The brother of a good friend of mine goes riding with us once in a while... He has a 2001 Titian with the S&S 107 in it. It's a nice bike.

So 2 weeks ago we were all out and towards the end of the day his bike started to smoke. It turned out his drive belt was rubbing inside the primary and getting worn down. We stopped and he thought the rear tire was misaligned. We re-aligned the tire and got him home.

The belt is eaten away and worn and in my opinion needs to be replaced and I think there is an issue inside his primary.

My friend told me yesterday that his brother thinks the belt has plenty of life left to it..(it's about half the width now) and is not going to change till the winter.

I am in the camp that no rider gets left behind (Except is this case)..BUT if he takes this bike out and the belt breaks...what would you do? Would you wait with him or would you continue on your ride since he is going against everyone's opinion and riding a time bomb??

 

I would at least talk to him and tell him first that you are not comfortable riding with him until he fixes his belt because if he breaks down you are going to be waiting for a tow alone. Let him make the decision.

 

Dude, when you've fixed your bike we'd love to ride with you.

 

As above warn him that since he's not willing to put the group before the individual. He'll be waiting for the tow on his own. There is also a major safety concern not only for him, but whom every is riding behind if the belt goes.

Going 60+ miles an hour and the belt goes who knows what damage or injury it can cause.
$300.00 repair not worth the risk.

SAFETY FIRST!

 

Hard heads make soft asses. Ride with him. When the belt breaks and leaves him on the side of the road, ride home without him. I know it's a novel idea, but actions should have consequences.

 

Buy him a beer or two and inform him he always rides in the rear until the belt is replaced.

 

his brother already talked to him about it? you don't need to say anything.

 

Stab him.

 

Be honest. Tell him you enjoy riding together but a mechanical error while group riding can kill. If he's not mechanical enough to see the problem tell him to ride in back in case it pops so he doesn't kill someone. I have no respect for someone who ignores a potential problem that could really hurt someone, because they simply want to save a few $$.

 

It's like my dear old sainted grandmother used to say;

"You can't tell a stupid MFer anything, even if they ask you; so why try?"