| Author | Message | ||
     Aussie_buell |
I broke my drive belt after 2000kms of being fitted, it was the revised edition supposidly stronger. I fiited it with extra time and care to ensure not to damage it in any way. I was riding with normal corner exit power, nothing over the top and yet still broke the belt. I am pissed, i only changed it old one because i was worried about this sort of thing so i thought i was doing the smart thing by changing it. Has any one here ever had a belt repleced after being deemed faulty due to the life of the belt. looks like a clean break, doesnt look like stone damage. I have all the guards inplace just for your amusement, i was about 2.5 hours from home at the southern end of the Lions Rd, some queenslanders (australia) will know where i am talking about, couldnt get a tow or recovery and it would have been pricey, i was able to leave it at a kiosk and small motel overnight, i was very lucky to have a mate with me so we two up'd all the way home on his M2, thanks Dennis, drove down the next day with a trailer to recover it. Put old belt back on so at least i can ride again but i want to get another new belt fitted. Have many others broken belts, i can slightly understand if you were wheel standing and doing burnouts but these belts have got to be made stronger. what is going to happen if we get more horse power, are the belts gonna take it. Any news on replacement under warranty would be appreciated. ALso if i went to the 06 upgrade, do you know if the original guards will still fit. Daves, how much can you do a drive belt for an 03 XB9s for how much do you think postage would be and how long do you think it will take to get to Australia. THanks | ||
| Blake |
Original guards will not fit if you upgrade to the 2004+ config belt and sprockets. Need new idler/tensioner pulley too. Some sponsors offer the whole contingent of required parts as a kit. | ||
| Olinxb12r |
The 03 belts are not nearly as strong as the later belts. The 04 an 06 belts are different than the pulleys that you have currently. However if you get the 04 conversion you can run the 06 belt on it. I have the 06 belt on my 12r and that thing is really solid. My 04 belt broke after 7K. Your cheapest route would be to go to where you got your revised belt and ask them to replace it since you only got 2k on it. The best fix is to buy the 04 conversion and throw an 06 belt on it. You will not have to worry about the belt breaking again. | ||
| Honu |
Aussie, Same situation on my 03 XB9R, broke revised belt also. Upgraded to 04 system from DaveS. U.S. cost was around $575.00, did the installation myself. Over 6000 miles and several track days of abuse since with out any problems. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Leon, Most dealers will replace a belt that fails that rapidly, especially if it has a clean break that shows structural failure rather than damage by road debris. If the dealer baulks, a call to Buell Customer service may prove useful. There have been three iterations of the '03 belt. Many hard riding brothers have reported good service from them. The Part number for this version is:G0500.02A8R. Make sure you don't get an earlier version. Actually, I am beginning to think of the 2003 belt set up as the preferred way to go as the belt is now rather stronger, and the rear pulley is smaller and lighter than the later belts. I think it looks nicer too, especially if the black paint is removed - a relatively simple task.  | ||
| Aussie_buell |
thanks Gentleman Jon, I have the supplier looking into it for me now. And your right, if i dont get a good response i will be following it up as far as i can go, if for nothing more then just making buell aware. Its hard to get direct action from Oz but i will start here. Thanks mate PS, thats the same part number as the belt i broke, must have been faulty? | ||
| Aussie_buell |
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| Gentleman_jon |
Leon, That looks very much like a classical tensile failure. Don't see many of those any more. I do note however, that the overly long kevlar threads on the upper edge of the right end of the belt as seen on the top photo match what appears to be a sort of a notch on the same upper edge on the left end . Hard to see from the photo, but a large nick or cut on the edge could start a failure, but I doubt it, because all the other fibers look like they failed the same way: they look like they were overloaded in tension, reduced in section, and then went into plastic deformation, and all failed at the same time. The rest of the belt looks new. By coincidence, i just replaced a belt today with about 7500 miles on it, and it looked almost like new. I only replaced it as I was replacing a tire and rear shock, so just decided to do the belt while I had the bike apart. The belt sure looked like it could have gone twice as long. As I will probably get about 4000 miles on the Michelin Pilot Power rear tire, I just didn't want to worry about getting to the end of the belts life before I change tires again. Probably needn't have worried, but for me, changing belts is a bit of a bore, and I do like to coordinate it with tire changes. I think that Buell will probably replace your belt. Your dealer might need a bit of encouragement however. | ||
| Glitch |
The newer belts don't break like that, the newer ones lose teeth. I was doing some general maintenance to my 03 XB9S, and I noticed I was missing four or five teeth. I have no idea how long I had been riding that way, or how I didn't notice it. The only time I can think of I was really hard on the belt was at the Dyno Drags in the fall. They may not have gone out all at once, there were some teeth that looked like they were on their way out. Sure beat breaking a belt in Atlanta's rush hour traffic, that was scary. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
That's what I thought: looks like an "old belt break". How many miles did you have on yours, Dave, when you discovered the "dental problem"? | ||
| Glitch |
Less than I care to estimate. 500 to 700? Not sure. The guy running the Dyno-Drags warned me I was going to break a belt if I kept on taking off the way I was. I guess he was right.., | ||
| Olinxb12r |
My belt was the stock 04 belt and it broke just like the picture. I don't think it is isolated to the old belts. I will admitt that I'm really hard on belts and tires though. | ||
| No_rice |
glitch, mine did the same thing except it stripped off like 6 inches or so of teeth while it was under a hard load in second on the road. flipped the bike clean over when the next teeth caught. totaled...... or atleast thats what the insurance company paid me for, lol. it did drive itself home the last couple blocks under it's own power though. no front brakes, clutch and a flat back wheel that was mostly shattered  | ||
| Glitch |
Seems like it's working out for you. But what a trip that must have been. | ||
| Aussie_buell |
Daves, How much can you do the belt for and whats the usuall time frame for shipping to Oz. Do you think i am going to have any luck getting buell to replace it or send me a cheque. Its a shame it broke, i dont flog the bike at all, and then all you read and see advertised is how well buells stunt, and do wheelies, Buell itself does burnouts (smiley face) for advertising. I hope they come to the party but dont know where to start. I bought the belt through an importer in Australia, he's a good guy and i do not hold him responsible. He is not a buell dealer so i cant just take it back to the dealer slamming the counter. Then again whats the difference, its a faulty part i shall persue him further before i leap too far. Just want to cover my bases first, thanks guys for your help and info. |
