| Author | Message | ||
     Surfsofa |
With the older wheel and axle, loosening 15 or so turns gives enough movement to be able to slip on a new belt (albeit with much swearing because the new ones are so tight). Does loosening the axle on a 2010 wheel give the same slack or will the axle have to come out? Just trying to anticipate before I take on this job. | ||
| Rayycc1 |
I did it. loosening the wheel 15 turns should do it....its still going to go on hella tight though. | ||
| Yo_barry |
I think my 2009 FM says loosen 20-22 turns. I didn't replace the belt but took off the old one before removing the wheel for tire replacement. (I have a 2010 wheel.) Barry Hollister, CA | ||
| Hughlysses |
Yea, you have to loosen it further (compared to the 2006-2009 wheel) to get the "step" past the two bearings on the drive side. I think I just watched the axle, both the step and the threaded end. Unscrewed far enough to get past the step without unscrewing completely. I'd guess 20-22 turns is about right. | ||
| Teeps |
Yes. I had a bear of a time getting the new belt on, it was tight as a Banjo string! Have about 5k miles on the new belt, it's still taught, but not so as when first installed. Note: Ended up drilling the upper mount hole for the idler wheel, as others here have done, too... | ||
| Motorbike |
I still don't understand why a lot of guys are having trouble getting the new belt on. I put a new belt on my 08 XT with the 2010 wheel and axle set-up. It was one of the easiest jobs I have done on this bike. If you unscrew the axle far enough so that the bearings drop down to the smaller diameter of the axle, the belt sprocket should move ahead far enough that the belt will be very slack and should slip right on. Once the belt is in place, reassemble a few parts, torque everything up and go for a nice long test ride. | ||
| Xbimmer |
I put a new belt on my 08 XT... Maybe that's why, the shorter suspension of the XT puts less pressure on the belt against the idler than an unloaded X? Just guessing... | ||
| Motorbike |
Xbimmer, you may be correct. I'm not sure how many of the guys had trouble with belt installation on the X vs the XT. Thanks. | ||
| Teeps |
Installing the 2010 wheel & axle, presented no problems with the original belt. Installed easily without removing the idler wheel. | ||
| Smokey3644 |
It was easy to put on the new belt (2010 wheel) when I realized all you need to do is get the belt started on the sprocket and the rotate the tire by hand, belt rolls right on. | ||
| Surfsofa |
Did the job on Friday night. It was EXTREMELY tight on my X, and it seemed to me that the rear wheel barely moved as I unwound the axle. Literally the only way I could see to get the new belt on was what Smokey did. I located it around the drive sprocket first, then around the tensioner (a Free Spirits, fitted at the same time) and then slowly wound it around the wheel sprocket. It felt like I put a heck of a lot of stress through the belt as I wound it on, but it went on eventually. Did about 200 miles on it on Saturday and it's easy to feel the tightness as the bike is more vibey. The bars were buzzing quite a bit. Hopefully that'll fade as the belt stretches. | ||
| Rayycc1 |
when mine was new i could really feel it at highway speeds when coming off of bridges or anywhere the rear suspension flexed...now 3000 miles later its smooth . | ||
| Arry |
Surfsofa, As I understand it, the tensioner is supposed to eliminate the extreme tightness. Are you sure that everything is set up correctly with the tensioner? I believe it is common to have to roll the belt on the rear sprocket to install, but your description sounds like it is still extremely tight, even though you have a Free Spirits tensioner. | ||
| Motorbike |
I really don't believe these belts actually stretch very much. They may wear in a bit but if they stretched it seems that they would not be able to withstand much pressure during hard acceleration. Besides, if they stretched, the belt cogs would not fit properly down into the recesses of the drive or driven sprockets. Surfsofa, I am with Arry on this one. Your belt should never be so tight that it causes vibrations under normal riding, especially since you have the FS Tensioner. I will admit though mine tends to get a little vibration when I have a passenger on and hit a dip in the road. It has done this since new on both the original belt and my newer one. Thanks. | ||
| Surfsofa |
Well, I have the right belt for the bike, and I fitted the tensioner correctly. Not sure what other variables there are. I've read elsewhere that the belts usually 'bed-in' after the first 1000 or so miles. I'll soon know as I'm off on a 1500 mile road trip at the weekend!  | ||
| Rbuck53 |
Gentleman, The tight belt issue is the leading reason why Uly belts break and axle bearings fail. A 3 bearing rear wheel does nothing to change the tension of the belt. These belts will virtually have very little or no significant stretch to them during suspension travel. Consider for a moment what tremendous strength and effort it takes to break one of these kevlar, reinforced drive belts! It sure isn't the hp or torque of the Buell engine. | ||
| Uly_man |
I had a standard 06 bike and now I have a 10 bike with the 10 wheel. In both cases it takes me 15 mins to change a belt on the road side. It is no big deal and easy to do. "These belts will virtually have very little or no significant stretch to them during suspension travel". Sorry but they do very much. The AKF is much better than the previous versions for this. Trust me as I have had the D, E and F versions over both bikes. | ||
| Rbuck53 |
Directly from Gates about belt stretch...please read... http://www.carbondrivesystems.com/tech/overview "Unlike chain, carbon fiber is length-stable and will not stretch." | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Question is then, why make the belt so damned tight knowing the carbon fibers will probably start breaking since they don't stretch? | ||
| Motorbike |
Rbuck53, I agree they do not stretch but I suppose they do wear in just a bit. Also everyone, please notice the overview in the link states " Do Not Back Bend", which is exactly what the belt does every time it passes over the idler pulley. Of course it back bends more on an "X" than an "XT" so I'm guessing a higher percentage of "X" belts fail over the "XT"'s. (Message edited by motorbike on August 31, 2014) | ||
| Rbuck53 |
Yes, the Buell drive belt will loosen through use, over time, as other construction components in their assembly fatigue & wear out. However, don't confuse this with the belt stretching each time the suspension reaches a point where the belt actually begins to tighten & restrict travel. If the belt was indeed stretching at these points rear wheel bearings would not be failing and our belts would not be stressed to the point of separation. | ||
| Uly_man |
The longer rear suspension travel on the Uly does load the belt and you can feel it sometimes. At least it can but not with the FST fitted. None of my "E" belts lasted more than 7500 miles on either bike and there is/ was no wear in the system. The stretch is only a very tiny amount and very hard to gauge unless you have, as I did, monitored it very closely. In all cases there was no damage to the belt, or wear, and the fibers ripped from inside the belt. I posted some pics a while ago. Those Gates belts are Carbon fiber but for pedal bikes. The Buell belt is not Carbon fiber or up to the E version anyway. It might be Kevlar and is arranged in five or six twisted cores. I know as I have seen them enough times. Anyway the belt is easy to change once you know how. | ||
| Rbuck53 |
GY Motorcycle Drive Belts: No stretch = no axle adjusters. Veyance is the manufacturer and marketer of Goodyear Engineered Products, including motorcycle drive belts. DuPont Kevlar formulation is used in what belt manufacturers call the “tensile members”, or cords within the rubber belt that provide the necessary strength and stretch resistance. The belt construction method used by Veyance is that of a multi-filament helical weave which is looped endlessly around the belt circumference much like we see in modern tires. Each bundle of filaments is encapsulated in an adhesive material to minimize friction and abrasion between the bundles. Veyance utilizes cords of varied nature such as aramid cord which, like carbon, also has an intrinsic property of "no stretch". Veyance's proprietary tensile-member material is Flexten rated at 9k#'s/strand and their Carbon is rated at 11k#'s/strand to reach the failure mode. Each one of these in and of itself is more than adequate for handling the tq and hp our engines produce. With our Buell X and XT models an ??? outside factor has been introduced which over-stresses the belt beyond design capability. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I sure hope the AX comes with a belt instead of a chain. If it is belted then I also hope the engineers design it as if it will eventually have to be emergency changed while on a trip. The ULY was designed, in my opinion, as if the Buell engineers actually believed their own BS of a life time belt. I've been very satisfied with the belt drive on my ULY but it did snap at 25,000 miles and was a beyatch to put the new one on. It really could have been designed a bit easier for eventual replacement which most everyone of us has had to deal with at least once. I would have been very pleased if a new belt installation came with some sort of tension requirement like all Harleys have. That certainly could have been designed into the idler pulley as nothing more than a bolt that you would tighten until the proper tension was supplied. I do love the way the that Buell engineered the non-adjustable axle and I hope that never changes for the AX model. | ||
| Uly_man |
I would say that anyone that has a problem with the belt drive system can choose to convert the bike to a chain. Which would then solve all belt and rear wheel bearing woes. Job done Gents. Ta-Daa. Mines a pint and a burger. Happy ride Guys. |
