| Author | Message | ||
     Ralph |
Doh! Never done that before. Must be the sushi.  bighairyralph | ||
| Chuck |
I'm sort of happy . . . but I'm sort of jealous  . That looks really trick. FYI: I don't know how many folks make shocks for the Buell; but you might be pleasantly surprised at how willing they are to do "special" modifications. Can't remember the engineer's name; but I think he worked for FOX...anyway we needed something special for our race bike; and he said he could easily shorten our shock and rework it to optimize its performance for our application. Maybe something like that could help your clearance problems...or maybe you could get a shock with a screw type "ride-height" adjuster. | ||
| Jmartz |
Of all Buells I prefer the S1 for its "dainty" appearance but this X1 is really just fabulous... Jose | ||
| Tim |
What kind of wheels are those? | ||
| Roy |
bighairyralph - and how wide is the rim? and what size is the tyre? I'm thinking about a 5.5" Dymag rim running a 180x55. yours looks wider... | ||
| Anakie |
I have recently changed my rear sprocket but how do I adjust the Speedo? (No I have a 99 M2 so I don't have a tacho! Unless someone has a spare one?) | ||
| Hans |
Anakie, Answer was given by Jerome on Wednesday, September 27, 2000: Look at the following url : http://www.dakotadigital.com/products/hdinterface.htm They sell a compact electronic component for Harleys, allowing to change your final ratio and to keep an accurate reading of your current speedometer. It's a bit more than 100$ but more flexible than a new speedo which would fit only one other final ratio. It's a straight "plug and play" accessory, clever and most probably useful. | ||
| Mikej |
I wonder if the DakotaDigital part will help overcome some Buell/Blasts propensity to eat speedo sensors. Two sensors would pay for that item, and then you'd also have it for it's intended function. | ||
| Jerome |
Mikej : nop, unfortunately. I have had the Dakota Digital interface on my Buell over the last 3000 miles and I ate a second speedo sensor in the mean time... The interface just "resample" the pulses generated by the sensor, it does not interrupt the voltage peaks from the main circuit, which apparently are the cause of speedo sensor failures. Even without this quality, the interface is a great tool. No need to "re-calculate" your speed all the time, just watch it, that's it ! In addition, as I said before, it can be used to impress a girlfriend passenger : just press the interface button and the speedo will read 140 mph when you cruise at 70 mph... :-) | ||
| Jerome |
Belt tension question : it is the second time within a couple of days that I ride my Buell really hard in twisty roads, being at WOT most of the time and around 4-5K, and I notice that the belt tension actually increases... When I leave for the ride, it is at factory settings, and when I come back at home, the free-play is reduced by half ! Is it something noticed by others ? I find this a bit scary. Is the pulley diameter increasing sufficiently because of heating (???) or is the belt becoming harder ? I'm puzzled. Any input welcome. | ||
| Smokin84 |
Jerome, I have had that happen also. I found it was (in my case) caused by braking over wash board bumps or anytime the back wheel chattered due to hard braking or not down shifting smoothly. $0.02 | ||
| Blake |
Jerome: Are you 100% sure about your measurements? Make sure the bike is in neutral when you check belt tension, otherwise the top may not be taught causing a false overtight condition when you check the bottom. Also be sure the rear suspension is 100% unloaded (shock fully retracted). Some expansion of the pulleys, tranny, and swingarm is possible due to warm operating temperatures, but it should be negligible as far as belt tension goes. Some composites actually shrink with increasing temperature; not sure if the kevlar behaves that way; don't think so; it's a pretty rare phenomenon. | ||
| Chuck |
I thought someone here, before, said that belts would "tighten" with age. Mine seems to be tighter, too. WTF?  | ||
| Blake |
I think Court said that; something about the burnishing during break-in (Court, what was that again?). But Jerome is saying his belt tightens during a ride and settles back within spec after it sets for a while. | ||
| Jerome |
Blake : the rough tension checking that I did the last two times was simply with fingers on the middle bottom part of the belt with the bike on the sidestand, neutral gear. Freeplay was about 4cm before going for a ride, and only 2cm when back in the garage, in the same position. The next morning with the bike cold, the freeplay would be back to 4cm... I've made a "serious" belt tension check two weeks ago, with the Buell on a centerstand, rear wheel up in the air, and with a belt tension gauge (10 lbs of pressure up in the middle of the belt). It could be a problem of suspension more compressed when I come back from the ride, but then why do I observe this only after a very sporty ride, and not after a cruising ride ? I'll try to check that again more seriously, measuring precisely the belt freeplay on the centerstand, before and after the ride. | ||
| Rocketman |
Not to quote Aaron, but he did tell me something about the pulleys expanding with heat. Like I said earlier, when Mr Nob sat on my Buell the tension appeared to be well within tolerance. Now those guys at Croix that were taking the pi$$, you could have gone bungee jumping with their belts. Along with a clutch compressing tool I'm gonna get me one of those belt tension gauges also. I figure I'm gonna need 'em both. Probably the clutch tool more come to think of it  Rocket in England | ||
| Court |
As the belt gets wet/warm it expands. As it does, it gets tighter. I have (of used to) find that nearly all Buells I examined had the belts WAY too tight. Read and follow directions... Court | ||
| Jerome |
Court : I've followed the Buell directions regarding belt tension tuning. I have even chosen the loosest part of the range given by Buell. This does not explain why the belt would become tighter after a hard ride. I can still finger-touch the rear pulley after the ride, it is warm but not very warm. I don't seriously believe that thermal expansion can explain the symptoms. I'm really puzzled... If the symptoms persist, I'll probably increase the freeplay and make it bigger than Buell directions... It may then get into specs when I use the Buell at WOT ! :-) | ||
| Court |
Jerome: I agree. The symptoms you describe are inconsistent with the mal-adjusted belt. I have sought the opinion of a higher authority. Will advise. Court | ||
| Leeaw |
You guys have me worried now. I am in the middle of stripping my cast rims, and now I am fearful of both belt tension and wheel alignment. Any quick tips to make sure I got it right? I know when I was off the bike, I could almost touch the belt to the swingarm. BTW, it takes a lot of Rock Miracle, but stock rims sans the paint, have the nice polished lip that come on the 2001's. Much cheaper than having themm professionally polished. | ||
| Ralph |
Court, if the belt expands as it warms up then it would get looser. bighairyralph | ||
| Mikej |
I believe the belt expands in thickness, the kevlar prevents it from expanding in length (much anyway). | ||
| Rocketman |
Jeez dudes, wheel alignment and belt tension are simple things. Let's not start a panic thread ! Incase anyone's interested, Dymag called today to say they had received my wheel safe and poorly. They are making up an alloy spacer to fit the hub and carry the bearings. Silly me, I musta had the wheel out a good few times over the years but I'd thought, stupidly, that the outer bearing on the drive side was sat inside the pulley. Well of course it bloody isn't. The pulley sits on a spigot which is part of the hub itself. The bearings had worked loose, which is something that doesn't happen very often. Apparently some 80's model Hondas use to suffer the same fate because they didn't quite locate the full width of the outer bearing in the hub. Dymag, for those applications use to fit an alloy ring, much like they are gonna do to my wheel. It is the best thing to do because magnesium is soft and consequently if a bearing can move ever so slightly, it will eventually wear the hub, just like mine has. The alloy ring is harder, problem solved. So, my wheel is due back next Tuesday. Tell ya, these guys are so laid back it's unreal. We must have spent ten minutes "shootin' the breeze" and they like to pull yer leg !. Rocket in England | ||
| Court |
Rockey: Way cool to hear about Dymag stepping up to the plate. Did they know, when talking to you, with whom they had the distinct pleasure of talking? Ralph: Wrong. Outside, with it's 7 Kevlar strands can not expand, ergo the "inside dimension" decreases thus "pushing" the belt away from the pulley. Sit.... Stroke beard..... Ponder, my son..... Mikej: Your answer places you only a mere two notches from "Wizard Status". Your prior "Burrito or half-pizza" answer vaults you to Deity-Status. As they say in the MENSA Burrito meetings..."yer one fart smeller". You really be in Colorado? I gotta meet you! Court | ||
| Anakie |
Thanks Hans. | ||
| Mikej |
Court, Yep, I'm planning on being there for a few days anyway. Unless I get lost in Utah or Durango or someplace. We did meet last summer in East Troy at the Battletrax, but that was a busy day. Speaking of which I need to find that nifty sparkplug gapper that was passed out at Lake Lawn one of the following nights. ===== Hey, here's a question I've been meaning to ask. I've heard of an emergency final drive belt to use if a belt breaks. It's supposed to be a long strip of belt of some configuration, with strands on the ends that interweave together, and are then held together with small pins pushed thru the "teeth". Not near as strong as a normal belt, but is supposed to allow you to get a broken-belted bike down the road farther. Has anyone used one of these emergency belts? And are they available for Buell fitment? A roadside replacement of a belt drive doesn't sound too fun, and I may be riding down some gravel/dirt roads in the next month or so. Thanks for any insights. | ||
| Court |
Mike: Don't sweat the Buell gap gauges.....we are no where near running out. See ya there ! Court | ||
| Rocketman |
I tried to keep my identity secret from them. I didn't want to use my superior status of Badweb "bull s.itter" to earn me any favours Any of them S1W colour charts left over dude ? And a plug gapper too ! Say, you now running the BMC unofficial store ? Rocket in England | ||
| Court |
Rocket: E-mail me address. Court | ||
| Jerome |
Court and Mikej : interesting thoughts. So what to do ? Are we supposed before a very sporty ride to increase the belt freeplay if we don't want to see it break ? Or to always adjust the belt looser than factory specs ? I've done the latter before but I came back to factory settings because looser meant also more vibrations on my Buell... Another thought : maybe the importance of this symptom of freeplay decreasing after a hard ride depends on the pulley combination. I have now the 29/61, i.e. the largest front and rear pulleys available. If the problem of decreasing freeplay is due to increasing thickness of the belt soft component, it could be more sensitive on - say - a 29/61 combination than a 27/55... But if one goes for the 27/55, there's an additional problem of belt touching the swingarm... No perfect world, hmm ?! Or maybe the American world : 27/61 ! :-)) I'll try that one soon... |
