Just replaced the rear wheel and I can tell my alignment is slightly off. I'll fix that when I get home tonight. But the issue is with my drive belt. I have just shy of 23k miles and the motor is stock. The alignment is off by very little and no wear of marks show on my pulley to indicate any huge issues.

So during a preflight inspection I noticed my drive belt is missing half a tooth. I can't tell for sure, but it doesn't look fresh. Could the misalignment cause this? The belt is adjusted for tension properly and I've heard no weird noise when riding, or walking backwards and forward. I've also had the bike up on the lift and can rotate, the pulley rides in the center of the pulley, but when I ride and stop it sits to the left. If I back up it is sitting to the left inside the pulley.

So, in addition to my other questions, which side of my wheel is off? I've had the rear wheel out before and aligned it then with no issues. I'm thinking the front of the rear wheel needs to move to the right.

Last question, probably stupid. How long can I run that belt? Is this something that is serious and needs to be addressed right away, or can I go for a while and keep an eye on it?

 

The noise is due to improper tension . . . trust me on this one. I went round and round on my 2010 until I bought the gauge and adjusted it per Harley Service Manual procedures . . . end of noise. If rubbing a bar of soap on the side edges of the belt gets rid of the noise (until you wash the bike or the belt gets wet and washes the soap away) don't waste your time with any other 1/4 twist or half twist or feels good nonsense.

The Drive pulley is slightly tapered. If you have the bike on a jack and (careful now) accelerate and decelerate the engine with the bike in gear (remember about careful right?) you will see the belt move from the inside of the rear Pulley to the outside of the Rear Pulley. Normal . . . spreads the wear evenly on the belt and the Pulley's.

Missing a tooth, or even a part of a tooth . . . not good! Probably you picked up a stone chip or some sort of debris that cut the tooth. Unfortunately it's a lot of work to get a Drive Belt off the bike. The cost of the Belt ain't nothing compared to the labor. But breaking a belt out on the road . . . . priceless!

 

Thank you for the response. There is no noise or chattering when rotating the wheel. I got out the calipers and adjusted the belt tensioners to the exact same distance on both sides. I'll test ride in the morning and try on the jack like you said (carefully).

I did a search and found a lot of useful info including which wat to adjust depending on where the belt rides and how to align the rear wheel. Considering I forgot a bolt the other day, it also stands to reason I didn't align properly. I looked closely at the chunk of tooth missing, it does not look like new damage.

As far as replacing the belt, I'll do that myself. I don't let the dealer touch my bike. I have an idea of what is involved in replacing the belt and I am dreading it.

 

i too have a belt problem, only on '09 tri glide. as you see a rock got lodged between the carrier & belt. i still plan to run the belt this summer.
$711.00 replacement cost at dealer.

 

Just a heads up on the subject, since a lot of guys like to take their belt guards off.
I had another bike in for its 1K service last year and the dealer noticed a similar issue.
He pointed out a slight bit of chafing on the edge, plus a few chipped teeth - and suggested that I had picked up a rock or two.
(county maintenance crews around here just love slinging "tar-and-chips" for road repairs...)

Anyway, they offered to replace both the belt and rear sprocket under warranty.
But not before the service manager went out of his way to tell me that, if I had removed either of the belt guards, they wouldn't have covered it...

 

That's an interesting idea. I generally don't drive on unimproved roads, but just the same, I've kept both guards on. It couldn't hurt to talk to the dealer to see if I could get it done under warrantee. That's the only rare exception I'd allow to them not touching my bike.