom, because you don’t have to worry so much about space. 

What kind of size are we talking? In the Moto X9, Gates uses its 11mm-pitch medium-torque carbon drive belts. The company says they’re comparable to 520 chain width. That’s pretty impressive when you’re thinking about drive belts. Additionally, Gates claims the new Moto X9 units have a much longer life than their previous products—as much as 84 percent longer, in fact.  

Now, for the DIY-inclined scooter enthusiasts among us who are thinking about their next drive belt change, I have a bit of bad news for you. Sadly, for you (and me), Gates only sells to original equipment manufacturers, and doesn’t market different sizes of belt drive components as aftermarket parts. However, if you’re a manufacturer, you might be very interested to learn more about the Gates Carbon Drive Moto X9 for your next project.  

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