| Author | Message | ||
     Wolfridgerider |
What a bummer my ride home turned out to be! I was getting ready to pass a car when it happened. I rolled on the throttle and it started to go faster then nothing!! I had called my wife to let her know what was up and started pushing my Uly to the next exit. Much to my surprise 3 people stopped to see if I needed any help and one of the guys had a trailer. He went home to get it and I called the wife to let her know what was going on. My ride showed up with trailer in tow. We loaded my bike and he said he saw another bike broke down on his way to get me. We turned around and got them loaded behind my bike and headed to their house, dropped them off and then headed to my house. All and all it wasn't that big of a deal. I got home quick, but I am pissed that the belt crapped out on me. I thought it was going to last the life of the bike. So if anyone at Buell Customer Service reads this, I need a new belt sent to A.D.Farrow H-D & Buell 614-228-6353. A big thanks to Ron for picking me up and getting me home!! I'm just glad that this didn't happen on my way to March Badness!! I need a belt ASAP!! | ||
| Saintly |
That crap just ain't fun at all is it? Man, I don't miss that sh*t one bit! And people ask why I've already converted by '07 to chain. I ask them why they haven't converted theirs yet. | ||
| Firebolteric_ma |
YUP! Chain is the only way to go! Don't waist your money on another belt and end up in the same boat again. | ||
| Samiam |
I probably almost had something similar happen to me. I inspected my ('06) belt one day and found two rocks embedded in it. Belt didn't snap but I didn't want to take the risk of riding with two rock-caused holes in it. So $$ later and I'm back on the road. No problems yet on belt #2... Sam | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
I guess the one good thing about it is the bike is still under warranty, but I am going to start looking into a chain for it after it turns 2 years old | ||
| Etennuly |
Had you noticed any marks, cuts, stones, loose threads, abrasions, missing cogs, or any other damage to it? Or was it a random blow out? Just wondering, I'm gonna inspect mine for the above again. I put a new rear tire on a couple of weeks ago and it looked real good at 12,000 miles. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
I didn't notice anything wrong with it. I am going to see if I can find it on my way home tomorrow. Who makes a chain conversion for Buells? | ||
| Danger_dave |
The belt drive is one of the most attractive things about the bike to me. I've had no probs with them. I'll buy a shaft drive bike before i go back to a chain again. | ||
| Court |
>>>I need a new belt sent to A.D.Farrow H-D & Buell 614-228-6353. Is Farrow open on Monday? | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
They are open 7 days week. Why do you ask Mr.Court?  | ||
| Rick_a |
They should advertise that the belt CAN last a lifetime...not will. | ||
| Trac95ker |
Saintly makes the conversion. | ||
| Court |
>>>>Why do you ask Mr.Court? Because many HD/Buell dealers are closed on Mondays. Call them first thing and explain. They **should** have a belt in stock. If not, they can get one pronto to make certain you don't have your departure for MBIV delayed. Replacing the belt with a chain is a poor idea. Opinions will vary, facts don't. Ride safe. . . . er. as soon as you can ride again.  | ||
| Saintly |
Replacing the belt with a chain is a poor idea. Opinions will vary, facts don't. Facts are: I got stranded three times with my firebolt when it had a belt drive, but it never left me on the side of the road with a chain. You can have your opinion, I'll have my chain and the peace of mind of knowing that I'll make it home. | ||
| M2nc |
That sucks - I would love to know what happened. (ie. rocks or just quality issue with the belt) I have 19,000 miles on my '06 Uly and 12,000 miles on a '06 Belt on my M2, both look good at this point. The original '99 M2 belt stripped the teeth off the belt about 1/3rd the way around at the drag strip with 32,000 miles. It still got me home, though it was a jerky ride. On my Honda the chain failed at 20,000 miles, chewed up both sprockets along the way. At the dealership they told me Honda recommends the chains to be replaced every 20,000 miles. I wonder what is the longest belt life anyone has gotten? | ||
| Saintly |
P.S. with one of these:  You wont get comments like this: Ride safe. . . . er. as soon as you can ride again. BWAAAAHAAAAHAAAAAAHAAAAA! | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
I wish I knew what went wrong with it. I just rolled on the throttle to pass a car, it started to go and then I was on the side of the road doing this  | ||
| Saintly |
Wolf, I feel for ya man, I really do. Just be thankful that there aren't about a half dozen guys jumping all over you right now, telling you that it must have been your fault, or that you must have abused the bike or even "miss-handled" it. Things were much rougher when I went through the "belt woes". The "hazing" rituals have gotten rather lax. | ||
| Firebolteric_ma |
So the question becomes... will you learn from the weak link and fix the problem OR Are you going to stay with the weak link and TRY again? Taking that chance, Hopefully not on the side of the road going... | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
For now I am going to have the Dealer put a new belt on it so I can keep riding. I am going to start looking into a chain and any info that anybody can pass along would be great. | ||
| Rotzaruck |
You may have scared it to death with all that STUFF you had stacked on it. But you're right, best for it to go now instead of half way to GA, (with all that stuff on it). Being afflicted with a bit of faith, I'm wondering, if the belts were so totally useless, why would Mr Buell put them on there in the first place? Ed | ||
| M2nc |
The '03 Gates belt sucked, but the Tuber belts and the latter Goodyear belts are much better. Those that are doing cross-country or Alaska trips on their Ulys are carrying spare belts with them. The XBs are a lot easier to change out the belts than the tubers. One guy that did the Alaska run broke the belt on the way back and changed the belt out in 30 minutes on the side of the road. Chains fail too, though they are less likely when they do fail they tear up stuff. (Message edited by M2nc on March 18, 2007) | ||
| Firebolteric_ma |
I'm wondering, if the belts were so totally useless, why would Mr Buell put them on there in the first place? I have asked that question AND why he used DUNLOPS on the XB Bikes, Which many believe to be useless. I personally found them usefull....For Burnouts!!!!  | ||
| Saintly |
I have asked that question AND why he used DUNLOPS on the XB Bikes, Which many believe to be useless. Yeah, and why did he equip firebolts with headlamps that melt & catch fire too? I want answers to these questions!  | ||
| Mortarmanmike120 |
Hey Wolf, get Saintly's chain conversion. We've had a multitude of threads on here about chain vs. belts so I won't rehash my opinion on the matter. I'm completely satisfied with the chain, probably my favorite mod to date. Glad your belt didn't break at TOO inopportune a time, like in a busy intersection or passing a semi on the interstate or something. Or at two in the morning on an old country road with no cell phone service. Have fun at MB4. Later. | ||
| Rick_a |
Belts are wonderful for cruisers...if you ask me Buell started using them 'cause H-D was too. Early Buells used chains, remember? The idea seems great...but I'd rather lube and adjust a chain every now and then then ever get stranded due to a broken belt again. A lot of people with Uly's bust belts going off road. That seems to be the biggest complaint, anyway. It seems people with higher-powered Buells or a ham-fisted throttle hand tend to break them often, too. I've worn out a set of sprockets and a chain, but it's not much more expensive than a belt and I sure as hell wasn't stuck on the side of the road when I replaced 'em.
That's why any manufacturer with any sense uses chains on dual-sports, adventure tourers, and sportbikes/standards? | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Bottom line, OK? REAL MEN RUN CHAIN!  Am I right, my brothers? Buell has supplied their bikes with a number of items that didn't work particularly well. Here are the first half dozen that spring to mind. 1. Dunlop 207 tires 2. Gates Belts 3. Headlights for Firebolts 4. Front wheel bearings 5. Side stands 6 Front isolators That is the nature of mass producing any product and selling it at a reasonable price. Thankfully, all of these items have been upgraded, or are being rethought, in the case of the headlights. Let's put it this way: Did you ever heard of anyone changing from chain to belt drive? Like everything else, chains have improved a lot since Court got his first Cushman, or I rode my Norton 99. | ||
| Danger_dave |
>>Did you ever heard of anyone changing from chain to belt drive? << Kinda. It was a lot of the reason I sold my Triumphs and bought Buell. I really dislike chain drives. And I luff belt drive - I don't care if I do break one occasionally. Much prefer. (Message edited by danger_dave on March 19, 2007) | ||
| 2_spuds |
I had mine break on the uly on the way home from AK as I was pulling away from a stop light. It looked like it was cut with a knife between two of the teeth. I was carrying a spare and it was an easy job to replace on the side of the road.That removable piece of the swing arm made it a snap. I think my biggest problem was finding something to place in the gas overflow line to stop it from leaking while the bike was laying on it's side. I think I remember using a pencil.I was back on the road in no time. I carry a spare belt [and wheel bearings] on the long rides now. | ||
| Court |
Chains interest me. . . . they are a bit like a reverse lottery. For a chain to work, each and every part MUST function properly. If ANY single part, of the hundreds, fail, the mere location of the failure sets up a scenario to make the failure catastrophic. A chain transmits one of it's greatest weaknesses, a complete inability to deal with irregularities in the drive line, to ancillary components on each end of it. Chains have kept from the forefront of the problem radar as a benefit of modern manufacturing and QA/QC, but if there was ever a single part of the motorcycle that begged to be improved it is the chain. They are the ultimate engineering shortcut. I dismiss the argument that they worked for years; so did the spark advance on the Model A. In addition, in the days when chains were common place motorcycles with 100RWHP were considered super bikes. Don't get me wrong, I have some bikes with chains, heck I'm even a member of "The Chain Gang" (BMW pre-belt F650 Owner's Club) but the modern belt, properly used and maintained is a marvel of engineering. I expect to change few opinions and conversely you'll have to tender a much better argument than "my belt broke" to persuade me. Court |
