| Author | Message | ||
     Scooter808484 |
Does the idler pulley come as only the whole assembly? Mine has a little side play, still rolls smooth but since my f'ing belt broke I should change it as well... another $100. People can trash HD all they want, but my Road King has never given 10% of the trouble this bike has, and it has 80,000 miles. | ||
| Garrcano |
Bearings: 2x 6203-2rsh or equivalent | ||
| Mikef5000 |
People can trash HD all they want, but my Road King has never given 10% of the trouble this bike has, and it has 80,000 miles. Semi trucks last much longer than corvettes too. | ||
| Scooter808484 |
I don't have to carry a spare driveshaft around and change it in the mud, even in a corvette. Anything this unreliable doesn't qualify for anything other than a toy. I can't afford to ride a toy to work. And thanks for the bearing info Garrcano. | ||
| No_rice |
sounds like you'll be abandoning ship soon? i'll take it. it should be really cheap since its so unreliable! i'll stick it right beside the rest of my buells that have been very reliable especially considering the abuse they get.  | ||
| Scooter808484 |
I'd sell it tomorrow if I could...but since the big announcement it isn't even worth what I owe. Maybe the Triumph guy will take it on a trade and I'll eat the difference. Four sets of wheel bearings, going on 4th belt, fan, steering head bearings need replaced. I haven't had the stator fry yet. | ||
| Uly_dude |
Sorry to hear about your headaches Scooter. I'll tell you flat out that that is one of my biggest fears with this bike. Yes, I've been stranded before on other (chain) bikes, made a simple ride into a real adventure, but that doesn't mean I like it. One thing if your idler pully looks bad(and maybe that has something to do with the belt issue), spend your $100 on one of these; http://www.trojan-horse.co.uk/prods/169.html No guarantees that this will keep the belt from breaking, but it sure can't hurt as far as I can tell. I bought one but have yet to install it. Good luck. | ||
| 7873jake |
Guess what's next to go? That there stator you just mentioned...  jes kiddin' | ||
| Mikef5000 |
Unfortunately, first model year runs have never been known to be the most reliable. Belts are hit or miss. Some last forever, some catch a rock and snap on the maiden ride. Most fall somewhere in between. That risk is the price you pay for zero final-drive maintenance. How long have you had the bike? 4 sets of bearings and 4 belts sure tells me that their is something else wrong, and you're just fixing the symptom. That something else wrong could be you (riding style etc.) or it could be the bike (swingarm out of alignment?). | ||
| Snowscum |
The first 1000 miles on my 06 it would eat belts. The dealer wouldnt replace the belt after the 3rd so I called CS and they called the dealer and had them replace the pulley. Never had another issue with the belt. Ever since that episode I was a marked man at the dealer..... | ||
| Ratbuell |
'06 UlyX, pushing 20k miles. Broke one belt at 13k, in 15 degree weather merging onto the highway and snapping a hard 1-2 shift. Replaced the 77 connector with screw connectors at 16k or so after one VERY abusive Res-Ride day (2-up and the GPS logged 103 for the high speed with a mid-80-something total average - and it was ALL DAY LONG riding like that). OEM battery still in there, fires the ol' gal right up. My clutch cable just started leaking this week, though...just wet enough to catch dirt. I know it doesn't help with your bike, but I'm just trying to illustrate that bikes are like fingerprints - even though everyone has ten of 'em from the factory, every single one is different. I wouldn't worry about the tensioner. How did your belt break? Fray? Clean snap? What version? Did it break the same way as the others have? Does belt breakage coincide with wheelbearing replacement / wheel and tire work? Mishandling (or over-handling) can cause as many problems - if not more - than "defects" can. Bend the belt the wrong way, pinch the belt, fold the belt backwards - any of these during a tire change never helps. I change my oil every 5k. And these days, my rear tire as well  I put gas in it. I ride the piss out of it. I don't twiddle with it, poke it, or prod it. I don't even wash it. It loves me for it, and rewards me with smiles every single ride. | ||
| Scooter808484 |
Well I was starting to get over it a little bit, ordered the belt from American Sport Bike. Then got home and tried to get the bearing out of the tensioner pulley. They aren't coming out of there, no way no how. Just about tore up my bearing puller and it can't get a good enough grab. So now I'm gonna be out another f'ing $100. So much for Christmas. Stupid, "sealed" (hah) cartridge bearings with no protection. This bike is absolutely full of them. They suck and they won't last. Now I hate this POS again. | ||
| Itileman |
There's about 23 hours left on this: http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=buell+ulysses+bel t+tensioner&_sacat=0&_odkw=buell+ulysses&_osacat=0 &_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313 Sorry to hear about your problems. Most folks on here will do what they can to help. | ||
| Scooter808484 |
Better again, finally got enough dirt off to see the little snap ring holding the bearings in the pulley wheel. I may never get new ones back in but it's worth a shot at 10 bucks vs 100 | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Scooter, Maybe you should invest in a service manual. If you have one already, then open it up. You would have known there was a snap ring if you had looked at the manual before tackling the idler bearing removal. Save yourself the aggravation and ULY hate next time. . | ||
| Scooter808484 |
Electraglider_1997 I have a service manual. I read the service manual. What the service manual says is that the bearings cannot be replaced, replace the entire pulley wheel. American Sport Bike only lists the entire assembly including the bracket at $97.70, hence my original post. Garrcano was nice enough to post the bearing number which I found to be correct. Perhaps you should read your service manual before chastising me for not reading mine. I'll admit to being frustrated and utilizing little to no judgement before posting... Uly hate comes from sitting in the dark pouring down rain for 2 hours waiting for a tow truck the drive system on this bike is completely unreliable. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Scooter, I broke out both the 06 and 07 service manuals and see that you are absolutely correct. I guess that pulley bearing is kind of like a ULY wheel sealed bearing in that it is serviceable regardless of the manual. Good luck with fixing that thing because I bet you can. I apologize and am now attempting to pull a foot out of my mouth.  | ||
| Scooter808484 |
EG, Thanks, I guess I'm still a little overly sensitive... still get all the rain water out of the crack of my, well you know. Local bearing supply has NSKs in stock, pressing them is always harder for me, though (after I get the snap ring out.) This does however, meet one of my goals of handing as little money as humanly possible to HD. I'll report back on results. | ||
| Paralegalpete |
Scooter I feel for you as I'm picking up my bike tomorrow with a new belt replaced under warranty I have to admit enjoying your writing style | ||
| No_rice |
glad your making progress | ||
| Reepicheep |
A big bench vise and a nice collection of sockets (both in and metric) generally do the trick for pushing in most bearings for me... provided I do my part and get everything cleaned, prepped, and heat the bits I want bigger and cool the bits I want smaller. | ||
| Uly_dude |
Hey Scooter, when you find the correct NSK bearing # for that pully, would you mind posting it? Sounds like it would be a good part, or at least #, to have on hand. I need to take mine apart pretty soon to. Thanks. | ||
| Scooter808484 |
the original, in my pulley, was an NTN 6203LAX30, but I couldn't find that even on NTN website, probably superceded. As Garrcano mentioned the SKF number is 6203-2RSH. I called and asked for 6203-2RS, (size code + 2 rubber seals) and he had NSK and what he called "cheap import" in stock. I can post the official NSK number when I pick them up, but my guess is any quality 6203-2RS should be OK. If I'm wrong, someone let me know. Reepic - that's pretty much my method too, except I use a big piece of allthread and some bolts in place of the vice. Occasionally have a problem getting them started straight. The rear wheel was a big problem, had to use a hammer part of the way...yuck. Don't worry, i won't blame that set of bearings on the bearings themselves, though they've already outlasted the others. | ||
| Buellerxt |
Sorry for your troubles, Scooter, and I fully understand your anger/frustration. Your posts help us all. Now the idler pulley is a routine maintenance item! Hey, at least we now know to add another potential problem as a result of your posts. I'd sure appreciate a recommended inspection, what to look for, recommendation once you get your problems sorted out. I'm holding off buying/carrying a spare belt after getting 100,000+ on a Harley belt. Id rather find a preventive maintenance procedure. Thanks | ||
| Scooter808484 |
Buellerxt It was easy to spot the bad bearing. Grab the pulley and try to wiggle it. The manual calls for maximum lateral play of 0.5mm. Mine rolled smoothly but was quite loose from side to side. What I don't know and won't be able to figure out is if you can tell that while the belt is on. I doubt it because the belt is tight enough that it will hold in place and prevent lateral movement, at least trying to wiggle it by hand. At the very least I'd say give that pulley a wiggle whenever you've got the belt loose. On all of my belt failures, the belt started getting loose. Loose enough that you could turn the pulley by hand when it was cold. I don't know how you can predict how long that will last however. So I think you're stuck with a spare belt if you don't want to get to sit on you butt by the side of the road waiting on a tow. |
