| Author | Message | ||
     Keys |
How many out there are riding without belt guards on their '03? And how many have had any problems or breaks with the updated '03 belt (serial number ends with R if I remember right)? Are there any visual checks you can do to check for possible damage? THANKS | ||
| Lovematt |
I have but it doesn't count since I am running the updated pulleys and '06 belt....so far about 4000 miles with no problems I can tell. | ||
| Diablobrian |
yup, but once again doesn't count because I'm running a chain final drive. | ||
| Kccyclone |
I am as well as at least 3 of my friends...2 are runnin' the new belts but 2 of us are still on the stock belts.....as of now no probs.. Larry | ||
| Rubberdown |
I upgraded the pulleys and run the 06' belt with only the newer lower guard. No problems so far. | ||
| Xbjelly9s |
I got 17k on the original belt and have run no guards for 14k of those miles. | ||
| Buellin_ri |
Original belt with all the gaurds in place. | ||
| Ortegakid |
I have had the fugly gaurds off for 11k now, many track days,many dirty road excursions, NEVER a problem, original belt, eight sets of tyres,maybe just lucky, but I believe in the Buell,thx! | ||
| Tq_freak |
I have an 05 with the them off for like 2500 miles and no problems | ||
| Buellsa |
Gonna remove them tonight after reading this!!! | ||
| Glitch |
One of the 3%ers went with out his guards for a few miles...ended up having to buy a new belt. '03 owners are better off upgrading if the guards are to be removed. My  | ||
| Swespeed |
no guards...no problems ...6K | ||
| Deuceman |
A friend of mine and I are both riding 03s with original belts and no guards. Not a problem one. 3,000 miles with no guards and a recent track day for me, and the belt looks good as new. My bike has 14,000 miles overall. | ||
| Xxxb9s |
03 xb9s, 17000km, with beltguard...too afraid to remove it, even though it looks just ugly | ||
| Moboy516 |
15,000 on same belt w/no guards | ||
| Keys |
Many thanks to all those who voted! Tally: 11 are running without any belt guards on their '03 bikes with either the original or the updated '03 belts. This includes myself with just having finished a ride through all the sand and pebble debris from our recent Texas ice storm remnants. 2 votes (+ assuming another 2 = 4 total) for running '03 bikes with guards. (I'm assuming both Glitch and his buddy who broke his belt has put his belt guards back on!)  5 votes were not applicable (chains and belts from '04 '05 don't have bad reputations anyway) Thanks again very helpful! | ||
| Kootenay |
I have the stock belt, and the stock guards in place. I don't mind the look of the guards, and I live on a gravel road, so... | ||
| Armypunk |
I have an 03 xb9sl with 4000 miles. No belt guard, no problems yet. | ||
| Buelltroll |
No guards for about 6000 miles. No problems.(rear sprocket actually rubbed on the guard) Original '03 belt. 11ooo miles total. | ||
| U4euh |
Dang what am I doing wrong. 20,000 miles and just passed 5000 on the third 03 belt. Thing is, this one has a slit about 3/4 inch long. Maybe cause I took the gaurds off at the same time this one went on.  | ||
| Glitch |
Maybe cause I took the gaurds off at the same time this one went on. With all these folks without guards not having problems, it's probably the sign of the purchase of a bad belt.  | ||
| Hanses25 |
yup about 16,000 ago! | ||
| Isham |
No guards and bike runs great. 6.5k Check out my pimped out bike in my profile This guy is killing me with his hottt bike. I think he should lose the guards http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/board-profile.cgi?action=view_profile&profile=keys-users (Message edited by isham on December 14, 2005) | ||
| Keys |
New Tally: I'm starting to get the impression that the belts are not too unreliable. Especially for an item the has a scheduled replacement interval anyway. I added up all the reports of breaks either stated in this discussion or in the profiles of each responder under "problems," and found that there is only a 30% report of a break occuring. 50/50 whether it would happen with a guard or without. I'm not trying to be exact or scientific. But I am surprised that many more are getting away without any problems without the stock belt guards on. The belts must not be all that bad. And I think that's the best news! Also, I think there are 2 ways a belt can break- wear or debris. I wager my belt will break from wear. Since I wasn't able to check for wear with the guards on, they are off now. Belt is part of my pre-ride check now... fingers crossed (btw THANKS Isham! I wish I had your bike color though, sweet ride!) | ||
| Xxxb9s |
30% of broken belts sucks as a reliability percentage I also think that a bunch of lucky people running without guard with "no problem" doesn't mean it can't hurt the belt lifespan. mho | ||
| Keys |
Xxxb9s, you might be right. To be honest when I took them off I didn't think they improved the look that much. If you've got them on, by all means, keep them on. I just wanted to get an idea of what people were experiencing and what to expect. However, and I'm not a statician, if you take out the ones who had breaks while they still had the guards on, the percentage of breaks without any guards goes to only breaking 14% of the time. You add the other breaks back in and that's how I got around 30%. Anyway guard or no guard isn't dogma just info. When I invited people to vent about their breaking belts I expected more horror stories. Think what your tire failure would be if you didn't change them regularly. opps that's a sore subject with me  just info for everyone |
