Not everyone is breaking belts,no matter how the bikes are ridden.I was a sceptic until belt durabilty proved itself to me.Now both my bikes have belts and never worry about breakage,no matter how loud the complaints to the contrary.Besides if we all felt the same we would be riding Rubber Stamp bikes.Naaaaa!

 

Broke one on my Sportster a while back... A sharp rock was stuck in it... I pushed the rock out... road if for about a year and then one morning putting the bike in gear is snapped. $185 for the belt and nothing for labor, as I did it myself.

I don't see much difference between belts and chains though I think belts wear longer and a lot less maintenance, but I'm sure that could be debated...

Charlie D.

 

I tore all the teeth of my sportster belt last year in daytona. I was a a light with my buddy next to me on his 1200 bandit and we decided to let them rip. Went about 20 feet then rpms went up and the bike slowed down. I thought I blew the clutch. Limped back to the campground and checked out the bike . It was not until I decided to check the belt tension that i realized the all the teeth were gone. Had to go to j&p cycles to get another one . None in stock at any Harley dealer within 200 miles..

 

My Brother in Law's broke in his driveway. Talk about lucky!

 

I was driving my truck last Friday and passed a broken belt on the road. Wondered how the guy made out.

Never broke one myself but my buddy did on a trip to maine, it was cut by a rock or some kind of debris

 

Snapped one on my '86 FXST, put a rock through it and the dealer said "don't worry about it, as long as it isn't on the edge".....which it wasn't. It let go taking off from the lights.....replacing was a major task.....

 

I run a 93" motor at a bit less than 96hp my whole drive train has been blue printed & " bedded " correctly for my frame . Running dual belts my sweet spot is just under 90mph on the highway meaning the vibration buzz is way up in the rpm range now not at 65mph like most bikes . And this is a 72 or was for the most part . The Bitch makes HP up to 7000rpm

I work with high horsepower & high speed rotating equipment professionally . I just used the same skills to build a monster shovel . Funny having people tell you you can't do something like that when I've been running it hard that way for years .

There's 2 types of materials for belts the glossy black harder stuff OEM favors and the more pliable rubber based compounds like the Panther series aftermarket belts . The harder OEM ones tend to snap suddenly and make noise , these will not take a small rock well . The more flexible Gates belts will take the abuse better and you'll usually have some warning trouble is coming if you do regular checks of your bike . These are also the belt type used commercially for high HP power and torque distribution systems , the harder glossy belts like OEM don't do well in these environments .

 

I should have clarified, that was a belt, battery, and a stator he apparently burned up jumping his bike from a running car.

Mark

 

It is not just a matter of clearance to slip the belt over the pulley.

The mainshaft goes from the transmission, through the pulley and into the primary , and at the end of this shaft (inside the primary) is the clutch.

No way to install a belt without removing the primary covers (and clutch, compensator, primary chain, tensioner etc.). All models.

I changed the original belt on my `89 Softail two summers ago (it lost a couple of teeth as a warning) at 115,000 miles.

 

Don't forget about having to drop the swingarm as well.