| Author |
Message |
    
Debueller
| | Posted on Friday, August 04, 2006 - 04:10 pm: | 
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XB12Rdude,
I mostly ride on the pavement. I have done some dual sport events aimed at large adventure machines. I also do not hesitate to explore any gravel road that looks interesting. IMO, thats what the Uly was designed for. It works very well for that. (although I do have issues with a belt drive for off pavement riding) |
Xbjelly9s
| | Posted on Friday, August 04, 2006 - 05:33 pm: |
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14000 on the original and 3000 on the upgraded '03 belt. neither has had problems. no belt guards and ridin hard. |
Xb9ser
| | Posted on Friday, August 04, 2006 - 08:11 pm: |
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03XB9S all guards in place. Rear wheel off 5 times 1st time at dealer the rest I did.At 10000 miles while putting on new rear tire I went to new 03 upgraded belt.It lasted 2 weeks and broke in parking lot at work. I put back on my old belt 3000 miles ago. I'm getting ready to go chain as I dont trust belts any more!Befoe anyone flames me I do know to treat the belt. A friend bought an upgraded belt the same week I did from same dealer and his lasted 600 miles.I think there is a defective batch of belts out there. |
Mikexlr650
| | Posted on Friday, August 04, 2006 - 08:23 pm: |
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this was a topic at our wed bike night this week. several ideas were discussed (pulley wear, tensioner forcing backward bend, etc.) seems very hit or miss.
one of our group saintly, is a professional mechanic who happens to be quite meticulous in his work, he broke several belts without explanation?? each belt lasted less miles than the one before (hence the pulley wear idea).
not sure why this doesn't seem to be an issue with harley's, more weight, similar torque, should stress their belts pretty hard? |
Jaimec
| | Posted on Friday, August 04, 2006 - 08:34 pm: |
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How many Harley riders do you see doing burnouts, stoppies and wheelies? |
Curtyd
| | Posted on Friday, August 04, 2006 - 08:43 pm: |
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Old style belt, I presume, on 1999 M2, never replaced with upwards of 30 to 40K miles. (stopped replacing speedo sensors after my 4th or 5th one).
2003 XB9S, 8500 miles, so far, on old style belt.
( Mileage down because of new baby born same year I got bike, and can't get the mileage in right now, but someday she'll be able to reach the pegs, and wear a helmet. ) |
Mikexlr650
| | Posted on Friday, August 04, 2006 - 10:03 pm: |
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not too many stoppies, some pathetic wheelies, and plenty of burnouts. point is the bikes can weigh double that of a buell with similar power, why does this seem to be more of an issue with our bikes. are the belts of a different design? i know the belt on my dyna looks different but not sure about how it's made etc. |
Xb12rdude
| | Posted on Saturday, August 05, 2006 - 02:43 am: |
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I'm still torn here. I love the belt and would like to stay with it. I'm leaning towards the Trojan Constant Tension Pulley with the new 2006 belt. I have not heard of that combination breaking before. Though I could do the "home" chain conversion for less.
I wish someone would sell one of these dammed "chain conversion" at a realistic price. Most are 7-8 hundred $$ and you get extra sprockets and chain guard, both of which I don't need. The only piece everyone wants is the idler. If someone just sold that seperate for around $100-150 they would get rich. All other items are common parts. |
Tunes
| | Posted on Saturday, August 05, 2006 - 06:53 am: |
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My '99 S3 has "Sportster" printer on the belt. Obviously, it's a belt for an HD Sportster. I have had several mechanics insist that I popped my original belt and replaced it with this inferior replacement. Not so! This is the original belt and currently has 22K miles on it and running the 4th rear tire. No issues. From '85 onward, all my HD's had belts. Every bike clocked over 25K miles before I sold it for the next bike... I went Buell in '99 with the S3. Bought an 04 XB12s, 8K miles, on my second rear tire. No issues. Like everything, you beat it, it will break sooner than if you are more careful. Inspecting your belt and pullies is paramount to belt life. I have never broken a belt... and have broken 1 chain since I started riding bikes in '66. I was rippin' it up in the dirt when I lived in Albuquerque... and snapped the "second" master link I had installed, so it was my fault. |
Jaimec
| | Posted on Saturday, August 05, 2006 - 07:08 am: |
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A friend in England had a Triumph snap a chain in traffic a few years back. That was ugly because the chain then ripped a hole in his transmission, dumping oil all over the road and leaving him stranded. Even if he had a replacement link, there was nothing he could do about the hole in his engine, and he's lucky it didn't injure his leg in the process (chain guard saved him). Again: No thanks, I'll stick with the belt, thank you.
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Kdan
| | Posted on Saturday, August 05, 2006 - 07:17 am: |
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03 xb9s, no guards, original belt lasted 13k miles and was replaced as part of regular preventive maintenance, upgraded belt on it now at 21k. No problems at all. |
Mikexlr650
| | Posted on Saturday, August 05, 2006 - 08:02 am: |
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xb12dude,
contact saintly, he's helped quite a few get set up with chains. |
U4euh
| | Posted on Saturday, August 05, 2006 - 10:10 am: |
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1ST belt@ 5400
2nd @10500
3rd @16something
4th removed gaurds,changed rear pulley
one w/less mileage, 24,000= and
looking to be replaced
Does anyone know if the output shaft of the 12 is the same as the 9. I have seen several pulleys for sale on ebay, but didn't know if it would fit or not. Trying to buy pieces at a time is better than nothing |
Diablobrian
| | Posted on Saturday, August 05, 2006 - 11:42 am: |
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I thought this wasn't going to be a chain versus belt thread.
Come on guys stick to the survey on belt breakage. I'm interested in the facts too, but not in rhetoric, or anecdotes.
I haven't seen No_Rice's story about his 03 XB9. He had a stock belt (the first one) and had it strip 6-8 inches of teeth
while riding. the motor spun up when the teeth went, then caught again and caused a nasty high-side wreck.
Since then he has had 4 more 03 updated belts break. He no longer has his belt guards installed, and he does ride his
bike rather hard. |
New12r
| | Posted on Saturday, August 05, 2006 - 04:29 pm: |
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Broke one drag racing on a dyno,
other than that never! |
Dbyrd3130
| | Posted on Saturday, August 05, 2006 - 10:17 pm: |
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recent breakage of original belt at 9650 miles.
NO stoppies, NO wheelies and moderate riding.
replaced tires around 8000 miles at the dealer.
just ordered a modified '03 replacement but have lost some confidence?
(Message edited by dbyrd3130 on August 05, 2006) |
Dapope
| | Posted on Sunday, August 06, 2006 - 04:45 am: |
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About 9500 miles since last May (bought leftover '03 bike new) on original '03 belt. No problems. All guards in place. Dealer replace rear tire at 1100 miles. All other removals of belt done by me. |
Thumper2811
| | Posted on Sunday, August 06, 2006 - 08:27 am: |
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8700 miles 1st one 11000 miles and still going
(Message edited by thumper2811 on August 06, 2006) |
Xb12rdude
| | Posted on Sunday, August 06, 2006 - 10:58 am: |
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From the results so. I'm thinking most belts are failing from "Fatigue" and second from "mishandling or defective". It's looks that most folks orginal belts lasted upwards of 6K and that most are not breaking from "Engine torque or power". There seems to be an occasional belt broken by debris, but not many. |
Pwnzor
| | Posted on Sunday, August 06, 2006 - 11:14 am: |
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There seems to be an occasional belt broken by debris, but not many.
My problem with that is, how can we really be sure what broke any particular belt? Unless we had a high speed camera on the belt, at the point of failure, focused on that spot.
I've seen pictures on this board of guys with older Buells slogging through axle deep mud with no problems at the belt.
It's my opinion that this is more guesswork than science. Still interesting to see how long belts have lasted or not lasted.
I had thought it odd that I haven't seen any "belt conversion kits" for chain driven bikes. Then I considered how much easier it is to convert to something narrower rather than something wider.
$0.02
 |
Panhead_dan
| | Posted on Sunday, August 06, 2006 - 02:42 pm: |
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It may be that more belts break due to mishandling than is known. The damned things are tough. (untill you twist it or bend it sideways). |
Cataract2
| | Posted on Sunday, August 06, 2006 - 05:02 pm: |
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My belt has 27,100 miles on it with hard and soft riding done to it. It's overdue for replacement, but the belt itself looks in really good condition. |
Bartimus
| | Posted on Sunday, August 06, 2006 - 06:58 pm: |
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I replaced the belt on my '95 S2 at 75,000 miles. Only because I picked up a rock in the center of the belt. Even after I picked the rock out, I limped home about 1000 miles. This was the stock belt, that also had "sportster" imprinted on it.
I replaced it with another stock belt and now have 150,000 miles on the bike.
On my XB, I've got about 11,000 miles on the bike and the belt looks fine. No problems yet... |
Prof_stack
| | Posted on Sunday, August 06, 2006 - 07:24 pm: |
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9800 miles on the original belt on my '03 XB9S. Belt guards are all in place. With my relaxed "un-Buell-like" riding style I have little concern about breakage but will upgrade to the newer belt when the time comes.
(Message edited by prof_stack on August 06, 2006) |
Stevexb
| | Posted on Sunday, August 06, 2006 - 08:00 pm: |
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My belt hasn't snapped, but I'm on a new XB12s with 3000 miles on the clock, all original guards still fitted.
I've now got some tearing happening on the belt, looks like the outer strand has snapped and there is a small split forming, only about 2-3mm into the belt.
Time to phone the dealers tomorrow and ask if it is covered under warranty? I suspect not?
Steve |
Starter
| | Posted on Sunday, August 06, 2006 - 10:27 pm: |
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I got an 04 XB9R. 13,000km and still on the original belt. 4 tyre changes completed sucessfully. Got belts gaurds still on there too. |
Buellisti
| | Posted on Monday, August 07, 2006 - 12:31 am: |
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During the 500 mile break in period, I picked up a pebble or something that tore a chunk out of the side of the belt about a third the size of a dime. I will hit 18,000 this week with that belt. A 2006 belt is in the works for when this belt breaks or I hit 25,000 miles. |
Ronlv
| | Posted on Monday, August 07, 2006 - 01:34 am: |
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belts |
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