Hi all. Yesterday put passenger peg mounts on, and had a heck of a time getting the ratchet around the belt. So I was pushing the belt up and down with my hand to try and get room to swing the ratchet. When I got done it just seemed to me the belt felt looser. Is there anyway the belt lost tension because of that. I didn't mess with anything besides the bracket and pushing up and down on the belt. Just dont want anything out of alignment or loose. I checked with my finger. Moved roughly half to 3/4 of an inch. This something I should be worried about? Thanks all

 

Belt tension won't change just because you fiddled with the belt. They are quite slack on some bikes, even when tensioned correctly and if you pulled on it you likely got all the slack to move round to the top or bottom of the belt.

Its worth checking the tension regularly though, gets expensive when they break...

 

If you adjust the belt tension, make sure you have a way to align the rear wheel as you adjust the belt. If this is a fairly new bike and it has not been adjusted before, it is normal that you would have a little slack as the belt breaks in.

 

Service manual and tension tool.

 

+1 .... Yep ... What he said .... Take all the guess work out of the equation and you know that it's right. Hmmmmm .... can you say Peace Of Mind?

 

Check the belt after you ride and it should be significantly tighter. Doesn't sound like its out of spec.

 

With your fingers you should be able to twist the belt 45 degrees. No more, no less.

 

You are just stronger from working out. Stronger you are the looser the belt will fill. Guess thats why they make a gage. I always do the it fills OK. Last time I checked at 40K the belt appeared to be sort of bumpy looking. The rear sprocket looks that way also. I scratched it with a scribe. Appears all the hard chrome wore off. Dealer said they rarely replace belts and never pulleys. Not sure whats up with that but I may have been running it too tight. Also the interstate were I drive daily is grooved concrete and a lot of grit is thrown up. Guess when it slips back there I will replace it all and get me a gage. Will I need to replace front sprocket?

 

the belt may have moved a bit laterally on the forward pulley. spin the wheel and it will go back to where it was riding the pulley. And no, pressing on the belt will not loosen it.