| Author | Message | ||
     Debueller |
Went on a 2 day ride this weekend with the Uly. About 75mi was gravel. The bike performed great while flogging everything from pavement at 70-90mph to chasing my brother on his 950 Adventure at speeds on the gravel of 15-75mph. We even tore up some twisties too. All while carrying the luggage full of tent camping gear, with all the necesseties (including some home brewed beer!) I'm very pleased with the performance of the bike and have a absolute ball on it. Yesterday while washing and checking over the bike, I noticed a bump in the drive belt. Upon further inspection I discovered a pebble about the size of a BB embedded on the inside of the drive belt. I really had to work it to remove it while trying to not cause any additional damage to the belt. Is the drive belt compromised now? After breaking one at 7700mi I'm a little concerned about going far from home with it. I wonder if the dealer would replace it? I'm afraid they will say it is not covered under warranty because it was damaged due to normal? use. I'm sure if I wait for a catastrophic failure (total breakage) they would fix it, but that could happen a long way from home. Any opinions on what I should do? Also, what does it take to convert to a chain? Is it expensive? Warranty issues? Thanks alot all, Jerry | ||
| Daves |
Buy a new belt. Keep the damaged one for a spare damage from rocks isn't and shouldn't be covered by warranty, it just one of those things. Converting to a chain isn't that expensive if you want to do it but I for one would not go back to a chain drive bike. | ||
| Debueller |
Price for a belt, Daves? Thanks. | ||
| Daves |
145.80 is the Badweb price I have 2 in stock | ||
| Debueller |
I'll be giving you a call. Thanks Daves. Any one else having this much trouble with their drive belts? Or is it just me? I will be on my 3rd drive belt now including the original. The bike just turned 11K miles this weekend. | ||
| Royintulsa |
Debueller, How is the Uly compared to the KTM? | ||
| Debueller |
The KTM is more dirt oriented than the Buell. On gravel corners my bike dosen't inspire confidence probally due to the steep fork rake and 17" front tire. The Buell is more comfortable on the road and handles corners better. The KTM has a 21" front wheel which makes you work harder when railing hard into a corner. His tire selection is also very limited for road work. The Buell is very hard to beat by any bike on the twisties. My bro had to spend over $400 for a custom seat, the orginal was a torture device, but he does have awesome wind protection. We are going to face off on the drag strip soon. The numbers say he will be quicker. We'll see, to me my Uly feels pretty strong. (hopefully the drive belt is up to the abuse). Casual roll-ons and rowing through the gears we are pretty even. The truth will be told at the track. There are alot of differences between the two. It seems KTM took a dirt machine and made a adventure touring bike out of it. On the other hand, it seems Buell took a sport bike and made a adventure sport bike out of it. The final result are 2 very different bikes that do a large variety of things quite well. Overall we are pretty darn even on our abilities. They both are great bikes. So far if it wasn't for the drive belt issues I would have the upper hand on warranty claims. | ||
| Soloyosh |
I've done a couple thousand miles of dirt roads on mine, not much gravel though. Last time I looked the belt was fine. I do keep a spare under the seat. As for the chain you can do it, others have. For me though, I can change the belt in less time than it takes to change the riveted chain on my KTM. A masterlink would go faster but I've broken a couple and dont trust them. Cheers Brett | ||
| Stevenknapp |
The Buell FAQ says it should be covered? The Uly has a factory stone guard. http://buell2.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/buell2.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=28 7&p_created=1116621170&p_sid=RYoeG57i&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2 dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MiZwX3Byb2RzPTAmcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3BhZ2U9MS ZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PWJlbHQ*&p_li=&p_topview=1&p_search_text=belt Question My belt broke. Is this covered under warranty? Answer Belts that fail on a vehicle within the two year warranty period due to manufacturing defect are covered parts and labor. Belts that fail due to stone/debris contact, while the vehicle is within the two-year warranty, and it is equipped with either the original belt/stone guard, or a Harley-DavidsonŽ or BuellŽ accessory belt/stone guard, are also covered parts and labor. Belts that fail due to incorrect installation, misuse, stone damage due to non-Harley-Davidson/Buell stone guards, or normal wear and tear are not covered under warranty. | ||
| Maximum |
The key word is "fail". Debueller's belt has not failed yet. So he is probably back to deciding whether he would rather wait till it fails (maybe leaving him stranded) or to spend the $150 for some peace of mind. | ||
| Debueller |
Your right Maximum. It has not yet failed. I think what I'm going to do is buy one out of my own pocket from Daves in Appleton. Then I will install the new one on the bike. Then like Soloyosh, I will have a spare to carry with me. Even though it's damaged it will still get me at least out of the woods and probally all the way home. I will just be forced to allow room to store it somewhere on the bike. Next time the belt fails, even if it's from stone/debris contact (thanks for the link, Steve,good info.) I can have the belt replaced under warranty. After the warranty is up (I still have at least 15 mo. to go) I am going to consider converting to a chain. Just the cost of repeated belt failures might justify a conversion. Thanks all, Jerry (Message edited by debueller on May 10, 2006) | ||
| Spike |
You might want to take to the dealer and see what they say. Broken belts due to stone damage are most certainly covered under warranty as long as you have all the belt guards in place. That info comes straight from the HD warranty manual. | ||
| Chadhargis |
Sounds to me like they are "guaranteeing" the stone guard. If your belt was damaged as a result of a rock getting past the stone guard, they might cover it. Wouldn't hurt to ask. | ||
| Daves |
I'll be darned, they are covered! Cool Sorry I was wrong I'll have to see if I can find time to read the owners manual | ||
| Debueller |
No problem Dave, thanks again for the link, Steven. I called the dealer and his Buell tech says that if the "damage" is in the center of the belt (mine is) then it is not an issue. He might be comfortable with that but it's me who will be stranded if it breaks. I got Dave sending me a new belt and I guess I'll have to eat this one. At least I'll have a spare to carry along. |
