| Author | Message | ||
     S1owner |
Yes but thats a design for a later date. I want to get it moving so I can run it through its paces. | ||
| S1owner |
Ok so I am at the end of my patience and really struggling to solve this belt tension issue. 139t belt is too loose a 137 wont even go on and they dont make a 138. Installed a 29 t front and the 139 will go on without the tensioner but it is wicked tight. So I am down to 4 options all of which have their own issues 1- buy a 28T bdl pulley , issue it may or may not solve the issue at $120 2- keep the 27 t front and get a 1/4" bigger idler wheel. , issue is getting that idler has not been successful as of yet. 3- redesign the tensioner either up 1/4" or adjustable. Issue time and money 4- go to chain drive Issue money, noise, no adjustability, finding a race conversion swingarm without selling my first born!!!! Any ideas/thoughts | ||
| Upthemaiden |
One thing worth noting, that I always thought was odd.... everyone with tubers always says to run the belt "scary tight" or you'll wreck your bearings, but the belts that come on an XB are insanely tight, and I don't remember really hearing a ton of issues with them causing bearing problems. I'm not sure if the difference is that the tension comes from the pulley, and when the swingarm moves it takes some of that pressure off the belt at the pulley to even out with the pressure from the axle moving slightly futher away, or if they did something to the XBs that just made those bearing less prone to going bad. Personally, I'd try slotting one of the mounting holes on your pulley(if that's an option, I don't remember exactly how yours is designed and mounted) so you can just adjust the tension slightly. I've seen plenty of people do that on buellxb.com and don't remember there being any issues with the tensioner not staying put. Just as a test, is there anything you can think of the temporarily cover the outer edge of your tensioner, like a dense strip of rubber, to increase it's diameter to see if that helps solve your issue before you'd potentially pay to have another one made? Is the outside diameter of your tensioner pulley a common size? Maybe you could find some kind of aluminum sleeve with a matching inside diameter that's 1/4 thick, toss the pulley in the freezer, heat up the sleeve, and slide them together. Out of your choices, I'd try then in this order: 3 1 or 2- order depending on which is cheaper 4- just as a temporary to get the bike on the road | ||
| S1owner |
I have been working on sleeving the pulley to make it bigger. I work nights and would usssually have a machinist on duty but he transfered so I have been looking for a wear ring or something that I can do just that. | ||
| S1owner |
Oh and here is how the Xb belt tension works and how I am trying to set my system up. As the seingarm pivots up under load it adds distance/ tension to the belt. The idler is placed close to that pivot point. So as the swingarm rises it is putting less pressure on the idler wheel but the distance increasing makes up for that missing tension. | ||
| Hughlysses |
everyone with tubers always says to run the belt "scary tight" or you'll wreck your bearings, You meant to say "scary loose". | ||
| S1owner |
Yea I knew what he meant lol Well I am going this route Ordered the bdl 28 t aluminum pulley and I am going to slot my pulley mount and either install a set screw in the bottom to keep it locked in or make a shim insert for under it. | ||
| Purpony |
i believe they make a 138 tooth x 1" wide for new sportster dont they? not sure on the pitch and all. would that be worth a shot exploring? | ||
| S1owner |
I think they do but not sure on running a 1" belt | ||
| S1owner |
I was able to make my pulley mount hole into a slot so I can move the pulley up. That slong with the new bdl 28 should take care of my issue. Gotta love having a mini mill!!   | ||
| S1owner |
Also seen this nice machine on facebook. Somewhat made me mad but he did such a nice job. He however swapped the entire power train into the tuber frame. Thats how he got around the tension issue lol!!! I believe this is one if Dutches friends?   | ||
| S1owner |
Alright so down to the fine list New clutch cable would not work so I shortened the old and it worked perfect. New brake hose installed Speed sensor bracket done All that remains Hook up front brake switch Connect wires for speed sensor Mount front turn signals Install front pulley and adjust tension pulley should be here by Wednesday A good cleaning and once over on bolts and we are riding     | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Hope the new pulley works! I think with that set screw, you should be in business. I bet a mini mill would be super useful. Need a mini lathe first, then I'll work on the mill. Is it the rebranded Seig you can get at harbor freight, or something more elaborate? That list is getting short. It's gonna be weird seeing this bike done. It's been a project as long as I've been on badweb. I saw that red one on facebook. Good looking bike. I was curious how he worked the FI under that tank, but I see from the second picture you posted that he just put a carb on it. | ||
| S1owner |
I have the harbor freight one. It has its issues but I got it used and it has paid for itself. I also have a little craftsman 109 lathe. And this project has went on to long | ||
| S1owner |
New bdl aluminum pulley arrived very nice and wow thats alot of rotating mass weight savings Old 27 - 2 lbs 13 oz New 28 - 1 lbs 1 oz  | ||
| S1owner |
Ok I am so close Waiting on a dash piece from Purpony which should arrive soon. Installed the 28 T pulley and it fit took up some slack but not enough without the idler wheel on. However the Idler wheel now is to big even at its lowest setting. But this is ok because high rpm idlers are widely available and it just so happens Kodiak duramax use a milled steel idler of the correct size!!!! Ordered and on its way!!!! | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Did you try the 27t pulley after you made your idler adjustable with the slotted hole? I know you're past that at this point since you ordered the new idler. That 28t pulley looks really nice too. I have random thoughts of going up 1 or 2 teeth in the front someday. I've always done the opposite with my bikes, but with only 5 gears on this thing, I feel like anything over 60mph on this bike just gets too buzzy. I remember my xb9s was the same way, comfortable up to 65mph, but not any higher. | ||
| S1owner |
27 would have still been to loose | ||
| Joesbuell |
My setup works perfect with 26/55 combo and no idler (Message edited by joesbuell on August 05, 2017) | ||
| Joesbuell |
I always ran my tuber belts loser then recommended as i read about it on here somewhere years ago. the idea is if a rock gets in between belt and teeth it won't punch or tear the belt. I even modified my Ulysses tensioner so it ran the belt looser by elongating the mount holes. As I have told you before a 135 tooth belt off an SS/XBT and 26T front and 55T rear works perfect with enough slack even after stretching.I even tested it with the shock removed and swing arm fully raised and lowered. When you got the rear pulley made you should have got a 55T. You'd be enjoying it by now...just saying  (Message edited by joesbuell on August 05, 2017) | ||
| S1owner |
Joe You are 100 percent correct. But I tried to go at it a diffrent way and I do like a challenge. Who knows I may end up right back at that point. Its a good thing I really enjoy working through issues! | ||
| Joesbuell |
I worked through all these issues on paper before I ordered or made parts so that it work perfect first time and was easy to use stock parts. The good old keep it simple adage. | ||
| S1owner |
Joe Had not responded because really had nothin to say. You did a great job and pioneered this swap. I am glad it worked out like that for you. There are a few reasons I did not go exactly with your set up. 1) out of respect for others hard work I do not like to take someone elses stuff and copy exactly what they did. I think in a way it is disrespectful of their hard work. 2) those gears are not easy to come by here and it really put the belt close to the mount block. I later decided to have the pulley made. 3) Through the research Al did from American Sport Bike it was not the gearing I wanted to go with and decided to keep it stock 4) I like to figure things out and sometimes its unorthodox in my technique but it works If I offended you in anyway I truly did not mean ti. | ||
| S1owner |
New pulley milled down and installed. It should work perfect. Just need to sort out some dash stuff with Marc and its time to ride!   | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Pictures are upside down! I like it though, the blue pulley looks good. I'll be curious to hear if it feels weird riding with no kind of heel plate at all. I've had passing thoughts of chopping my passenger peg brackets off, but I know sometimes I rest my heels on them, and I'm not sure if it'd feel weird with me heels just floating out there. | ||
| S1owner |
Umm pictures look right on my phone Have not had heal gaurds at all so I cant say if the feel is diffrent | ||
| Brother_in_buells |
Looking good Ken ,really hope you got it fixed this time! And the upside down pictures are a bit of Australian influence | ||
| Hootowl |
They look right on phone, not in PC browsers. The picture was likely taken with a phone...perhaps there's some metadata in the photo that phones understand and PC based browsers do not? | ||
| Upthemaiden |
I just checked on my phone and they're upside down on there too. Maybe the pictures are fine and I'm just upside down. | ||
| Hootowl |
They look fine on my iPhone. |
