| Author | Message | ||
     Buellxb12r425 |
Was riding the other day, on a great day, in the state of Washington, when all of a sudden my belt snapped and I was stuck... 2008 Buell Firebolt with only 8,000 miles on it... So I got to push my bike a few miles back to my house... Just found out today that it is covered under the warranty, thankfully my warranty dose not expire till the end of the month... So I guess its perfect timing... The question I have is, I thought that these belt are never supposed to wear out... Anyone else have a problem like this? | ||
| Hughlysses |
Sorry about your belt. Belts occasionally break on the XB's without warning and they have since the bikes were introduced in 2003. Every year, the belts are updated and get a little better, but they still aren't 100% fool-proof. The best you can do is try to give your belt regular visual inspections. The only warning factor that has been consistently reported is the belt suddenly getting noticeably looser shortly before it breaks. You can check this by pushing up on the lower portion of the belt in front of the rear wheel between the sides of the belt guards. Learn how tight a good belt is; then you'll know if something starts to go wrong. When you go in for your new warranty belt, go ahead and order a spare. After you get a couple of thousand miles on the warranty belt, swap it for the new one and save the old belt for a spare. It will be slightly stretched and will be easier to install if you ever have to do an emergency replacement road-side. | ||
| Buellxb12r425 |
Thanks Hughlysses... You have been a great help... | ||
| Hootowl |
What were you doing when it broke? I ask because both of my belt failures occurred while either coasting or under very light acceleration, while going over speed bumps and railroad tracks. I'm interested in the conditions that it failed under. | ||
| Froggy |
Mine on my Uly snapped just under 30k, snapped when trying to do a wheelie. I had a spare handy, I was planning on swapping it out the next weekend. | ||
| Pwnzor |
I had over 40k miles on my second belt when I sold my XB. It still looked new. Like any mass produced product I suppose a few will have flaws. I had a brand new chain snap on my Ninja once... luckily close to home. | ||
| Thruster |
I discussed one possible way of breaking a belt at: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/327 77/390545.html?1219772111 http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/disc us.cgi?pg=next&topic=32777&page=390545 Sometime later, the issue came up again at http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/290 431/459451.html?1242255930 where my post on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - 03:42 pm summarized my particular scenario. | ||
| Buellxb12r425 |
Hootowl... When it broke I was just coasting up to a speed bump, tried to accelerate after the bump and nothing... I just find it weird that it would break when I had only about 8k on the bike... Everyone elses I have read on this subject had theirs break at a lot more miles on their bike... Thankfully, my warranty does not expire till the 24th of this month, so Harley can fit the bill...  | ||
| Brandon_m |
Glad you're getting it covered under warranty. The dealer I went to said it won't be covered. Mine snapped just over the 3000 mile mark. | ||
| J2blue |
I'm well out of warranty and mine snapped today. As it is a 2003 model I wasn't too surprised. I just hate how expensive the replacement belt will be. Oh well, I guess we'll all be racing to snap up belts in the classifieds. | ||
| Buellerxt |
Buellxb12r425, were you coasting up to the speed bump in neutral and the belt snapped when you shifted into 1st. and accelerated? Ths. | ||
| Sslowmo |
35,000 miles and bam!!! | ||
| No_rice |
25,000 and 8 belts later... | ||
| Doz |
Got about 18k on my original 03 belt. Already have a replacement belt in the garage. Maybe that spring loaded tensioner is the way to avoid these breaks. | ||
| Gunut75 |
25,000 and 8 belts later...  .............do I really need to write anything else?!? | ||
| Froggy |
Hard to say, because Barker on his 03 has something like 70k miles, none of it gentle, and hasn't broken the belt. Stock tensioner. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
I have never believed that this type of belt is appropriate for the Buell final drive application, because the length of the belt is subjected to too great a change in length in the normal duty cycle, in spite of Buell's attempt to reduce the magnitude of the change of length with the idler wheel. Inspection of failed belts suggests plastic yield of the fibers. This may be initiated in several ways: multiple small cracks in the rubber reduce the total tensile strength of the belt, and may allow water infiltration to the aramid reinforcing threads which absorb water. I have witnessed many dangerous and explosive failures of Kevlar and spectra lines on racing sail boats. In addition, a belt failed on my Buell during a daring, if foolish manoeuvre, that could have ended very badly. Therefore I have equipped my current bike with an all steel belt as used by Buell racing bikes. I recommend this to all my brothers, who are not already members of the Chain Gang.  | ||
| Froggy |
Mine snapped on me when trying to do a wheelie coming out of a turn, how much more dangerous can you get? Oh, nothing happened, I just coasted to the side of the road and picked up the broken belt. What happens when a chain snaps? You can lose a leg or tear a hole in the engine. No need for the extra weight, extra maintenance and extra BS that comes with the chain for a street bike. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Perhaps you have missed the point, dear fellow? Chains are much less likely to snap: made out of metal, don't you know? That is one of the reasons that REAL speed demons ALWAYS use them. As far as extra weight is concerned, I know you are perfectly well aware of the fact that the Buell rear pulley is a monstrous thing that is conveniently left out of the weight comparisons of belt and chain. That is a shame and somewhat misleading, as the pulley concentrates the weight exactly where you don't want it: at the maximum distance from the swing arm pivot point. Unsprung weight and all that. Anyway, Danny Eslick, Hammer, Saintly, Valentino, Agostini, and Diablobrian all use chain, and that's good enough for this Buelligan, for sure. PS: It might be more appropriate to appear to be grateful you didn't do yourself a mischief when your rubber band snapped than to go around boasting about it. Doesn't do to tempt fate, dear boy. Am I right?  | ||
| Penguin |
Racers do the chain conversion so as to be able to change gearing for different tracks. Not because the belt may break. I still use the belt on my trackday/race bike. As far as weight goes, the Buell rear sprocket is very lightweight aluminum. Harleys, on the other hand, are extremely heavy. Chain and sprockets will almost certainly outweigh most belt drive systems. Besides, we're talking street riding. And the belt is much easier to maintain as well. I hate cleaning, adjusting and lubing chains. One more reason I LOVE my Buells. | ||
| Cataract2 |
They use chains because gear changes are easier. Let's not confuse facts here. I don't believe any of them have ever stated they use chains because they're afraid of belt breakages. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Thanks guys, I almost forgot the matter of gearing, which I have discussed at length in a previous post on the subject. One often assumes that a bike comes with the best possible gearing straight from the factory. Actually, this is normally NOT the case for several reasons. It is usual for street bikes to be geared a bit high, so that they will pass EPA tests for noise and emissions. It is standard operating procedure to gear bikes down for better performance. In addition, one can easily imagine that a big old lout such as myself, riding a Lightning in a manner appropriate to my age, might require slightly different gearing than a hell-bent-for-leather young stud like, say, Froggy, on a Firebolt. As a matter of fact, I did gear my bike down about 7% to account for my weight, the fact that I do not have a streamlined front nacelle, my preference for acceleration over top speed, and my total indifference to fuel economy. Got it now? | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
I love my belt. No grease and crap all over my back wheel and no chain noise. 25K on my factory XB belt without any issue. I can change a tire quickly without even getting dirty. No rice, an 03 system doesnt stand a chance with you at the helm. | ||
| Buellblastrider |
30000 on my 04 and replacing belt due to missing teeth. manual says to change because them at 25000 miles. and the bike got me home while missing 12 teeth. i wont complain with numerous willies and hard mountain riding. ill gladly payfor the new belt. like i told my ex that had a gixxer. i dont want the hassle of a chain. she said "oh its not a big deal" i said "sure not for you but i'm use to no lubing no adjusting no maitenance period. the best way i can describe is go home and throw your tv remote away. sure its no big deal to get up and change the channel but it sure is nice to change channels while lying in bed" Im a harley tech so ive adjusted my fair share of belts. i'll stick with my "rubberband" | ||
| Andymnelson |
I have an '03, no issues. All of my previous bikes have been chained- I spent WAY more time money and effort cleaning, lubing and replacing chains and sprockets because of wear than on my Buells. My belts FAR outlast typical chains and sprockets- don't "conveniently leave out" that fact... | ||
| Paint_shaker |
My 08 spit a belt without warning at about 14,000 miles. It was replaced under warranty. My 04 race bike... I was coming down hill heading for a hard right hander, braking hard and caught an extra downshift due to slower traffic in front of me. The rear tire began hopping and I thought I might have to take the run off. The bike settled, I passed the slow traffic in the corner, completed the last 2 laps and finished 2nd.... Got back to the pit and found my belt had shedded teeth in 2 spots!! At Daytona, I got smoked because of the belt (unable to do gear change)... That being said... Some people like belts, some like chains. Each has their advantages. If you are considering a chain, G-Jon is a very knowledgble individual. |
