| Author | Message | |||
     Inplansight |
I have been riding my new to me 98 Cyclone for the better part or two months. But at times the drive belt will start to make a "squalk" type sound? It will not do it all the time and might go days (up to a week) without making even one chirp. The belt seems to be tight and running true with no sign of rubbing, I do not see any cracking and no stone damage. In the last two months the following have been replaced tires (both done by a shop),front brake pads, rear brake pads, head bearings, and handle bars(better riding position only). For the most part I ride local and do not beat on the bike very hard. I would like to take a long trip in the next few weeks and do not want to be left stranded. Since fixing the wear issues the bike has been very reliable. I would guess the belt is drying out (10K miles on the clock) and should be replaced, but (about) how many miles do you guys think are left in this belt? Thanks Paul B | |||
| Jramsey |
"(both done by a shop)" First problem,It ain't a Sportster with a negative angled swingarm. "The belt seems to be tight" See First problem above^^^^. | |||
| Ratbuell |
Tuber belts should be run "scary loose". I'm sure there's an official spec somewhere that's more specific...but I've been running mine to the "scary" spec for years. My '95 S2 has, from what I can tell, the original belt. At just under 30k miles. | |||
| Two_seasons |
Coming up on 24,000 miles on my 1999 X1 Lightning. No belt issues. Scary loose here too. You should be able to push down on your belt, bike unloaded, and have it touch the top of the swingarm. | |||
| Kevmean |
If it's got the later cast swingarm it should be possible to get the belt to touch top and bottom of arm at the sametime ......if your belt feels tight you have possibly destroyed the output shaft bearings or the front pully splines  ...also poke the seal out of the centre of the output shaft and check the condition of the needle bearing behind it. It could be one of these items that is squalking at you . | |||
| Kc_zombie |
This may help. Good luck!
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| Edv |
This pdf is from the factory manual and is at least 1" too tight | |||
| Kc_zombie |
Thanks for the info. BTW; The 99-00 X-1 factory manual calls for 1.5 to 1.75". | |||
| Two_seasons |
More like 2.5 inches or more. When sitting on bike, you should still have at least 2.5 inches deflection. | |||
| Pontlee77 |
2,5 from straight or moving up and down ? | |||
| Buellistic |
Have two people sit on the bike and then see how tight the DRIVE BELT is !!! DRIVE BELT ADJUSTMENT Class 101, just PM me for a copy ... | |||
| Kc_zombie |
Buellistic, just sent you a PM. All of this is very interesting. There appears to be no "official" method, so I am very interested to learn more (which is the reason I came to this forum to begin with) My sons and I Have been drag racing metric bikes for 10 years and know most of the ins and outs of final drive chain set up and big power. I bought my 98 S1W last year and did a complete restore, this forum is really helping me with the various idiosyncrasies of what I consider to be a fascinating machine. My, how setups change with a final drive belt as opposed to a chain... Thanks for your help. | |||
| Buellistic |
Kc_zombie: THE SAME ADJUSTMENT APPLIES TO A CHAIN, read my directions again !!! | |||
| Kc_zombie |
No Thanks. | |||
| Dave_02_1200 |
Kc zombie, This is just like setting up a long wheelbase drag bike. Just put the bike on a rear stand and pull the shock bolt so you can block the swingarm up so the sprockets are lined up with the swingarm pivot. Then set the belt (or chain) so there is no slack. That will give you the tightest setting that will not bind when the suspension is compressed. | |||
| Kilroy |
uncool Vincent | |||
| Coxster |
my belt is too tight, and when the pre-load is lessened, I hear the bike 'whirr-whirr-whirr' as I slow down, normally around 30-35 mph. I should probably loosen it. |
Belt