| Author |
Message |
    
Wolfridgerider
| | Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 03:04 pm: | 
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Belt Drive
Less time in the garage means more time on the road. The aramid-reinforced Goodyear Hibrex® belt with Flexten Plus technology isn’t just tough, it’s convenient. No lubrication. No regular maintenance. No scheduled replacement. No adjustments either, thanks to the unique idler pulley. It does away with driveline slop and puts instant power from wrist to road.
"No scheduled replacement"
The way I understand that statement the belt should never need to be replaced because I know I never scheduled for mine to break with 9200 miles on it and leave me standing on the side of the road with belt in hand...."THEY" need take the gray area out of that statement. Tell me exactly when and what to do in regards to the belt, how to inspect it, what to look for, replace it when you see _____ happening. |
Windrider
| | Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 03:33 pm: |
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wolfridgerider,
The big blue book has all the details on the inspection. If you do your own maintenance you should have that book, it is really quite good and worth the $50.
If you don't do your own maintenance then your dealer should do the belt inspections and let you know if it needs replaced.
Some riders see a lot of miles out of the belt. Others who ride hard or do a lot of dirt are getting much less mileage from a belt so I think that the "no scheduled replacement" statement is still a good one.
Of course, some failures will occur. It would be nice if Buell made some type of emergency belt that could be quickly installed and limp you back to your shop or a Buell dealer in the case of belt failure. |
Lowflyer
| | Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 03:33 pm: |
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Wolf,
You, like an awful lot of folks, are reading way too much into that belt drive sales pitch.
The way I read it is, "We don't know when this thing will break because there are too many variables that determine service life of this belt so your guess is as good as ours." There is no scheduled replacement for piston rings either, but you and I know they don't necessarily last "the life of the bike." |
Oldroadtoad
| | Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 05:56 pm: |
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Greetings all 'round -
Page 12 of the 2007 Buell motorcycles catalog states:
Zero Maintenance
The Hibrex belt never needs lubrication
or replacement. It's rated to last the
entire life of the motorcycle. And
because the idler pulley keeps tension
constant, there is no need to adjust the
belt either.
From their own 2007 model catalog. It reads like it should last the life of the bike. No reading in to it, but then I am taking Buell's own words at face value. What say you lads?
The Toad |
Wolfridgerider
| | Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 06:16 pm: |
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I say... NA NAA NA NAA NA |
Dentguy
| | Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 06:29 pm: |
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Who rated the belt? What is the entire life of the motorcycle? If the bike breaks down and I fix it, is it then in it's second life? I guess at that point the original belt has done it's job. |
Fwiw
| | Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 06:52 pm: |
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What does the warranty say? They could be in trouble here unless they replace belts for the life of the bike or have weasel worded the warranty. |
Fwiw
| | Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 06:55 pm: |
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From the Buell website FAQs...
Question
My belt broke. Is this covered under warranty?
Answer
Belts that fail on a vehicle within the two year warranty period due to manufacturing defect are covered parts and labor.
Belts that fail due to stone/debris contact, while the vehicle is within the two-year warranty, and it is equipped with either the original belt/stone guard, or a Harley-Davidson® or Buell® accessory belt/stone guard, are also covered parts and labor.
Belts that fail due to incorrect installation, misuse, stone damage due to non-Harley-Davidson/Buell stone guards, or normal wear and tear are not covered under warranty. |
Lowflyer
| | Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 07:19 pm: |
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I guess folks were not reading into it after all. I would say then that they have indeed falsely advertised and/or misrepresented this belt. |
Adrian_8
| | Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 07:33 pm: |
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The belt will last a long long time if you stay on the blacktop and ride it like you are on a Road King and just had your 85th birthday....But once the Hooligan comes out and the wheelies begin with the yanking and jerking you better have a spare in your tote sack..speakee from experience. |
Kieefer
| | Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 07:44 pm: |
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"The belt will last a long long time if you stay on the blacktop and ride it like you are on a Road King and just had your 85th birthday....But once the Hooligan comes out and the wheelies begin with the yanking and jerking you better have a spare in your tote sack..speakee from experience."
So the life of the belt depends on your age, unless of course you're a wheelie pulling 85 year-old Hooligan?
Would not the same issue be the same if it were a chain? Or a drive shaft for that matter? |
Kieefer
| | Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 10:00 pm: |
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http://www.stony-point.com/karata/replace.htm
Another exclusive innovation from Karata. These Emergency Repair Belts can be installed on the road without removing the wheel, shock or swing arm. And once installed, the repair is permanent! You can expect normal belt life from our Karatalink belts, when properly installed and tensioned. No belt drive touring machine should be without one. |
Gotj
| | Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 10:22 pm: |
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Kieffer,
Interesting link. I guess you haven't used their product yet. When I looked on the site, there were no prices for the repair belts. Any info about availability? |
Kieefer
| | Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 10:43 pm: |
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Any info about availability?
I'd email them.
Just been surfing and ran across it.
Also read where Hog owners were getting 50-80K out if their belts.
So it makes me wonder why you Uly guys are so abusive on your belts.  |
Paochow
| | Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 11:36 pm: |
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So it makes me wonder why you Uly guys are so abusive on your belts.
So what's your point?  |
Adrian_8
| | Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 11:36 pm: |
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The belt can be replaced on the road without removing the swingarm, the shock, the wheel, the seat, the handlebars or engine. Velly Simple little dragonfly... and repairs are permanent. Just slack off on the the Hooligan Ulygans. |
Pso
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 - 07:58 am: |
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I could not find their email address to find out about the repair belt for the Uly. Any help would be appreciated. |
Gotj
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 - 09:08 am: |
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I found this:
http://www.cas4.com/protected/MAILBOX-002.htm |
Etennuly
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 - 05:52 pm: |
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Harley makes a "spare belt" that assembles with pins through its cogs in a 'v' lap arrangement. The Buell original belt is around $70 and the HD spare is around $160. Guess that won't make an economical back up. |
Marc
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 - 10:27 pm: |
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I too had a surprise drive belt failure at 17K on my 06 Uly.
I searched a little further and went to the Karata Enterprises website instead of the stony-point dealer.
http://www.karata.com/replace.htm
I did not find the Karatalink polychain Emergency rear, but did find their contact info.....
Karata Enterprises Co
3 River Road
Conshohocken, PA 19428
Phone 610-825-2070
Fax 610-941-6142
Karata@Karata.com
I sent them a nice email recommending that they market an emergency replacement belt for the Uly and asked them to get back to me if they have one or will consider making one for myself and a few of my Badweatherbikers friends. I'll ask a few others of you to do the same (send to Karata@Karata.com) and maybe they will embrace capitalism and make us what we are after.
- Marc |
Windrider
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - 10:25 am: |
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Marc, the PN # 22005 (1.5" X 14mm X 135 teeth might work for the Uly? The dims are all right....
Let us know what you get back in your email. |
Od_cleaver
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - 03:53 pm: |
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Curiosity got a hold of me and I called the number listed for http://www.stony-point.com/karata/replace.htm , 845-786-0620. That guy is a character and was of zero help.
I then called Karata Enterprise at 610-825-2070. I was told that the emergency repair belt runs about $190. (I paid $145 ($162 list - 10%) for a replacement belt at my HD dealer.) Karata has zero stock now, but production will start in 3 to 4 months. He did not know if the belt p/n 22005 was a replacement for the Uly.
One more thing, the Karata guy stated that a replacement belt could be twisted/rolled like a band saw blade without damage to the belt. If true, that sure beats following all of Buell's restrictions. One guy on this forum carries his replacement spare that way. |
Marc
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - 08:13 pm: |
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Below is the response I received from Jim at Karata Enterprises along with my original email to Karata at bottom. Jim states that Karata does not make a Ulysses emergency drive belt at this time. I'll recommend those that are interested email karata@karata.com and let them know there is customer interest out there for a Buell XB12X emergency drive belt and maybe we'll be part of a future production run?
......email start......
From: karata [mailto:karata@karata.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 6:09 AM
To: Hickman, Marc A.
Subject: Re: Looking for a 2006 Buell Ulysses Emergency Rear drive belt
sorry to inform you at this time we can be of no help
regards
jim
come ride with us www.karata.com
----- Original Message -----
From: marc.a.hickman@xxxxxxxx.com
To: karata@karata.com
Sent: August 21, 2007 10:19 PM
Subject: Looking for a 2006 Buell Ulysses Emergency Rear drive belt
My 2006 Buell XB12X Ulysses Goodyear Drive belt broke at 17K miles and left me stranded. I had to tow it in to the dealership and it was a royal pain. If I were in the middle of nowhere or after hours, I likely would have been in real trouble.
Here’s where you may be able to help and make a profit off of me and others I am looking for something like the Emergency Repair belt which you offer for Harley’s for my 06 Buell Ulysses. There are a few of us in this situation who have Buell XB’s over 10,000 miles who are experience surprise belt failures and need a backup plan to get us to a dealer where a replacement belt can be installed. The polychain emergency repair I found which you offer is perfect and I’d like one for my 06 Buell Ulysses. Please let me know if you have an emergency repair rear drive belt which will work for the 2006-2008 Ulysses or are interested in manufacturing one. The Buell XB bikes have a very similar drive train and I would think you may have a market with one emergency repair belt for the Buell XB9 and XB12 series bikes.
As you can see by this discussion thread on badweatherbikers.com which is for Buell riders you have a lot of potential customers who ride Buells.
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/show .cgi?tpc=142838&post=956279#POST956279
I found this on the stony-point.com website and am very intrigued.
http://www.stony-point.com/karata/replace.htm
Karatalink Polychain Emergency Rear
Another exclusive innovation from Karata. These Emergency Repair Belts can be installed on the road without removing the wheel, shock or swing arm. And once installed, the repair is permanent! You can expect normal belt life from our Karatalink belts, when properly installed and tensioned. No belt drive touring machine should be without one.
Thanks for your response in advance….
Marc A. Hickman
......email end....... |
Adrian_8
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - 09:47 pm: |
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I carry a spare belt in the top case, takes up very little space. Someone could probably change the belt by the time he jacked around trying to fix a broken belt and then wondering how long is this going to hold out here in BFE?... |
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