| Author | Message | ||
     Miibradley |
So, after busting a belt in the middle of no where, I started thinking about how to replace this thing. Remove wheel seems to be the hardest part without all the "proper tools". How many of you have switched to chain drives and would you keep them if you had the choice to go back to belt drive? thanks | ||
| Froggy |
I'm not sure why everyone thinks you need to remove the wheel, because you don't. All you need to do is remove the swingarm brace, a few belt guards, loosen the footpeg mount for more clearance, then install the new belt and reassemble. It isn't hard, and I recall you only need two tools, one of which is in the bikes underseat tool kit. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
The amphibian is correct, throw him a fly. | ||
| Od_cleaver |
(Sorry for adding a twist you your post), The belt, another example of Buell under-engineering??? I carry my old belt wound up like a band saw blade, the tools to change it on the road, installed that spring loaded idler wheel and I have AAA with RV/motorcyle coverage. This all sounded like a cleaner solution than any chain drives I have seen on this forum. In '07 I think that Buell was offering a swing arm with the traditional rear axle adjusters used on chain drive (and properly designed belt drive) bikes. It was under their race program. I think that you had to prove that you were a racer to buy it. This would be a nice solution. | ||
| Froggy |
The chain swingarm might still be available from Erik Buell Racing if you desired that, but it is mucho denero to convert. | ||
| Hughlysses |
A few XB riders have converted to chains without changing the swingarm. Check the XB forum for info. | ||
| Od_cleaver |
Nice, $1800 for a Erik Buell Racing chain drive kit plus the cost of sprockets and chain. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
I prefer the belt to a chain anytime! I will never switch back to the chain because the belt is smoother and quieter. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
I could probably put two or three belts on at the same cost and amount of work required to convert to a chain, and then I'd have to oil the damned thing. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I'm going to attempt to convert my broken ULY belt to one I can where to hold up my pants. Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, looking like a fool with his pants on the ground. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMwhl4IrPNc | ||
| Mnviking |
Just ordered a new belt from American Sport Bike. Going to put the old one under the seat for emergencies. How hard is the change out going to be? Never done one before.  | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
It takes some doing but most of us have faired ok in getting er done. | ||
| Portero72 |
I just did mine a couple days ago. It went well, just a bit tedious. I removed the rear wheel after I jacked the back end off the ground. Just take your time. Finished mine in 90 minutes, and I wasn't rushing. The key to getting the belt on fully was to loop it over both pulleys, then lever it by hand onto the idler while spinning the back wheel. | ||
| Discochris |
I did my own first belt change today. The original broke at 7000 or so (covered under warranty), and now I'm just over 15,000, so I decided to put on my new belt, and use the old one for my spare. (Plus, I was already filthy from re-tapping my oil drain plug and doing an oil change, so I figured why not.) It took me about 3.5 hours, but that included assembling my new motorcycle jack, and making a run to Sears to pick up some tools (more on this in a bit). Overall, taking it easy and following the manual, it went fairly well. Several things. 1. I actually had a socket that fit the axle tool. I was shocked. I think I'd purchased it to remove the rear diff plug on my 66 ford truck. 2. I did not completely remove the footpeg bracket. I removed the bolts and then just tied it up out of the way. 3. And this wasted a ton of time... I stripped the heads on two of the allen bolts that hold on the swing arm brace. I was using a L-shaped allen key and I could NOT break the damned things loose. I ran to Sears to get a set of allen sockets (odd that I didn't have a set). I got one of the stripped bolts out as well as the other two, but I completely ruined the head on the long bolt. Tried to get it out with an extractor, but no luck. I ended up drilling the whole head off the bolt (and dinging up my swingarm brace quite a bit). Oddly enough, once I did that, the remaining bolt unscrewed easily with a vise grip. I'll be picking up two new bolts tomorrow. 4. You really don't have to take the whole fender off. The only reason I did was because I had to unscrew the cut off bolt and it made it easier. 5. I did NOT remove the pulley. There seems to be a lot of debate on this. The manual says to remove it. I did remove the nuts, and slid the pulley out a bit so I could slide the belt in behind it. Then I managed to slide the pulley back in under the belt. It was a tight fit, and it took a bit to get the belt seated on the rear sprocket, but once it came together, it was fine. Reassembly was much quicker. | ||
| Miibradley |
Lots of feed back. I think I'll stick with the belt for now as money is an issue right now, and probably will be in the far future. HD replaced the belt under warranty so no problems there. I'll get a spare ordered today for the next break. Thanks for helping in this decision. | ||
| Rotorhead |
FYI, The Erik Buell Racing swingarm chain conversion will not fit a ULY. The Erik Buell Racing arm is shorter than the ULYs. | ||
| Froggy |
It will fit, you just need to change the rear shock. | ||
| Uly_man |
If you "know how" a road side belt change takes less than 30 mins. The main thing is to have had it apart before so that it is easy the next time round. Its best not to twist or force a belt on and you do not need to if its done right. Also a FST helps with the change. All you need to do is compress the spring and the belt will slide over the pulley. | ||
| Scooter808484 |
3. And this wasted a ton of time... I stripped the heads on two of the allen bolts that hold on the swing arm brace. I was using a L-shaped allen key and I could NOT break the damned things loose. I ran to Sears to get a set of allen sockets (odd that I didn't have a set). I got one of the stripped bolts out as well as the other two, but I completely ruined the head on the long bolt. Tried to get it out with an extractor, but no luck. I ended up drilling the whole head off the bolt (and dinging up my swingarm brace quite a bit). Oddly enough, once I did that, the remaining bolt unscrewed easily with a vise grip. I'll be picking up two new bolts tomorrow. I did the same thing on mine, except it was one of the footpeg bolts. Then the crappy drill bit I had at the house wouldn't cut that Grade 8 steel so I had to get a real bit. Took forever. Those bolts have anti-seize on them now. |
