| Author | Message | ||
     Cereal |
Has anyone ever broken their belt? If so, how much did it cost to fix? Mine broke this evening when I was starting up at a green light. I wasn’t doing anything crazy, I just got to about 20mph in first and that’s all she wrote. | ||
| Azbueller |
Yeah mine broke a couple weeks ago, go get the 04 and up XB belt, its $30 cheaper and a way better belt, if you any doubts call Al at American Sportbike. | ||
| Tom_b |
Belt about 175.00 from a dealer. change it yourself, about 1 hr work. Have it done about 125.00 labor in a shop. Just replaced mine | ||
| Buelliedan |
Actually he has an S1 so it will take quite a bit longer than an hour to change the belt. If your belt just broke like you said it was probably due to 1 of 2 things. It either had caught a rock and tore an edge or it was installed too tight. After you get your new belt make sure it is very lose. You should be able to easily push it all the way to the bottom of your swingarm from the bottom side. | ||
| Cereal |
Sorry, should have stated: '96 S1 w/ 14500 miles. Will an XB belt fit? If so, what is better about it? And my belt was definitely not too tight, so it must have been a rock. | ||
| Buelliedan |
Yes an 04 XB belt will work. It is more stretchable than the old design and as already said somewhat cheaper. Unfortunately the S1s are a real pain to change the belt due to having to remove the right side isolator. Check KV for help on this. | ||
| Patrickh |
Just busted a belt yesterday on my 99 M2, I was suprised how clean it came off. I have broken a chain before and it was much more dramatic. I always adjusted it to service manual spec. but the belt only lasted 12000 mi. Now, I weigh 270lb. so thats gotta be very stressful on the belt. I'm thinking that I'm going to adjust the belt to twice manual spec. and tighten it up if it begins to slip. Is that a bad idea? Will the XB belt fit any buell? Does anyone run one now? | ||
| Koz5150 |
12000 is a decent life for a belt. Also, tightening it would actually be worse. Most people say looser is better. I have about 12,000 on mine and have not had a problem, but I have a spare in the garage just in case... | ||
| Newfie_buell |
GO WITH A CHAIN S1 Belts are a pain in the arse to change!!!! | ||
| Cereal |
Call Dave at Appleton HD (866)757-1651. He priced the belt at about $155 and will mail it directly to you. You will need to pay shipping, but no tax if you are out of state (Wisconson). My local dealer wanted $202 plus tax. (Message edited by cereal on May 17, 2005) | ||
| Ceejay |
I have read somewhere, maybe here, that the test riders when testing out the belts bottomed out the adjusters making the belt as loose as possible, they never slipped broke or anything dramatic, now if its overtightened that's a different story. Me I run mine way loose and I've got close to 18,000 on it. It is a pain for an M2 belt change best way I can see would be to build a stand for the engine, after removing exhaaust and shock and rear tire, and then unbolting isolators. slide frame up-engine will stay on the stand and slide the belt around the isolator, if it doesnt fall out and then sliding everything back in. I had to use a deadblow hammer doing it this way for isolator replacement. Hammer was used on the passenger sets to coax the frame and isolators down around the swingarm mounting block. | ||
| Bomber |
as long as you're in there, I'd replace the isolators as well -- you're already doing all the work the American THunbnderbike site ahas a great set of instructions . . . . also, of course, our own Knowledge Vault has a wealth of info on the process -- it's a pita, it'll take some time, but it's certainly doable for a person of average wrench spinning abilities --- | ||
| Patrickh |
I have had the motor out of the frame, removing the swingarm is a pain but not too difficult. I don't remember exactly but I think I remember that the swing arm can come off without touching the exhaust. The isolators on the swingarm looked ok at 11,000mi. How often have others repaced them? What is a symptom of wear? | ||
| Patrickh |
Just checked out ATC, question answered Thanks | ||
| Ivershay |
cereal - check for open recalls on the bike. swingarm was one of them, and there are updated isolators available. if never done, let erik b pay for the belt installation (they'll be in there anyway!) B-016 is recall number, i think b-025a is Buell Service Bulletin number (Message edited by ivershay on May 18, 2005) | ||
| Newfie_buell |
Failed Isolator  The little metal plate separates from the big chunk of rubber. The upgraded kit is much beefier - the whole thing has a larger diameter and the metal plate is thicker, make sure you file the locating pins to the right height as they can protrude in too far and cause problems. | ||
| Sleez |
i am 250 plus, have over 30,000 miles on my S3, no belt problems, i have always run it a little looser than spec. but when i do replace it, it will be with the XB belt! | ||
| Cerbero |
the belt on my M2 has 22,000 miles on it... it seems fine, except that it makes an odd quacking sound (almost like a duck) once per revolution, as it rounds the small sprocket. maybe it's trying to tell me something. | ||
| Bad_karma |
Adjust your drive belt IAW the manual, but note that HD increased the distance the belt will deflect for the 10 pounds of force applied. The gauge is cheap insurance for your belt. | ||
| Firemanjim |
75,000 miles on my belt,replaced as a precaution when prepping for Bonneville.Still have it as spare.Belt on there now was a low mileage used one and has suvived a bunch of dyno runs at 121(first year) to 177 HP (second year.Not to mention a bunch of high speed runs at B'ville. | ||
| Patrickh |
Replaced my belt last week and adjusted it really loose, it easily touches the swingarm when unloaded and comes close when my big butt is sitting on it. I really caned her well and I experianced no slippage. | ||
| Seth |
I just had my belt replaced by Scott Berry; the belt only had about 10,000 on it. The culprit was that the rear wheel bearings were junk. It turns out that the last person to put the rear wheel on(the dealership) installed my rear wheel crooked and that,in turn, caused the outer wheel bearing to eat-up the wheel itself, making the whole butt end of my bike loose. Loose enough to fray and that break my belt. My point... replace those wheel bearings and set the wheels strait. It'll save you alot of money in the end, the new rear wheel I had to buy cost my a whole bunch. | ||
| Patrickh |
I wanted to see how loose I could adjust my belt without it slipping and I found out. I got it down to 7mm of thread showing on the adjusters before it slipped under "wheelie power." By this I mean whacking open the throttle on the roll in a way that would normally cause a wheelie. When I did this the belt slipped under the power. I think I will be adding a couple mm of thread to the adjusters. | ||
| Tramp |
my original, factory belt went over 200,000 miles. finally broke last summer. i have always kept it insanely loose. don't go by manual specs, and remember, when adjusting it, that the top 'loop' of the belt should be checked as well as the bottom. leave a good 4" of play in your belt, orrrrrrr switch to a chain. the S2 belt is extremely easy/fast to change, thanks to the isolator plate system | ||
| Denfromphilly |
I concur on the wheel alignment, I changed a pulley a couple weeks ago and the wheels were misaligned by .020". The belt was riding on the outside of both pulleys. My bike handled noticeably better with the wheels at .003" alignment and the belt tracked in the middle of the pulleys. I adjusted belt tension to factory specs and with the 26T pulley in front the wheel was only .030 farther back than with the 27T. The shock still had the correct preload but with me on the bike the belt was very tense. If I hit a big bump and the rear end compressed I can imagine that the load on the belt would be very high, like the belt would be fighting against the swingarm travel. I pulled the rear tire to check the bearings and the outer one on the pulley side was loose, the rotor side tight and lumpy. Don't know if the misalignment had anything to do with it but they appear to be original bearings and tire alignment. There are no other scars or stains on the swingarm like the adjuster was ever in a different spot. I will adjust this time for several inches of play and a lose belt with me on the bike. Den 99X1 (Message edited by denfromphilly on June 24, 2005) | ||
| Rick_a |
12000 miles making a quick shift to 2nd. Cost around $250 for a chain conversion. Haven't broke another belt yet! | ||
| Tramp |
...had to be another (alignment or tension) issue there, i beat the scheisse outta my belt to no joy whatsoever... | ||
| Rick_a |
No sir, exactly to the newer spec, kept towards the loose side, alignment was good. I was doing full throttle quick-shifts (keep the throttle pinned, quickly feather the clutch, shift). That puts big power spikes through the driveline. You can loft the wheel momentarily in up to 4th gear. Try it...if you do it for any length of time the belt will break. Anyway, you have an S2...they're kinda wimpy aint they? | ||
| Tramp |
ummmm.... sorry, there, but much of the time i don't even use my clutch to shift. seriously. trust me, i have no dog in this fight whatsoever. i just know that it was a long long time before my belt broke, and i shift no differently on the road than i did on the track.... you'd be shocked at what an errant stick or pebble can do, esp. when you don't even notice it. the belt still breaks along a trough. | ||
| Two_buells |
I broke 3 belts, two on my S3 and one on my S1, upshifting to 2nd without the clutch. I mean full throttle, just blip it off for a split second while upshifting. btw I just put a XB belt on my 98 S1 with a 99 swingarm. works great, so far..... | ||
| Two_buells |
I just did a belt change on my 98 S1 in less than an hour. I got this tool that spreads the swingarm block from the frame just above the right isolator. Remove rear fender, rear wheel, gas tank, front sprocket cover and the frame side bolt of all the tie bars. Support engine. And put the new belt on the rear stand, (or you’ll need to remove the swingarm stand without the rear wheel to get new belt on) Insert tool to spread frame from swingarm block, pull out right isolator, Remove tool and insert belt Insert tool to spread frame from swingarm block, install right isolator, Replace rear fender, rear wheel, gas tank, front sprocket cover and the frame side bolt of all the tie bars. Adjust belt. |
