Buddy just snapped the belt on his 96' Road King. What is involved in changing the belt?

 

My riding buddy found a rock embedded in his drive belt. The dealer wants $500 to replace it, $230 for the belt and the rest in labor.

 

It is a lot of work the inner primary and the swing arm have to come off

 

If the rock is near the middle of the belt, you can fix it. I had a rock get imbedded in the belt of my '96 RK and actually penetrated all the way through. I removed it and globbed some JB Weld (epoxy) in the hole, then covered the tooth side with plastic wrap and rolled it over the rear pully. That forms the epoxy to the shape of the pulley without sticking to it, and when it hardens you can pull the plastic wrap off the belt. I did that in around 1998, and in 2006 with 106k miles on the bike I traded it in with the original belt on it. The epoxy looked like it did when first installed, and no further deterioration had occurred. Before buying and installing a new belt, try doing that.

 

This link was invaluable to me when I changed the belt on my 92 FLHS. (BTW- I didn't need to remove the swingarm.Just backed the pivit bolt out enough to allow sliding the belt past the swingarm assy.)

http://www.harleyhog.co.uk/belt%20install%201.htm

 

This post has me wondering: why is the belt on the left side on Big Twins? It would be a lot easier to change belts if it were on the right side, as it is on Sportys? No need to get into the primary. I guess there is a reason. Somebody enlighten me.

 

I just got done doing mine (02 EG). It's not hard to do, but it does takes some time.
You need to take the swingarm off. If you try to do it without taking the swingarm off. You need to twist the belt to get it in between the swingarm & frame (not a good idea). Twisting the belt weakens it. Make sure you torque everything to the right specs. It's not that bad.