| Author | Message | ||
     Heavy18 |
My belt finally gave out on my way to work yesterday. I put the used spare on that came with my bike (G0500.1AKF) and man is that thing tight! I can see how it will eat my bearings. So I've been considering a Free Spirits Belt Tensioner but the description says it is NOT compatible with the Ulysses? Now I know some Uly riders have used them and I also know there have been some failures. Can I really not use that tensioner anymore or is it something people still do? I emailed the company directly asking if they had a product for the Uly and received this response from the "After Sales Supervisor" in Italy: First of all thanks for your interest in our products. We are sorry but our belt tensioner is not suitable for Ulysses models. We have not developed this component for Ulysses models. Kind regards. Well that sucks! I haven't slotted my idler bracket yet, is that my only option at this point? With my old, now broken, belt I could easily turn my tensioner pulley by hand. With my old backup belt now installed it is very tight but I can still slightly turn the belt by hand just barely if I grab one of the spokes. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I slotted my bracket years ago (not for tension purposes, but for easier roadside changes if needed), and have not had a belt break since. 35k+, and I have broken two belts - I broke them, with hard 1-2 shifts at WOT. The reason your old belt let you spin the tensioner wheel is, the belt was stretched and beginning to fail already. The belt tension doesn't kill bearings - the 1125 family has the same belt tensioner setup, and the same wheel, combined with 150 horsepower, and doesn't eat bearings. The Uly bearings go because of the weight capacity of the bike and luggage - it will simply carry more stuff than any other Buell, and the bearings are under-sized for the load potential. I put a '10 wheel on years ago (13 years, actually), and while I never had a failure on the original wheel...I also have not had an issue with the '10 setup. But, I'm not one to pick out seals and repack - don't poke the bear. If it isn't called out as a service procedure, it isn't meant to be done. The seals are not meant to be removed and reinstalled, and by doing so you WILL create leaks and allow moisture in, which will kill the bearings. | ||
| Swanthog |
Hi, Heavy. I've had my Free Spirits tensioner installed for several years. Some modifications are required. It works great after applying the mods. I've done hard trail riding, off-road, and long distance touring with it installed. I do not recommend this until the mods are done. You will be riding home with a sloppy chain -- but at least you'll get home : ) No modifications were necessary to mount. That isn't an issue. The pulley and spring seat are the things needing addressed. I can go into detail and provide pictures later when I have more time.  | ||
| Heavy18 |
Ratbuell, thanks for the input. After walking the old belt on with some difficulty and assistance from my wife, I'm really interested in slotting the hole just to assist in replacements as you mention. However, tension will still be less than what is currently on there as I could never achieve that level of tension without a 4-foot crowbar and block of wood... What do you do when you are tightening up the bolts to get max tension on the belt? Regarding the 1125, I thought the rear wheel on those had the 3-bearing design which is one reason they have better survivability? (I'm a newb so I'm assuming I'm wrong here...) Swanthog - great looking Uly! Yes please send me the modifications with pictures, I'm very interested to see what you did. But it looks like you are running a chain? Also, you are missing a muffler... Is that on the left side and/or are you running a turbo?? Tell me more about your bike!! | ||
| Motorbike |
I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you have trouble installing the belt, you are not doing it right. If you properly loosen the axle the required number of turns, the drive side of the wheel will move ahead far enough to slide the belt on with your fingers. I have done this so I know it works. After getting the belt in place, just tighten the axle properly and it will pull the drive side of the wheel back into position and the belt will be at the proper tension. Very simple. Those who are prying the belt in place are damaging the belt and can expect early failure. | ||
| Mark_weiss |
As Motorbike said, with the axle loosened sufficiently and the proper parts removed, a new belt should slip on with little fuss. | ||
| Heavy18 |
I've read various reports that with the new/updated belts it's not that simple, but I have no real world experience. I'll try the axle method when I put the new belt on - unfortunately it did not show up on Saturday like it was supposed to. My gripe with only using the axle method to replace the belt: the only way to properly reinstall the axle and pinch bolt are with a torque wrench. So then I'm expected to carry that with me, at all times, waiting for my next belt failure? I think I'd rather slot the pulley to be honest... | ||
| Motorbike |
You only need tools to loosen the pinch bolts and spin the axle out sufficiently (somewhere around 15 turns or so). Of course you also need to remove the swingarm bridge piece and the plastic belt covers and sprocket cover so you will need tools for that. If you are doing this on the side of the road, just tighten everything snugly after reassembly and then when you get home, loosen and retighten/torque everything to spec. When you loosen and spin the axle out, don't stop until the drive side of the wheel moves forward noticeably and the belt becomes very loose. When reassembling, make sure the tensioner is in place and nuts tightened before spinning the axle back in. | ||
| Swanthog |
Hi, Heavy. The changes made to the Free Spirits tensioner are: - EBR Pulley (Part# G0600.1B7, https://833e928d-12c6-463d-b6d9-d249493fee7e.usrfiles.com/ugd/833e92_bb287e2d64104af2ad59ad2a8c3fdda7.pdf) - Tapped hole and screw to hold the spring in place I've gone through a few iterations to get the free spirits working reliably. I've lost the tensioner spring because the seat is severely lacking (new springs are still available). To remedy, dismantle the tensioner and: 1. Drill and tap a hole in the tensioner frame at the spring pocket 2. Section out a washer to shove through the spring coils nearest bottom of spring as possible 3. Feed a screw inside the spring and through the washer securing it to the tensioner frame. The exhaust you asked about was replaced with a simple spark arrestor. I like the added ground clearance and the look. I may go back to the underslung muffler at some point -- I think I'm done taking her on trail rides. The pics show the extent of my exhaust forming and welding skill or lack thereof XD On second thought, I may just have a piece of exhaust professionally formed and keep the spark arrestor. Other parts used in the chain conversion: Front sprocket: https://www.denniskirk.com/pbi-sprockets/transmission-mainshaft-sprocket-w-21-teeth-277-21.ph840021.prd/H840021.sku Front sprocket nut: https://secure.vulcanworks.net/store/Transmission-Sprocket-Chain-Conversion-Nut.html Rear sprocket: Vortex 827-50 (originally had a PBI unit, but teeth wore down to slivers in 1 riding season) Chain: DID 520VX2GB-110 Gold X-Ring You'll want a piece of UHMW plastic or something similarly durable secured to the swingarm where the chain passes over as a precaution.          |
