| Author | Message | ||
     Scooter808484 |
I broke my new belt at 12k miles, now I've got about 20k and the second belt is so loose that you can pull it off the sprocket with loosening anything, all but broken. I've got the new belt in hand, but my question is... is this new belt any better? $175 every 10k miles is getting kind of irritating. I mostly commute, mostly interstate, almost no dirt, treat far gentler than I'm sure a lot of you do. The only thing is up here in the NorthWet it gets lots of wet riding. Anyone have any better luck with the new belt? | ||
| Froggy |
The new belt hasn't been out long enough to say. I have not heard any reports of it snapping yet. G0500.1AKE is the number. | ||
| Court |
. is this new belt any better? Yes. | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
$175.00 ??? That's a bargain! It's £180.00 over here, around the $225.00 mark!!! | ||
| Scooter808484 |
The aggravating thing is that my Road King, with 100 ft-lb rear wheel torque, has 65k on the original belt. Something tells me that the fixed adjustment, long wheel travel, thing isn't quite worked out. | ||
| Prowler |
I've got one of those Free Spirits spring loaded belt tensioners (actually two, one on the 12x and one on the 12STT) and it seems to be working quite well. I just wasn't comfortable with the extreme tightness of the drive belt as it came on these longer travel bikes from Buell.....having worked on (and some designing of) cogged belt systems for ultralight aircraft and prototype watercraft, I've personally never seen that kind of implied static load on a cogged drive belt. That combined with shock and impact loading from bumps/acceleration/braking has got to be tough on the belt (and more so the bearings). | ||
| Rekrab |
08 / 30k or so , still looks good. Probably same style riding, lots of secondary roads , little dirt / gravel etc. | ||
| M2nc |
My first belt started to get loose about 10K miles before it finally broke. I wanted to know how long it would last so I bought the new one and kept it close by on long trips. It finally broke two blocks from the house at 39K miles. | ||
| Bails |
My belt busted with 20,000 klms and two years of life. Life Time product, get outa here !Bike never off road, rest of belt looks brand new. Worst still the dealer net work in Australia are only good for triple xl Hardley tee shirts, can't sell parts or fix bikes. Had to wait 6 days for belt, and 2 weeks for second belt,I've decided that I should carry my own spares, as parts are not held in Australia. Really Buell should drop Hardley as a dealer every one knows chrome don't ride , or care about real bike issues. | ||
| Nav18tor |
Get a Freedom Spirits belt tensioner and your problems will go away.. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
I loose one every 9k, its now part of that service to preemptively change the belt and bearings every third service.... But I ridez it off road.... a bit. | ||
| Bails |
I know what you mean , I'm now amassing spares to travel with this bike, spare wheel bearings, spare belt ! Don't consider if safe to leave the city limits. | ||
| Pso |
Bails-Don't forget the voltage regulator. | ||
| Widowmaker2011 |
The aggravating thing is that my Road King, with 100 ft-lb rear wheel torque, has 65k on the original belt. Something tells me that the fixed adjustment, long wheel travel, thing isn't quite worked out." I concur with this statement however I havent broke a belt- YET. Right after I got my xt last month , the wife and I were riding two up and over swails and dips in the road , at speed when the suspension loaded up in the rear , you could actually feel the belt get over-tight. Anyone who has ridden a bike with a chain that was too tight knows the feeling , With a belt its similar, the belt becomes a stressed member of the suspension and all of that force is transmitted through the belt. Cranking up the preload in the rear helps but nearing full compression the belt is way to tight . If you doubt that , crank your suspension all the way loose and check your belt deflection, then put 2 riders on it and let it squat and check again. You will be surprised. So my solution is to remember to be over zealous on the preload when riding 2 up. | ||
| Strada |
I drilled out on the lower tensioner mounting hole until I could just turn the idler by hand. The belt was very tight and didn't feel right for bearing nor belt life. | ||
| Bartimus |
I thought the Uly's Belt had a LIFETIME WARRANTY? | ||
| Froggy |
It is covered by the 2 year/unlimited mile warranty that covers the rest of your bike. | ||
| Widowmaker2011 |
Strada , thats a very good suggestion , I'm no engineer , but I think the deflection is WAY too tight from the factory. I am less worried about the belt breaking than I am the bearing failures. When I can feel the tension transmitting through the bike , you know the bearing load is high. | ||
| Chadhargis |
I've got my factory original belt in storage. Removed it after a few track days, wheelies, and 15,000 hard miles. It's perfect. New belt is great too. | ||
| Scooter808484 |
I've got the new E belt installed now. I can use the old stretched one for a spare. It's so loose I can put it on without loosening the axle or the tensioner. Not ideal for long life, perhaps, but good for a side of the road, get back to civilization repair. | ||
| Bails |
I notice some think the belt and bearings are related. I lent my bike to a friend who is a mechanical engineer. He washed it and returned it as you would and made one interesting statement. The rear wheel bearing design is poor, not from a load perspective but from a dirt ingress perspective. This statement came without me telling him of the worn bearing issues of Buell, he said quite simply that these bearings would not keep rain and dust out, that they should have had a dust cover over them. For me this pretty much sums up the Buell, great bike with some 1920 parts and design . | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
The price for a belt is about the same price as a chain. Service life is similar. No maintenance. No sprockets to change. No mess. "Lifetime" is based upon the riding habits of typical sportbike riders. Most sportbikes are ready for the pasture at 25000 miles. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
no no... Lifetime means the life of the belt, when the belt is done it is time to change it.... There is no recommended replacement interval standard for the belt. Its an inspect and report item. I would rather change mine on the lift every 9k than out in the middle of the woods with a spare... DAMHIK. | ||
| Adamd |
What is this Freedom Spirits belt tensioner you all speak of? Searching now.... | ||
| Adamd |
For the record it's "Free Spirits belt tensioner" not freedom... | ||
| Widowmaker2011 |
http://en.freespirits.it/catalog/transmission_en.p hp Thats what you were looking for. It is the very first item. | ||
| Adamd |
Thanks |
