| Author | Message | ||
     Hooliagn |
Great to hear ! Better safe than sorry. | ||
| Chameleon |
I would think that storing a spare belt within the airbox assembly may be more viable than under the seat... | ||
| Court |
Okay . . apologies to all, I've been saddled with finals and a thesis that all culminated on Thursday. Back to the important stuff. The belt got here on December 12th and I've recorded the information as follows: Description: Belt, Drive, 145 Tooth Country of Origin: USA It was selected at random and is packaged as you see it here. Your assignment is to derive a logical way to store, transport or however you want to keep the belt. Record dates, unusual events, any weird stuff and so forth. Store it for a while, put it on the bike and see if you can break it. I' be curious about rolling it somehow, say in a fashion that might allow it to be hauled in a backpack or laid in the bottom of a Ulysses tail pack. Anyway . . . that's to the folks at Buell and let's see what parts of fact and fancy we can dice up. They've done an incredible job, in my opinion, of evolving the belt as new data and customer input became available. Court  P.S. - as a comparison could someone contact BMW of North America and see if they'd be willing to send parts.  Teasing . . . I am jussssssssssssst teasing. | ||
| Court |
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| Bobup |
there is a way to "roll" a "flat" loop into 3 loops...we do this in the shop with bandsaw blades 1) let the loop dangle and put a foot inside the loop and hold the one end on the floor 2) with the "top" end in your hand start twisting it and lower it at the same time hard to explain it...but thats the basics don't know if you can do this with the belt or not found a short vid on how to do this http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/ToolGuide/T oolGuideArticle.aspx?id=5206 (Message edited by bobup on December 20, 2008) | ||
| Court |
That's cool! Well . . you guys ask so I figured why not get a real belt in real customers hands and put Buell's claim to test. Zack, no neophyte when it comes to testing and documenting, spoke up and the belt will be on the way to him Monday. I got around to shooting some pictures and writing up my part of it today. I, but it's up to him, like the idea of using the bandsaw video for the following reasons:
Anyway . . he'll be in charge and we'll be watching. I'm impressed with the way the folks at Buell, many of them from their own Buell riding experience, have evolved the old Harley belt to a Buell specific product. | ||
| Zac4mac |
I have done that, also with bandsaw blades, Bob, great idea. My first choice will be under the seat, dunno if it's gonna fit tho. Wherever it winds up, it's gonna have some tight bends. Although that is what killed the second XB belt I broke, it did last about a thousand miles. Considering the air-box as an alternate. If neither work, I may have to get creative. Where-ever it winds up, I'll post pix as soon as it's done. I was the only one to ride to work today. As long as the roads are dry, this belt is in for some serious heat-cycling. 27 dF and windy, still a lot of polished ice around the dealership but all was good. Luckily the snow that was forecast never showed up. Major roads are all clear and dry, side-streets are still treacherous on 2 wheels. Thanks for doing this Court - Zack | ||
| Hooliagn |
Thanx Court & Zac | ||
| Hooliagn |
Bumpity Bump Bump bayba ....... | ||
| Bob_thompson |
I thought about this a little for my longer rides and although I have small sportbike saddlebags the belt might fit in, I also considered putting it, almost as pictured in Courts shipping box, in a small black plastic bag under the windscreen. Nice area for something such as this. Just a thought. Problems with that? Bob | ||
| Zac4mac |
Interesting idea Bob. I should get the belt in the next day or so. I'll scope out WHERE it COULD fit and let y'all pick which place to put it for the test. Clear skies and 40s-50s for next week. Good way to start. Z | ||
| Court |
>>>I should get the belt in the next day or so. Accurate. Shipping has been impeded by my laziness (the size of the box requires "line standing"), holidays and then a day of great riding weather (sorry dude, you lost out to the Uly). . . It'll be on the way tomorrow. | ||
| Zac4mac |
Heheheheheh No sweat Court - Enjoy the Holidays and scoot the belt off after the Ham & Turkey wear off. No rush. Z | ||
| Zac4mac |
Let the test begin. The belt showed up today. It's coiled up, in front of me, 9.5" dia & 2.75" high. Out to the garage | ||
| Zac4mac |
It is under the seat. It took two of Bob's "bandsaw twists" to get it small enough to fit. The first attempt was not encouraging.  I worked the belt a little and got it pretty compact.    It was sticking up just a little, the seat went on OK but the screws were hard to start.   Once Loretta was back together, I stuck a thermocouple in the belt and started her up. I let her run for a little over 5 minutes with a box fan in front and the belt stayed around 60 dF, ambient 40, CT 173-4. I don't think it's going to get as bad thermal abuse as I first thought. I'll revisit that one tho. Guess I ride to work tomorrow. Z | ||
| Bobup |
impressive Zack I didn't realize a cigarette pack was so big!!! | ||
| Hooliagn |
Looks Good ...... That emergency belt just needs to get me out of the woods and home. | ||
| Bobup |
so Zack....where are ya going to stash the rear wheel stand so you can swap the belt on the side of the road? c'mon and take this test to the limit.......LOL | ||
| Zac4mac |
Won't need a stand. I have enough tools to do it roadside on the side stand. Z | ||
| Bob_thompson |
Good job Zack, with the tight roll you made it will surely fit in my sport saddlebags for my longer trips. Thanks for the effort. Think "its springtime in the Rockies" like the song. Ride safe, Bob | ||
| Bobup |
"Won't need a stand. I have enough tools to do it roadside on the side stand. " care to elaborate on that statement | ||
| Zac4mac |
You don't need to remove the wheel, just pull the axle until the belt goes slack and slide it out. I should be able to do it roadside. I'll try a rehearsal before I am actually in that situation. I'm on my iPhone, I'll elaborate tonight. Z | ||
| Court |
>>>where are ya going to stash the rear wheel stand so you can swap the belt on the side of the road? If you need photos I can get them but as some of the older members recall I used to do some serious long distance riding. A couple years ago Chauly (I call him Chuck), an experienced and top notch cross country rider, and I were skirted through Michigan and he had a flat. He reached under the seat of his S3 and produced a tiny homemade device that was pretty much just a stick with a provision for mounting under the seat and a notch cut in it to purchase the swingarm. He tipped the bike up on the side stand, lofted it another 1" off the ground, stuck this thing in and changed his wheel in about the time it took me to pee and get something to drink. P.S. - Zac, thanks for taking this on and thanks to Buell for the use of the belt. This is going to be interesting and for those of you who don't know Zac is no newcomer to testing procedures. This one is going to be loose by factory standards but should provide some interesting data. (Message edited by court on January 06, 2009) | ||
| Zac4mac |
Belt guards/covers - T-30: L-wrench & handle-driver. Pinch-bolt, shift lever, swingarm brace & idler brackets - metric Allen set:1.5 - 8 mm. Sliders: 3" bar in tool-kit; axle - driver in kit, Leatherman Vise-Grips(Crunch). I have all the tools I'll need to do a swap anywhere that should give me the ability to get to a nice warm place and fix it right. Once I put the "abused belt" on Loretta, I will put my spare belt under the seat. I shouldn't be on the side of the road more than a half-hour. Z | ||
| Ccryder |
Where are you going to stash the 24" breaker bar to loosen the the axle? Even after 3 tire changes and plenty of Never-seize, I have to use my impact to break the axle loose. Neil S. | ||
| Hooliagn |
Please excuse my ignorance and correct me where i am wrong but why do you need to loosen the rear axle. Isn't it enough to just remove the front pulley cover, idler pulley, belt guards, that block in the swingarm and maybe the hugger. I need to get a service manual... | ||
| F_skinner |
Hooliagn, you only have to loosen the axle to get enough slack to remove the belt and put a new one on. I do not think the idle pully in itself will provide enough slack. At least that is the way it was explained to me. It is a real slick setup on the 1125 and the XBs (easier on the 1125). After changing belts on other Buells these things are a breeze. It looks like Buell put a lot of thought into belt changes. No doubt, thanks to input from a few tuber riders. | ||
| Hooliagn |
Ok .... I thought that if you removed all but one of the pulley frame bolts you would be able to rotate the pulley downward to remove the slack from the belt. Although there will probably be no slack on the belt when changing to a new belt considering that the old belt would most likely be broken. | ||
| Spectrum |
Don't you have to get the belt inside the swingarm above the axle? Wouldn't you have to remove the axle to do this? For that matter the reverse should be true for removing the old belt unless of course the it's broken. | ||
| Hooliagn |
Getting the belt above the axle and thru the swingarm is done by removing that block,(2screws) in the swingarm, no ? Keep in mind this is my first Buell and I haven't changed the belt but this is bow it looks to me. My bike has a whole 56 miles on it. |
