| Author | Message | ||
     Thepup |
I have a 03 XB,I replaced the belt about a month ago,today I find a piece of the belt tooth broke off and it punched a hole in the center of the belt.I have the belt guards installed,anyone encountered this | ||
| Gentleman_jon  |
Your situation sounds new to me. However there was a recent and lengthy thread on the 2003 belt situation called " What's the latest on Belts for 2003 XB9". The URL is:http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/32777/81866.html You might find some interesting info in there somewhere:-) | ||
| Xb9er  |
Belts can get damaged with or without the belt guards. My belt guard has been off for over a year and I have not had foreign object problems or breakage yet. It sounds like a pebble or other object got between your sprocket and belt, broke off part of the tooth and punched it through the belt. A hole in the center of the belt is better that damage to the edge of the belt. I have heard that the Goodyear belts can survive holes punched through the center. I am not sure about the '03 Gates belts though. I'm guessing those belts will start to split and eventually break. I would suggest that you get yours replaced. During installation, make sure the belt doesn't get twisted or it could cause problems later. I don't have a whole lot of confidence in the original belt on my '03 XB9R so I finally broke down and ordered parts from Daves and picked up other parts on E-bay so I can upgrade to the '04 & later style drive belt system. Mike. | ||
| Keith  |
I upgraded my '03 XB9S to the '04 belt drive system. The new belt is *much* "beefier". Keith | ||
| Trenchtractor  |
Fit a chain. | ||
| Court |
Chain can be a good idea. Here's the best test. Did you spend over $1000 the previous month on track fees? If the answer is yes, you MAY be a candidate for the benefits of a chain. If the answer is no, the chain will offer little more than cosmetics, grease and grief. The belt is a superb piece of engineering. Court | ||
| Trenchtractor |
Until it snaps after 6,200k's, causing you to be late to work and your boss to get the 5h1t5 up... Then you find out it's $430AUD to replace the belt. Admitedly in my case the belt was replaced under warrantee, but Buell aren't going to keep that practice up... So, now ask youself, if a belt is going to die after 6,200k's, costs $430 and a chain kit costs $500, what are you going to do??? Some of you guys have pristine roads, that are nice and clean, some of us do not. That wonderful peice of engineering is useless in any conditions where dirt and crud are getting in the belt. | ||
| Blake  |
I had my Cyclone completely caked in mud and dirt in S. Dakota. Road it over too many dirt roads to count. No belt problems through 18K miles before crashing/totaling it.  If I had an '03 XB9, I'd either go to chain or the new belt though. Better safe than sorry. | ||
| Court |
Brad: May not be a bad idea, given your circumstances. I have friends in the Townsville area and I know there can be airly harsh conditions. Court | ||
| Glitch  |
Well, if this is any help... I got the early 03 XB9S. Two belts broke within the first 10,000 miles, the first was my fault, mis handling the belt, the second, who knows? The third belt is the new upgraded Gates belt. I'm just shy of 30,000 miles now, so that's over 20,000 miles on the new Gates belt. I ride in all weather, all on pavement though. Hope this puts some minds at ease. | ||
| Trenchtractor |
Hey, I'm not trying to make it all sound doom and gloom when it comes to a belt. But if you get premature failure, and you look at your road conditions and find there is reason for concern, well, spending essentially the same amount of cash on a chain kit can't be a bad idea. For us here, there is often loose gravel in a triangular pile in the middle of intersections... It's a hassle for bikes, and you can try to avoid them but cars just move the stones about. The method for constructing a lot of roads here is to lay the hot bitumen down, then lay loose gravel and the traffic can press the loose 5h1t into the bitumen. Not only that, but for the first little while (while I had the 'S' tail section on) I was wondering why my helmet was contantly making 'tinkin' sounds... I narrowed it down to low speed, then I realised it was the loose stones being thrown over my shoulder off the back wheel... When the belt snapped I wasn't so surprised because all those stones being flung around, some had to have made way into the belt. So I fitted a chain. Another option would have been to use 'less sticky' tyres so there was less stone flinging going on, but where's the fun in that??? | ||
| Xb9er |
That's exactly the way they construct some of the roads here. It really is a hassle. Then you find those sticky little pebbles in hard to reach places all over the bike. Chain and sticky tires vs. Belt and Less Sticky Tires? I pick the chain and sticky tires.  Mike. (Message edited by xb9er on December 04, 2004) |
