| Author | Message | ||
     Bjbauer |
Went for a "spirited" ride this afternoon and after about 4 miles I'm speed shifting at about 6K and what felt like a missed gear at first turns out to be a broken belt. The belt had about 14,000 miles on it and had no signs of wear that I had noticed. I was lucky as I was close to home but I'm wondering how long should these last? I was abusing it a bit but I don't ride it that hard that often. I do like the lack of maintenance a belt provides but I can't ever remember breaking a chain. | ||
| Choyashi |
I think the problem with these belts is the tensioner! My Belt was all dried up on the smooth side, and was creeping a half inch across the tensioner, rubbing on the peg mount when I backed my bike into the garage. It has 12,000 miles on it and looks old and worn out. The belt on my 1200 Sportster had 24,000 on it and looked brand new. I think the belt running on the tensioner causes heat build up in the belt and ages it prematurely. I cleaned the belt and sprayed silicone on the back...at least it runs smoother on the pulley and dosen't move across it as much when I push the bike backwards. | ||
| Lean_angle |
they have no replacement interval in the service manual. I just had to replace mine after a bad downshift on the racetrack stripped about 14in. of teeth off the thing. I was only at about 9500 miles. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Mine popped at 16,000. I wasn't even accelerating hard. I went over a bump in first gear and it popped. Warranty covered it though  | ||
| Thetable |
Mine went at a hair over 14k too. I wasn't power shifting, but I was riding spiritedly. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I was thinking back and remember one other thing: A week or so before it crapped out, the belt was loose enough for me to be able to turn the idler pulley with one finger. Perhaps this is a warning? | ||
| Hughlysses |
Loose belt is a good warning of impending belt failure according to several posts in this forum over the last several years. Push up between the idler pulley and the rear sprocket to check belt tension. I try to make a habit to do this every time before I head out on a ride. Also try to give the belt a good visual inspection whenever I change rear tires. Look for cracking at base of teeth, etc. Buell has come out with updated/improved belts almost every year. I believe there are at least 2 if not 3 revisions since the Uly came out in 2005 (2006 model year). When you buy a new one it should be substantially better than the original. | ||
| Pso |
3 '08's and 1 '06. I thought the 08's had a better belt or is it the 09's. I swapped mine ut at 10k to use as a spare, put the first new iteration on. when this is about 10k I will purchase the latest and greatets and use this as a spare and sell my 06 one cheaply as a back up for anyone that would like it. | ||
| Thetable |
IIRC, it was a "D" belt that I broke, and it was replaced with an "E". The belt was indeed loose enough that I could spin the idler pulley without too much effort, but it was like that for several months before the belt actually went. | ||
| Froggy |
They have come out with several revised belts over the years. Mileage on a belt can vary, I have seen everything from 5k-50k before failures. With my hard riding I snapped mine just under 30k, no belt guard. | ||
| Motorfish |
On my `06, my belt started to walk off the rear pulley about 1/8", at around 5k miles. Brought it to the dealer and they replaced it under warranty. | ||
| Tootal |
I just replaced mine at 17,000 but the old one was still good. I was replacing wheel bearings and tires too. I figured a good used belt would be much easier to install on the side of the road than a new one. After installing a new one I'm glad I decided to do it, what a pain! | ||
| Yooper71 |
Snapped the belt on my 08 last week at 12k miles. Going to be looking into carrying a spare now. | ||
| Tginnh |
Tootal - what made installing the new belt a pain? | ||
| Florida_lime |
A new belt is tight; pulling the idler is required, then getting the idler back on is a pain because you are fighting the new belt. | ||
| Treysmagna |
Mine broke at about 18,000 miles. It was not difficult to replace, but I had a hard time finding a new one here in Houston | ||
| Tootal |
A new belt is tight; pulling the idler is required, then getting the idler back on is a pain because you are fighting the new belt. What he said!  | ||
| Rotorhead |
Go to a chain drive and forget about the belt or carrying a belt. Do some searches in the KV. Mine has lasted for the past 15,000 miles. I needed a durable drive to last off road | ||
| Blake |
How do you adjust your chain tension? | ||
| Pso |
+1 Blake, I was wondering the same sevrfal years ago when considering conversion. | ||
| Froggy |
Ok go to a chain and instead of carrying a belt, you need to carry emergency chain links, lube, and you can't even adjust tension to compensate for wear, so you need to replace more often. Chain + Sprockets cost more than a new belt. Or you could just get a spare belt, swap it on at your convenience, keep the old one folded up under the seat for emergencies, and then pop it on in a few minutes should the rare event of a failure occurs. | ||
| Paralegalpete |
I'm not sure if the Buell belts are different than Harley belts but they can't be folded during shipping or storage. You need to maintain a certain sized radius or the belt will kink and may fail prematurly. They come in a box that allows the belt to keeps it's shape during shipping | ||
| F_skinner |
I keep a used belt folded in my bag. I know that I will not last as long as a brand new one that has not been folded but I use it only as an emergency belt similar to the small spare tires in a car trunk. When I get home or to a dealer I put a new one on and put the old one back in the bag folded. | ||
| Froggy |
The used belt is intended to be an emergency spare, similar to a doughnut tire on a car. It will keep you in business till you get a new belt on. For what its worth, Zac4Mac on the 1125 board took a brand new belt, folded it and put it in the tail section, rode with it for a few months, then took the folded belt and has been riding on it since then. I don't recall his mileage, but he has been on it for a while now and it hasn't snapped. | ||
| Brakes2late |
So where and how much for a new belt? Is it dealer only? | ||
| Froggy |
G0500.1AKF BELT, DRIVE Retail Price:$175.00 Several Badweb sponsors offer a 10% discount on them, or you can order from American Sport Bike as he usually has some in stock should you need it today. | ||
| Brakes2late |
Thanks Froggy. Mine is at 12k so just planning ahead. Doing a lot of freeway commuting lately and don't want to get stranded. Think I'll change it at 15k and keep the old one under the seat. | ||
| Rotorhead |
I did my chain conversion for under the $175 mark. The whole thing is durability not cost. A can of dry lube is easy to tote around in the tool tubes I have. The tension is with the tensioner with the upper hole elongated to pivot. The chain length and sprocket sizes will also determine the proper tension. Also the quality of chain will determine the cost $75-$350. Yes I have to look at my chain and lube it but shouldn't you look at your belt just the same?? | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Go to a chain drive and forget about the belt been there... done that... Just a FYI. The chain WILL destroy your right side bearing. I found this out the fun way at 11 pm on my way home from the March Rainfest in Suches. I was also told that a chain drive will make the hole out of round that the bearing goes in by a Buell race mechanic. I loved the chain... it made wheel removal VERY easy... looked cool.. worked great until it ate my bearing. I went back to the belt and have spare in the garage. (Message edited by wolfridgerider on September 16, 2009) | ||
| Froggy |
I don't. It gets a glance whenever I am washing the bike or changing the tire, but neither of those are often. | ||
| Blake |
I'm not sure I buy the bearing destroying chain theory. Bearings fail for many reasons, and they've done so on belt driven bikes plenty too. Why would a chain cause the bearing to fail? | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Why would a chain cause the bearing to fail? No cush drive. The belt has "some" give to it the chain does not. Thats how it was explained to me.... | ||
| Rotorhead |
The "cush drive" or "some give" is the belt stretching. Stretching I feel leads to the eventual untimely breakage. Chains don't stretch as easy but do over time. I have 54,000 miles and no bearing issues.(10,000 with chain) An improper chain tension will cause a ton of problems. The chain isn't for everyone just an option I have taken. |
