| Author | Message | ||
     Buellerxt |
Quote: Considering the differences in rear suspension design (both inches of travel and working angles) I highly doubt that any HD model puts the drive belt through anywhere near the stresses that are seen by Buells. Especially a Ulysses model. Also, none of the HD riders that I know seem to be concerned about a breakdown 30 miles from the nearest road. While my belt might well last far more than 25k miles. It's beginning to show signs of wear and I'd rather err on the safer side. Mark :Unquote Good points, Mark. I appreciate the input. Not being a big off road rider I'd prefer belt reliability for long trips rather than the added flexibility but that flexibility is what makes the Uly attractive to many. Hey, I'm planning on 50,000+ from the belt, no front brake surging issues, and no wheel bearing failures! We'll see. Ths. Mike | ||
| Dr_greg |
I was going to analyze the geometry of the Uly rear suspension/belt to determine the change in belt length, but...it's a LOT harder than I thought.  Still working on it...  Guess I wouldn't have qualified to be a BMC engineer. Not surprised... --Doc | ||
| Motorfish |
I know a few folks out there have the Trojan spring loaded belt tensioner, but I don`t know if it helps extend belt life. I really think it would. I have an M6 primary chain adjuster in my FXR for over 60k miles and it really made shifting a lot better. It`s really the same principal, a constant tension, that doesn`t seem to get too tight. Happy New Year everyone, ride well! | ||
| Pso |
Motorfish-I understand a lot offolks in Europe use those things. It would be good if they would soud off as to what the experiences were over there. Also I thought the belt issue was much less with the 2nd or 3rd iteration of the belts? | ||
| Froggy |
Pso, everyone here in the states that has the spring tensioner loves it. Nobody has been able to prove whether it helps with belt and bearing life or not, but something like that would be hard to prove. Remember, there are people getting 60k+ miles on the stock setup. I plan on picking one up if I have spare cash laying around, but that day hasn't happened yet  | ||
| Buellerxt |
Pso, I spoke at length with the Goodyear guy who is the Buell 'belt guy' and who sees every Uly belt that is replaced under warranty. He said that the last belt improvement was in 2007 for the 2008 model year. The changes in part numbers since then, according to him, were to separate belts into smaller lots for evaluation purposes. I'm just reporting what I was told. He told me that there are VERY FEW Uly belts replaced under warranty and he feels it is a very good belt that should have a long service life 'if' treated properly, can be rolled up easily with no worry, stored on bikes easily, etc. When I told him that I had read of a number of Uly belt failures he was surprised but when I asked if he only sees 'warranty covered' belts he said yes. He didn't know, of course, if dealers were rejecting warranty claims properly or not. As Froggy once wrote, and I believe he contributed it to Court, many things on the internet are likened to H1N1, or something like that anyway! Hey, I'd be bugged if mine failed at 25,000 miles, seriously bugged, but it looks great at 1400 miles, lol, and I'm planning on a L-O-N-G belt life. Spending five days in Walla Walla waiting on one, or having to ship the bike home because the belt is on back order, would NOT be cool. No offense to Walla Walla! It's probably a great place. I just picked a far away place! | ||
| Motorfish |
Good points, Froggy, on people with 60k+ on a stock belt, and people stretching the truth on the net. It`s hard to evaluate something like this. On my `06, the belt was replaced under warranty. It was walking off the rear pulley about 1/8". I don`t do wheelies, or burnouts, but don`t ride real conservative, either. I don`t know what P/N it was replaced with, but tomorrow I`ll see if I can find a # on it. I`m getting interested in getting a spare, to carry. Maybe more towards spring, hopefully after the "rush". The sprung tensioner looks like a great idea, but the change to a `10 wheel, looks better, but more expensive. | ||
| Motorfish |
Forgot to add that I don`t really ride my Uly off-road. | ||
| Ourdee |
I'm sitting around with three weeks off and no bike because it is in the shop with the belt on backorder till the 10th. | ||
| Teeps |
Buellerxt Posted on Friday, January 01, 2010 - I spoke at length with the Goodyear guy who is the Buell 'belt guy' and who sees every Uly belt that is replaced under warranty. He said that the last belt improvement was in 2007 for the 2008 model year. Buellerxt Did you ask the "Goodyear Guy" for the part number of the Uly belt? With the Goodyear part number, we might be able to order them direct. Or, from an industrial or retail supplier. | ||
| Buellerxt |
No, I didn't Teeps. I wasn't thinking about direct orders. He did say that they had plans to continue making the belt and filling Harley orders but I didn't know about back order problems at the time. Sorry. | ||
| Dirt |
I ran across my copy of the 07 Buell model catalog titled 'The Inside Line' the other day and noted this little tidbit from page 12: "Zero Maintenance - The Hibrex belt never needs lubrication or replacement. It's rated to last the entire life of the motorcycle. And because the idler pulley keeps tension constant, there is no need to adjust the belt either." I kinda laughed seeing as how at 60k I'm on belt #4. | ||
| Teeps |
Buellerxt, Here's your home work for next week. Speak to the GoodYear guy and find out if: we can order direct, the minimum number of belts, and of course cost... Or, if you are not comfortable doing that, pass on (pm) the contact info and I'll do it. Even if we had to buy a full run of belts and go through a third party like American Sport Bike. It would be worth it just for the peace of mind. That is, if the price is right. | ||
| Froggy |
I would like belts too, I need several different ones, as I got 4 different Buell's in the garage. | ||
| Buellerxt |
Teeps, I wish I would have written down the guy's name and number but I did not. I've looked everywhere. I contacted him by looking on the net for a contact for Goodyear motorcycle belts. I ended up getting a general Goodyear Tech. Services person who told me that he didn't think Goodyear sold motorcycle belts anymore. I assured him that they did, explained the Buell Motor Co., etc. and he asked me to hold on. It wasn't looking too good but he came back and gave me the number of the guy 'they' were told to contact for motorcycle belts. I got the guy and he was great. Very involved for years, very knowledgeable and very willing to answer questions and help. I believe he said they only sell to Harley but I'm not at all sure. Call Goodyear and ask away! | ||
| Jessemc |
>>I kinda laughed seeing as how at 60k I'm on belt #4<< Dirt, that's a lot of belts - have you gotten roughly the same mileage out of each? did you notice the idler pulley being easy to turn by hand before the belts needed to be replaced? Also, what type of riding do you do? do you store the bike on a jack with the back wheel hanging (with 60K I doubt your bike is up on jacks very much, but I'm wondering)? I'm trying to get a handle on what I can do maximize belt life - this is a great thread but it's hard to see a pattern yet. Jesse | ||
| Dirt |
that's a lot of belts Sure is. My belts seem to last just a tad bit longer than the rear wheel bearings do (check my profile). A betting man would say the bearing failures were part of the problem and stressed the belts, but I have no hard proof to back it up. I don't really prop up the rear wheel and play with the idler pulley so I can't say if it is easier to turn prior to breakage. Type of riding: The bike is mainly used to commute back and forth to work, 125 miles round trip on the Interstate which I always felt were easy miles for vehicles. No wheelies or stoppies. Not ridden like an old lady but not like a squid either. I have been doing this drive for many years and have put in excess of 100k miles on three bikes - a Harley and 2 Hondas. The Harley still has it's original belt and both Hondas had chains so no real good comparison there. I installed the black sealed bearings in the rear wheel about 15k miles ago. So far so good, but this is around the mileage when the orange bearings would fail. My hope is that if the bearings last the belt will too. We will see. I must add that there are others here on the board with high mileage bikes that are still on the original belt (and bearing for that matter), so I will only say YMMV. | ||
| Teeps |
Buellerxt, Fair enough. I assumed that you knew said Goodyear guy... Sorry, for being presumptuous. | ||
| Dr_greg |
Regarding belt life, I read an article about a Harley rider who had averaged over 100,000 miles (yes, I know, different setup) per belt. He said he washed the belt more than he washed the bike, and felt that cleanliness was critical in belt life. I think we know that "dirtyness" is harmful to belt life, so presumably the reverse is true. I did wash my belt (er, the Uly's) quite frequently; perhaps that's the reason it went 50,000+ until my tipover. And I had done a modicum of off-pavement riding on that belt. The belt on my current '06 Uly is now at 25,000 miles. --Doc | ||
| 7873jake |
Not trying to seem obtuse but is that a wash (brush and suds) or just a flushing rinse? | ||
| Buewulf |
Belt washing? You mean like wiping and washing while cleaning the bike right? | ||
| Ourdee |
Do you wipe it front to back or back to front? | ||
| Scud |
The main reason Harley secondary belts break is if the front motor mount is damaged or weakened. If care is not taken when changing the oil filter, accumulated oil will soften the isolator material. This allows the pulleys to get out of alignment, which kills toothed belts. H-D does make an emergency drive belt replacement kit; if you think replacing a belt on a Uly is fun, try replacing a bagger belt... The Buell Isoplanar mounting system is different from H-D, but has anyone checked the condition of the isolators (especially the front) on Ulys that have broken belts? | ||
| Mark_weiss |
Dr_greg wrote:
I think that the change in belt tension is virtually nil. That's what the pulley placement is all about. Where I think that the Uly adds stress is in the degrees of 'reverse' curve that the belt normally encounters. The Uly's swingarm angle would drape the belt around the idler pulley for more degrees than other Buell models. Mark SE AZ | ||
| Mark_weiss |
The swingarm pivot is in the rear of the engine/trans case. Without bending the pivot shaft, there should be no way to mis-align the pulleys. Mark SE AZ | ||
| Dr_greg |
Re: Belt washing I use a small brush (like a toothbrush) and scrub each "tooth" and "trough" as I roll the belt along (lower belt cover removed and rear wheel off the ground). I use the same soapy water with which I wash the bike. Rinse to finish. Dunno if it helps any, but easier than lubing a chain, and it can't do any harm. --Doc | ||
| Ourdee |
I had chain lubing down pat, and it was easier than that. | ||
| Buewulf |
Dunno if it helps any, but easier than lubing a chain. Have to agree with Ourdee. Chain is much easier. Especially since I never lube an O-Ring chain. Just spray teflon on them to make it easy to rinse the grime away with a hose. I'd rather pony up to replace a belt every 20K miles than scrub with a tooth brush every wash. Not that I have anything to worry about because Buell says my belt requires "no maintenance" and will "last the life of the bike". Clearly, my belt is better than yours!  | ||
| Dr_greg |
Okay, I'll cry "uncle" on the "easier than lubing a chain"... I guess I was including the sub- (or un-) conscious hassle of spraying chain lube and the ensuing mess. Maybe my aim is poor, but I always get overspray (just spraying rollers; spraying O-rings is unnecessary, like you said). And chains are just so dirty! (At least mine always seemed to be) With so little maintenance to do on the Uly, please don't begrudge me my *nal (hate that word) attention to the belt. Please, PLEASE, PLEASE...let's not let this degenerate in a belt vs chain, or belt "no-wash" vs belt "wash" discussion. We ALL like the belt. And the Uly. --Doc | ||
| Riding_tall |
Wash the belt ?? I don't even wash the bike. Besides it's to cold to wash it this time of year anyhow, though not to cold to ride  well, ready to ride when the Voltage regulator .. and stator and ECU get replaced .. sigh humm washing it once and a while may be a good thing. |
