| Author | Message | ||
     Fst_tyms |
So I was complaining about changing the belt every 15,000 miles....well I did actually change it. I had my 15,000 mi service and changed the belt. Got a bran new one from Harley. The first time I decided to ride to work, I was going over a freeway overpass in a construction zone. I was just gettin iit out of 2nd and BLAM! No power. The thing just snapped! I called the shop right away. They said they would try to get a replacement because this one is obviously faulty. In the mean time - I am cruisin the cage  Be warned - some of the belts from Buell are crap and will break! | ||
| Chainsaw |
Could have been faulty installation. There is a service bulletin floating around about NOT TWISTING the belt during installation. FWIW: That would be my first guess as to premature belt failure. Sorry you gotta drive the cage, man. | ||
| Johnnyxb9 |
That would be my guess also. | ||
| M1combat |
3rd. | ||
| Darthane |
4th, and might I add that their blaming what is most likely their fault on a non-existant defect is 100% pure HD dealer. 15,000 miles on my 'old style' belt, been removed (by me) five or six times now, still going strong. | ||
| Buckinfubba |
5th don't get me started.....first off the belt ain't from harley, or buell, its from gates... second before you go blaming buell ...take a step back and bitch at your mechanic...thats who put it on. of course if you do that then they won't ever treat you right. once again the viscious circle of the dealer network that refuses to aknowledge when they do wrong. make sure the part number of the belt is G0500.02a8r not g0500.02a8f thats the old style belt. sorry I got started | ||
| Jerseyguy |
6th - It's a pain in the ass to do it the right way. You can horse it on in a quarter of the time but you run a significant risk of ruining the belt. Buell has a service bulletin out on it. When I had my wheel bearings replaced, I removed the wheels from the bike myself as I didn't trust that my dealer wouldn't short cut the job of rear wheel removal. | ||
| Fdl3 |
Heh..heh. I am living on the edge. I have had the dealer take my rear wheel off TWICE: once for a rear tire replacement, and second for rear wheel bearings replacement. So far, so good... | ||
| Glitch |
Service Bulletin Just wish I had seen this the first time I changed my rear tire. | ||
| Darthane |
Hehe..."Glitch the Belt-Breaker" | ||
| Glitch |
I was waitin' for that!  | ||
| Noface |
I'll admit the first time I changed the rear tire I cheated, and the first belt broke at <5k miles, since then the bulletin's been out, and I've been anal not to twist or cheat. I can remove those belt guards in my sleep, and it broke another belt at about 14k. I've got another spare in the garage for WHEN it breaks again. The Gates belts are JUNK. Other than that, these bikes are bulletproof (the 03's). The 04 models as we all know have an improved belt design, and a different manufacturer. JS | ||
| Fst_tyms |
I believe the shop did a proper install. But my friend from the shop, who used to have a XB9R is coming up to get the busted belt, to try to get another one, and gonna install the old one which is in good shape to get me mobile again. Thanks for the bulletin, I printed it out, I'll show him tonight when we do the belt. Why can't we with '03s use the same belt? Whats the difference? | ||
| Xb9er |
The '04's basically have a completely different final drive setup. The new Goodyear belts have a different pitch and therefore the sprockets are also different. It costs somewhere around $600 bucks if you want to do the changeover. Daves posted the parts list and prices here not too long ago. Mike. | ||
| Fst_tyms |
Thanks Mike. I think I'm gonna try to stick with what I have. The original belt worked great for 15,000 miles. If I am doing a change over, I think I would go with the chain conversion..? | ||
| Xb9er |
Yeah a chain conversion would give you more for your money, I think. The conversion to an '04 belt drive is too much money for what you get out of it. Just make sure you get the improved Gates belt (see part # in Brian's post above). Mike. | ||
| Fst_tyms |
good call on the belt part number to verify. I wrote it down and will check it when I get home. | ||
| Chainsaw |
Thanks for the number Bubba. Just scribbled a note in my parts catalog! | ||
| Buckinfubba |
your welcome....it should automatically supercede at any dealer tho. so you should be ok | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
Just wanted to stick up for the tech and Buell. He did say he was going through a construction zone. There does exist the possibility that a rock or some debris made its way between the belt and pulley or sprocket... | ||
| Fst_tyms |
no no charlie. there was no debris.. But my mechanic, came to my house last night and got the busted belt, put the old one (non broken) back on, and going to get me a new belt today! I DID notice a difference between the 2 belts. The original belt was all black, the NEW belt had some funky weave material in it. I sent the mechanic off with the old belt and the bulletin with the proper part number on it. He said he went to a couple of Harley shops near his shop and showed them and they said it was just a bad belt. He is going back to Harley to ORDER me another one. Yeah I said ORDER. With the rate these things break / need replacing - shouldn't they stock them.... and several of them!? | ||
| Buellgator |
You know for all the XBs we've sold and the tire changes we've done I haven't had one customer break a belt yet. | ||
| Bykergeek |
It's a pain in the ass to do it the right way. That's the truth. I replaced mine with a new belt from Bubba last night and between the stripped swingarm brace bolt I had to drill out and the belt guards with their 900 inaccessible screws, I can see many technicians cutting corners cuz it just plain sucked to do. I now understand why the dealer charged me so much to replace my rear tire last time.. | ||
| Darthane |
Just like the Blast footpeg mounts, once you do it a few times it becomes second nature. I can get my rear off pretty damned quick at this point. | ||
| Creepingmee |
Maybe I'm just lucky but all the times i've had the wheel off my xb9r in the 14k mile I've had it, and Even when the old style recalled wheel bearing completely failed! I've never taken off the belt guards to take off the wheel. Belt seems fine and It's nearly time to replace it supposedly. just my 2c -Marc |
