| Author | Message | ||
     Windaddiction |
Hey so I had her off road again with the dual sport boys today. We had a good group, me a dr 650 dr 200 gs 650 and a HP2 ( btw way over priced and the uly skooled it) anyways... so we hit the logging road then turn off and head upto into the snow. The 216's suck in the snow but actully work really well in some tough spots. High lite of the day was doing a small river crossing with steep banks, I got both wheel off the ground! it was awesome. Now fo the funny part, I head back to town to goto our BRAG meeting, no the way home I hit the throtle to do a wheelie.. and bam rev limiter... Broke the belt, after 6000km i broke the belt... wtf pics to follow | ||
| Buelldualsport |
Guranted for the life of the bike RIGHT ? Ride Safe | ||
| Lowflyer |
You should get some kind of an award! I wonder if you are the first. Everything I've read says this belt is good for the life of the bike. | ||
| Windaddiction |
wahoo! where do I claim my prize lol man I dunno it's a clean break.... maybe it's all the wheelies?????? | ||
| Newfie_buell |
AHhhhhhhhhh Ohhhhhhhh the dreaded belt, Broke my first belt at 19000km approximately, the second belt went at 4000km later. Went to a chain after that and no more problems. Of course that was on a S1, good luck with your belts. The belt is the Achilles Heel of the Buell world. | ||
| Lowflyer |
"The “Hybrex” drive belt is a new piece from Goodyear that was strenuously tested under extreme off-road conditions. The use of a belt off-road is hugely controversial with many riders having made up their mind in opposition before knowing any of the facts. Time will show which camp is correct, but the Buell engineers are supremely confident in the belt’s ability to survive whatever is thrown at it. There is, in fact, no suggested replacement interval. A similar tempest in a teapot brewed up when belt drive was first introduced on the Harley’s. Dire warnings were the norm, but belts have proven to be an excellent, lightweight, durable method of drive." -- http://www.sacborg.com/reviews/uly3.html Boy, it sure didn't take long to figure out who was right. | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
I could hardly call one breakage proven wrong. One properly placed rock could break a chain too. I'll bet there's been at least one chain breakage from all the chained adventure bikes this year? Anyway, sounds like windaddiction REALLY uses his bike. The engineers in the online Uly discussion even said it was more of an on road than off road bike. | ||
| Smcnamara |
Windaddict- You'd be doing all Buell owners a big service if you will take the time on Monday to contact Buell and get word about this to engineering, and perhaps supply the belt to them for review. If there really is an issue with the belt, but it wasn't uncovered during testing, it's possible it's a manufacturing flaw, and also possible you've encountered something they didn't expect. Either way, with your help, perhaps we can end up with an improved part. | ||
| Lowflyer |
One breakage in a belt that has been sold as 'good for the life of the bike' is enough for me. I use mine off road as well. | ||
| Windaddiction |
Well I'll be phoning my dealer tm to pick up my bike and fix it, and ushally they take the belt and send it into buell, at least they sent in my faulty rotor.... Now I mainly drive on road 98% of the time ( i have 6000 km on here and maybe 150 is off-road) This was a "normal" de-active logging road, and I mean the bike performed to a tee, and on the way home ( before the belt broke) I was passing sports bikes lol. They had some long faces seeing me pass them! Anyways I'll let you all know the result but until then here are some pics . ( BTW my dealer is fully standing behind my use of this bike off-road, I do not abuse it at but I have no hesitation in taking it off-road)    | ||
| Prior |
I agree that you should probably let Buell customer service know about the breakage, be it through you or your dealer and their warranty channels. Buell did make design the belt for the lifetime of the bike, but occasional breakages will happen. It's the toss up between a guy that rides in a very conservative manner vs. one who is very aggressive in his riding. Figure out what the average rider will do, design the belt for that. The rest will be dealt with through warranty. It sucks when you do fail a belt or any other component, but it is any manufacturers way of keeping the life of the vehicle as high as possible, and still keeping costs down. The same goes for cars, tractors, bikes, even airplanes. A certain failure rate is considered acceptable. Scary, huh? | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
Those are some awesome pictures wind! When I said you REALLY use your bike, I meant that as a good thing  I just look at it from the manufacturing stand point, there's going to be bad apples. I think this was the case with this belt. | ||
| Windaddiction |
So talking with my service manager today he asked if I rode it off-road and I say yes. He then say well you probally picked up a rock, and I say ya but the uly belt was tested for stuff like this, he has no response, man I'm glad the sales people and owner care alot about buells, to bad m sales person has today off. Oh and to top it off they don't think they have a belt in stock LOL . I guess when they are made for the life of the bike who needs t carry them  | ||
| Windaddiction |
Oh one more things for Daves, any comments on this from a dealer stand point? | ||
| Fool4buell |
I don't know why Buell does not have a recommended replacement interval except it will vary considerably depending on riding style. In any case, "no suggested replacement interval" does not mean "guaranteed for the life of the bike." I don't see where Buell ever made that claim. | ||
| Dennis_c |
I have 1998 S3T with 55,000 hard miles lots of wheelies I need a now motor but the belt is still good. | ||
| Skyguy |
I live in Crestline CA and just the met the fellow yesterday that designed the oil cooler for the Buells. He asked how I was liking my bike and if I had any troubles. I told him no trouble except for getting stranded with a broken belt at 12,000 miles. He said that the belt is so tight that when a stone gets between the spoket and the belt it was not unusual for he to snap. Based on that if I had a Uly that I played with offroad I would switch to a chain. A chain can usually be fixed trailside. Or I would carry a spare belt! | ||
| Lowflyer |
"I would carry a spare belt!" Not me. I have the HD extended warranty. I want them to have to airlift my bike out with a helicopter when that belt breaks.  | ||
| Pbransonii |
One of the guys on the advrider.com board mentioned that if snow and ice gets packed in the belt sprocket it can cause the belt to stretch enough to break with hard use. He said it's a problem on Caterpillar tracks that is remedied with holes cut in the tracks to allow the snow to escape. | ||
| Bloochdog |
hi Y'all, I just traded my 01 road king in on XB12X back before the new year. What a hoot!!!... My first non-crusier. The learning curve was much shorter than I expected ,but the fun was there from the very start..well all was good till last tuesday when a lil jeep cherokee decided to see what a new ulley tasted like.. After the jeep (not so gently)kissed my left foot peg via my left foot i was gifted with the opportunity to do a little cycle sculpting with good'ole terra firma. A rocky way to start a beautiful relationship with a "new horse". Thankfully I'm still here with a few bruised ribs and a black and blue foot. bike is being fixed and all is well so far.... Oh yes the officer that took the report was a motorcycle cop. Scared the crap out of the poor kid that hit me...A fellow rider told me about this group and I just wanted to say hello... good riding here in Va. .. cheers.. | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
Welcome Blooch! Sorry to hear about your spill. | ||
| Pbransonii |
But the real question is: (wait for it) Did your belt break? | ||
| Bloochdog |
I was not wearing a belt....  but all the buttons on a fancy leather coat popped off | ||
| Windaddiction |
Sweet all fixed  | ||
| Bross |
Did Buell ever find out a reason for the break? | ||
| Windaddiction |
Havent heard anything yet | ||
| Anonymous |
Skyguy, whoever you talked to is full of Sh**. | ||
| Windaddiction |
A side not one belt replacement.. I have heard of guys using a belt that you kinda of staple together? It's not strong but It should get you home, might look into it | ||
| Kreature |
I don't own a uly yet but have fallen in lust with this bike! I'd really like to see them in action so last fall Dave and I talked about a ride up here in the U.P this spring.What I need to know is what kind of roads and terrain the ULY can handle.This way planning a ride or two would be made easier or more challenging depending on rider input. The U.P has large range of options for riders of all skill levels. P.S right now I own a KLR 650 | ||
| Lowflyer |
I don't like mud or ruts on mine, unimproved roads, dirt/gravel are fine though. I would definitely get the Uly, but keep the KLR. |
