Thanks for the welcome Steve. I guess my post was a rant at the current Centa drive being repeatedly described incorrectly in literature and by my dealer. To me there is a big difference between a mechanical addition using mass to balance tortional pulses such as the harmonic balancer used on Harley engines and a device that cushions the transmission with an elastic coupling.
I gather the second incarnation of the compensator was a big improvement on the first although still not silent but the flex Centa drive a significant further leap forward.
Regards - Richard
Richard,
I have to disagree with you, they are both "compensators" of sorts. They are both mechanical, albeit one uses Belleville Springs and the other uses round rubber inserts.
The purpose of both is to allow the shock pulses of the big V-Twin to "shake" at the motor crank, but not transfer that directly into the transmission.
This is actually the compensator from my '09 Harley running a 110" 45 degree V-Twin. You can see that there are ramps in both directions. The spring pack holds and "tries" to keep both pieces centered in the peak/valley of the metal compensator. The more aggressive the torque pulse is, the further the two pieces are allowed to rotate against each other and reducing the pulse flow into the driveline. Obviously the Harley compensator, as well as the original M3W compensator, will be metal safe and should NEVER let you down as the lugs, regardless of spring pressure will never go by each other. They will however make so much noise that you think the bottom end of your motor just left you in the dust.
Here is a picture of the original M3W compensator in grease ready for the top output cover to be installed.
Here is a picture of the original M3W smaller drive ramp. It's actually a Harley part with the chain teeth removed.
Here is a picture of the original M3W Belleville Spring pack that holds pressure on the two ramps to keep them centered.
The Centa compensator does exactly the same thing as the original M3W/Harley compensator does. The inner and outer two housings are held in touch with each other transmitting power to the driveline via the four round rubber rods just as the original M3W did via the spring held ramps. These rubber rods do the same thing in the elliptical slots in the inner and outer Centa housings. The center position is the same as the Harley compensator when no torque is applied. When torque is applied, the elliptical slots allow for fairly easy movement between the inner and out housings and progressively getting harder as they rubber rods are pressed into the ends of the slots effectively stopping any further rotation/slip between the two housings. The further the original M3W ramps moved from center, the harder they pushed against the spring pack thus reducing movement any further. When cruising, both the Harley and Centa rubber rods or metal ramps ride pretty much in the center.
In the case of the Centa, if/when the rubber rods wear out, the two pieces are designed in such a way to not crash or hit one another. So when the rods are gone, you will not be able to start your motors or if they go out while driving, your motor will free rev just as if your car broke its driveshaft.
Not sure if I prefer the Centa in this case as it WILL require trailering back home or to the dealership.
So you can see that both are truly compensators of the torque pulse from the motor to the driveline. Not really any different that wire wheels are wheels and steel stamped wheels are wheels. They totally different in makeup, but both do the very same thing.
I hope this didn't confuse you more, but hopefully allows you to use the word compensator now for both devices.
