Mysterious drive belt adjustment change

[jjc54]

Last evening, after my last stop for a bathroom break and hydration, the bike started having a vibration. I was only about 12 miles from home, so I decided to continue. When I got home, I noticed that the belt was riding on the flange on the rear sprocket. This is strange because the belt has always run closer to the outside than the flange. I raised the rear by jacking on the left swing arm and started to rotate the tire by hand. It was free spinning but would get tighter in spots and you could hear a rubber scraping noise. On further inspection, I could see a gap forming between the belt and sprocket at the tighter spots. Expecting to find a rock in the belt, I did not find one. I did find a rock lodged in the teeth of the sprocket. I was able to remove the rock without the use of any tool. The bike is back to smooth as silk and I did not find any damage to the teeth of the belt. The alignment is maybe a little bit better than before. Very surprised that the rock was not dislodged by itself.

 

[canamjhb]

I'd check your sprocket very, very carefully for any burrs. A good way to find them is to wipe the sprocket with a nylon stocking or something similar. Carefully smooth even the smallest burr. Also do a close detailed inspection of your belt. Small rocks and bits can embed themselves in the belt. These belts are tougher than you can imagine but keeping everything clean and smooth will insure a very long life.

 

[jjc54]

The one I found 50,000 miles ago, was embedded into the belt. I found it by running my hand over the belt and felt this bump. Used a pick to remove what I could from the underside of the belt. It still has not come all the way thru.

 

[Freddy]

Mine 15 years ago.

 

[KX5062]

I'd also suggest checking the front sprocket too. There's been tons of problems with front sprockets over the years. IE: the red dust of death.

 

[jjc54]

I had the recall performed. Has anybody had any issues once the recall was done?

 

[BajaRon]

I had the recall performed. Has anybody had any issues once the recall was done?

Yes, especially if they did not let the repair cure for 24 hours.

 

[jjc54]

I rode mine over and drove it back home the same day! No mention of a cure time. That was 3.5 years and almost 54,000 miles ago. It was frigid that day, so I doubt there was any wildcat driving. I guess I will need to keep an eye on it!

 

[BajaRon]

I rode mine over and drove it back home the same day! No mention of a cure time. That was 3.5 years and almost 54,000 miles ago. It was frigid that day, so I doubt there was any wildcat driving. I guess I will need to keep an eye on it!

Most recalls seemed to do OK with this lack of cure time. With the time and mileage you've got, I'd say you're safe, though it's never a bad idea to take a look now and then for the Red Dust of Death!

On the other hand, we had a few customers who had the recall done, some with no evidence of a problem going in, who ended up stripping the pulley splines in fairly short order afterwards. They did what you did, they waited for the repair and rode away as soon as it was done. It appears that if the recall is going to fail, it will do so fairly soon (mileage wise).

Of course, there are other reasons that this assembly can suffer failure, such as an insufficiently torqued bolt.

 

[jjc54]

Any idea what the torque spec is for the bolt?

 

[Snowbelt Spyder]

Any idea what the torque spec is for the bolt?

Yes, but what are you going to do with that information once you get it?

111 lbs-ft +/-4.

Keep in mind that the bolt comes with that encapsulated thread locker on it that is one time use. If you simply put a torque wrench on it, thinking that you can check the torque, that’s inaccurate as all heck anyway, and more so because of the thread locker. If you loosen the bolt, just to re-torque it to your satisfaction, then you destroy the thread locker usefulness.

If you’re really that concerned/curious about it, just get some of your paint or nail polish, and make a witness mark line across the sprocket hub onto the bolt flange. Check for relative movement.

Or….. ride more and worry less.

 

[Parkland]

For what its worth, I have a 2015 Spyder RT. I realize this has been flogged to death, but I felt my belt was way too tight. I could barely get the Krikit II do its thing. So after reading many of the comments, I took on the job of re-setting the tension. Nothing seemed to be clear to me in all the videos and advise out there. My manual is old, so it still recommends the original BP tension of 1400KN, which I believe seems awfully tight, especially on the upper side. In the end, I set my upper belt at 190LBS on the Krikit II with the Spyder lifted. That seemed to equate to about 27HZ on the Gates App. I chose to set my tension with the Spyder lifted for convenience as much as anything. Easier to reset the alignment that way. That equated to 250LBS on the ground or 38HZ on the Gates App (I think) or around 1200KN? I find consistency hard find either on the Krikit or the Gates App. Any comments?

 

[Woodaddict]

190 kricket lifted is on upper end. I have 2015 RTL and set 165 wheel on ground. That helps keep tension against the rear axle adjusters. Has less vibes, and I don't even use a dampener. Been at that setting for 40,000 miles

 

[Parkland]

Having quite a time getting a consistent reading on the Krikit. By the time you curl your arm and hand up above the belt it is hard to hold the krikit properly and then get it out without fowling the reading. Anyway went for a ride. Not bad at 85km. developed a pulsing vibration around 105km. Smooth as silk at 115km. Back to the bench. You fellows seem to run the belt pretty loose. Will try it and see what happens, Thanks for the help.

 

[Woodaddict]

Yah, that's about laying everything on the floor prone to get the reading on top side best as possible in middle of belt. Practice makes perfect. Hey, do it again if it's bumped. Hey, do it again for attempting to achieve same reading