I just purchased a 1996 FXSTC with 40,000 plus miles on the bike and I believe the Final Drive Belt is original from when the bike was purchased new.
When I go to check the belt deflection for proper adjustment the belt makes a rubbery/creeking noise when I push it up and down or slightly twist on it while checking the condition and adjustment. I have done this same thing to other harleys parked nearby or friends Harleys and those belts dont seem to make any noise whatsoever when puching up and down on their belts
With that... Does anyone have any feedback for me as to if my belt is maybe too dry or too old or anything that I need to be concerned about? The belt appears to be in good shape, no cracks, cuts or abnormal wear, thank you for any feedback you can give me, Bo.

 

IMO - you are most likely ok but....watch the hard launches. I have had 4 dressers with belt final drive and have only broken 2 belts. Both were at or around 45k miles and both were a 2nd gear wheelie. Both required calling someone with a trailer to come get me because they just don't move without the belt. They say these belts are good for maybe 70k miles but if you ride hard it may be time to invest in the new belt. In both cases the bikes were pre-'04 which had the wider 1 1/2 belt. In both cases I replaced the belt with the H-D Sidecar app belt which doesn't seem to be available at dealerships anymore. You need to remove the inner and outer primary and pull the rear swingarm pivot and axle on a touring frame to change the belt. It is not a quick job. I would plan this service for an over the winter upgrade or if I decided I could not wait that long, the next time I replaced the rear tire.

Again, your belt is most likely fine, adjust to the spec and ride it but....I would consider planning the replacement if you are an agressive rider.

 

Check your wheel alignment. If that is slightly off you may simply be pushing the belt against the flank of the rear pulley. If you jack the rear up so you can turn the wheel back and forth, you will be able to see if the belt is tracking against one side of the rear pulley. If it is, make a slight adjustment of the wheel alignment and check again. If the pulley is tracking OK your wheel alignment is fine!