| Author | Message | ||
     Eryngium |
I'm replacing my drive belt and I'm having trouble getting the idler pulley back on. The service manual refers to squeezing the belt to make sure the belt is seated and the pulley slides on easily. Definitely not. I seem to get as much or more slack on the top side. Do you put the pulley on the studs and then lift the belt on top or push up on the belt with the wheel and then slide it on the studs? Neither seems to be working. I believe the rear wheel is as loose as it needs to be - it moves around a quite a bit. Do you put the bike in gear or do you leave it in neutral? Seems like it's harder than it should be; I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong. Suggestions? | ||
| Nipsey |
This is a cobbled together step by step from Teeps and kc69xlch Short story without blow by blow details: Remove right side foot peg bracket. Remove belt guards, from swing arm. Remove axle pinch bolt, then unwind the rear axle 15 turns. Remove the swing arm access section. Swap out the belt: Remove the tensioner wheel. this is done after loosening axle bolt. upon assembly, before reinstalling tensioner wheel assembly you should seat the belt by squeezing the belt together top to bottom. tighten axle bolt to 23-27 ft/lbs then back off two full turns, then torque to 48-52 ft/lbs. tighten pinch bolt to 40-45ft/lbs. be sure to reinstall swingarm brace and torque to 25-27ft/lbs before tightening axle bolts. good luck. Reverse order to assemble. Do not over torque the axle Oh ya and it can be a bitch sometimes (Message edited by Nipsey on May 13, 2011) | ||
| Uly_man |
The new type belt is very stiff, it is easier with a FST in place, and the job is normal done with the axle out. Try something "slippy" like 2 layers of plastic between the belt and idle wheel to slide it on. | ||
| Andymnelson |
I don't remove the pulley. I think that is an unnecessary step altogether. | ||
| Scooter808484 |
It's just a tough bugger with a new belt. If you've loosened the axle so there's slack then you're not likely doing anything wrong. | ||
| Eryngium |
Thanks gentlemen. I was following the manual, so it thought I was doing it right. I was getting close, but not quite. I'll keep wrestling with it. FST? I don't know that one. (Message edited by Eryngium on May 13, 2011) | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Read the second post here http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/623465.html | ||
| Etennuly |
Take the belt back off for a moment. Start the idler bracket on the studs, just barely start a nut. Then put the belt on. This will allow you to get where you are now with the idler on the studs so you can "work" it in under the belt. | ||
| Scooter808484 |
+1 on what Etennuly says, that's how I got mine. | ||
| Blake |
Ulyman, I don't know what "FST" is either. What you talking about? | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
FST is Free Spirits Tensioner. | ||
| Blake |
No thanks on that then. | ||
| Stevem123 |
I don't remove the idler pully at all. Just put the axle in a few threads and there is plenty of slack to work the belt onto the idler pully without having it removed. | ||
| Eryngium |
EG - I was in a bit of a hurry this morning. After posting, I realized I should have utilized the search function. Anyway, I got the belt on, but it is TIGHT. It literally vibrates like a guitar string when plucked. I realize there is no adjustment, but it leaves me a little uncomfortable. As always, this site is amazing source of information. But it's an even more amazing display of helpfulness from people I've never even met. Thank you very much. paul | ||
| Stevem123 |
To clarify a bit more: leave the belt off the rear sprocket to work the belt onto the idler pully part way, then roll the belt onto the rear sprocket by rotating the wheel in neutral of course, then finish screwing the axle the rest of the way in and put all the covers etc back on. | ||
| Trevd |
Eryngium, I couldn't believe how tight my belt was either when I replaced it a couple of weeks ago... while jacked up it was hard to roll the rear wheel, and it certainly didn't roll freely. But I rode it, and now I'm pretty sure it's loosened up a bit. Trevor | ||
| Ratbuell |
They stretch as you ride. Go ride.  | ||
| Desert_bird |
Be careful: I've been advised by Al at American Sport Bike that rolling the rear belt on as one would 'roll' a bicycle chain onto a front chainring or rear sprocket puts lateral stresses on the belt which it was absolutely not designed for. Doing so may unevenly stretch strands in the belt, leading to alignment problems and potential premature breakage. I know because I rolled my too-tight belt on by getting it up under the pulley and turning the rear wheel in neutral so that the belt rode up on the rear sprocket. In the process I chipped the paint on parts of the rear sprocket and shaved sections of the belt's teeth on the outer edge as they rode up and into the grooves on the sprocket. The belt rode fine in the end, but I learned my lesson. American Sport Bike is right, to get the belt fully on the rear sprocket first, and suffer with the front pulley and plenty of elbow grease. DB. (Message edited by Desert_bird on May 14, 2011) | ||
| Dpb |
I believe the new belt I put on is what caused my transmission output shaft bearing to fail. The belt was unbelievibly tight. I've pulled the motor to replace that bearing. I've got the "FST" on hand when the motor gets put back in. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
The first time I had my rear wheel off and then put it back together I rolled the belt on turning the wheel to force it on. Didn't really seem like a good idea when I did it but that original belt lasted 25,000 miles. Only did that the one time though and would not do it again nor recommend that method. Maybe an engineering mistake was made in the length of the swingarm because to me the belt should be more easily installed instead of being a such bear. Stretching so much during use only happens because it is way too tight to begin with and over stretching would seem to only weaken it. I mention the length in the swingarm because you can't just add length to the belt with the belt pitch size considerations. Anyway, on our Harleys you set the belt tension with an adjustment screw that moves the axle forward or back and you'd never set it anywhere near as tight as a brand new ULY belt goes on. To me that is some proof that the swingarm length is a tad too short. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
http://www.gates.com/facts/documents/Gf000287.pdf | ||
| Etennuly |
My new belt was "tighter than a gnats ass stretched over a rain barrel" also. It is the latest up dated number they had come out with. It has done well for over 25,000 miles so far. Did any one else get a little belt "squall" on cold take off with the new belt. There was a thread on it a while back, I believe it was due to the belt rubbing on the guide edge of the rear pulley. | ||
| Ronmold |
I did a new belt (latest iteration) last year on my '06 so I could have my old one as an easier roadside swap. I can't understand why mine went on easily and so many here have had a hard time with them and I know this group is not a bunch of whiners, well, for the most part anyways! I just wonder why there is a difference. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Ron, You forgot to install the idler pulley.  | ||
| Uly_man |
As I said the HD/Buell way of fitting a belt is with the rear wheel loose and is best done that way. This is to stop any possible lateral or twisting force, on the belt, while fitting the belt. With a FST in place you can "back-off" the spring which helps with a roadside belt change. It is well known that the arc of the swing arm is not perfect and because of this the belt is under more stress depending on what part of the arc it is on. The FST is designed to help with this problem as the drive line has no give in it whatsoever. If you fit a belt so that it is not touching the inside shoulder of the rear pulley or the outside shoulder of the front pulley it will show any wear to either end bearings. This is because any bearing wear will make the belt track out of true. A belt works best, yes I work in an industry that uses them, under a constant load, constant temp and a clean place. None of which applies to the belt on a XB. The reason the XB belt system is not like the Tubers is because EB was told by the makers that it was not a problem. Which is a fact and you can find his comments on-line. It could be said it is something of a design fault on the XBs. On the other hand there are ways around it and a FST works. I think if you run a XB without lots of rear end travel its more probable your belt will last better. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I just replaced my belt after reading this thread. Man that thing is tight! I'm glad I replaced it in my garage and not on the road somewhere. My "replacement kit" that I have been hauling around was missing some stuff needed to complete the job too! DUH! I was missing 3/8" for the saddlebag mount, The large hex for the rear axle, and socket for removing the idler. One of the main reasons I had difficulty was that the teeth didn't like to go into the sprocket without a lot of force. It was as if the pitch was wrong. Oh well now I have my floppy old belt as a spare. Looks kinda rough though. little cracks between the teeth. | ||
| Blake |
>>> It is well known that the arc of the swing arm is not perfect and because of this the belt is under more stress depending on what part of the arc it is on. "It is well known"? If that were true, I'd have heard about it. I haven't. My understanding is that the belt drive and idler geometry is designed precisely to maintain constant belt tension through the entire range of rear suspension travel, the exact opposite of what you've asserted. >>> It could be said it is something of a design fault on the XBs. Baloney. >>> a FST works. Some of them have also failed. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
The only way that belt would maintain the same tension throughout the rear shock travel would be if the swingarm pivots on the same axis as the gearbox sprocket and on the ULY it doesn't. I think the placement of the idler pulley is probably optimized to minimize tension swings but it doesn't eliminate them. If you think I'm wrong then I'd sure like to see documentation that says it maintains constant tension. BMW is the only manufacturer I know of that took the time to do it right with regards to the swingarm pivoting on the same axis as the gearbox sprocket. http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/73/765/Motorcycle-Ar ticle/2009-BMW-G-450-X-Review.aspx | ||
| Ratbuell |
One of the main reasons I had difficulty was that the teeth didn't like to go into the sprocket without a lot of force. It was as if the pitch was wrong. Um...you got a belt for the same year as your bike, right? If you got a "deal" on a pre-04 belt...it IS the wrong pitch. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
"Um...you got a belt for the same year as your bike, right? If you got a "deal" on a pre-04 belt...it IS the wrong pitch." LOL You want wrong? The belt I replaced on my 2008 XB12X was a 2006 belt. I replaced it with a new 2009 belt I had. The path that the 2006 belt took in order to end up on my 2008 bike is a long and strange one It involves my mis-reading a post on this forum, buying a spare XB12X for my 2000 X1 from Appleton, WI when I was there during homecoming 2007. I carried that spare ULY belt around on the back of my X1 for thousands of miles before I had to put it to the test only to find that it was too damn long! ha ha ha! So that's how I had a spare belt older than the bike Now my spare belt is my spare belt again- only this time, it will actually fit! |
