| Author | Message | ||
     Bienhoabob |
"Anyone else tried to order a belt in the last few weeks and had an issue?" Not a belt, but I've been waiting three weeks for a fan. My last attempt was to use an ebay site from a Harley dealer. I assumed that the fan was in stock since it was on ebay. I got a email stating that the fan was on backorder at Buell and will be shipped ASAP. Is somebody on vacation???? | ||
| Court |
I got an e-mail from someone this morning that was having difficulty getting a belt. Please, please, please. . . if and when you write it is **VERY** helpful to have:
I do not know if the e-mail is related to this thread. There is no reason (with a few exceptions) that you can't get ANY Buell part in 48 hours. The folks at Buell are really good and really committed to helping. Help them help you. BUELL CUSTOMER SERVICE is your friend. Court | ||
| Reepicheep |
Because the more miles you put on a belt, the more likely you are to encounter accidental damage. Also because damage can be cumulative, so you get hole punched in the belt, but the belt doesn't break but is weakened, and after a while it finally finishes failing. They made more progress with belts for the 1125. I don't recall exactly when they started saying it was "lifetime". I try and look down at mine before I get on the bike, and do a quick check on whatever 12" section is showing for obvious rock damage. Haven't found any yet. Thats a good tip to look for a suddenly loosening belt, thats another trivial check to perform. | ||
| Andrejs2112 |
I don't have a manual handy at the moment, what is the tolerance for belt play, and is it top or bottom? | ||
| Hughlysses |
Andre- I don't think there is a factory spec, as there is no adjustment. I'd say if it gives significantly, something's wrong. A new belt is VERY tight, and a belt with ~8000 miles on it has no noticeable slack. | ||
| Florida_lime |
"Anyone else tried to order a belt in the last few weeks and had an issue?" Not a belt, but I've been waiting three weeks for a fan. My last attempt was to use an ebay site from a Harley dealer. I assumed that the fan was in stock since it was on ebay. I got a email stating that the fan was on backorder at Buell and will be shipped ASAP. Is somebody on vacation???? I had heard they were on backorder just AFTER I dropped my Uly off for the fan again. A new fan was put in, and this dealer does NOT usually have Uly parts in stock. I was pretty surprised, so I can't explain your fan availability situation.  | ||
| Bienhoabob |
I just got an email on my fan. It has been shipped, I have a UPS #. My dealer did a follow-up call. Life is good again. | ||
| M_singer |
Reepicheep it goes with out saying that the more miles a belt has the more likely it is to be damaged by a rock or something. Since belt failures on bikes with less then 8k miles seem to be rare it would seem to suggest that they are wearing to a point where they become fatigued and fail. You are the only person who I have ever hear make the claim that ANY belt is not subject to wear while in use. Probably not a point worth debating anyway. | ||
| Court |
I suspect the problem (and mucho thanksalotta for bringing it to my attention) will be resolviated pronto. Fascinating company Buell is. | ||
| Buelldualsport |
What Court said | ||
| Court |
Congratulations Badweb! There was in fact a snag in the Buell vendor pipeline. Interesting that as a result of this discussion that folks with the proper authority were able to run a fellow down on vacation, determine what was wrong, and commence resolving the issue. Opinions will vary widely but I confess to doing a little mental "how long would this take xxxx (fill in the name of your favorite motorcycle company) to have sorted out and fixed?" Neat to see someone take responsibility, blame no one and ask "how can we get this fixed both promptly, correctly and in a fashion that makes a reoccurrence unlikely?" Makes me want to buy a Buell!  | ||
| Buelldualsport |
The "No Fault, how can we fix this" mentality is extremely refreshing. We are trying this concept with three (3) diverse race teams with varying success. However, Buell is making it happen. "Different in every way" Thanks | ||
| Red_chili |
+1, Court. Whenever we have human error in IT, the cultural tendency is to find someone to hang. Not here. Failures are regarded as SYSTEM problems first, and if not that, then TRAINING or INFORMATION problems. Only then is it regarded as a person problem. It is more solution-focused and gets things fixed faster too. And most importantly, more permanently. For all the accusations of Buell being hopelessly behind the times (usually by people who do not understand the use of the venerable V twin), they seem to be right in the lead in business practices. H-D could get infected by this culture to their great benefit. Just sayin'. Oh, and for all the great things to be said about Toyota and kaizen, they have failed to push this down to their supply chain. Hugely inefficient, leading to expensive parts. The same parts (absolutely the same part number) you can buy at the NAPA down the street for less than employee cost at the dealership. No kiddin'. (Message edited by Red_Chili on August 21, 2008) | ||
| Cityxslicker |
We have a belt on the way. Thanks to all that chimed in, This is exactly why I am on a Buell. Bike kharma pays you back tenfold. Ride safe, Ride often. Special thanks to Court, I will have to get my book autographed and remind you to tell us a few stories sometime  | ||
| Mountainrider |
JCs belt broke on Friday ,he called Mountain Creek Harley and they told him it would be about 10 days before they could get one. Why in the world would no one stock any belts? I love Buells but that is completely insane. | ||
| Etennuly |
I decided to order one about a month and a half ago. I was told it was on back order. I got it in 17 days. I was glad I ordered before it was needed. They did have a part change. It was more than just a part number change. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Ok, Belt is on bike, and rider back on bike. Still waiting on belt from E Troy. Thanks for all your help gang. Now to the next point. We are about to become a Buell Store with in a Store. I know there is a parts list of standing Maintenance Parts that SHould be on hand ... If somebody could forward me that list. Having dedicated space for display of bikes and accessories is one thing. being able to keep them on the road for routine stuff is quite another. | ||
| Al_lighton |
I have a bunch on order, but I have 2 in stock if someone still needs one. See http://www.americansportbike.com/shoponline/ccp0-p rodshow/17176.html | ||
| Court |
>>>>JCs belt broke on Friday ,he called Mountain Creek Harley and they told him it would be about 10 days before they could get one. Why in the world would no one stock any belts? I love Buells but that is completely insane. I'd sure, if I were a customer of Mountain Creek ask them why they did not have a belt in stock. Are they a Buell dealer? Are they NOT a Buell dealer? Folks need to be responsible. | ||
| Windrider |
7-14 Days seems to be typical for HD shipping practices and the Buell parts are thrown into the same Mule train logistics system. I needed a tire once and checked at the Buell dealer and they told me it would take 7-14 days to ship that tire from Colorado to Idaho? And they wanted to add special shipping and special order charges to that as well? It took the parts specialist 15 minutes to find the tire in the computer ... even though it was mounted on a bike not 10 feet from him. I called another shop (Independent dealer) and they had the tire in their shop two days later. No special charges involved. Go figure. I pretty much avoid my local dealer altogether anymore. If I need a generic motorcycle product (tires, etc) there are lots of sources and if I need a Buell specific part is less expensive and faster for me to call a BadWeb sponsor dealer and get it UPS'd to my door and avoid the local HD mule train / special charges protocols. Sad, but true and I think typical for a lot of HD Buell dealers. | ||
| Red_chili |
Generally happy with Rocky Mountain H-D. They seem to beat the 7-14 day mule train. Most days anyway. | ||
| Red_chili |
Andre- I don't think there is a factory spec, as there is no adjustment. I'd say if it gives significantly, something's wrong. A new belt is VERY tight, and a belt with ~8000 miles on it has no noticeable slack. Hmmm. My belt with less than 8K on it has noticeable slack. Hmmm... Time to free up a hunnert fitty bones. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Ok, Its my own turn. I blew the belt at 25k. Reading the warranty info in the manual I do not see a Lifetime warranty on the belt. If I am missing that then let me know. ANd the other issue, I am riding the CITY-X in a very ULY fashion. The locals know it and they are inclined to not replace the belt under warranty as the bike was used in an "OFF the HighWay" riding. Advise or knowledge on getting this covered under warranty ? (I am outside of my 2 year factory warranty ) | ||
| Lost_in_ohio |
They merely say it is a lifetime belt not that is was lifetime guaranteed. My SS service manual says the belt and pulley should be replaced at 25k miles. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Guaranteed not to fail during its lifetime, but when it does fail, the life of the belt has been exceeded? That is a bit of a tautology isnt it ? So what is a lifetime belt? Is it a very special afterschool show about problem weight gain?  Glad I pre ordered it, glad I had the spare, looks like I need to replace the pulley now too. Sumnabiatch. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
No no no... The lifetime belt DEFINES the lifetime of the bike. You're supposed to throw it away and get a new bike. | ||
| Arcticktm |
No one (at Buell, anyway) ever used the word "guaranteed" when saying it is a lifetime belt. They have shown willingness to replace belts under the 2 year warranty, as long as the stock guards were still in place (on Uly models). It is no different than Chevy saying they build the longest lasting trucks, toughest, etc, etc. It is their expectation, but they are not backing it up with a guaranteed. That being said, what Natexlh1000 said is the best explanation so far! | ||
| Red_chili |
Pulleys too, huh? That takes it into the "chain maintenance" zone minus only the lube (and broken cases in event of failure). Don't think I'll go there until I have to. Meh. | ||
| Jlnance |
I think their marketing people may have slipped the lifetime in recently. I've an 06, and the explanation at the time was that the belt had no recommended replacement interval. This didn't mean that it never needed to be replaced, just that it wasn't expected to wear out after a predetermined number of miles. You were supposed to inspect it regularly and replace it when the inspection indicated that it was appropriate. Sort of like you would do for a clutch cable. | ||
| M2nc |
Ding! I believe Jim has the right answer. A lifetime belt means no recommended service replacement. It does not mean if it breaks they will replace it for the life of the bike. |
