It does make me wonder why Morgan didn't use a shaft to rear hub, cost probably. But the short drive belt isn't elegant engineering.
So who will be the first to offer a triplex chain conversion? With a suitable oiling device a chain should last 20,000 mikes, cannot move from side to side and is unlikely to snap. It also can't make the noise a belt can make....
Why would you want to replace a reliable, maintenance free drive belt with a chain that requires regular cleaning, tensioning and lubricating? As far as I am aware the drive belt has not been a problem. Other than the very early ones they have not been prone to breakages, have they? They sqeak a bit sometimes but I can live with that if it is reliable. The drive gear wear seems to be an issue that needs a fix as milages increase and the tolerances and mounting of the bevel gearbox are not great. My bevel box is scheduled for a change for excessive noise as well.
The reason for the drive belt and the rear supension set up is to avoid power on/off jackup of the rear supension I believe? If you use a shaft drive to the rear hub the torque reaction does this. BMW use a Paralever system to couteract this effect. Both my Grinnall Scorpion and Guzzi JZR suffered a bit from this but the Morgan doesn't. Morgan made a mess of the front suspension but seem to have got the rear about right.
